NHL Free Agency: 5 teams who should sign Braden Holtby

4. Ottawa Senators

If Holtby wants the best chance to be a starting goalie, without question, his best option is the Ottawa Senators. The Senators have a pretty impressive prospect pool, but one thing they lack are top-notch goalie prospects. Marcus Hogberg is an interesting prospect, but he’s 25. And Anders Nilsson‘s future is a bit murky at this point.

Holtby could help the Senators keep their net warm until they find a better option. There are reports Ottawa is very interested in drafting Yaroslav Askarov, the top goaltending prospect in the 2020 NHL Draft. If they draft him, Holtby would allow them to be patient with him.

Of course, Holtby probably wants to play for a contender. But there might not be too many contenders out there for him. Especially if he’d like to remain a starting goalie.

Just thinking outside the box, the Senators need to spend a lot of money just to get to the cap floor. Maybe a two-year deal with a high AAV would make sense for both sides? At least then the Senators would be using their cap space on someone who’s helping the team. That’s an easier pill to swallow than taking on someone’s contract and not have them play a significant role.