Buffalo goaltender Craig Anderson won’t be on the ice Friday night when the Sabres conclude their season at Columbus, deciding to retire after 20 seasons, six teams and close to 20,000 saves.
“I think I left it all out there,” Anderson said Thursday night after making 30 saves as the Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in overtime. “At the end of the day, I did everything I possibly could to make sure that I was competitive and gave the team a chance to win. You’ve got to be honest with yourself and that’s just the way this game goes. Father Time always catches up to you.”
Anderson will be 42 next month, and he retires with a career record of 319-275-2-71 in 709 games (621 starts) with the Chicago Blackhawks (2002-06), Florida Panthers (2006-09), Colorado Avalanche (2009-11), Ottawa Senators (2010-20), Washington Capitals (2020-21) and Sabres.
He has a career goals-against average of 2.86 and save percentage of .912.
Anderson’s most prolific season came in 2009-10 with the Avalanche, as he had a record of 38-25-17 with a 2.63 GAA and .917 save percentage.
After Thursday’s game, the Ottawa players waited on the ice to show their respect to Anderson. He is the Senators’ all-time leader in games (435) and wins (202). Leading the way was Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, who at 23 surely has no memory of hockey without Anderson.
“Even though you don’t think you have an impact on guys, at the end of the day, how you treat people and what you say to them, it goes a long way,” Anderson said.
–Field Level Media