{"id":647987,"date":"2017-03-28T17:06:15","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T21:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=647987"},"modified":"2017-03-28T17:06:15","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T21:06:15","slug":"thoughts-on-colin-whites-ato-andersons-masterton-nomination-and-macarthurs-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/thoughts-on-colin-whites-ato-andersons-masterton-nomination-and-macarthurs-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on Colin White’s ATO, Anderson’s Masterton nomination and MacArthur’s Comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"
Under normal circumstances, three consecutive losses over a one-week span to the division rival Montreal Canadiens with first place in the Atlantic Division on the line would have disastrous effects on this fan base\u2019s collective psyche \u2013 think in the same vein as Martin Gerber starting an important playoff game.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for everyone\u2019s sake, first place in the Atlantic isn\u2019t as desirable a position as it should be and perhaps most importantly, the past 48 hours have provided a number of important distractors to take our minds off the team\u2019s recent on-ice performance.<\/p>\n
Colin White, welcome to the fold.<\/p>\n
Leading up to Sunday night\u2019s announcement that White had agreed to terms on an amateur tryout (ATO) with the Senators, all of the analysis focused on how the two camps were diametrically opposed to the idea of White starting his professional career on an ATO.<\/p>\n
On one hand, you cannot blame the player for wanting to cash in and sign an entry-level contract (ELC) when he has spent the past few years as a student athlete at Boston College.<\/p>\n
Looking around at the NCAA landscape where a number of his peers were signing contracts because other organizations were willing to burn the first years of their respective contracts, White probably felt like he merited similar considerations and could help the Senators during the playoff push.<\/p>\n
Considering how poorly some of the team\u2019s bottom-six forwards have fared, White wouldn\u2019t have been wrong. It is just relative thing in which the bar that he would need to clear has not been set particularly high.<\/p>\n
From the Senators\u2019 perspective, they made it clear that they were uncomfortable burning the first year of his prospective ELC.<\/p>\n
Although they never really outlined their concerns over having White\u2019s ELC end one year earlier, they spun a message through the media that it might be difficult to throw White into the mix as the team makes their playoff push when there\u2019s no guarantee that White represents an upgrade, especially when it means pushing someone to the press box who has been with the club for most of the year and helped put the team in this position.<\/p>\n
Even though every prospect develops at different rates and has a different skill set, aptitude and work ethic, it\u2019s also possible that the performance of the Senators\u2019 recent high draft picks has given the organization cause for concern. Certainly from the organization\u2019s standpoint, it\u2019s a much easier decision to bring along White slowly than promote him to the parent level and risk having their decision be second-guessed by the media and its fans.<\/p>\n
By signing White to an ATO, the agreement does not preclude them from signing him to an ELC after evaluating his performance in Binghamton and determining that he can help the team during the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s for this latter reason that White\u2019s representation cracked during their negotiations with the Senators and agreed to this ATO, but I find it difficult not to acknowledge the added benefit the Senators get by having White play professional hockey games without earning a salary.<\/p>\n
The only money White will collect during his stay in Binghamton is a daily per diem. He will not make any real savings until he signs an ELC, but keep in mind that NHL players stop receiving salary payments at the conclusion of the NHL\u2019s regular season.<\/p>\n
In other words, if White signs his ELC and makes his first appearance in the postseason, the only money it costs the Senators is the cost of his signing bonus.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tidy piece of business for the Senators to get a free look at a prospect before deciding whether or not to burn a year.<\/p>\n
White will wear #10 in his Binghamton Senators debut tomorrow night.<\/p>\n
Craig Anderson Nominated for the Masterton<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s essentially an award that you never want to win because it usually involves overcoming some personal tragedy, but the Senators\u2019 Craig Anderson was nominated by the Ottawa chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy which is \u201cawarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson has been limited to 34 appearances this season because he has spent the better part of the year being with his family and his wife Nicholle, who was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma this past fall.<\/p>\n Despite the hardships that he and his family have had to endure, his performance this season has never wavered. He currently has a 22-10-2 record, a 2.32 goals against average and a .927 save percentage.<\/p>\n How he has been able to maintain his focus and composure is incredible, but personally, I\u2019ll never forget his 37-save 2-0 shutout win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place in late October. After taking a leave of absence to be with Nicholle following the Senators win in Vancouver on October 25th<\/sup>, Anderson returned to the Senators\u2019 net just five days later because Nicholle pushed him to return and help his teammates after Andrew Hammond suffered an injury in the team\u2019s October 28th<\/sup> game against Calgary.<\/p>\n His performance in that game and the raw emotional release that accompanied the final buzzer will forever be engrained in my memory. To see the way that the Oilers faithful and Cam Talbot respected Anderson that night during the game\u2019s three star announcement, it gave me chills and is the kind of moment that makes me love sports so much.<\/p>\n Clarke MacArthur Wants to Return<\/strong><\/p>\n During last Thursday\u2019s regional broadcast against the Pittsburgh Penguins, TSN<\/em>\u2019s Darren Dreger raised eyebrows \u2013 seriously, the look Bruce Garrioch shot Dreger during their first period intermission segment was incredible \u2013 when he suggested that there may be a chance that Clarke MacArthur could play for the Ottawa Senators this season.<\/p>\n It seemed weird at the time, but clearly, Clarke MacArthur is not ready to write himself out.<\/p>\n