It was a night that loyal Sens fans won’t soon forget and one that likely still lingers in the minds of the diehard Habs supporters in attendance that night.
May 5th, 2013. Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. The Ottawa Senators embarrassed the Montreal Canadiens by a 6-1 final and in the process, took control of their first round series. It was also the night that Jean Gabriel Pageau went from intriguing prospect to local legend in the blink of an eye.
As the “Pageau” chant echoed through a packed house at Scotiabank Place, I and every other fan in attendance knew we were witnessing something special. In an instant, the 20 year old local product had become a fan favourite and showed that he was ready to be an NHL player.
So here we sit just a couple weeks away from training camp for the 2013/2014 season and his spot on the big league roster is all but assured. Or is it?
In just about every projection I’ve seen of the Sens opening night lineup, Jean Gabriel Pageau is included. But when you really start to look at the numbers, and by that I mean number of one way contracts, Pageau is going to be in tough to crack this line up out of training camp.
Pageau’s two way contract means he could easily be sent to Binghamton to start the season. The Sens currently have 14 forwards under contract for next season and while guys like Matt Kassian and Jim O’Brien seem like platoon players at best, the team may decide that sending one of the two way contracts is easier than potentially losing a guy on waivers.
Add in the fact that roster hopefuls like Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman are also in the picture and you can see why Paul MacLean and his staff may have some difficult decisions to make in just a few weeks.
There’s also a bit of a log jam developing at centre. Spezza and Turris have the top two spots locked down and Zack Smith seems like he can be pencilled in as the fourth line centre. That leaves Mika Zibanejad and Jean Gabriel Pageau potentially battling for that spot on the third line.
I still think it makes sense to move Zibanejad to the wing but the team seems committed to developing him as a centre.
Of course if Pageau is able to pick up where he left off in last year’s playoffs, then the Senators will do whatever they have to to make room for the kid. Pageau will be keen to impress the Sens brass this fall and it all starts with the rookie tournament next week.
- Dave Lozo over at the Score has published his predictions for this coming season and he thinks pretty highly of our Ottawa Senators. Head here to see where Lozo placed the Sens heading into this season.
- In case you missed it, the guys at Team 1200 had a great interview with former Senator Zenon Konopka this morning. Some really interesting comment on concussions in sport and also a pretty solid endorsement for Jason Spezza as the next Captain of the Ottawa Senators. You can listen here.
