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Jake Sanderson Out Two Weeks, Senators Recall Kevin Mandolese

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As expected, the Ottawa Senators have recalled goaltender Kevin Mandolese from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. The move comes after Senators goalie Anton Forsberg had to be stretchered off the ice during last night’s game due to a lower-body injury. He will be out indefinitely with MCL tears in both knees.

In addition, Senators GM Perre Dorion announced that rookie blueliner Jake Sanderson would miss a minimum of ten days (and likely two weeks in total) with an upper-body injury.

Mandolese’s recall comes as the Forsberg injury puts the Senators’ difficult goalie situation into an even more dire state. Veteran Cam Talbot is already on injured reserve and expected to miss another week, according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. 

The team already has 2019 second-round pick Mads Sogaard on the active roster on an emergency loan, and now Mandolese heads to the active roster as well having previously started games this season at both the AHL and ECHL level. He has a .879 save percentage at the AHL level this season and a .927 in the ECHL.

With both Sogaard and Mandolese up in the NHL, the AHL Senators are now forced to rely on minor-league veteran Antoine Bibeau, as well as ECHL trade acquisition Logan Flodell, who has an .800 save percentage in the AHL so far.

The loss of Sanderson, though, is perhaps even more discouraging given the success he has had in his rookie season. The Senators are interested in playing meaningful, competitive hockey down the stretch even though their playoff hopes remain in long-shot territory.

Losing Sanderson, who has helped their penalty kill and overall defensive game, for two weeks will likely hurt them in the standings if the Senators’ other defensemen can’t pick up and capably fill the minutes he leaves.

Anton Forsberg Out Indefinitely With Torn MCL

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02/12/23: Senators general manager Pierre Dorion announced that Forsberg has torn his MCL in both his left and right knee, and will as a result be likely out for the rest of the season. This announcement comes as a devastating blow for both the 30-year-old netminder and the Senators as a team.

Such a significant, season-ending injury is always horrible news, and it’s made especially so since Forsberg was in the midst of another solid season. While his save percentage had declined from last season’s .917 mark (he has a .902 in 28 games this season) that decline was more of a product of the play in front of him than any decline in talent on Forsberg’s part. Public sources such as Moneypuck.com are still bullish on Forsberg’s performance, with him ranked 16th in the entire NHL in goals-saved-above-expected, above Darcy Kuemper, Stuart Skinner, and Ville Husso, among others.

He’ll now have to focus on his recovery rather than stopping pucks, with the aim of returning to full health by the start of the 2023-24 season so that he can help the Senators get off to a strong start and possibly even get into the hunt for a playoff spot.

02/11/23: Saturday’s matinee against Edmonton didn’t go well for Ottawa as they dropped a 6-3 decision.  On top of that, goaltender Anton Forsberg had to be stretchered off the ice after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury just before the sixth goal was scored.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch noted postgame that an update on Forsberg isn’t expected until Sunday.

Forsberg has been a nice story for the Senators as he was picked up on waivers in 2021 (the third time in barely two months he had been waived and claimed) and has played his way into a regular role between the pipes.  Last season, he had a 2.82 GAA along with a .917 SV% in 46 appearances, earning himself a three-year contract extension along the way.  Things haven’t gone as well this season, however, as he entered today’s action with a 3.13 GAA and a .905 SV% in 27 games.

On top of Forsberg being injured, Cam Talbot remains out of the lineup with a lower-body injury for at least a few more days so the short-term starting role will fall to rookie Mads Sogaard.  Ottawa now sits nine points out of the final Wild Card spot so they will have their work cut out for them if they want to get back into the mix.

The Senators will need to recall a goaltender in advance of their next game on Monday against Calgary.  There are two options in Kevin Mandolese and veteran Antoine Bibeau.  The 22-year-old has split the season between AHL Belleville and ECHL Allen and has a save percentage of just .879 with the Baby Sens.  Bibeau, meanwhile, just made his first appearance today in the minors after missing more than two months due to an injury.  However, the 28-year-old has considerably more professional experience and even a handful of NHL appearances over the years and might be a better option to partner with an inexperienced Sogaard for the time being.

Austin Watson Reportedly Made Available For Trade

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  • If teams are looking to acquire some more toughness and grit for their bottom six as they gear up for the war of attrition that is the NHL playoffs, Ottawa Senators forward Austin Watson could be a quality option. Marek reports that Watson has been made available to other teams in advance of the March 3rd deadline, and would likely come at a relatively affordable price. The 31-year-old is a valued leader in the Senators’ locker room and averages two minutes per night on the team’s above-average penalty kill. He’s on an expiring $1.5MM AAV deal and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer barring an extension.

Latest On Nikita Zaitsev

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  • Another defenseman that could be on the move according to Pagnotta is Ottawa Senators blueliner Nikita Zaitsev. The Senators are reportedly “actively trying to move” Zaitsev, who played in 23 NHL games this season. According to the report, the price in order to incentivize a team to take on Zaitsev’s deal could be a second-round pick.

Zub Expected To Return This Weekend, Talbot Skates But Isn't Ready Yet

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  • Senators defenseman Artem Zub is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). He has been out for a little under a month with a lower-body injury, his third extended absence of the season which has limited him to just 21 games so far.  Meanwhile, Garrioch tweets that while goalie Cam Talbot also skated today, he won’t play this weekend.  The veteran is dealing with a lower-body issue of his own and with Ottawa potentially wanting to move him by next month’s deadline, they’ll want to be cautious and make sure he’s fully healthy before bringing him back.  Talbot has retroactively been moved to injured reserve but can be activated as soon as he’s ready to return.

Ottawa Senators Recall Ridly Greig, Mads Sogaard

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The Ottawa Senators recalled forward Ridly Greig and goaltender Mads Sogaard from the AHL’s Belleville Senators on Thursday, per the team’s communications department.

The moves come as Ottawa gears up for their first game after the All-Star break, Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. Ottawa sent down Greig and Sogaard, along with forward Mark Kastelic, following their last game on January 31 to get the trio playing time in the AHL.

Greig, 20, earns reinstatement on the NHL roster after a strong four games to begin his NHL career. Scrambling for an answer at the second-line center position with Joshua Norris out of the lineup, Greig has two assists and a +4 rating in four games between Alex DeBrincat and veteran Claude Giroux. Advanced numbers also applaud the line’s play, as MoneyPuck has the trio with an expected goals share of 67%.

Sogaard returns to the Sens as Cam Talbot remains sidelined with a lower-body injury. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported last week that Talbot was expected to resume skating today, but it’s unclear whether Talbot is still on track to return next week.

The 37th overall selection in 2019, Sogaard’s AHL play has taken a step back this season. After 35 appearances and a .908 save percentage in Belleville last season, which also saw him make his first two NHL appearances in a brief call-up, his save percentage has dipped below the .900 mark in 2022-23. He’s yet to make an appearance in the NHL this year but could be forced into action if Talbot’s absence is more long-term.

Ottawa Senators Could Sell For Upwards Of $800MM

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  • After NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said over the All-Star weekend that more than 15 parties have demonstrated interest in purchasing the Ottawa Senators, Chris Johnston said today on TSN’s Insider Trading that the final evaluation of the team at sale could be upwards of $800MM. As Johnston notes, it’s an incredible return on investment for the Melnyk family, as Eugene Melnyk purchased the team at a $92MM valuation two decades ago.

"15 Or More" Parties Interested In Purchasing Senators

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Senators Plan To Keep Mark Kastelic In AHL After The Break

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  • While there were plenty of players who were sent to the minors during the All-Star break, at least one regular player won’t be getting recalled right away. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that the Senators’ plan for Mark Kastelic is to keep the forward in the minors once the schedule resumes.  The 23-year-old has played in 43 games for Ottawa this season but has been out with a back issue for the last couple of weeks and will get some time to get back into form with AHL Belleville before potentially coming back up later on.

Ottawa Senators Change AHL Coaching Staff

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Troy Mann is no longer the head coach of the Belleville Senators, after being relieved of his duties last night. Assistant coach David Bell will assume interim head coaching duties for the rest of the season.

Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion released the following:

While a change at the head coach position during the season is not an ideal scenario, we felt it was necessary to deliver improved team performance. We are confident that David and his staff will make the most of this opportunity.

The interesting part of this story comes from Claire Hanna of TSN, who reports that trust issues had emerged between the organization and Mann, with a recent incident pushing it over the edge. Mann apparently gave some of Ottawa’s (note: not Belleville’s) pre-scouting information to another NHL team.

Trent Mann, his brother, currently serves as assistant general manager for Ottawa, after being director of amateur scouting for the five seasons prior.

Belleville, meanwhile, has struggled this season to the tune of a 17-22-4 record. Bell’s last head coaching experience came with the Niagara Ice Dogs in the OHL, where he led them to the playoffs and lost in the first round.

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