The Ottawa Senators have agreed to extend goaltender Craig Anderson’s contract for another three seasons equaling $12.6 million USD. This is just a few weeks after the team signed goaltending partner Robin Lehner to a three-year deal. The Senators believe that they now have one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL and do not see an issue as to who is the number one starter in net.
Senators Assistant General Manager Pierre Dorion stated "I think it's a great thing for the Ottawa Senators having two guys that we feel can be Number 1. Two guys that can go in the net at any point and time and win games. I think they work well with each other, they're going to push each other, and I think it's only a good thing for our team and our fans."
Lehner at 23-years old was considered the Senators goaltender of the future, though Anderson's new deal raises the question of when that future will come. Dorion stated that General Manager Bryan Murray decided for the team to tell reporters that whoever wins games will play over the course of the season. Anderson looks forward to Lehner pushing him for playing time and said that's a benefit for any goalie.
"Robin and I have gotten along really, really well the last few years and I'm looking forward to working with him and helping him improve. By him being a better goalie, he's going to help me become a better goalie and we're going to be a better team because of it." Anderson said.
Anderson put up an NHL-best .941 save percentage in the lockout-shortened 2013 season to earn the Senators a playoff berth despite key injuries to Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza. His save percentage dropped to .911 last year and posted a 25-16-8 record with a 3.00 goals-against-average and had four shutouts in 53 games.
Anderson at 33- earsold has one season remaining on the four-year contract that he signed with Ottawa before the 2011-2012 season. Once the new contract goes into effect, he will make $4.75 million in 2015-2016 and $3.1 million per season in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. He said that he was very relieved that this extension was finished before the start of this season and did not have to worry about being the possibility of being an unrestricted costless agent later on this season.
"Taking the contract part out of the equation allows me to focus completely. 100 percent on my job of stopping the puck and there's no distraction whatsoever from that part of the game. That's exciting for me and a good feeling that I'm going to be part of the Senators organization for the next few years." Anderson said.