Your say: Craig Anderson

We finished our player grades for the 2013 season on Friday, but that was just nine jerks talking about what they think--and it was a lot of information to talk about. So, we figured why not give our readers a chance to cast their votes? And with that in mind, we present our Your say series!

Craig Anderson Recap

If these grades were based on the regular season alone, this grade would easily be an A+. Unfortunately for Craig Anderson, we take playoffs into consideration. Let's compare:

Regular season: 12-9-2, 1.69 GAA, .941 SV%
Round 1 vs. Montreal: 4-1, 1.79 GAA, .950 SV%
Round 2 vs. Pittsburgh: 1-4, 4.32 GAA, .884 SV%

Notice an outlier?

But let's be honest for a moment. If not for Craig Anderson, the Ottawa Senators don't have a hope at making the playoffs. There wouldn't have been a season for Ben Bishop to keep afloat. Anderson was the most valuable player on the team and it isn't even close. As Anderson went, so went the Senators, and there is nothing more indicative of that than the second round against Pittsburgh.

Not only did Craig Anderson finish first in the NHL in GAA and save percentage, he had one of the best seasons in the history of the league. His GAA of 1.69 ties Miikka Kiprusoff's 2003-04 for second all-time and puts him only behind Brian Elliott's (!) 1.56 last season as the best in the last 70 years. Meanwhile, his save percentage of .941 is the new NHL record, usurping incumbent Brian Elliott's (!!) .940 from 2011-12.

If not for his midseason injury, Anderson would likely be a shoe-in for the Vezina Trophy. He ended up 4th in the voting, earning 3 first-place votes from the 30 NHL general managers. Anderson also finished 12th for the Hart Trophy as league MVP with a second-place vote and a fourth-place vote. Interestingly, that was actually Anderson's second-best finish for the award. He was 9th in 2009-10 while with the Colorado Avalanche.

It's doubtful "Andy Ice" will ever match this year's numbers, but his lockout season will go down as one for the ages and will never be forgotten by Senators fans.

Highest grade: A+
Lowest grade: A

What did you think about Craig Anderson's season?

How would you grade Craig Anderson this year?