On Friday the Ottawa Senators a made surprising, yet seemingly calculated move, inking goaltender Craig Anderson to a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the club until the end of the 2019-20 season.
The deal means so much more to the club than just reassurance and stability between the pipes going forward. At an annual average of just $4.75 million per season, the price point makes the extension a sure win for the Senators.
Great value for what Anderson brings
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It's quite clear that the Senators were able to ink Anderson well below the going rate for a No. 1 goalie in today's NHL. While Anderson's extension won't kick in until next season, the $4.75-million cap hit would be just the 18th highest in the league this year.
That's despite the fact that he is coming off a strong campaign in which he posted the third-highest save percentage (.926), 10th-best goals-against average (2.28), and a tie for the seventh-most shutouts (7).
This all came during a season that saw Anderson take multiple leaves from the team as he accompanied his wife during her battle with cancer. In the end, he played just 40 games, making these numbers all the more impressive.
A cheap one-two punch
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What also makes the new extension so beneficial to the Senators is that along with Mike Condon's relatively cap-friendly deal, it gives the Senators a solid, yet inexpensive duo.
Last season - due in large part to Anderson's absences from the club - Condon was forced to play 40 games, and the 27-year-old proved to be incredibly steady when called upon.
Condon posted a 19-14-6 record with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. His reliability is precisely why the Senators brought him back as Anderson's deputy.
Once Anderson's extension kicks in, the two will combine for just $7.15 million. That total would rank as the 15th-most expensive goaltending duo in the NHL this season, which is not bad given the two helped the Senators boast the 10th-best defense last year.
Cap space to retain free agents later
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It's fitting that Anderson's extension will kick in at the end of the upcoming season as that is precisely when it will become so noticeably valuable.
That's because the Senators will see a number of players hit the restricted and unrestricted free-agent markets.
| Player | Status | Current Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Stone | RFA | $3.5M |
| Kyle Turris | UFA | $3.5M |
| Cody Ceci | RFA | $2.8M |
| Mark Borowiecki | UFA | $1.1M |
| Johnny Oduya | UFA | $1M |
| Chris Wideman | UFA | $800K |
| Fredrik Claesson | RFA | $650K |
Stone, Turris, Ceci, Claesson, and Borowiecki will be presumably be the team's main priorities and it could be argued all would be deserving of raises.
Perhaps most crucially, captain Erik Karlsson will become a UFA the following offseason. The two-time Norris Trophy-winner could demand near Connor McDavid-like money, and deservedly so.
When that happens, the Senators - who aren't known as a cap team - will be forced to cough up the money to keep their star player. It's at that moment they'll be glad to have saved some pennies with Anderson's affordable extension.
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