Unexpected Shuffle: Ottawa Senators’ Bold Move Sends Merilainen Down, Sparks Questions with Sogaard Call-Up!

When the Ottawa Senators decided to send their backup goalie Leevi Meriläinen down to the AHL’s Belleville Senators this past Sunday, eyebrows certainly went up. At the same time, Mads Søgaard made the climb back to the big league, but hold on — this shuffle isn’t the cold shoulder some might assume after Meriläinen’s shaky NHL debut against Buffalo’s relentless attack. Nope, this move is far from a demotion; it’s a strategic play to get Meriläinen real ice time and shake off the cobwebs. With no consecutive game squeeze until late October, the Sens are clearly pacing their goalies — planning to lean on Ullmark heavily while preparing Meriläinen for when the schedule heats up again. It’s about sharpening skill and mindset, not benching a player after one rough outing. You gotta admire the patience and foresight behind this juggling act — sometimes, a little time in the AHL doing what you do best is the best medicine. LEARN MORE

The Ottawa Senators raised some eyebrows on Sunday morning with the announcement that backup goalie Leevi Meriläinen has been loaned to the AHL’s Belleville Senators. In a corresponding move, Mads Søgaard has been called up from the B-Sens.

At a glance, one might think the Senators had suddenly lost faith in Meriläinen, four days after he and the team were shelled in Buffalo on Wednesday night, falling 8–4 to the Sabres. But this probably isn’t a demotion, not after only one game, and not after you see that Sogaard isn’t off to a great start either. This is about getting Merilainen some real game action.

The Senators don’t have a back-to-back situation in their game schedule until October 27–28. The Sens will host Edmonton on Tuesday of this week, the Flyers on Thursday, then travel to Washington on Saturday before hosting the Boston Bruins a week from Monday. Barring injury, it’s likely that Ullmark will start all of those games, including the one against his old team, then the Sens will probably turn to Meriläinen in Chicago on the 28th.

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In the meantime, the Senators want to get Meriläinen playing for two reasons. First, they don’t want him getting rusty from going almost two weeks without playing, and just as importantly, they don’t want him stewing too long about his difficult season debut in Buffalo.

Merilainen started for the B-Sens on Sunday afternoon and allowed 5 goals on 40 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Syracuse Crunch. They may also let him start again in Laval on Wednesday, or in one of the two games against Toronto on Saturday and Sunday, before bringing him back.

As for Søgaard, he recently cleared waivers after camp, so he’s waiver-exempt for a couple of more weeks. In the meantime, the Sens just need him for practice and to wear the ball cap on the bench in Ottawa. Based on his two games so far in the AHL, his current .864 save percentage isn’t exactly a statistic that demanded an immediate call-up to the NHL.

So Meriläinen’s assignment to Belleville should not be regarded as a demotion, but instead as a much-needed tune-up – both physically and mentally.

More Sens headlines at the Hockey News Ottawa:
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Tkachuk Has Successful Thumb Surgery And Will Miss 6-8 Weeks
Sens Call Up Kaliyev As Tkachuk Goes On IR
Senators Suffer Discouraging 8-4 Loss At Buffalo
Senators Lose Sebrango, Claimed Off Waivers By Florida
An Early Glance At The Senators’ Goaltending Pipeline