If #Sens morning skate goes well, indications are Marc Methot very likely to make his season debut tomorrow night against #Islanders #TSN
— Aaron Ward (@TSNAaronWard) December 1, 2014
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Alright, I think I can safely speak for anyone who’s had to endure this prolonged stretch of hockey wherein Chris Phillips has been called upon by Paul MacLean to fill the void left by Marc Methot’s injury by saying, “Just lace ’em up Marc. ”
Phillips’ struggles throughout the 18 games that he has played so far this season have been well-documented, but that has not stopped MacLean from giving the veteran a ton of ice time. Phillips has averaged 22:45 of ice time per game this season and if that rate held for the remainder of the season, it would establish a new regular season high for Phillips. His previous high was set when he averaged 22:22 per game during the 2006-07 season.
A healthy Methot will mercifully put an end to the Phillips experiment and with it dies the notion of giving Patrick Wiercioch an extended opportunity to prove that he can’t play with Erik Karlsson. (In saying that however, should MacLean repeatedly scratch Wiercioch and continue to bury him behind less deserving talents, I’ll write about it.)
No decision has been made yet on Methot’s availability, but apparently that decision will come tomorrow morning.
A decision will also be made on Bobby Ryan’s status tomorrow morning. The right winger played a season low 11:13 versus the Florida Panthers on Friday night after suffering a slash from Brian Campbell that broke a finger in his right hand.
Reports surfaced speculating that Ryan suffered a “fractured finger” which would have forced to him to miss a six to eight week timeframe similar to what Anaheim’s Ben Lovejoy experienced when he suffered the same injury this past October.
Fortunately, it sounds like those reports were unfounded because Ryan participated in today’s practice and he could return as early as tomorrow night.
Should Ryan and Methot both be available for tomorrow night’s game, the Senators’ hand will be forced to make a roster move to accommodate Methot coming off the IR and reduce numbers from 24 down to the league mandated 23-man roster.
The Ottawa Sun‘s Bruce Garrioch wrote about the numbers game in today’s paper and noted that Colin Greening and Erik Condra could be candidates as the team’s extra forwards. Condra’s an impending UFA, but he’s a useful fourth line player who can positively impact his team’s possession rates and provide value on the penalty kill. Considering his situation and skill set, he should be easier to move.
On the other hand, Greening’s the one who the Senators should be anxious to shed. Since being moved off Jason Spezza’s wing, Greening has struggled to replicate the modest offensive success he had playing with one of the league’s best playmaking centers. While Greening has the blend of size, speed and physicality, his inability (or lack of confidence) to play with the puck makes him like so many of Ottawa’s other wingers – he struggles to impact the team’s puck possession game in a positive way.
When coupled with the fact that: 1) his offensive production rates have decreased with each season that he has been a pro; and 2) his current contract runs through the 2016-17 season and makes him overpaid at $2.65 million; Greening becomes a very undesirable player who simply blocks the development path of a less expensive alternative like Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Ideally, the Senators would waive Greening if they cannot find a taker for him in a trade, but another trade alternative who Garrioch cites as having garnered interest from others teams is the aforementioned Patrick Wiercioch. Garrioch listed the Sharks, Stars, Flyers and Oilers as teams that are looking for help on the blue line.
Of the three players mentioned, Wiercioch would probably fetch the greatest return because he is the most talented of the trio and plays a position that is always in high demand.
If the Senators are anxious to address a need, maybe they believe they can use Wiercioch as bait. There are already a number of other left defencemen on the parent roster and with most of their defensive prospects within the system being left defencemen as well, maybe they feel that’s a move they can be comfortable making right now.
Management could delay a personnel deal by placing a guy like Ryan on retroactive IR, but sooner rather than later, the Senators are going to have to make a move. So to borrow a phrase from the Senators’ owner, “buckle up”.
Other News and Notes…
– Shane Prince was named the AHL’s player of the week for scoring five goals and six points in three games. Prince now leads all Binghamton Senators forwards in goals (9) and points (17).
– Matt Weinstein (aka @PSBSens) published an interview that he had with assistant general manager Randy Lee for the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
– Senators prospect Nick Paul was invited by Hockey Canada to their world junior selection camp roster. Curtis Lazar, like a number of other junior eligible players currently playing in the NHL, did not receive an invitation. According to The Hockey News, “Hockey Canada will know by Dec. 19 if any of those players (currently playing in the NHL) will be loaned.”
– La Presse had a nice feature on Senators assistant general manager Pierre Dorion today that I highly recommend people take the time to check out. The article itself features a number of great stories. Of note, Dorion played up how the Senators entrust his decisions and assessments by referencing how he did not receive the same kind of treatment with the New York Rangers. According to Dorion, he wanted the Rangers to select Claude Giroux with their first round pick in 2006, but the organization elected to pick Bobby Sanguinetti instead. Giroux wound up going to the Flyers with the next pick while Sanguinetti is currently toiling in the AHL with the Utica Comets. Sanguinetti has played in 45 NHL games, but he has not appeared in the league since the 2012-13 season.
– The New York Times‘ Jeff Klein wrote on the declining Canadian dollar and the impact it could have on the NHL’s revenues.
– Bruce Garrioch also wrote about the recent struggles of the Ottawa Senators and how the pressures facing the team are mounting. One particular passage of the article caught my attention:
“The Senators know they can’t afford to go on a long losing streak. The heat is turned up high. GM Bryan Murray and MacLean both expect this team to make the playoffs, at a minimum.”
If this is a team that has aspirations of not only making the playoffs but also of winning a round, perhaps it would have been in management’s best interests to upgrade or address the state of the blue line. Blindly thinking that it couldn’t be much worse than last season without quantitative evidence suggesting there was much room for improvement was foolish. Interestingly, one team that did address its top four defencemen, the New York Islanders, will be Ottawa’s opponent tomorrow night. Fancy that.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
