A Detroit-based rapper once said, “you only get one shot; do not miss your chance to blow.” So far this season, Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Meriläinen has taken this advice to heart.
When the Senators drafted Meriläinen in the 3rd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, eyebrows were raised across the nation’s capital. At the time the pick was made, the Senators had just traded to acquire netminder Matt Murray from the Pittsburgh Penguins. They also had Filip Gustavsson, Mads Søgaard, and Joey Daccord in the system. Questions were asked about whether the Sens really needed another goaltender in their system.
If the Senators have learned anything in the years since, it’s that you can never have one too many goaltenders in your system.
Many of the so-called “goalies of the future” have failed to meet expectations in Ottawa. The team lost both Gustavsson and Daccord, one to trade and another to the Seattle expansion draft. Both have excelled since leaving Ottawa. After several disappointing seasons, the team spent two draft picks to move Murray to the Toronto Maple Leafs for future considerations. The towering goalie of the future, Mads Søgaard, has struggled to make it at the NHL level, owning an 11-11-3 record with a 3.55 GAA and .879 SV% in 29 GP since 2021-22.
Meanwhile, the Senators acquired Cam Talbot in the Gustavsson trade, only for the veteran to put up some of the worst numbers of his career (17-13-2, 2.93 GAA, .898 SV%) in a single season cameo. After that, Senators fans endured new goaltending lows when the team signed Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year deal in July 2023. Korpisalo’s brief time in Ottawa was miserable, and the Finn left town with a poor record (21-26-4, 3.27 GAA, .890 SV%) when the team moved on from him a year later. Through all of this chaos in Ottawa’s crease, backup goalie Anton Forsberg has treaded water. The Swede has shown glimpses of consistency, including a strong year in 2021-22 (22-17-4, 2.82 GAA, .917 SV%), but his numbers have been on a downward trend ever since.
This season, things have been just as chaotic. Linus Ullmark - acquired from Boston in the offseason in exchange for Korpisalo (25% salary retained), Mark Kastelic, and a 2024 1st round pick - has found his feet in Ottawa. The Senators starting goalie boasts a respectable 12-7-2 record, with a 2.38 GAA, a .915 SV%, and three shutouts. Ullmark has been a key difference maker for the Sens, which bodes well for the four-year extension he signed before the start of the year. However, he’s also missed a lot of time this season. A couple of injuries have caused Ullmark to miss close to two weeks in October, and he is currently absent with a back injury that has kept him out since December 22nd. Neither Forsberg nor Søgaard have proved themselves equal to the task of holding the crease in Ullmark’s absence.
Enter Meriläinen.
At the start of the season, Meriläinen was probably considered fourth on the team’s depth chart in goal. He is currently making the case to be second. In six games played so far in 2024-25, Meriläinen has kept pace with Ullmark. The 22-year-old owns a 4-2-0 record, with a 2.34 GAA and .913 SV%. And, on Saturday night in Pittsburgh, Meriläinen recorded his first career shutout. He followed this up with his long-awaited home debut the very next night, holding a strong Dallas Stars team at bay to make it back-to-back wins as the Senators won 3-2 in regulation. At a time when the Senators push for the playoffs appeared to be floundering, Meriläinen has stepped up in a big way. His emergence has come at the right time for the player, too. Currently in the final year of his entry level contract, Meriläinen is currently making a strong case for the team to offer him an extension. With Forsberg out of contract at the end of the year, Meriläinen has a real chance to earn a place as the team’s backup if he can maintain his current form.
Some may ask how Meriläinen’s breakout is different from when Søgaard won NHL Rookie of the Month in February 2023. For that, we turned to our resident goalie expert Matt Nafe:
“At that time, the big Danish goaltender went 4-0-1 and saved 141 of the 153 shots he faced for a 0.922 SV%. Statistically speaking, these stretches look similar; the difference, however, is the makeup of these goaltenders. Søgaard too often relies on his size and throws away technicality to make saves, where Meriläinen couples his 6’3” frame and technical ability to make saves. Meriläinen is calm and methodical in his movements whereas Søgaard is explosive and unpredictable. Meriläinen utilizes every piece of his equipment to ensure a puck won’t rebound to a danger zone and the same can’t be said for Søgaard. Meriläinen’s current play is sustainable because of the type of goaltender he is.”
All of this is good news for the Senators. Ottawa’s .536 point % is good enough for 7th in the Eastern Conference, which would place the team in one of the two Eastern Conference wild card spots. In terms of actual points, Ottawa is a point behind Columbus with a game in hand in the race for the second wild card spot. The race for the playoffs hasn’t been this open in years. At the time of writing, the Buffalo Sabres - who occupy last place in the East - are only nine points behind Columbus. Every team currently contending for a wild card spot has a negative goal difference, with one exception: the Ottawa Senators.
If the team can find some consistency, and avoid any more long losing streaks, then the Senators have their best opportunity in seven years to make the playoffs. Anything is possible in this league with good goaltending, and right now Meriläinen is holding up his end of the bargain.
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