The Senators bolstered their crease by landing yet another Swedish netminder from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Senators moved quickly to restore their goaltending depth on Friday, acquiring Jonas Johansson from the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations. The move came just hours after the Vancouver Canucks claimed Leevi Meriläinen off waivers.
Johansson has played 105 NHL games, breaking into the league with Buffalo in 2019–20 and has also spent time with Colorado, Florida and Tampa Bay.
In 25 games as the Lightning’s backup last season, he went 11-10-2 with a 3.29 goals-against average and an .884 save percentage. Buffalo selected him in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft. nhl.com
His most recent outing was against the Senators in April, when he gave up five goals on 31 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Sens.
If Johansson directly takes Meriläinen’s place on Ottawa’s depth chart, the Senators’ top three goaltenders would all be Swedish: Linus Ullmark, Samuel Ersson and Johansson.
There is still competition in camp for work in Belleville. The Sens still have Vadim Zherenko on a professional tryout, while youngsters Jackson Parsons of Embrun and Kevin Reidler are also in the organization’s goaltending picture. Reidler gives the Senators yet another Swedish option.
But Johansson looks to be the new number three, simply because he brings NHL experience. Given the choice, after losing Meriläinen and letting Mads Sogaard walk in free agency, the Sens didn't want to be one injury away from having to turn to a goalie with absolutely no NHL experience.
For the record, Johansson is on an NHL deal with a cap hit of $1.25 million, but he's one of 10 players that Tampa assigned to the AHL on Friday afternoon, so waivers aren't a concern.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
