Jean-Gabriel Pageau is essential to Ottawa’s future – whether or not he indicators long-term or is traded

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He is a Swiss Military-type participant and a part of the Senators’ management group, but when there isn’t any deal to be completed with Pageau, a pending free-agent, Ottawa can be smart to discover the commerce market.Jean-Gabriel Pageau|Elsa/Getty ImagesThere are in all probability a few particulars to get out of the way in which instantly with regards to Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The primary one is that there have been no talks between him and the Ottawa Senators regarding a contract extension. The second is that Pageau’s present scoring tempo is unsustainable, not as a result of it’s Pageau, however as a result of it will be unsustainable for any participant. (However it’s type of enjoyable to have a look at his “on tempo for” stat line, which reads: 82 video games, 50-18-68, plus-87.)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a hat trick for the Senators Wednesday evening of their win over the New Jersey Devils, giving him eight targets in his previous six video games and 9 in his previous 10. Solely 5 gamers within the NHL have extra targets than Pageau this season and nobody has a greater plus-minus. Say what you need in regards to the much-maligned stat, however while you could be plus-19 after 18 video games on one of many worst groups within the league, that claims one thing. And right here’s one thing much more exceptional. Of the 41 even-strength and shorthanded targets the Senators have surrendered this season, empty-netters excluded, Pageau has been on the ice for less than six of them.
It has all of the makings of a profession season for Pageau, which is nice for each the participant and the crew. It’s additionally by no means too early to start out speaking about leases, which is why the Senators may wish to begin shifting on Pageau someway. As a result of if there may be any likelihood they’re going to commerce Pageau, they’re by no means going to have the ability to get extra for him than they’ll proper now. On the very least, if I’m Senators GM Pierre Dorion, I’m approaching Pageau and his representatives to see what he’s occupied with his future with the group lately.
There’s nothing to counsel that Pageau wouldn’t wish to stick with the Senators long-term. He’s a hometown boy who performed his junior hockey in close by Gatineau and his spouse is from there. He’s a low-maintenance participant who can play wherever within the lineup and kills penalties, checks and chips in with well timed offense. Though the Senators are years away from critically contending once more, Pageau is simply 27 and nonetheless has time to be round when the nice instances start to materialize once more. And there aren’t many higher folks to have in your group in case you’re going via the method of rebuilding and want somebody to be within the management group and assist present the way in which. The Senators have parted methods acrimoniously with the 2 best gamers in franchise historical past. They would definitely achieve some foreign money with a skeptical fan base by staying loyal to one in all their very own.
A lot of that is as much as Pageau. Does he wish to be a part of a rebuild that can doubtless take him into his 30s? Does he wish to play the place he has a greater likelihood of successful a Stanley Cup? Will Senators proprietor Eugene Melnyk, a.okay.a. Scrooge McPuck, anticipate him to take a ridiculous hometown low cost and drive him out of the one NHL residence he has ever recognized over and a scarcity of sense? If any of these earlier eventualities are the case, the Senators may flip round and commerce Pageau and get the bounty that comes with him. The Senators have already got a steady of promising prospects and a whack of draft picks. What they want are NHL gamers who can contribute and Pageau is a kind of. But when it’s clear a deal can’t be completed, the Senators ought to discover out and extract as a lot as they will get for him on the commerce market.
There are actually extra high-profile gamers who can be accessible, akin to Taylor Corridor. However consider what number of instances groups have gone for the massive fish on the commerce deadline and ended up not successful. It occurs on a regular basis. Pageau, however, is a kind of Swiss Military-type gamers a crew will get on the deadline and after they go on to win the Cup, everyone seems to be speaking about that under-the-radar deal the crew made on the deadline that put it excessive. Jean-Gabriel Pageau matches that profile completely. You need somebody who can rating at an important time? Effectively, in Sport 2 of their second-round collection towards the New York Rangers, Pageau scored 4 targets within the Ottawa’s 6-5 win towards the Rangers, together with the tying aim with lower than two minutes to go and the winner in double additional time.
Because the Ottawa Senators proceed their rebuild, they want what Jean-Gabriel Pageau offers them. But when that’s not going to occur, they might actually put to good use what he would deliver them in return.
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Tags: ottawa senatorsConnect: Concerning the AuthorKen CampbellKen Campbell, The Hockey Information’ senior author, is in his second tour with the model after an eight-year stint as a beat reporter for the Maple Leafs for the Toronto Star. The Sudbury native as soon as tried out for the Ontario League’s Wolves as a 30-year-old. For sure, it did not work out.