Three posts on June 18th? And this is the off season?
This afternoon, the Ottawa Senators crossed a name off their To Do List, signing forward Jean Gabriel Pageau to a two year contract extension worth an average of $900,000 a season. He’ll earn $700,000 next year and then $1.1 million the following season. Pageau was scheduled to be a restricted free agent on July 1.
It goes without saying but this is a great signing by the Senators. Pageau was a huge part of Ottawa’s run in the second half of the season, helping to stabilize the team’s bottom six forwards and providing Dave Cameron with a reliable energy line he could turn to down the stretch. Also, he scored that key goal in Game 6 that helped Ottawa tie the series before going on to score the winner in Game 7 of their first round series against Montreal.
Pageau is a reliable two way forward that can play a third or fourth line role and take a regular shift on the penalty kill. To get him signed to a contract at under a million a season is a great move for the Ottawa Senators.
And for Pageau, he now has the stability of being an every day NHL player. Something he didn’t have although probably deserved last season.
With Pageau locked in, it’s increasingly clear that there just isn’t room for both Zack Smith and David Legwand.
