Nick Foligno’s Leap of Faith

News came out today officially. The Ottawa Senators woke from the dungeon of dreariness and re-signed forward Nick Foligno to a two-year contract worth $2.4 million. That means Furby will be making $1.2 million a season, which is fine by me. It’s something I expected and it’s something he deserves. Sure, he had a disappointing season in the last campaign, but he was marred by injuries and line-mate shuffling.

Consider this, Colby Armstrong is making $3 million/season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he’s a 3rd liner. Foligno’s style of play is just like Colby’s, except for the fact that Armstrong has played one more season then Nick. Yet, the salaries between the two are totally different. It’s why Bryan Murray may be one of the smartest General Managers in the NHL.

What this signing also means is how Foligno’s role should play out next season. The Ruutu-Kelly-Neil will likely be demoted to the fourth line, and Foligno should be the 7th Forward on this team, usually playing Left Wing on the 3rd Line, but a replacement in the Top Six due to injuries. I would expect he plays with Ryan Shannon and either Jesse Winchester or Zack Smith, unless someone surprises at camp, possibly by the name of Bobby Butler.

This also gives us a some sense of how Peter Regin’s contract will be. Although Peter is looking like a Top Six Forward, he just completed his rookie season and you can’t evaluate that quickly. If Foligno will make $1.2 mil, than Regin should get around $1 mil. Earlier reports of money over $1.5 million were clearly greatly exaggerated.

The Ottawa Senators also re-signed Cody Bass and signed QMJHL standout Mike Hoffman to contracts today. Tony will have more on that later tonight. For now, enjoy a special moment in the young career of a budding star:

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