Sens Get A Goalie

The Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets make the first deal of the day.

Ottawa sends forwards Antoine Vermette to the Blue Jackets for goalie Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick.

The Blue Jackets have added some much needed scoring depth in Vermette. A former second-round pick himself, he has managed to score over 20 goals twice in his young career. This season the 26-year-old has struggled like the rest of the Sens. He has only managed nine goals and 28 points in 62 games this year. He has one more year remaining on his contract at $2.762 million.

The Sens are finally getting a starting goalie that lost his job to rookie Steve Mason earlier this season. Leclaire, a former eighth overall pick has been hampered by injuries over the past few seasons but has shown the potential that made him a top-10 pick in ’01. In 54 games last season Leclarie had a record of 24-17-6 with a GAA of 2.25, SV% of .919 and nine shutouts. He has two more years remaining on his contract at $3.8 million.