There has been a lot of talk over the last number of days about the Ottawa Senators and their plans for the upcoming trade deadline. There’s been conversation and reports about players including J-G Pageau, Mark Borowiecki, Tyler Ennis, and more. One of the names fitting under “more… is that of Craig Anderson. The 38-year-old goaltender is a pending unrestricted free agent, and there’s been some speculation that he could be an upgrade at the backup position for a few teams around the league.
At first glance, it seems difficult to reconcile the term “upgrade… with Anderson’s .901 save percentage on the season. But, a quick look at some of the underlying numbers suggests that he might have a bit more left in the tank than his performance behind a porous Ottawa blue line indicates.
Among the 44 goaltenders who have played at least 1,000 five-on-five minutes this season per Natural Stat Trick, Anderson ranks 23rd in five-on-five save percentage and 23rd in five-on-five goals saved above average. The GSAA number is particularly telling, as it sits within a rounding difference of net zero. The bottom line: Anderson has performed basically as expected given the quality and quantity of chances against he's faced.
Ranking 23rd in those aforementioned categories doesn’t make Anderson a Vezina contender, but it should be enough to signify to other teams that he can be an upgrade in the right situation. Names ranked below Anderson in GSAA, even adjusted for a per-60 rate, include Jordan Binnington, Frederik Andersen, David Rittich, Henrik Lundqvist, John Gibson… the list goes on. It’s not to say that Anderson is necessarily a more dependable option than those goalies, but it is to say that he’s been far more adequate than his raw numbers this season would suggest. Playing in Ottawa isn’t exactly the best place for a goaltender’s numbers these days.
So, with all that said, it’s reasonable to think that there might be some interest in Anderson in advance of the deadline. Would it not make sense for Ottawa to consider moving him for some kind of asset, even if it’s just a late pick? Something is better than nothing, right? In most cases, the answer would be a resounding ‘yes’. In this specific case, though, the answer is an emphatic ‘no’.
Per Hockey-Reference, Anderson is Ottawa’s franchise leader in games played, wins, and points (!) by a goaltender. At 38, he’s earned the right to make his own decision about what happens at this trade deadline. All indications are that he wants to stay:
Craig Anderson on the potential of a trade.
— Brent Wallace (@tsn_wally) February 5, 2020
"My heart and soul is here in Ottawa with the fan base….if something were to happen it would be a hard transition, a hard day, we will see, I don’t want to speculate…if something were to happen that would be a sad day for me.… #sens
As for the rest of the team, the phone lines are open.
As always, thanks for reading.