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Leevi Merilainen has been given a new lease on life.
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The Ottawa Senators’ struggling goaltender was claimed off waivers by the Vancouver Canucks on Friday afternoon.
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Merilainen, 24, was shelled for six goals on 27 shots in a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. He was picked up by the Canucks, who are dealing with injuries in goal.
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The Senators took a chance by trying to get Merilainen through waivers, but the gamble didn’t pay off. The Canucks aren’t sure when Thatcher Demko will return from injury, and the organization believes Merilainen can help fill the void.
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If he had cleared on Friday, the 24-year-old Merilainen would have been assigned to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville. A third-round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, he struggled throughout last season and didn’t look good at all against the Leafs.
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Coach Travis Green told reporters before Merilainen was claimed that the Senators had no intention of keeping three goalies. Linus Ullmark is the club’s top netminder, and Samuel Ersson was signed to a two-year deal to be the backup.
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That left Merilainen, who has a one-way deal worth $1.1 million U.S. this season, as the odd-man out.
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“That’s part of the league,” Green said after the club’s skate at the Canadian Tire Centre. “You’ve got players that you sometimes put on waivers. You want a goalie that can play well. There is nothing else you can see or want to see. You want a goalie that can play well.”
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This was the first time in his career that Merilainen has required waivers to be sent to the AHL.
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He’s a far cry from the goaltender who posted an 8-3-1 record with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage when Linus Ullmark was out with a back injury during the 2024-25 campaign.
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But hasn’t been able to recapture that form since.
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The Senators brought in veteran James Reimer last year when Ullmark took a leave for mental health reasons because neither Merilainen nor Mads Sogaard could get the job done.
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