The writing had been on the wall for Mads Sogaard for a while now.
After seven years in the Senators organization, the 25-year-old goaltender officially left the club on Wednesday, signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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With so many big NHL headlines flying around on July 1st, Sogaard’s exit flew under the radar a little, but his departure wasn’t exactly a surprise.
Over the past two weeks, the Senators acquired Samuel Ersson from the Toronto Maple Leafs and then committed to restricted free agent Leevi Merilainen on a one-year contract extension.
With Linus Ullmark entrenched as the starter, there simply wasn’t a path forward for Sogaard in Ottawa, nor had he earned one. The Sens also have to start getting better looks at goalies like Jackson Parsons and Kevin Reidler.
The Great Dane’s exit marks the end of another goalie graveyard story in Ottawa.
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The Senators believed enough in Sogaard back in 2019 that they traded up to select him 37th overall in the NHL Draft. At 6-foot-7, he immediately became one of the most intriguing goaltending prospects in hockey. You can’t teach size, as they say, and combined with his .921 save percentage in his draft year with Medicine Hat (WHL) he was hard to resist.
Among goalies, Sogaard went second overall in that draft behind only Spencer Knight.
There was always a sense that if everything came together, Ottawa might have found its goalie of the future. But injuries became the ongoing theme. Every time Sogaard appeared ready to build some momentum, another setback seemed to interrupt his progress.
In his six years as a pro, thanks to injuries, Sogaard has only appeared in 162 professional games.
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Last season was another difficult one. Sogaard played 27 games for Belleville, posting a 7-13-4 record with a 3.69 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage. He also made two appearances with Ottawa.
One of those games turned out to be one of the best performances of his NHL career.
On January 25, Sogaard stopped 20 of 21 shots in a stunning 7-1 victory over the eventual Stanley Cup finalist Vegas Golden Knights. Afterward, he spoke emotionally about everything it had taken just to get back to the NHL after another injury setback. It felt like a breakthrough moment, and perhaps the beginning of another opportunity.
Instead, it proved to be one final NHL highlight before the Senators moved in a different direction.
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Sogaard became a Group 6 unrestricted free agent, and Tampa Bay will now see if there’s still an NHL goalie in there waiting to emerge.
Søgaard remains tied for the distinction of being the tallest goaltender ever to appear in an NHL game at 6-foot-7, sharing the record with, among others, former Lightning star Ben Bishop. Tampa also acquired Bishop from Ottawa in 2013, and he went on to have four outstanding seasons.
Tampa would love to see Lightning strike twice.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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