Report: Former top prospect dumped by NHL team

The 2015 signing sweepstakes for the youngster seems ridiculous in hindsight…

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Report: Former top prospect dumped by NHL team
Keystone Press

The Ottawa Senators have informed 25 year-old goaltender and pending restricted free-agent Matt O’Connor that he will not be tendered a qualifying offer before July 1st, effectively casting him off the team into free agency.

It’s a somewhat surprising move given the hype and circumstances surrounding his acquisition back in 2015, but after two mediocre seasons at the AHL level, it’s clear that the Sens have seen enough from O’Connor. In 37 games with the team’s AHL affiliate in Binghamton this past season, O’Connor posted an inflated 3.23 GAA and a sub-par 0.895 Sv%. Unfortunately, he fared even worse in the ECHL with a 4.63 GAA and .875 Sv%. Yikes.

With intriguing prospects like Chris Driedger and Marcus Hogberg in the team’s pipeline, it doesn’t make sense for the Sens to keep an underachieving goaltender like O’Connor in the mix. Might another team take a chance on the once hot prospect? Anything is possible, but let’s just hope they don’t take a close look at his pro statistics.