Ottawa Senators Sign 6-Foot-7 Goalie Mads Sogaard to Two-Year Deal

At the recent NHL Draft, the Ottawa Senators' new management loaded up on some big, tall prospects they hope will one day be good players for them. So it should be no surprise they were keen to re-sign Mads Sogaard. 

While GM Steve Staios turned the page on some of the players he inherited from past management, he was happy to sign Sogaard, the tallest goalie in the NHL. 

Staios announced on Monday that Sogaard has signed a two-year contract. The first (two-way) year of the contract will carry an annual value of $775,000 in the National Hockey League and $225,000 in the American Hockey League. The second (one-way) year of the contract holds an annual value of $775,000.

"Mads' development continues to progress," Staios said in a prepared club statement. "With considerable playoff experience this past spring in Belleville, in addition to a strong regular season, he was able to gain additional confidence as a professional goaltender. The upcoming season will serve as an important stepping stone for him."

The one-way option signals that the Senators believe there's a good chance Sogaard will be ready for full-time NHL duty in 2025-26. This fall, the Sens will start out with Linus Ullmark as their starter and Anton Forsberg as their backup. However, the future of both goalies in Ottawa is unclear, as both are unrestricted free agents next summer.

In a perfect world, after several seasons of sketchy goaltending in Ottawa, Ullmark will roll into town, be as good as he was in Boston (or Buffalo), and sign an extension sometime next season. Then, Sogaard could replace Forsberg in Ottawa, saving $2 million that could go to Ullmark's new deal.

Sogaard fits the club's new "bigger is better" mantra, which they laid down at the NHL Draft. "The Great Dane" is 6-foot-7, 212 lbs and has already played 27 games in Ottawa over the past three seasons. He had a fine season in Belleville with a goals-against average of 2.45 and a save percentage of .916.