What Should The Ottawa Senators Do With Peter Regin?
Peter Regin is considered “the Danish Wayne Gretzky”. Perhaps he should change his nickname to Peter “the Enigma” Regin. Shoulder injuries have derailed a promising start to his NHL career.
Mar 3, 2013; Uniondale, NY, USA; Ottawa Senators center
Peter Regin(13) controls the puck against the New York Islanders during overtime of an NHL game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
His Rookie Season and Playoffs
In his rookie season (2009-2010) Regin played 75 games, had 13 goals, 16 assists, for 29 points and managed a tidy + 10. Not too shabby by rookie standards. It was during the 2010 playoffs when everyone clearly saw Regin raise his level of play to become a real offensive threat. He played six play-off games and had 3 goals and 4 points – again, not too shabby. His playmaking, his shot, strength on the puck and defensive play away from the puck were all working in time with one another.
2010 to 2012 – the Shoulder Injury Years
He played in 55 games in 2010-2011 before having his first shoulder injury that required surgery. He had 3 goals and 14 assists for 17 points when it occurred; fairly standard sophomore jinx. He was ready to go for the 2011-2012 season but he only played 10 games (2 goals, 2 assists) before another injury to his shoulder occurred. It was not the same injury but he missed the rest of the season and the playoffs.
Since his injury in ’10-11, subsequent surgery, second shoulder injury, rehab and second shoulder surgery, fans of Regin have been wondering what it’s going to take to get him back on track. I imagine he’s wondering too. His first season started out with so much promise; he had all the ingredients needed to become a solid 2nd line center. Injuries have caused his current and projected value to slide within the Ottawa organization as they rebuild for the future.
Peter Regin – Unrestricted Free Agent
Regin will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Playing some third line minutes mixed with mostly fourth line minutes, he’s got 3 assists in 22 games so far this season. His defensive play away from the puck has been stellar overall; ditto for his penalty killing, his checking acumen and his puck possession numbers. Is that enough?
His play in the offensive zone has been frustrating with the exception of his shootout goal on Carey Price, which was a thing of beauty. Seeing it – what he is capable of doing – makes his scoring woes that much more disheartening. Early on it was obvious he was tentative and had to play some of the rink-rust off. That’s understandable – we get it. Shortly afterwards his skating improved and we’ve been treated to flashes of offense that just haven’t been rewarded. He’s hit many posts, missed open nets and has been snake-bitten all year. If his luck were anything but bad I’m sure he would be producing reasonable to good numbers and the poll question at the end of this post would be moot.
The Poll
How does Ottawa Senators’ fandom see Peter Regin? Should the Senators qualify him this summer and hope for a breakout campaign or have too many other prospects caught up to him on the depth chart and it’s time for the Senators to part ways with him?