Ottawa Senators: Anders Nilsson is an underrated goalie

He won’t win a Vezina and he’s not their goaltender of the future, but the Ottawa Senators have a unique player in Anders Nilsson, and he might be able to contribute to their rebuilding process.

The St. Louis Blues have had a hard time since Vladimir Tarasenko went down with an injury, losing three straight since then. The Blues Thursday night game against the low riding Ottawa Senators should have been a gift, and a great opportunity to grab a quick two points. Instead, that game ended in a 2-0 shutout for Ottawa. Who was in-goal that night? Was it decorated goaltender Craig Anderson? Nope, it was his overlooked back up Anders Nilsson.

Backup goalies usually don’t get a lot of attention. They rarely make headlines unless they display a star like quality that often eclipses the person in the number one role. Nilsson has done just that, but with the Senators in full rebuild mode, winning games haven’t been their priority. With Ottawa crashing and burning, there have been far more interesting things to write about than a backup goalie.

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By no means is Nilsson the next backup-to-starting goalie story like Martin Jones, and by no means does he have the talent to generate the buzz like Carter Hart or Jordan Binnington have gotten. He has, however, quietly put together his career best year on the lowly Senators team.

His .915 save percentage isn’t great, but he still beats Anderson, who sports a .903 save percentage. Even more impressive is that he was able to keep his goals against average under 3.00 at 2.90. Anderson has ballooned to a 3.52 in that category.  And if that wasn’t enough, Nilsson has already matched his season-best shutout record with 2 with his 35 save shutout against the Blues. Tarasenko might be out, but the Blues lineup still sports a lot of firepower.

Over the next few seasons, the Senators crease will look very different, as both Nilsson and Anderson are on contracts ending soon. Anderson is 37 years old with one year left. With the Senators in full rebuild mode, it wouldn’t be wise to resign him in 2020.

There’s no doubt Ottawa has an emotional attachment to him, after all his wife beating cancer during their deep playoff run was the feel-good story of the 2016-2017 season. Holding on to an older goaltender for sentimental reasons is no way to orchestrate a rebuild.

That’s what the New York Rangers are doing with Henrik Lundqvist and it’s arguably holding them back. Anderson might either opt to retire or go to a co as a backup on a team in need of backup goaltending upgrade.

Nilsson’s contract expires at the end of this season and he’s a different story. He’s 28 and the closer he inches to 30 the “back up to starter” story line fades away, especially with his career numbers.

Don’t expect any Tim Thomas perseverance story out of him. This year, Nilsson has peaked in the backup role, and the fact it was on an NHL worse Senators team makes that feat even more of an accomplishment.

He has two options in his upcoming unrestricted free agency. Nilsson proven to be a reliable back up and age is on his side. He can opt to go to a team that needs steady backup goal tending. It might be a waiting game to get signed, as backup spots will open as the goal tending market decreases. Once Sergei Bobrovsky gets signed the teams looking for free agent goalies, especially in a backup role, will become clearer.

The second option might be better for Nilsson – stay with the Senators. Ottawa might not have a lot going for them, but the almost definite departure of Anderson leaves their starting goaltending spot option open. While Nilsson may not be a starter-level talent, on a rebuilt Senators team who wants to breed its young talent and earn time for their draft picks to develop, he’d be the perfect stop-gap as an in-house option. At least until 2021 when their owner expects them to be competitive again. By that time, the Senator’s top goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson should be ready to make it to the big club.

Besides, throughout his NHL career, Nilsson’s been a journeyman. He’s bounced around the New York Islanders, the Edmonton Oilers, the Blues, the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks all before landing in Ottawa. There’s no denying he’d like a little more stability.

So it seems not all was bad in Ottawa this year. But no matter how good of a performance you’d get out of Nilsson, it won’t make up for the fact they still don’t have a first round pick.