We interrupt the previously scheduled Senators report card for today to bring you this Breaking News: The Hamburglar is Back.
Ottawa goaltender Andrew Hammond has signed a three-year contract extension worth about $4 million with the Senators, and as of right now the Sens have a decision to make.
So let the rumours begin, because business just picked up.
All three goalies (Hammond, Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner) are on one-way contracts and all would require waivers to be sent to the AHL.
You will remember at his season ending "State of the Team" address, Bryan Murray indicated that if Hammond accepted the offer, that one of the other two would be moved.
While some speculated that it was more talk than anything else, and that the offer might be low enough to make Hammond test free agency, where he probably would have gotten a bit better deal, this will make the next few weeks leading up to the draft very interesting.
The health of Lehner is a concern, as to my knowledge he still hasn't been doing much physical activity since sustaining the concussion that precipitated Hammond's unlikely rocket to fame.
So, will the Senators wait until Lehner is fully healthy and then make the decision? Will they go into the season with all three goalies on the roster and try to trade one early on to a team that might be in more desperate times? Which one of the masked men will end up finding a new home?
So many questions, no answers as of yet.
For almost as many people as you could ask, there is a different opinion on what could, should and will happen.
Anderson has the best value for a team looking for the NOW, Lehner has the potential for the future but has had trouble finding the consistency (although he is still young in terms of goalie age).
Whatever happens, the Senators are in a position of strength that they haven't really been in before. They seemed to answer the question about whether or not they think that Hammond is a legit NHL goalie and not just a guy who had two good months. If they are right, they scored big time with that contract whether he is a starter or a backup. If they misjudged, then trading one of the other two will turn out to be a colossal mistake.