Hot Anderson goes from waivers to saviour
For a time, goalie at crest of Senators’ run had to check logo on his jersey daily
If first impressions stuck, Craig Anderson wouldn’t be here helping the Ottawa Senators threaten a trip to the Eastern Conference final. From an embarrassing losing streak at the start of his NHL career to a merry-go-round through waivers to tending goal for some of the league’s worst teams, Anderson had to work his way up from the bottom to reach this stage and join Henrik Lundqvist as one of the game’s elite.
“We know how good he is,” said Senators teammate Mark Stone, “but I think some people don’t.”
Anderson thinks that’s because of a painful first impression which saw him lose the first 13 decisions of his NHL career, and 17 of 18 overall, with the Blackhawks. Born about 30 minutes outside Chicago in Park Ridge, Ill., and drafted by the club in 2001, Anderson made his NHL debut on Nov. 30, 2002 and didn’t earn a first win until Jan. 22, 2004.
“It’s tough for a goalie to get any credibility when you’re on a bad team and losing all the time,” Anderson said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.
Anderson backed up the likes of Jocelyn Thibault, Michael Leighton and Nikolai Khabibulin in Chicago, before he was finally placed on waivers in January 2006. Within a span of 15 days, Anderson bounced across waivers — from Boston to St. Louis, and back to Chicago. That summer, he was dealt to Florida.
“Goaltending is timing,” said Anderson, who helped the Senators take a 2-0 series lead on New York with 43 saves on Saturday. “With a skater, there’s 18 skaters at any given time so there’s a lot more opportunity for a younger guy to get in. With one goalie playing — if it’s a starter who’s 30 years old who’s going to play 65, 70 games — your opportunity is just not there.”
Anderson credits the turnaround to the perspective he gleaned from Tim Thomas during his Boston stint.
At that time, Thomas was then an unknown 31-year-old who’d gotten only a sniff of the NHL amid stints in Europe and the minors.
Anderson saw someone who loved the game nonetheless.
“It really put my career in perspective,” said the now-35-year-old, a Masterton trophy nominee this season for his inspired performance (.926 save percentage) during wife Nicholle’s battle with cancer.
Thomas, who eventually won two Vezinas, a Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup, was also proof that a goaltender’s career wasn’t over at 30.
“It’s one of the positions where 35 is really not that old,” Anderson said.
After two seasons with the woeful Avalanche, Anderson was finally dealt to Ottawa, his sixth NHL team, for another goalie in Brian Elliott who hadn’t yet found his way.
After only 11 games, Ottawa signed him to a four-year extension worth almost $13 million (U.S.). Another three-year contract — which carries a bargain $4.2-million cap hit — followed after that.
“Any time you can get that new first impression it gives you an opportunity to open up people’s eyes and say, ‘Hey, this is who I am’,” Anderson said. “When things get negative and you’re not playing well, it’s a snowball effect.”
The snowball has rolled the other way during an underrated run in Ottawa — which saw apparent No. 1s of the future, such as Ben Bishop and Robin Lehner, tossed aside in favour of the guy who just kept getting better. Anderson has been on the same level as Lundqvist since that debut for Ottawa on Feb. 19, 2011:
Lundqvist: .922 save percentage, .930 even-strength save percentage, 30 shutouts
Anderson: .920 save percentage, .928 even-strength save percentage, 24 shutouts
Among goalies who have played at least 275 games during that span, only Carey Price (.924), Cory Schneider (.923), Tuukka Rask (.922), Braden Holtby (.922), and Lundqvist have a better overall save percentage.
“When you start your career out 0-14-5 or whatever it’s pretty tough to dig yourself out of it,” Anderson said. “Now, you have to change all those first impressions.”