Former Centennial lands in Ottawa

Former North Bay Centennial goaltender Alex Auld will be making Ottawa his new home for at least one season.

The 27-year-old Thunder Bay native signed a one-year, one million dollar deal during day one of the NHL free agent frenzy which started on July 1st.

For Auld, this becomes his fourth NHL team in just over a year. After being released after a forgetful '06-'07 in Florida, he signed as a UFA with Phoenix in August of 2007, after being released by the Coyotes, Auld was picked up by Boston in December and now calls Ottawa home on July 1st.

Auld hopes to do more than just sit behind the bench and back-up Senators current #1 goalie Martin Gerber.

"I feel like I'm capable of being a No. 1 goalie, and I feel Martin Gerber is capable of being a No. 1 goalie," Auld told the Ottawa Citizen.

"I believe a lot in what I can do. I'm not coming in to step on anyone's toes. At the same time, I want to be better and I want to show my best."

Auld had other NHL clubs knocking on his door but he was excited about coming back to Canada to play. He's hoping he can stick around for a long time so he can raise his family in the nation's capital - only 3 1/2 hours from where he played OHL hockey in North Bay.

"It's one of those things where everything just seemed to fit," Auld said.

Auld will take over from Ray Emery who was bought out recently by the Senators and is now an unrestricted free agent.

The signing allows Auld to re-unite with his former Centennial teammate Chris Neil.