When news of the Kyle Turris first broke a little less than a month ago, the reaction was mixed from the Sens fan base.
Fans knew that Murray was looking for a second line centre but to see the club part with David Rundblad, one of the team’s top prospects, caught a lot of people off guard. Add in the fact that the Sens threw in a second round pick and fans worried Bryan Murray may have overpayed.
Here we are just ten games into the Kyle Turris era in Ottawa and public opinion seems to be changing.
Kyle Turris has been excellent since his arrival and the team is winning with him in the line up. Through 10 games, Turris has helped stabilize the Sens second line and given Paul MacLean two legitimate scoring threats. For a guy that missed training camp, Turris really hasn’t missed a step and already seems to be finding chemistry with Daniel Alfredsson.
Turris has registered one goal and six assists and an impressive +8 rating through his first ten games. During four games in the month of January, Turris has averaged nearly 18 minutes a game and is a +4. He even dropped the gloves for just the second time in his career during a weekend tussle with Daniel Briere.
I think everyone knew about the offensive abilities of the 3rd overall pick in the 2007 draft but what has surprised me is just how good Turris is away from the puck. You can certainly see how playing under a strong defensive system in Phoenix has helped define his two-way game.
Obviously this is not the type of trade you can properly analyze after just ten games.
Both Turris and Rundblad have high ceilings so it’s far too early to declare a winner on this one. But the fact is, right now, the Sens are a better team with Turris in the line up. They've posted a 7-1-2 record since the deal while in Phoenix, David Rundblad has played just one game and is likely destined for a stint in the AHL.
So far, so good for the Ottawa Senators.
- ESPN released their weekly power rankings and the Sens have moved up more than any other team. Ottawa was in 20th last week and have moved to 10th after an impressive week. Now if only they could get a little bit of love from the guys over at TSN.
- Full day off for the Sens today after a busy weekend. Ottawa is back on the ice for a morning skate tomorrow in Pittsburgh.
- Craig Anderson was named the NHL’s third star this week after an impressive 3-0-1 week.
