It was a signing that wasn’t met with a ton of fanfare but one that could certainly pay off for the Ottawa Senators this season.
After the dust had settled, and many of the overpriced free agents had already been locked up, the Ottawa Senators quietly made one of the better “value signings” of this year’s free agency period, signing centre David Legwand to a two year contract worth $3 million a season.
Legwand will earn $2.5 mil this season and $3.5 mil in 2015/2016 and his contract includes a modified no trade clause. Buffalo and Toronto were believed to be among the other teams interested in the veteran centre.
Other than a brief stop in Detroit last season, Legwand has spent his entire NHL career playing in relative obscurity in Nashville. Because he has spent so much time in the Western Conference, fans in Ottawa may not know a whole lot about Legwand. The folks over at Silver Seven Sens have an interesting Q&A with bloggers familiar with Legwand’s game and they have a lot of positive things to say.
On a young Senators team, the 33 year old Detroit-native will be a much needed veteran presence. Legwand has played 977 in the NHL and barring an injury, we’ll suit up for game number 1000 towards the end of November. In his 14 seasons in the NHL, Legwand has eclipsed the 40-point mark an impressive 9 times. He had 51 points last season and is obviously still a pretty productive player.
He’s not going to replace Jason Spezza but there wasn’t anybody on the market that was going to do that. Instead the Senators will rely on depth up front, with three lines that can contribute offensively while also looking after their defensive responsibilities. For Legwand, Ottawa was obviously an attractive option.
Not only does he get his first exposure to playing under the spotlight of a Canadian market, but he also has a great chance to earn significant playing time under Head Coach Paul MacLean.
Legwand is that full 200 feet player that MacLean loves and will be given a chance to earn the second line centre position this season. Mika Zibanejad is obviously pushing for that same spot but the Legwand signing certainly gives MacLean some options down the middle. Milan Michalek, Alex Chiasson, Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman are among the wingers that could line up alongside Legwand to start this season.
It may not have been the big splash Sens fans were hoping for but the David Legwand signing will certainly help the Ottawa Senators this season.
-Nothing new to report on that Robin Lehner contract. It’s believed that the two sides spoke at some point last week and it really does seem like things are progressing well. Still think this ends up being a three year deal with a cap hit lower than $2.5 mil a season. We shall see.
-Nothing new on the three UFAs to be either- the Senators have had productive conversations with Marc Methot’s agent and right now, he seems like the closest to getting a new contract done. Last week we heard that the Senators would speak with the agent for Bobby Ryan and Clarke MacArthur this week. I don’t get the sense that anything is imminent for either of those players though.
