In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start off by looking at the goaltending issues the Ottawa Senators have, and some players getting more and more frustrated with the lack of saves. Elsewhere, we look at the St. Louis Blues and Robert Thomas, who is reportedly “not unavailable”. Finally, we stop in with the Minnesota Wild and their interest in Vincent Trocheck,
Senators Players Call Out Goaltending
Now, to anybody paying attention across the league, the Senators’ lack of saves has been one of the big storylines. The team is playing well, scoring plenty, and defending well. The issue is that no matter how well the team plays, they are unable to get enough saves to make it worth it.
Jake Sanderson, after posting what may have been the most dominant game of his career, stated, “I think Leevi [Merilainen] made some good saves, but I think at the end of the day, you’ve got to make more than 10 saves to win a game.”.
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That has been the story of the season. Merilainen and full-time counterpart Linus Ullmark rank second and third last in goals saved above expected (GSAx), and with Ullmark out, Merilainen has now started 10 games in a row.
Travis Green spoke as well, stating, “It’s hard to give him a pass. Six goals on 18 shots, and I’m sure he’d like to have one or two back. I feel bad for him.”
For the team to publicly share the lack of confidence in the goalie could have an impact on how the rest of the season plays out. If Ullmark is expected back soon, it is clear that Merilainen will be headed to the American Hockey League with James Reimer taking the backup job.
Ullmark is with the Senators on their three-game road trip starting Jan. 18, and could appear for the Senators soon.
Merilainen saved the Senators’ season in 2024-25 and earned the backup job, but he has shown that he isn’t ready quite yet.
Blues Reportedly Willing to Move Thomas
The Blues have been making some changes to their roster over the past few seasons, but haven’t picked a clear direction like a retool or rebuild. They have done a good job, but don’t seem to be following a big structured reframing of the team.
When a team is making changes like this, a retool could be the term, but regardless of what you label it as, moving a piece like Thomas doesn’t make a ton of sense, though he could be on the table for business.
Marco D’Amico reports that the Blues aren’t looking to give him away or are even actively shopping him, but they are willing to listen on offers.
D’Amico adds that this is more likely an offseason kind of move, which makes sense, but never say never. The rental market is getting fairly dry, and with so many tweeners in the standings, there could be some big decisions coming from some teams, and the Blues could be one.
Wild Leading Charge for Trocheck
When the New York Rangers started talking about their change of direction, big names like Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere, Adam Fox, and others come up first. For teams around the league, calling on Trocheck seems to be at the top of the list.
Despite having term attached to his deal, Trocheck wouldn’t fit the mold of a team looking to get younger and better. On an episode of The Sheet, David Pagnotta and Jeff Marek linked Trocheck to the Minnesota Wild, who are looking for a big center upgrade.
Trocheck has plenty of experience both in the league’s playoffs and internationally. He has been a great two-way center for most of his career, and with three more seasons at a very reasonable $5.625 million cap hit, he will be a hot commodity as the trade deadline approaches.
