Ottawa Senators Bolster Goalie Depth, Acquiring Jonas Johansson from Tampa Bay Lightning Following Waiver Loss

OTTAWA — In a swift maneuver to shore up their organizational depth between the pipes, the Ottawa Senators pulled off a trade late Friday night with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Senators acquired veteran goaltender Jonas Johansson in exchange for future considerations, a move triggered by sudden roster turbulence earlier in the week.

The transaction comes in the wake of the Senators losing young prospect Leevi Merilainen on waivers to the Vancouver Canucks, leaving a glaring void in the franchise’s crease hierarchy just days before the commencement of the National Hockey League’s regular season.

General Manager Steve Staios and the Senators’ front office wasted no time pivoting to address the vulnerability, ensuring that veteran starter Linus Ullmark will have experienced insurance behind him as the club prepares for a demanding 82-game campaign.

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Main Facts: The Trade and the Catalyst

The core of Friday night’s transaction is straightforward: veteran netminder Jonas Johansson heads north to the Canadian capital, while the Tampa Bay Lightning receive future considerations—a low-cost, low-risk transaction designed to solve an immediate personnel emergency for Ottawa.

The urgency for the trade originated on Thursday when the Senators made the calculated, yet ultimately risky, decision to place 24-year-old Leevi Merilainen on waivers. The gamble did not pay off in Ottawa’s favor. By Friday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks swooped in to snap up the young Finnish netminder, adding him to their own organizational depth chart.

With Merilainen heading to the West Coast, Ottawa’s internal depth chart was suddenly dangerously thin. Behind undisputed starter Linus Ullmark and newly acquired backup Samuel Ersson, the cupboard was virtually bare of proven NHL options. Johansson, a 31-year-old journeyman with extensive experience operating in a backup role, instantly steps into the fold to provide stability, veteran presence, and much-needed insurance for a Senators team looking to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Chronology: How the Goaltending Shuffle Unfolded

To understand how the Senators arrived at Friday night’s trade with Tampa Bay, it is necessary to examine the sequence of events that transformed a position of relative comfort into an urgent roster crisis over a 48-hour window.

Thursday: The Waiver Wire Decision

Facing roster-trimming deadlines and the need to finalize their opening-night framework, the Ottawa management team placed Leevi Merilainen on waivers. The move was likely intended to slip the young goaltender through to the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators without losing his services, a common practice across the NHL during training camp cut-down periods. However, given the league-wide premium on young goaltending depth, other general managers took notice.

Friday Afternoon: Vancouver Claims Merilainen

The gamble backfired when the Vancouver Canucks officially claimed Merilainen off waivers. The transaction was processed and confirmed on Friday afternoon, instantly stripping the Senators of a promising young asset whom they had developed since drafting him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Friday Night: The Strike with Tampa Bay

Realizing the immediate vulnerability in their organizational depth chart—should an injury strike either Ullmark or Ersson—General Manager Steve Staios immediately engaged in trade talks. A deal was struck with the Tampa Bay Lightning by Friday evening. Tampa Bay, possessing surplus depth in Johansson, agreed to part ways with the Swedish netminder in exchange for future considerations, solving Ottawa’s immediate crisis ahead of the weekend.

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Supporting Data: Examining Johansson’s Resumé and Ottawa’s Recent Netminding Woes

To evaluate the impact of this trade, one must look closely at Jonas Johansson’s career trajectory, as well as the tumultuous statistics that defined Ottawa’s goaltending landscape over the previous season.

Jonas Johansson: The Backup Profile

At 31 years of age, Johansson brings a wealth of NHL mileage, having spent the last three seasons serving primarily as the understudy to Andrei Vasilevskiy with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

While Vasilevskiy’s status as a workhorse limited Johansson’s appearances to a secondary workload, the Swedish goaltender’s career numbers paint a picture of a reliable, albeit league-average, depth option. Over his past three campaigns in Tampa Bay, Johansson posted save percentages hovering slightly below the league baseline:

• 2023–24: .890 SV%
• 2024–25: .895 SV%
• 2025–26 (Recent stretch): .884 SV%

For his broader NHL career, which has included stints with the Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning, Johansson holds a record of 43-36-14, complemented by a .888 save percentage, a 3.30 goals-against average (GAA), and four career shutouts. While not a Vezina Trophy contender, his familiarity with the pressures of backing up an elite starter makes him a natural fit for Ottawa’s current configuration.

A Look Back: Ottawa’s Goaltending Struggles Last Season

The Senators’ hyper-focus on goaltending depth this summer is deeply rooted in the struggles that plagued the team during the previous regular season. Defense and goaltending were recurring headaches for the coaching staff, as neither Linus Ullmark nor Leevi Merilainen found consistent rhythm.

While Ottawa managed to win the vast majority of games started by Ullmark due to explosive offensive output, the veteran netminder’s individual statistics dipped below his typically elite standards. Ullmark finished the year with an .891 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average—numbers that did not accurately reflect his reputation as one of the league’s premier goaltenders.

Merilainen’s struggles were even more pronounced. In limited NHL action, the young Finn endured a difficult campaign, going 8-10-1 with a meager .860 save percentage and a 3.51 goals-against average, ranking him among the least effective netminding options in the entire league by traditional metrics.

However, context is vital: Merilainen’s developmental arc remains upward. Proof of his underlying talent was evident down in the AHL, where he posted a highly respectable .909 save percentage with the Belleville Senators. This strong minor-league performance is precisely what caught the eye of the Vancouver Canucks, prompting them to take a chance on him via waivers.

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Official Responses and Strategic Shifts

The acquisition of Johansson is the latest in a series of calculated moves orchestrated by Senators General Manager Steve Staios to insulate the franchise against the exact type of depth crisis that struck this week.

Recognizing that last year’s goaltending fragility severely compromised the team’s playoff push, Staios made restructuring the crease a primary mandate of his summer agenda. His first major step in that direction was trading for Samuel Ersson from the Philadelphia Flyers, bringing the young netminder into the fold specifically to cement the backup role directly behind Ullmark.

With the addition of Johansson following Merilainen’s departure, Staios has successfully re-established a three-tier safety net within the organization:

1. Linus Ullmark as the undisputed emotional and tactical anchor of the crease.
2. Samuel Ersson holding down the primary backup responsibilities at the NHL level.
3. Jonas Johansson providing a reliable, experienced emergency valve who can slot into NHL action or mentor younger prospects if injuries or poor form dictate.

While neither the organization nor Staios have issued sweeping panic statements regarding the loss of Merilainen, the speed with which they executed the Johansson trade speaks volumes. Management understands that surviving an 82-game NHL schedule requires robust organizational depth, particularly at the game’s most demanding position.

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Implications: Looking Ahead to the Regular Season

As the dust settles on a hectic week of waiver claims and rapid-fire trades, the Ottawa Senators find themselves pivoting sharply toward the opening night of the 2025–26 NHL regular season.

Despite the league-wide puck drop scheduled for early next week, the Senators enjoy a brief scheduling cushion. The club does not play its season opener until October 3, when they will travel on the road for a high-stakes Atlantic Division matchup against their fierce rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This extra week of practice will prove invaluable for the coaching staff, offering Linus Ullmark, Samuel Ersson, and newly minted Senator Jonas Johansson time to build chemistry, settle into systems, and put the defensive lapses of last season firmly in the rearview mirror.

For Johansson personally, the trade represents a fresh start in a Canadian market hungry for success. While he projects to begin his tenure with the Senators out of the immediate starting picture, his presence ensures that Ottawa will not be caught flat-footed should injuries or fatigue test the limits of their goaltending infrastructure.

For the Senators as a whole, the swift acquisition of Johansson demonstrates a proactive front office that refuses to let organizational depth become an Achilles’ heel. As Ottawa prepares to step onto the ice at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on October 3, they do so with a reinforced roster, a secured crease, and renewed optimism for the battles ahead.