No one on the current roster has been an Ottawa Senator longer than defenseman Thomas Chabot. Chabot played his first game for the club back in the 2016–17 season, so he's been around for a while. He’s seen some things. A lot of players have come and gone during his time — including no fewer than 18 goaltenders across eight seasons. Yes, 18 goaltenders. THN's Steve Warne and co-host Gregg Kennedy discuss NHL Olympic participation. With a nod to X users @OilersAdam and Senators superfan @JulioHashem, who were both tracking the ugly goalie history of their NHL teams on the social media platform this week, here is every goaltender that Thomas Chabot has played with during his time as an Ottawa Senator: Craig Anderson Mike Condon Daniel Taylor Anders Nilsson Mike McKenna Marcus Högberg Matt Murray Anton Forsberg Joey Daccord Filip Gustavsson Mads Søgaard Cam Talbot Kevin Mandolese Dylan Ferguson Leevi Meriläinen Magnus Hellberg Joonas Korpisalo and Linus Ullmark. My inside NHL sources tell me that's too many goalies. It's part of why the Senators have often been labelled a “goalie graveyard,” although the moniker actually predates Chabot's tenure. I thought it started around the time Dominik Hasek mangled his adductor (and we all know how painful that can be) at the 2006 Olympics. But it's even older than that. The name was coined by my former TSN 1200 radio co-host, John Rodenberg, during the old Battle of Ontario more than 20 years ago. The first time he said it on the air, and he'd say it often after that, I felt like it was maybe a little harsh at first. But after years of witnessing the struggles – my god, the struggles – and the revolving door in net, the name became so uncannily accurate that I sometimes wondered if JR had inadvertently placed a curse — some kind of voodoo hex — on the men who protect Ottawa’s crease. "Hasek's injury cemented the label," Rodenburg recalls. "But it dates back to the scars of the losses to the Leafs and especially 2004 and Patrick Lalime in Game 7. "And it ALWAYS manifested itself, one way or the other, it felt like every season. It's always about the goalie here in Ottawa. Just change the year, rinse and repeat." With the team having a reputation like that, it was not a surprise that one of Steve Staios' first big moves as a new GM was to try and solve things by going after one of the NHL's best. He managed to pull off a deal last summer for Linus Ullmark, the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner. Ullmark's first season was pretty decent with flashes of excellence, but injury absences were a concern. Not big enough to get swept into the goalie graveyard conversation, but not insignificant enough to be excused from it either. Ullmark and his understudy, the very young Leevi Merilainen, do seem nicely poised to finally bury the label once and for all. But if they can’t do it, then there's really no choice but to flood JR at TSN 1200 with cards, emails, and maybe a goat sacrifice or two. Because someone’s gotta figure out how to lift the Curse of the Goalie Graveyard. By Steve Warne The Hockey News Ottawa [http://thn.com/ottawa] Image Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images This article orginally appeared at The Hockey News Ottawa, where you'll find all the latest Senators news: Formenton's Lawyer: 'The Crown Knowingly Forged Ahead With A Hopeless Prosecution' [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/alex-formenton-s-lawyer-the-crown-attorney-knowingly-forged-ahead-with-a-hopeless-prosecution] Mark Stone Jokes That It Wasn't Always Easy Playing On Brady Tkachuk's Line [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/former-ottawa-senator-mark-stone-reveals-why-it-wasn-t-always-easy-playing-on-brady-tkachuk-s-line] 2018 World Junior Trial Ends: Former Senator Alex Formenton Found Not Guilty [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/2018-world-junior-trial-ends-former-ottawa-senator-alex-formenton-found-not-guilty-of-sexual-assault] Two Sens Prospects Set To Shine At World Junior Summer Showcase [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/two-top-ottawa-senators-prospects-set-to-shine-at-world-summer-showcase] Croatia's NHL Trailblazer: Sens Prospect Bruno Idžan Takes NHL Road Less Travelled [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/croatia-s-nhl-trailblazer-the-story-of-ottawa-senators-prospect-bruno-idzan] https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/can-the-ottawa-senators-count-on-dylan-cozens-to-consistently-produceSenators Re-Sign 2021 First-Round Pick To One-Year Deal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/ottawa-senators-re-sign-2021-first-round-pick-to-one-year-deal] Why Mason McTavish Isn’t Coming Home To The Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/why-mason-mctavish-isn-t-coming-home-to-the-ottawa-senators]
