Goodbye local defenseman, hello even more local…better defenseman.
Foligno for Methot is confirmed.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2012
Foligno’s name has been bandied about in trade rumours for what seems like forever, most recently as a piece of the supposed package for Rick Nash. This management group has never been especially high on the player and maybe that goes back to not drafting him a la their lukewarm feelings for Brian Lee. I thought Foligno took a step this year and played well, he drove play against below average competition. But someone has to do that job and it was all done at a very good price. I’m not sure he’ll ever solidify himself as the top-six guy he aspires to, but as a third-line player I think he brings good value.
Methot is another name that’s been linked to Ottawa in the past, which ain’t exactly surprising given this GM’s admitted prejudice for local players. A 6’3, 227lb left-shot defensive d-man, Methot can hopefully improve the Senators conscience and awareness in their own end. His contract runs for three more years at 3M$ per. Like Lundin he’s only really played on a bad teams, in this case Columbus – and like Lundin he’s played against hard competition the last few seasons. His past season was marred by injury, most noticeably by an “exploded thumb” impacted by a puck. There was also a plunge in his possession numbers which seems logically related to that injury, for Ottawa’s sake let’s hope so.
While the Senators defensive depth-chart isn’t exactly great now, it is considerably improved from where it stood three hours ago. Also interesting to take note of the kinds of players moved out today, all skaters you wouldn’t exactly call disciplined. The Senators were among the most penalized teams in the league last year, is this an indication they’re taking remedies to correct that?
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