Sens at Land’s End

“My name is Pascal, and I’m here to save you. HAHA, save! Cause I’m a goalie, get it?”

How about those Sens? Yep, they played pretty well last night. Of course, the rest of this season is pretty much meaningless and let’s face it, we’re all basically looking to the future now.

So. Pascal Leclaire.

I have some doubts, which I think were best expressed in the thrilling final five syllables of my deadline day haiku on this trade:

Au revoir, Antoine.
Bienvenu, Pascal (and pick) …
Bring Hitch and a doc.

In case you didn’t get the deep underlying meaning there, let me clarify: Leclaire has a history of injuries, and he played his only full NHL season (2007-2008) for a Ken Hitchcock team. There’s no way for us to know how much his great numbers — 9 shutouts, 2.25 goals against average, .919 save percentage — may have been propped up by the Blue Jackets’ defensive style of play. It’s possible we’ll get a nasty surprise when we see him playing outside Hitchcock’s system next year. (We’ve already learned from the failed Hartsburg experiment that the Sens don’t thrive when they’re focused on defence.)

On the other hand, Leclaire was considered a good enough goalie to be drafted eighth overall in 2001 by the Jackets, so there’s plenty of reason to think he’s got the talent necessary to thrive on any team, and most of the pro hockey commentators seem to feel that’s the case.

Then again, as Sens fans we’ve had our hopes crushed by seemingly talented goaltenders who turned out not to be so great many times in the past. Many, many times. Sigh. Then there was that time we had a goalie who really was good, but he failed us by getting hurt. And oh yeah, let’s not forget the fact that Leclaire is on a three-year contract with a cap hit of $3.8 million — almost identical to the contract signed about three years ago by that other dude who ultimately proved to be both crappy and untradeable.

(Speaking of, did you hear old Swiss Cheese won his first game for the Leafs last night? I think they may actually believe he’s a good goalie!! HAHAHA! *cough* I mean … yes. He would undoubtedly be an excellent option for Toronto for next season, and clearly Brian Burke should sign him right away.)

Oh yes. Leclaire has a magical combination of attributes — injury problems, relatively big contract, no long-term proof of NHL calibre ability — that hits every single one of those nerves made raw from watching the many years of terrible Senators goaltending. It’s only natural that we be skeptical here until we’ve seen him play well on a consistent basis for, say, nine or ten four or five consecutive seasons.

Whatever happens with him, though, I think it’s pretty clear Ottawa won the trade. What is the likelihood that any other team would have parted with more than a second round pick for Antoine Vermette? Not very high. (That’s why I’m choosing to look at this trade as a second for Vermette and Leclaire for nothing, and when you look at it that way it’s pretty darn sweet!) Vermette is a good player, but I seriously doubt he’s going to get any better and the fact is that he just doesn’t fit in Ottawa at his salary. While I feel bad for Vermette on a personal level because he just seemed so heartbroken to be leaving the Sens, I can’t say that I’m really sorry to see him go in hockey terms. Leclaire, though he is most certainly a gamble, is a risk worth taking. He also expressed nothing but happiness at joining the Sens, and he seems like a pretty likeable, laid back guy. If he can stay healthy, and if he turns out to be awesome — heck, even if he turns out to be slightly above average — then we’ve got something we’ve really never had before: a number one goalie. A real live number one goalie!

Just let that sink in for a second. It feels good.