Metro Notes: Pirri, Leighton, Wilson
The hardest skill to find on the open market is goal-scoring yet one of the NHL’s most prolific when it comes to finding the back of the net, Brandon Pirri, remained unsigned as a UFA late into the summer. Pirri is tied for 30th in goals scored for every 60 minutes of ice time he plays at even strength over the last two seasons. Eventually, the New York Rangers decided to roll the dice and invest in a one-year deal with Pirri and as Sean Hartnett of CBS New York writes, the Blue Shirts might have scored the steal of the summer.
Despite his offensive prowess, Pirri has bounced around the league quite a bit since breaking into the league with the Blackhawks during the 2010-11 season. He wouldn’t earn a regular role until dealt from Chicago to Florida during the 2012-13 campaign. Pirri would spend parts of three seasons with the Panthers before a trade deadline deal to Anaheim this past season. The Ducks chose not to qualify Pirri after the season, thus making the forward a free agent.
Recently, after a preseason loss to Philadelphia, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault acknowledged the offensive abilities but also pointed out other areas Pirri needs to improve upon before earning the bench boss’ trust.
“There’s no doubt that he’s got the knack to find the net and score. Tonight, he scored a big goal for us. But there’s other areas where I need to be sure he’s going to be able to make the play, get the puck out, be strong on the wall. And tonight, in certain areas, he needed to make a better play. But there’s no doubt offensively that he’s got good hands and he can find the back of the net.”
Pirri is also locked in a tight battle for a roster spot. Even after placing Marek Hrivik and Nicklas Jensen on waivers for the purpose of sending them down to the AHL, the Blue Shirts have four or five players competing for perhaps three spots. Additionally, Vigneault has previously said Pirri would be best served in a top-nine role and he might have a hard time beating out some of his competition despite a four goal, six point preseason. But as Hartnett notes, Pirri’s versatility could be key as he can play either wing and even fill in at center if needed. If Pirri can find enough playing time in New York and continues to put the puck in the net as he has done for much of his career, the minimal investment the Rangers made this summer could prove one of the wisest moves of the offseason.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- When goalie Michael Leighton inked a deal with Carolina in September, he knew in all likelihood he was destined to spend most of the season in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers. But as Chip Alexander of The News & Observer writes, the veteran of 106 regular season NHL contests is content being the #3 netminder in the organization and with his role mentoring the teams goalie prospects. “They’ve got two solid goalies up here, I knew that coming in. I just want to go down there and help the young guys, hopefully show them a little bit of leadership and kind of guide them toward what they should be doing in the future. And also play well. I want to win. If I go down to Charlotte I want to win games and hopefully win a championship.” Of course Leighton is aware he is just an injury away from NHL duty. Last season, while in the Chicago organization, Leighton got that call and would see action in a single NHL contest. Leighton is perhaps best known for back-stopping the 2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers to within two wins of an improbable Stanley Cup championship. He won eight of his 13 starts that spring and recorded three shutouts during the Eastern Conference Final against Montreal. Regardless of whether Leighton sees any NHL action this season or not, his experience should prove valuable to the Hurricanes organization.
- LW Scott Wilson of the Pittsburgh Penguins is doing his best to land a plum job skating next to one of the elite centers in the game today. As Seth Rorabaugh of DKPittsburghSports.com writes (subscription required), Wilson has taken advantage of the absence of several high profile players due to their World Cup commitments and impressed the Penguins coaches with his play. He is being rewarded with an opportunity to skate along side Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist in tonight’s preseason tilt with Detroit. Whether the Penguins leave Wilson in the spot to open the season is open for debate. But assuming the Carl Hagelin – Nick Bonino – Phil Kessel line that was dominant in the postseason remains intact, the Penguins will need to find four wingers to play with Sidney Crosby and Malkin. Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz and Conor Sheary figure to fill three of those vacancies but that does leave open the possibility Wilson could force his way into that last spot.
Injury Notes: Monahan, Seguin, Kronwall
When Sean Monahan had to pull out of the World Cup with a back injury, many Flames fans clutched their hearts and hoped for the best. Indeed, with Johnny Gaudreau still without a contract, a Monahan injury could have spelled the end for the Flames before the season even started.
After returning to the ice a few days ago however, Monahan skated without the dreaded no-contact jersey today, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet. A full participant in practice, Monahan should be ready for the start of the regular season. With a Gaudreau contract sounding at least a bit closer to a reality, perhaps Flames fans have nothing (or at least less) to worry about.
- Another World Cup deserter, Tyler Seguin, will ramp up his skating workload today, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. Seguin suffered a hairline fracture in his foot just before the tournament began, but has never been expected to miss the start of the regular season. Lindy Ruff stands by that, telling Heika that he assumes Seguin will be ready for opening night.
- Niklas Kronwall, one of the injured Red Wings was on the ice for the first time today during his rehab of a knee injury. While Kronwall isn’t expected to take part in any preseason games, Ansar Khan of MLive reports that head coach Jeff Blashill thinks he has a chance at opening night in Tampa Bay next Thursday. Tomas Tatar, Frans Nielsen and Thomas Vanek all re-joined in practice today as well, the trio coming off the silver medal winning Team Europe.
Atlantic Division Notes: Sergachev, Redmond, McKenna, Condra
With Shea Weber, Alexei Emelin and Andrei Markov all absent due to their participation in the World Cup, the Montreal Canadiens have had a chance to get long looks at other blue liners during training camp. As the Montreal Gazette’s Pat Hickey writes, several players have taken full advantage of the opportunity and impressed the team’s coaching staff.
Hickey specifically identified Nathan Beaulieu and Greg Pateryn as having “stood out” so far, while 2016 first-round pick Mikhail Sergachev and free agent signing Zach Redmond were both impressive in the team’s recent game against Ottawa.
Redmond has scored a goal in each of his preseason appearances and has shown a physical element. He was added in the offseason to provide depth and a solid camp might earn him a spot on the regular season roster.
Sergachev would have to really impress in order to stick. Montreal likely wishes to see the young Russian defender, who just turned 18 in June, get lots of quality ice time and the best chance for that would be if he was returned to junior.
Beaulieu and Pateryn are both already penciled into the club’s top-six and Montreal has to be pleased at their play so far. The Habs were recently said to be taking calls on the 23-year-old Beaulieu but if he’s been as impressive in camp as Hickey suggests it seems unlikely Montreal would be too keen on moving him. With a healthy Carey Price set to return from injury and an improved defense, it wouldn’t be hard to project a return to the playoffs for Montreal.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- When Florida went out and acquired Reto Berra and James Reimer – via trade and free agency respectively – this summer, Mike McKenna‘s prospects of winning the Panthers backup goalie job dried up. But as George Richards of the Miami Herald writes, McKenna has been down this road before and knows all it takes is an injury to give the 33-year-old another opportunity between the pipes in South Florida. McKenna: “No matter what the situation looks like with contracts, you always want to put your best foot forward. You never know what will happen through the course of a season. I’m just trying to go in the right direction.” Last season, McKenna was called up from the AHL when Al Montoya went down with an injury, though he didn’t see any NHL action. As it stands, Roberto Luongo will be the starter with Reimer serving as his understudy. That would seem to put Berra in position to be the starter for the Panther’s AHL affiliate in Springfield but the 29-year-old veteran would have to clear waivers before being sent down and could conceivably be claimed by a team in need of an experienced backup. That would again elevate McKenna to third overall on the organization’s goaltending depth chart and would put him in line for promotion should Luongo or Reimer suffer an injury.
- Tampa Bay is looking for depth scoring and one player who could help address that need is Erik Condra, as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Condra had a disappointing first season with the Lightning, scoring just six goals and 11 points in 54 games after signing a three-year, $3.75MM deal with Tampa. Condra twice hit the 20-point plateau as a member of the Senators and the Lightning would likely be content with that level of production. Smith also lists Cedric Paquette and Cory Conacher as two more players who could also offer some scoring punch in the bottom-six. Conacher had by far his best NHL season during the 2012-13 campaign which he began with the Lightning. That season, Conacher tallied 29 points in 47 games – 24 in 35 with the Lightning. Conacher was dealt in-season to Ottawa in a deal that brought Ben Bishop to Tampa Bay in what has turned out to be quite the steal for the Bolts. Paquette saw his goal output decrease from 12 in 2014-15 to just six last season. Tampa would surely benefit from a return to double-figures in goals scored from the grinding Paquette.
Compelling RFA Cases For 2017: Gostisbehere, Dumoulin
Jacob Trouba, Johnny Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov highlight a strong and deep group of restricted free agents that remain unsigned at the moment. While they will each ultimately cash in and receive substantial contracts for the 2016-17 campaign and likely beyond, their status as restricted free agents has certainly complicated their respective negotiation processes.
Next summer, another quality group of players are set to hit restricted free agency, unless they can agree to terms on a new deal prior to the 2017-18 league year. In a series of posts, Pro Hockey Rumors will profile the top pending 2017 RFAs and examine what kind of contract they could elicit assuming they put up a strong performance during their platform year. Today we continue in the Metro.
Shayne Gostisbehere (Philadelphia): Gostisbehere exploded upon the scene in 2015-16, netting 17 goals and 46 points – in just 64 games – to lead all rookies in those categories. The former Union College defenseman quickly became one of the league’s most exciting blue liners and earned a spot on the Team North America entry in the World Cup.
The agents for this year’s top remaining unsigned RFA defenders – Hampus Lindholm and Rasmus Ristolainen – are pointing to the recently-signed and massive extension signed by Aaron Ekblad as the target. Ekblad of course inked an eight-year, $60MM deal with Florida and while Lindholm and Ristolainen are probably not at the level the Panthers blue liner is, they will still likely pocket something in the vicinity of $6MM annually when they finally sign.
Chances are Gostisbehere is also going to use the Ekblad deal as a comparable. Ekblad hasn’t produced offense at the same rate as Gostisbehere (0.72 PPG for “The Ghost” versus 0.47 PPG for Ekblad) but is a former #1 overall pick and projects as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate.
It’s likely the Lindholm and Ristolainen deals will actually serve as a better framework for a new contract for Gostisbehere. Assuming they each get something close to $6MM per, it’s fair to guess the Flyers young blue liner will also land in the same neighborhood.
Brian Dumoulin (Pittsburgh): Dumoulin tallied just 16 points in 79 contests and failed to net a single goal in 2015-16. Ordinarily those numbers wouldn’t be reflective of a guy who is going to cash in but Dumoulin showed in the postseason he has more to offer the Penguins. In 24 playoff games, Dumoulin scored two goals and eight points while averaging 21:31 of ice time per game. If he can carry over that level of play into the 2016-17 regular season, Dumoulin will surely be rewarded handsomely on his next contract.
A similar comparable could be Dmitry Orlov, who eventually signed a one-year deal with Washington worth $2.57MM. Orlov has clearly been a superior offensive producer, averaging 0.30 PPG during his career while Dumoulin has averaged just 0.19. But at 25, Dumoulin is just entering his prime and as we saw in the playoffs, he is capable of producing more offense in the right role. Currently he is listed opposite Kris Letang on the Penguins top blue line pair which could result in a higher point total for Dumoulin.
Even if Dumoulin doesn’t produce much offensively, there is still plenty of value in a steady and reliable performer on the back end. If both team and player elect for a one or two-year bridge deal, an AAV close to $2.5MM would seem fair. A long-term deal buying out free agent years could take the price up north of $3MM annually.
New York Hockey Notes: Halak, Tavares, Rangers
The New York Islanders face an interesting choice when deciding who will be between the pipes to start the 2016-17 season. They have three goalies on one-way contracts – Jaroslav Halak, Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube – though realistically when it comes to the starting job, the choice will be between Halak and Greiss.
Halak had a solid season in 2015-16, winning 18 of his 36 starts and stopping nearly 92% of the shots he faced. The advanced stats crowd holds Halak in particularly high regard due in large part to his ability to limit goals against on high danger shot attempts. Over the last two seasons, Halak has stopped 84.03% of shots against from high danger scoring areas in 5v5 situations. That figure is good for seventh overall in the NHL among goalies who have seen at least 1,500 minutes of 5v5 play. Halak ranks higher than bigger names like Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist.
Greiss was excellent in goal for the Islanders in the postseason with Halak unavailable due to injury. He also ranks among the best goaltenders in preventing goals in high danger situations. His 84.97 HDSv% at 5v5 is the fourth highest over the last two seasons. It’s his strong play last season and the presence of Berube that has led some to postulate the Islanders could look to trade Halak to address other needs.
This issue was addressed by Arthur Staple of Newsday in this reader mailbag. Staple points to Halak’s strong play in the World Cup as the starter for the surprising Europeans and indicates that the Islanders organization is intent on keeping him on board. That means Greiss is likely headed back to the #2 role while Berube is likely to have to wait his turn while suiting up for Bridgeport in the AHL.
Other points of interest in Staple’s mailbag and roster notes on the Islanders Big Apple rivals:
- Staple takes an early stab at what it will ultimately cost the Islanders to extend captain and face-of-the-franchise John Tavares. He reasons that since Tavares is the “one true star” of the team – unlike in Chicago (Toews/Kane) and Pittsburgh (Crosby/Malkin), he will be able to command a larger piece of the Islander salary cap pie. Staple refers to it as a “blank check situation for him,” and a max length deal in the range of $9.5MM to $10MM annually is where the negotiation will end up. Tavares likely could push for more and certainly the Islanders would prefer a lower number but the team will undoubtedly do whatever necessary to ink their captain to a long-term deal.
- Answering a query regarding the continued development of defenseman Nick Leddy, Staple feels the 25-year-old blue liner can take the next step and become an “elite” defender. Staple suggests the Islanders will limit Leddy’s ice time by cutting his penalty-killing duties in the hopes he will remain fresher and produce better numbers at five-on-five.
- Steve Zipay of Newsday projects the Rangers opening night roster and notes the team will have a significant amount of cap space remaining for one of the few times in recent memory. The Blueshirts had just $200K in cap space to open the 2015-16 campaign but assuming Zipay’s projections are close to accurate, the team will have in excess of $3MM with which to play with. Of course having that flexibility would allow the Rangers to add salary at any point during the season, rather than waiting until the trade deadline, should they find a deal to their liking.
Snapshots: Tkachuk, Rinne, Red Wings
Matthew Tkachuk scored the game winning goal for the Flames in their 2-1 victory over Vancouver Friday night. But all of Calgary took a collective sigh of relief after Tkachuk looked to suffer an injury early in the second period. Pat Steinberg tweeted the reaction as soon as Tkachuk was rocked into the boards by defenseman Joseph Labate. What appeared to be a serious injury barely kept him off the ice. Tkachuk returned to score the game winner and the sixth overall draft pick of the 2016 has looked good early on a line with Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer. Calgary bench boss Glen Gulutzan said this about Tkachuk:
“(Brouwer) certainly helps and Bennie, they’ve got a little chemistry, but Matthew, he fits right in. He’s always around the net so he’s always picking up loose change.”
In other NHL notes:
- Adam Vingan writes about Pekka Rinne and his approach to the game after playing for Team Finland in the World Cup of Hockey. The 33-year-old netminder has been fighting the perception that he is in decline and Vingan notes that Rinne was the rock of Nasvhille’s team for many years. Last season, Rinne had 66 starts, which was second in league for all goalies. Vingan points out, however, that Rinne led the league in starts with a save percentage less than 85 percent during eleven of those 66 starts. Regardless, the Preds don’t seem too concerned about Rinne’s performance. Captain Mike Fisher agreed with coach Peter Laviolette who said Rinne is capable of winning games for the Preds:
“We’re all excited to see him back. He’s a leader around here. Practices, games, he works so hard. He brings the level up by the way he competes.”
- The Red Wings have trimmed their roster and included veteran Dan Cleary who was signed to a professional tryout. Cleary will now report to Grand Rapids, and it appears that his days, or opportunities with the Red Wings are over. Since signing again with Detroit during the 2013-14 season, Cleary has been in steep decline and a lightning rod of criticism from fans who felt he took a spot from younger players to play.
Boston Offers Christian Ehrhoff Professional Tryout
According to Bob McKenzie via Twitter, the Boston Bruins have offered defenseman Christian Ehrhoff a professional tryout. After an impressive performance with Team Europe, Ehrhoff was given the chance to extend his NHL career with the Bruins. During the World Cup of Hockey, Ehrhoff had three assists in six games.
Last season, Ehrhoff signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Kings but the move never panned out. Instead, he was dealt to Chicago for Rob Scuderi and played sparingly with the Blackhawks. In 40 games with the Kings, he had 10 points (2-8) while with Chicago he had 2 assists in 8 games. He did not appear in any playoff games during the Hawks’ seven game series loss to the Blues.
NBC’s Cam Tucker points out that while Ehrhoff is on the wrong side of 30, and has seen his skill set steadily decline, he has a chance to work in with a “seasoned” group of defenseman that include Zdeno Chara, and John-Michael Liles.
Pacific Division Roster Battle Notes: Setoguchi, Dell, Hamilton, Jones, Booth
A 30-goal scorer in the NHL at the age of 22, Devin Setoguchi was well on his way to stardom once upon a time. But a steady decline in his on-ice performance coupled with a well-documented problem with alcohol derailed his once promising hockey career. Now completely sober, Setoguchi is in camp with the L.A. Kings and according to Elliot Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News, the 29-year-old forward is taking full advantage of what well could be his last opportunity to make an NHL roster.
Steoguchi, who the Kings signed to a PTO earlier this month, has impressed the Kings coaching staff with the “energy and effectiveness” that is reminiscent of his early days playing for the Sharks, opines Teaford. And while the Kings may not expect Setoguchi to again score 20 or more goals in a single season at this level, there is a real opportunity for him to make the roster and contribute. The Kings lost LW Milan Lucic to free agency while Marian Gaborik injured his foot at the World Cup and is set to miss the start of the 2016-17 season. Even if it’s in a bottom-six role, Setoguchi can add quality depth to the Kings lineup if he continues to play with energy.
Kings assistant coach John Stevens had this to say about Setoguchi:
“You have to give him a lot of credit.” He was out of the league for a little bit and I didn’t know what to expect, but to his credit he came here in a very good condition and was ready to go and wanted to put his best foot forward to win a position on the squad. I think for me it’s exciting to see that, just coming in here prepared.”
“He’s going to give himself a good chance to perform well, so it’s good to see.”
Whether Setoguchi will make an impact with the Kings in 2016-17 and possibly jump start his NHL career remains to be seen. But at the very least, it appears as if he has his life in order again.
Elsewhere regarding position battles in the Pacific Division:
- When James Reimer signed lucrative contract this summer to become the Florida Panthers new backup goalie, the Sharks were left searching for his replacement. As Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News writes, it appears as if 27-year-old journeyman netminder Aaron Dell is the front-runner to earn the #2 position behind incumbent starter Martin Jones. Dell, who played collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota, suited up for five different professional teams prior to signing with the Sharks organization in March of 2015. He finished with 17 wins, a GAA of 2.42 and a save % of 92.2 in 40 appearances for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL during the 2015-16 season. Troy Grosenick represents Dell’s competition for the position. The two shared duties with the Barracuda a year ago with Grosenick’s numbers – 3.16 GAA, 89.4% Save % – inferior to those posted by Dell. Of the pair, Grosenick is the only goalie with any NHL experience, albeit with just two appearances with the Sharks in 2014-15.
- Last season, Freddie Hamilton assisted on a goal by his brother, Dougie, becoming the first set of siblings to appear on the same line on the score sheet. As Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun writes, Freddie would like that to be the first time of many for the brothers. While Dougie is a big-ticket player for the Flames and assured of a spot among Calgary’s top four blue liners, Freddie will have to earn regular ice time as a forward. The elder Hamilton brother recently inked a two-year, one-way contract with the club but as GM Brad Treliving noted, “Last year, we had players on one-way contracts that were making good money that went to the minors. I think all the players know that there is still the make-the-team portion of this, and that’s no different for Freddie or anybody.” Hamilton appeared in just four games with the Flames in 2015-16 and has only 33 career games of NHL experience. Hamilton’s chances of making the club could hinge largely on whether the team elects to keep Matthew Tkachuk on the roster or return the 2016 first-round pick to juniors. If Tkachuk makes the team it would likely push more accomplished players down the depth chart and leave little room for Hamilton.
- The Anaheim Ducks may be deep on defense but they have a couple of openings up front with plenty of competition for those spots. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register writes, veteran forwards David Booth, David Jones and Sean Bergenheim are in camp with Anaheim, trying to convert a PTO into a guaranteed deal. All three have achieved a fair amount of success in this league but have struggled in recent seasons, with Booth and Bergenheim each failing to land an NHL job in 2015-16. Jones, on the other hand, scored 11 goals in 75 games between Calgary and Minnesota.
Injury Notes: Ekblad, Backlund, Meier
After sustaining a head and neck injury during the World Cup, Aaron Ekblad has been skating in Florida for a few days now, and has officially been cleared by doctors to return to full activity. Panthers fans everywhere can now release a huge sigh of relief as arguably their best player won’t miss the start of the season.
Ekblad, still just 20-years old, signed a huge eight year, $60MM extension this summer that will kick in after the 2016-17 season. The number one pick from 2014 has already made a huge impact at the NHL level, stepping in as an 18-year old and becoming the Panthers top defender. Now joined by all-star Keith Yandle and steady-as-she-goes Jason Demers, the Florida blueline looks impressive going into the season.
If there is any downside to the World Cup and seeing the best on best right before the season, it’s this. Ekblad could have easily suffered a concussion and put his season if not his career at risk for the tournament. When coupled with the news that Matt Murray and Marian Gaborik will both miss extensive amounts of time, owners around the league may be slightly more wary of sending their players during the next World Cup.
- For the Flames, it’s been two straight days of good news, as after Sean Monahan took the ice yesterday before practice, Mikael Backlund was back at it today according to Ryan Leslie of NHL.com. While he didn’t work with the team, he will re-join practice tomorrow wearing a non-contact jersey. The Swedish forward is working his way back from a concussion suffered during the World Cup (one of a list of injured players at the tournament) that apparently wasn’t as severe as originally thought. A return before the season opens would be huge for Backlund, who played in all 82 games last season for the first time in his career. 47 points was also a career high, something that Backlund will try and build off of this year.
- Timo Meier, the ninth overall pick in last year’s draft, is still ill and will miss Friday’s game against Arizona according to Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News. While he hasn’t been ruled out of the Sunday contest in Vancouver, the team will take it slow as he nurses himself back to health. Meier had a tremendous year in junior last season, scoring 87 points in 52 games despite being traded mid season. The Swiss forward has dominated the QMJHL since he came over, including some amazing playoff performances.
Atlantic Notes: Matthews, Bitten, Brown
After turning heads at the World Cup as the youngest player in the tournament, Auston Matthews is already making an impact at Leafs camp. At the end of his first practice with the blue and white, Matthews fired a one-timer from Mitch Marner into the glass, shattering it. While it’s probably not the last pane that will fall victim to Matthews’ hard shot, it’s just nice for the team to finally have him in their own building with their own jersey.
While Mike Babcock has repeatedly said that Matthews will start on the third line this year for the team, when he hit the ice for the first time he was skating between James van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov on the first group. The 19-year old centerman will likely be sheltered to start his career, but many believe it won’t last long, just as it hasn’t at both the World Championships and World Cup.
At both tournaments, Matthews opened as one of the final few forwards, but finished among the top two lines. Every coaching staff that has worked with him speaks about his learning curve, and how hard he works. We’ll see if the curve isn’t a bit steeper once the real NHL season begins, and teams bear down on the youngster.
- Montreal prospect Will Bitten has been dealt to the Hamilton Bulldogs, according to Ryan Yessie of HockeyProspect.com. Bitten was selected in the third round of the latest draft, but has flashed enough skill to have gone higher. The undersized center put up 65 points in 67 games last season on an awful Flint Firebirds team (20-42-6) and is expected to make another big development step this season. He’ll now be a little closer to home, playing for a familiar name to Canadiens fans – their former AHL affiliate was also the Hamilton Bulldogs, where players like Carey Price spent time seasoning before making the NHL.
- The Ottawa Senators have sent first round pick Logan Brown back to junior as expected today. Brown, an absolute monster on the ice standing 6’6″, 222 lbs already, is actually incredibly skilled for a player his size. He notched 53 assists last season for the Windsor Spitfires, and showed off his offensive flair more than once. The Senators will hope he can start using that size a bit more as he gets stronger and matures as a player, letting him become a preeminent power forward in the NHL within a few years. For now, he’ll return to junior for his third year, expected somewhere close to 100 points and lead the Spitfires back to another strong season.