Three days into the new year, as the Ottawa Senators approach the midway point of the season, GM Steve Staios held a state-of-the-union address with the local media on Saturday morning. As the team got ready to host the Winnipeg Jets later in the day, Staios began with a prepared statement that described expectations being different this year, the incredible parity in the league, and that there is a lot to like about the "process-driven" way the club is playing this year. But as former NFL head coach Bill Parcells once said, "You are what your record says you are." Silver linings and moral victories will only go so far with this hungry Ottawa fan base, which was hoping the club would take a step forward after making the playoffs last spring. Instead, the Senators will have to take some major steps forward in the second half just to replicate last season's success. On the Sens Nation Podcast, Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss the Sens goaltending situation. The Senators opened play on January 3rd near the bottom of the Eastern standings. Three points out of a wild card spot doesn't sound all that bad, but when you have seven teams ahead of you, someone is always going to be winning games to keep you stuck in the logjam. NHL East Standings as of January 3, 2025. [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/e56f547c-9814-4bbf-96d7-505b765380d1.png] NHL East Standings as of January 3, 2025. It's not unreasonable to suggest that it will take a five or six-game winning streak to break on through to the other side of this wild-card jungle. And if they manage to do it, they'll have to keep playing well consistently. When asked about the team's lack of consistency this season, goaltending was the first thing Staios brought up. "I don't know if it's been consistency in player effort," Staios told the media. "We live in reality, and there are a couple of areas of our game that aren't up to expectations. We can talk about goaltending, and if the goaltenders were in here right now, they would be honest that they haven't played up to expectations. "I think the optimism comes from, over the last month or so, they have played to expectations. It wasn't the best of starts for them, but it had stabilized, and I would I would feel comfortable saying that it's going to continue to not only stabilize, but move in the right direction." That's all well and good to say, but between having the worst save percentage in the NHL, combined with Linus Ullmark on indefinite personal leave, and their current two goalies with just 31 games of NHL experience between them, this all seems like the complete opposite of stability. Staios was asked if he knew roughly when Ullmark might return. "Well, Linus knows he's got our full support, and we're going to respect him by not having a comment on that situation. We have full belief in Linus, along with Leevi, who's a good young goaltender who continues to develop, along with our depth with Mads Sogaard and Hunter Shepard. "We know what Linus is as a goaltender, and he knows what he is as a goaltender. But at this point in time, he has our full support, and we'll respect his privacy until we have him back. "We'll give him the time afforded to make sure that things are in order." When asked about the possibility of pulling the trigger on a deal to get more goaltending depth, Staios shoehorned Mads Sogaard into the discussion. "Mads is continuing to develop and in the right spot right now where he's got the net in Belleville and getting getting that time. But he's always been a top prospect goaltender turning into a top pro prospect, on the cusp of getting an opportunity." For now, though, Merilainen is the emergency plan A and has been since last summer. Staios is now executing what he believed was the very best plan available to him if something happened to Ullmark. He believed it, knowing that Merilainen is the sixth-youngest goalie in the league; he believed it the day he let Anton Forsberg walk into free agency; and he believed it, knowing that Ullmark had never played more than 50 games in a season. Now we're about to find out if he was right or not. 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