LazarBeam

Ottawa, ON • Canada • 2015 Years Old • Male

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Methot Signs Extension, Shane Prince Recalled from Bingo

Marc Methot made Sens Army very happy today, as it was finally announced he had resigned with the club for the next 4 years.

The deal has a cap hit of 4.9 million per season, worth a total of 19.6 million that keeps Methot here until 2018-2019.

After Karlsson spoke out earlier this week as to how valuable Methot is to the team as well as himself, it seemed like this extension was a matter of time. Methot, an Ottawa native, took quite a bit less money to play for his hometown team. He clearly wanted to stay in Ottawa and was willing to do what it took to get a deal done before the trade deadline on March 2nd.

This signing makes the Sens much better right now and the next couple seasons. Beyond that, no body knows how Methot will age or if Jared Cowen can challenge his spot beside EK65. Behind Cowen there isn't much challenge for the top left-side defence spot in the Sens system, although another Ottawa native named Mark (Borowiecki) has been exceptional in his first NHL season and is quickly becoming a fan favourite for his toughness.

With Methot signed up, this Ottawa defence squad is really starting to come together. There is definitely a bright future ahead for this club, and as a fan, I'm very excited.

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JG Pageau Sent to Bingo, Shane Prince Recalled

Pageau, another hometown boy, was sent down to Binghamton after the Sens big win against Edmonton. During that same game Chris Neil injured his thumb in a fight clearing his name off the roster for an anticipated 3-4 weeks, with the chance he gets traded in that time steadily decreasing.

Clarke MacArthur sat last game out with cold/flu symptoms, but will be back in tonight to face the Hurricanes.

The last roster spot will go to rookie Shane Prince, the leading scorer for Binghamton with 38 points in 47 games. Prince, the Rochester, NY native, not too far from Binghamton, was the Senators 2nd round pick in a draft that saw them select Zibanejad, Noeson, Puempel, Pageau and Claesson. Before being drafted, Prince played for the hometown Ottawa 67's - clearly the Senators organization likes to have a hometown connection to it's players, possibly for situations like Methots where it may have saved the team a few bucks.

Prince finally gets his shot at the big leagues, as Pageau, drafted two rounds later than him in the same draft class, goes back to Bingo wondering if there was anything he could have done to avoid this.

Pageau played in his first game back with Binghamton last night, the annual game played in the Canadian Tire Center, so not too much travel for him yet if the Sens decide to bring him back.

Pageau scored two shorthanded goals, one empty net, and added a primary assist in his first game in the AHL playing against the rival Toronto Marlies. Every time Pageau is scratched he seems to elevate his game making it nearly impossible to take him out of the line up. Now in his first AHL game, he clearly is doing that as well as prove how well he has developed in the NHL.

It's going to be hard to keep Pageau in Binghamton long if he keeps proving himself at every turn. I'm sure GM Murray and Coach Cameron would like to give him a bigger role, at least on the third line, but will have to clear some space first. Pageau has looked amazing where ever he plays, and cannot be criticized for his lack of production in the NHL as he has played mainly on the fourth line given barely any playing time despite making the most of the time he does get.

Here is Camerons line-up for tonight:

Michalek-Turris-Stone
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
MacArthur-Lazar-Chiasson
Prince-Legwand-Condra

The Turris line combined for 7 points against Edmonton Saturday and looked very promising. We'll see if the chemistry will stay alive tonight or if the credit should be given to the 29th overall Oilers.

Saturday was also the first game that Cameron reunited Mike Hoffman with Zibanejad and Ryan, who had been playing with MacArthur for the past few games. Hoffman sent an immediate message to the coach with his beautiful goal as well as the lines dominant play. Hopefully this line stays together for a while as Ottawa seems to find their offence.

Should be a good game tonight, let me know how you think Prince played with a comment! I'll let you know what I thought in a post-game review as soon as I can!

Summary: Plus/Minus
Plus: Methot Resigned for Next 4 seasons @ 4.9mil cap hit
Minus: Pageau Sent to Binghamton
Plus: Pageau Three-Point Night Against Marlies
Plus: Shane Prince Gets His First NHL Game

Final Notes:

Mark Boroweicki will sit out tonight, Patrick Weircioch will skate on the second pair with Cody Ceci, who was a healthy scratch last game. Gryba and Cowen will make up the bottom pair, with Methot and EK65 prepared to play the big minutes. Lehner will continue to start until Craig Anderson returns from injury.

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