There are more moving parts between the pipes for the Ottawa Senators. The Senators announced that they’ve recalled netminder Hunter Shepard from the AHL’s Belleville Senators and reassigned Leevi Merilainen in a corresponding roster move.
A year ago, few would have predicted the downfall of Merilainen this season. The 23-year-old finished the 2024-25 campaign with an 8-3-1 record in 12 games with a .925 SV% and 1.99 GAA, showing promise as a future backup behind Linus Ullmark. Unfortunately, Merilainen hasn’t gotten close to replicating that performance this year.
Through 20 games, Merilainen owns an 8-10-1 record with a .860 SV% and 3.51 GAA, including a -16.8 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA). Additionally, according to MoneyPuck, among netminders that have played in 20 or more games this season, Merilainen is the worst in terms of Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) per 60 with a -0.948 mark. St. Louis Blues’ goalie Jordan Binnington is the next closest with a -0.777.
Simply put, that’s unsustainable for the Senators. Ottawa has already brought in James Reimer to shore up their play in the crease. The veteran stopped 30 out of 34 shots in the Senators’ recent overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Ottawa hopes that Merilainen can regain some of his confidence in the AHL. He has historically been solid with AHL Belleville, owning a career 33-22-8 record across six seasons with a .911 SV% and 2.59 GAA.
Meanwhile, Shepard returns to the Senators for the sixth time this season. The two-time Calder Cup champion has already appeared in one game with Ottawa this season, stopping 10 out of 12 shots against the Red Wings on January 5th. Throughout the duration of his first stint with AHL Belleville, Shepard owns a 6-6-1 record with a .895 SV% and 3.45 GAA.