It was one of those transactions that slid under the radar back on a late spring day in 1999, lost somewhere between another spoonful of cereal and a bite of toast.

	Patrick Lalime has seven shutouts this season -- five since Jan. 1.

Who would notice a transaction on the agate pages of the morning paper in which the biggest name was journeyman Ted Donato and the others a goaltender who had been buried in the minors and a prospect who wound up being notable only for his name?

The trade saw Donato and the rights to Antti-Jussi Niemi go from the Ottawa Senators to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for a goaltender who had spent the previous two years in the International Hockey League. But while the two skaters linger in agate type, the goalie -- Patrick Lalime -- has moved to the headlines.

The 28-year-old from St-Bonaventure, Quebec, is now getting consideration for the Hart and Vezina trophies and helps lead the Senators into New Jersey tonight for a key Eastern Conference matchup.

Lalime already has matched last year's output of 27 wins and still has a chance to improve on his career, single-season mark of 36 set two years ago. He is tied for the league-lead in shutouts this year with seven and ranks in the top 10 in all the other meaningful goaltending categories.

But there is one area in which Lalime lags seriously behind some of his peers. The only thing Lalime stops easier than a puck these days is a conversation. It's not that the Senators goaltender is surly, self-absorbed or, in the very annoying style of many professional athletes, talks about himself in the third person.

He doesn't talk about himself in the first or second person, either.

"I just try to do my best," he said yesterday. "Sometimes it works better some nights than others."

Hype? Controversy? Even a colorful quote?

There isn't any around Lalime.

Yet, one of his greatest strengths might be his placid demeanor. This is not a guy who is going to hop on a plane for a clandestine trip to Paris when he's supposed to be resting his heart in Montreal. This is not a guy who is going to throw a hissy fit after being a healthy scratch in Toronto.

C'mon. Lalime had two shutouts in a row earlier this year and didn't get to start the next game.

Complain?

You wouldn't have even known he was in the room.

It is hard to imagine Lalime ever copping an attitude or winking at a shooter like Patrick Roy did to Tomas Sandstrom after stopping the Kings winger during the 1993 Stanley Cup final.

Well, it's hard for us to imagine.

For Senators forward Shaun Van Allen? Not so much.

Van Allen has been on the point of some sharp barbs from Lalime in the card games which occupy some of their time on the road. It seems somewhere under all those platitudes and disarming smiles there is some edge. OK, so you're never going to mistake Lalime for Eminem. He's always going to be more Patty from the block.

Lalime partners up with Van Allen to play Spades, a trump game, against forward Todd White and defenseman Chris Phillips. Van Allen was brought into the mix this year.

"We lost about four in a row to start the year," said Lalime, "but now it's pretty close. Vanner didn't know it all and it cost us a few games. There's a lot of chirping that goes on. You can see the old man (Van Allen) getting all wound up."

Lalime smiles when he says it, of course.

"You should hear him in the card games," said Van Allen the other day. "You wouldn't think he was so quiet."

Quietly, Lalime is becoming one of the best goaltenders in the league. He hasn't reached the level of the Devils' Martin Brodeur, who is having a Vezina Trophy-caliber year and is the heart and soul of the Devils organization, but he's taking notes. Lalime watched Brodeur during the time they were together during the All-Star weekend and picked up a few things from the future Hall of Famer.

"He's pretty relaxed and confident," said Lalime. "Having fun is a big part of his game.

"When it comes to playing the puck, he's the best in the league. I think it's going to take me a few lessons to get that right."

	“	The one area of his game that's changed is he makes more big saves than he used to. ”
		— Jacques Martin, Senators coach

Lalime's game is still a work in progress, and his puckhandling abilities don't scare anybody but himself and maybe a few of his defensemen. But, a goaltender's No. 1 job is stopping the puck, and what separates the good from the great is what they do after they have made a save.

Rebound control is a fine art. Not giving opponents another shot is easier than having to make another spectacular save.

Lalime has been working on all of his stick skills lately -- from using his stick to control rebounds, by either knocking them out of harm's way or hooking them into his body, to improving his backhand when handling the puck out of the net. Compounding Lalime's problem in puckhandling is he is a natural right-handed shot, but as a goalie must handle the puck on his left side.

Like a car with a great paint job and a crappy engine, putting fine edges on his game counts for nothing if Lalime doesn't make the stop when his team needs it.

"The one area of his game that's changed," said Senators coach Jacques Martin, "is he makes more big saves than he used to."

But no one remembers big saves in the regular season. A goaltender's reputation is made in the playoffs and Lalime knows that.

"Those guys (the great goalies) have won a few Cups," said Lalime. "That's where you make your name. It's what I'm looking forward to, to get a chance to do that."

Lalime got a taste last spring, when he posted four shutouts before the Senators were eliminated by the Maple Leafs in seven games in the second round.

Brodeur has two Stanley Cups to his credit. The progression from good goalie to money goalie, he said, depends on two simple things: opportunity and what you do with that opportunity.

"You have to get that chance to be a money goalie," he said. "If you don't play for a team that can challenge for the Cup, you're never going to be a money goalie. I've been fortunate from early on to play on teams with a chance to win.

"That experience of winning has to start somewhere. You face the situation and it's how you respond. You have to make a stop at some point to save your team, to save a game your team needs to win. I think back to Game 1 when we beat Dallas for the Stanley Cup (in 2000). I think it was 1-0 and I made a save. We ended up winning seven to something. The score of the game doesn't always say where or when you made the save."

Chances are neither would Patrick Lalime.

Chris Stevenson covers the NHL for the Ottawa Sun and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.