Ottawa Senators Bringing Back Chris Kelly a Huge Plus
By Rob Eamer
Chris Kelly is returning to Ottawa after six seasons with the Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly started his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators after working his way up through the OHL with the London Knights and AHL with the Binghamton Senators. Kelly made a significant impact with the Senators in his first full NHL season, racking up 10 goals and 30 points, a mark he beat in his sophomore year with 15 goals and 38 points.
However, Chris Kelly is better known for his hard work on the special teams, grinding it out on the third and fourth lines. The stat sheet does not do justice to the work Kelly does for his team. He is often relegated to killing penalties and shutting down the top offense of opponents.
While the Senators were rebuilding during in 2010-2011 season, Kelly was traded to the Boston Bruins on February 15, 2011 for a second round draft pick in the 2011 draft which they used on Shane Prince. This was a sad ending for a fan favourite and Toronto native who made Ottawa his home for six seasons.
Kelly won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011, and in his first full season with the Bruins scored a career high 20 goals and 39 points, earning an Alternate Captain title and a spot in the hearts of the fans.
Chris Kelly’s career took an unexpected turn when he broke his femur in a game against the Dallas Stars on November 3rd, 2015. He underwent surgery the following day and was sidelined for the remainder of the season, which was the final year of his contract with Boston.
On July 8, 2016, the Ottawa Senators announced that they had signed Chris Kelly to one year deal at a cap-friendly $900,000.
The website of the Senators reports that Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion expressed his excitement about Kelly returning to Ottawa by saying “In our evaluation of our roster we felt that we needed to add another player with the ability to succeed in close situations and on the penalty kill. Chris will be able to contribute to both of those while adding another accomplished leader to our group. He understands the type of commitment that is necessary to play at a championship level.”
At 35 years of age, it’s hard to say whether Kelly will bounce back from injury and be the elite grinder that he has been in recent years, but there’s no question that his leadership and championship-winning experience will be an asset to the young guys in the locker room.