Linus Ullmark and the history of Senators goaltending

Of the 48 goaltenders who have suited up for the Ottawa Senators in their history, did you know that Linus Ullmark is one of just three to have won the Vezina Trophy?

The others – Dominik Hasek and Tom Barrasso – are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and while they were part of memorable moments in Senators history, they both played less than a full season's worth of games in Canada's capital.

The question of whether Ullmark joins them, or even just seizes the opportunity to become Ottawa's first consistent number one goaltender since Craig Anderson, got me thinking about the organization's goaltending history. In this piece, we'll name all of the goaltenders who have suited up for your Ottawa Senators, explore how the team acquired them, and through doing so, locate Ullmark's unique opportunity to etch a larger legacy during his time in Ottawa.

Let's start with where each goaltender was acquired, splitting goaltenders who played more than 10 games before sharing a 10-and-under list at the end of the article. I've used a bold font to indicate goaltenders who I subjectively think were positive acquisitions, and I'm interested in hearing if you think differently in the comments section!

The Ottawa Senators have signed 10 goaltenders in free agency

Ron Tugnutt (166 GP), Martin Gerber (100 GP), Alex Auld (57 GP), Andrew Hammond (55 GP), Joonas Korpisalo (55 GP), Dominik Hasek (43 GP), Darrin Madeley (39 GP), Cam Talbot (36 GP), Daniel Berthiaume (26 GP), Mike Bales (22 GP)

What stands out to me the most about this group is just how few games the free agents attracted to Ottawa have played. Ron Tugnutt and Martin Gerber are the only two to play more than a full season's worth of games, with Tugnutt being the first fan favourite in modern Senators history in my opinion.

Otherwise, beyond Hasek – the unique exception to the rule, and practically every rule applied to hockey ever – the team's most successful signings were a career backup who outplayed the aforementioned Gerber, then an expected starting goaltender, and quite possibly one of the wildest goaltending stories in NHL history. It's probably fate that Hammond played the same number of games as Korpisalo: we traded one magical season for one miserable one.

Gerber, Korpisalo, and Talbot stand out as genuine attempts by the Senators to bring in a stabilizing presence with NHL pedigree, and only Gerber lasted more than a season. Tugnutt was an example of what a smaller-market team like Ottawa needs to do more of: identify burgeoning talent and develop young players to reach their potential. Tugnutt led the AHL Portland Pirates to the Calder Cup Finals the season before signing in Ottawa, and goaltending coach Phil Myre helped add fundamentals to his game that allowed him to flourish.

The weirdest story I came across while researching this article was about Daniel Berthiaume, aka The Bandit, who played 25 games in 1992-93 and 1 in 1993-94. His 93-94 appearance was his final bit of ice at the NHL level and lasted just one minute, where he gave up two goals on two shots – ending the season with a 120.00 goals-against-average and a 0.00 save-percentage. Yeeesh.

The Ottawa Senators have traded for ten goaltenders

Craig Anderson (435 GP), Patrick Lalime (283 GP), Damian Rhodes (181 GP), Mike Condon (73 GP), Craig Billington (72 GP), Don Beaupre (71 GP), Pascal Leclaire (48 GP), Matt Murray (47 GP), Anders Nilsson (44 GP), Ben Bishop (23 GP)

This is the category that Linus Ullmark will join, and it's quite the improvement over the free agents. The three goaltenders who have played the most games in franchise history lead off the list, and it's interesting to observe just how little two of them were acquired for: Craig Anderson in a swap for Brian Elliott; and Patrick Lalime for Ted Donato, a veteran near the end of his career, and the rights to prospect Antti-Juusi Niemi, who played just 29 NHL games.

The next success story on this list, Damian Rhodes, was acquired in the franchise's first blockbuster trade for another success story – and the team's first stable veteran netminder – Don Beaupre. In January 1996, faced with a disgruntled first-overall pick in Bryan Berard, general manager Pierre Gauthier completed a trade that sent Berard, Beaupre, and prospect Martin Straka to the New York Islanders in exchange for Rhodes and second-overall pick Wade Redden. Pierre Gauthier was just one month into the job at that time!

The misses on this list, though, are real stinkers: Craig Billington was acquired in 1993 to shore up the crease and ended up losing his job to the aforementioned veteran Beaupre; Pascal Leclaire is a nominee for the most unlucky player in Senators history (though will always get kudos for his triple-overtime performance in the 2010 playoffs); and Matt Murray is an afterthought.

The Ottawa Senators have drafted eight goaltenders who played more than 10 games for the franchise

Ray Emery (134 GP), Brian Elliott (130 GP), Robin Lehner (86 GP), Jani Hurme (48 GP), Martin Prusek (48 GP), Marcus Högberg (42 GP), Filip Gustavsson (27 GP), Mads Sogaaard (27 GP)

Surprise or not a surprise? The best ratio of all the categories are the goaltenders the team drafted, and if you include their play after they left Ottawa – especially in the case of Elliott and Bishop – the talent on this list only shines brighter.

Emery, Elliott, and Lehner rank fifth, sixth, and ninth in Senators history for games played by a goaltender, while Hurme and Prusek are beloved by certain members of our fanbase for the pivotal roles they played for the early 00s Sens dynasties.

The jury is still out on Högberg, who recently rejoined the NHL this offseason with the New York Islanders, and Gustavsson, even though both were inconsistent with the Senators.

Waiver claim! (1)

Anton Forsberg (112 GP)

The team's most successful waiver claim ever? It's incredible to me that if Forsberg plays 23 games this season, he'll be fifth all-time in games played among Sens netminders.

Expansion draft! (1)

Peter Sidorkiewicz (64 GP)

Ottawa's first selection in the 1992 expansion draft, Sidorkiewicz will always have the fact that he started and won the first game in modern Senators history. Expansion drafts back in the day weren't like how they are now... when I took a look at the players drafted, only Brian Bradley, Shawn Chambers, and current Director of Player Personnel Rob DiMaio look like players who Mel Bridgman and co. might have regrets about not picking.

The "10 and under" games played list (17)

• Mike McKenna, who has publicly shared about the mistreatment he feels like he experienced from Senators management
• Seattle Kraken aficionado, Joey Daccord
• Tom Barrasso, who we just had a chance to reflect on in Ross' "What if?" piece
• 7-game legend, Mike Brodeur
• Eugene Melnyk's favourite, Matt O'Connor
• Steve Weeks, who owns the lowest save-percentage in Senators history at 0.792%
• Dylan Ferguson, who owns the highest save-percentage in Senators history at 0.940%
• A collection of backups (Curtis McElhinney, Mark Laforest), prospects (Mike Morrison, Simon Lajeunesse, Chris Driedger, Kevin Mandolese), and AHL goaltenders (Mike Fountain, Nathan Lawson, Daniel Taylor, Magnus Hellberg)

Another way to reconcile the vast list of names I've just presented is in chart form. Below, you'll find a list of Senators netminders listed per season based on who played the most games (indicated as a "starting goalie") and the second-most games (indicated as a "backup goalie").

Over the last three seasons, Ullmark has started 41, 49, and 40 games, primarily in a tandem with Jeremy Swayman. Interestingly, outside of the Damian Rhodes and Ron Tugnutt era from 1995-96 to 1999-00, the years that the Senators have ran with a tandem in net appear to be due to injury (2005-06, Hasek; 2014-15 & 2016-17, Anderson) or because there wasn't an established starter (2008-09, 2022-23), not by choice. While I expect that trend to be true league-wide, I imagine that the Senators see Ullmark as a return to form – to the days of Patrick Lalime and Craig Anderson, goaltenders who should probably grace the franchise's Ring of Honour as their best goaltenders of all-time.

Will Ullmark add his name to the history books of a team sorely in need of one? Or will he join the long list of goaltenders who have been in Ottawa for one season or less.

I can't wait to find out.