Sanderson's critique of Senators' goaltending was brutally honest. But he shouldn't have said it publicly.
As the Ottawa Senators lost yet another overtime game to a divisional opponent in Detroit on Sunday evening, the overtime loss the night before and the subsequent post-game commentary is the one the fanbase and the media are still trying to make sense of.
Clawing out a point on less than 24-hour turnaround time with travel is not ideal, but most teams will count their blessings and take what they can get.
Jake Sanderson’s post-game commentary after the late-game collapse and overtime loss against the Montreal Canadiens the night before is still top of mind.
“Leevi made some good saves but at the end of the day you need more than 10 saves to win a game.”
It could be said that the fact that Sanderson had just dominated the game and watched a two-goal lead evaporate in the final five minutes lit his fuse. However, it would be hard to deny that the fuse has been lit for a long time.
No one could blame Sanderson or anyone in that room for feeling that way. But feeling that way and saying it are two completely different things.
Now that the genie is out the bottle, the real question is: Should Sanderson have said what he said?
Respectfully, he should not have. Why?
1) Consistency of the message
His teammates sang a completely different song with Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle having already jumped to Merilainen’s defense. Upstaging the captain makes the team seem dysfunctional even if they aren’t.
If there is a team that needs to present a united front, it’s the Senators.
2) Unwanted attention
Just when the Steve Staios statement about the social media rumor had become back-page news, this incident has put the Senators on the front page again. It created another negative headline for a team that has had far too many of late.
Sanderson is arguably the Senators’ most complete player. He will need to learn from this situation and bring his media game up to the level of his play. More and more, the media are going to want a piece of him, and he has now let them know that he is a great potential sound bite.
3) That’s what coaches are for
Head coach Travis Green also took issue with Merilainen’s performance, but he is paid to do that. His comments were diplomatic and delicate, but didn't pretend that Merilainen's performance was good.
Coaches have to comment on player’s performance, explain why a goalie got pulled or wasn’t pulled or why players are getting scratched. When a coach does it, it is less likely to become a story.
4) There, but for the grace of God
The Ottawa Senators are playing some great low-event hockey, which is what exacerbates the goals saved above expected stats and makes the goaltending look that much worse.
This low-event hockey was not always the way in Ottawa, and this was particularly true of the DJ Smith era. Sanderson played two years under that regime, and goalies were often left out to dry.
Ask yourself if you have ever heard any NHL goalie in a post-game scrum after getting shelled because his teammates didn’t show up to play say something to the effect of:
“At the end of the day, it’s pretty hard to win games in the NHL when you give up 40+ shots night after night.”
You don’t hear that because once you say it, you can’t unsay it, and anyone can struggle. There was a time last season when Merilainen was the Senators best player for a stretch and was a primary reason for their qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Sanderson is the future for the Senators. There is no denying that. He is full value for his Olympic team selection for the USA and he was the best player on either team against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
What he did wasn’t a season or dressing room breaker, but it was a misstep on his part and a lesson about managing emotions. There will be more frustrating losses to deal with in the future, and being careless with your commentary doesn’t help anyone.
Seeing how Steve Staios’ message drifted to the background fairly quickly, there is no reason to think Sanderson’s comments won’t as well. They will become back-page news much more quickly if Sanderson faces the music and admits that his comments were misplaced.
It’s not something that can’t be forgiven. Merilainen, more than anyone, knows that loss was on him and that he has struggled this season. However, if Sanderson doesn’t walk it back, it could create the impression that he didn’t regret what he said, or worse, that he might say something similar should he get frustrated again.
Pat Maguire
The Hockey News Ottawa
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