Kyle Turris – Ottawa Senators Season Wrap

After getting indoctrinated as a go-to guy after Jason Spezza‘s back injury early in the 2013 season, Kyle Turris picked up in 2013-14 where he left off.  Turris was arguably the Ottawa Senators’ best forward and one of the most consistent players on the team.  He had tremendous chemistry with newcomer Clarke MacArthur to the point that it didn’t matter who was the third member of the line on any given night.

HIGHS

• Set career highs in every offensive category (26G, 37 A, 63 PTS) while also being responsible defensively with a team high +22 rating.
• Was an alternate captain for Team Canada at the World Championships.
• Played all 82 games for the first time in his career

LOWS

• Still lacking a physical game, a fact that will be discussed a bit later

CONTRACT STATUS

Turris just completed the first year of a 5 year, $17.5M contract, and is one of the best bargains in the league at that price.

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PROGNOSIS

With the pending departure of Spezza after he requested a trade, Turris will likely become the de-facto #1 pivot on the team.  Whether or not he can handle that role long-term remains to be seen, and even Bryan Murray speculated this past week that Mika Zibanejad is probably soon to be the #1 centre on the club.  Turris has proven to be pretty durable in his Senators career, but when he becomes the focal point of the opposition he will have more to fight though to match his production.

GRADE:  A :  It was certainly a successful season for Turris and something to build on.  To carry that success over he needs to get stronger and ready to handle the increased physicality he is bound to face if Spezza isn’t around any longer.