On a team with so many young and talented forwards, it’s sort of easy to forget about Milan Michalek.
And while 30 years old isn’t exactly a senior citizen in today’s NHL, Michalek has quickly become a veteran presence among an otherwise youthful group of forwards. As it currently stands Michalek, Clarke MacArthur and Chris Neil are the only Ottawa forwards at or over the age of 30.
And with the start of training camp now just a week away (!), there’s reason to believe Michalek might be poised for a bit of a bounce back season.
Like so many players on the roster, Milan Michalek seemed to turn a corner following the change behind the bench. In fact, Michalek was playing some of his best hockey of the season before a concussion sidelined him towards the end of the regular season.
Michalek returned in time for the playoffs but was nowhere near as effective as he had been before the injury. He had just one point in six playoff games but before that had an impressive 17 points in his last 18 regular season games prior to the injury.
Certainly something for Michalek to build on heading into 2015/2016.
For the first time since he’s been here in Ottawa, it really doesn’t seem like Michalek is a slam dunk for a spot in the team’s top six forwards. And actually, I’d say he’s a long shot to start the season on either of the top two lines.
Both Clarke MacArthur and Mike Hoffman have jumped Michalek on the depth chart which more than likely leaves Michalek in a third line role to start the season. That means playing 12-15 minutes a night with the occasional shift on the penalty kill or power play.
That may not be such a bad thing for Michalek. On paper, a third line of Michalek-Pageau-Lazar seems like it could be a handful for the opposition.
With Michalek, the biggest issue has always been staying healthy. He’s had major knee issues in the past but seems to have put that behind him the last couple seasons. And while he doesn’t have that same breakaway speed that made him a 35 goal scorer back in the 2011/2012 season, he can definitely still get up and down the ice.
Whether it’s fair or not, Michalek was often a target of criticism last year. The Senators signed him to a fairly steep and somewhat surprising 3 year/$12 million contract in the summer of 2014 and since then, some fans seem to be a little tougher on Michalek. Perhaps with good reason. For a budget team, that’s an awful lot of money to pay a guy to score seven even strength goals and play on your third or fourth line.
But the reality is, Michalek was showing signs of being a more productive offensive player towards the end of last season and seems like a player poised for a bounce back season. He may end up losing his spot in the top six but he should still be able to pitch in some offence on the team’s third line.
What do you expect from Michalek this season?
