Very hard to fault you for the concern given the carousel of mid goalies we've had and extended prematurely! I've got a good feeling about this one — partially due to pedigree, and partially due to my faith in our ability to identify talent relative to the Melnyk/Dorion years.
But I can appreciate the cautious optimism and cap concerns. Totally valid. Up to Ullmark now to prove he'll live up to the contract.
I think that's a huge situation:
The Melnyk/Dorion years really soured a lot of Sens fans on them being able to deliver anything. So much that most Sens fans are on the fence about 'anything' the team does. They lost a lot of clout in terms of knowing what they were doing during those years.
Look, not for me to slag on someone who passed away but it was time for the old owner to step away and move on from it when it was clear financially he didn't want to invest much in the team 'and' his health was declining. His stubborness to stay in the business (which I get, you only have 32 owners that are in the NHL. It's a title that anyone would love) hurt the standing with fans and people who cover the team.
I just take a rather cautious approach. I would have waited a bit on this myself, if i decide right now to "armchair gm" this. Give him 10 games. See how it does. 10 games would not have flux'ed the price that much even if he got 3 shutouts in it. It would have just solidified a bit of the idea that this is definitely the way to go. We have two games in preseason in a new Sens system that's being established. I'm cautious about this. Yes, previous seasons accounting, there's nothing flagrant that would say he's gonna be a bad goalie for Ottawa.
But it's so fast to give that much money.
But again, comes back to me saying; i completely understand the why they did this.