Making The Grade: Mike Lundin

Sometimes the planets align and on the day that the report card for this player was to come out, he also made some news.  Today’s gradee is already a former Senator, as of today.

MIKE LUNDIN

Season Review – A free agent acquisition on the summer of 2012, Mike Lundin came to Ottawa on a 1 year contract, basically a tryout for future years after an injury plagued 2011-12 season.  The season didn’t get off to a very good start as he suffered a hand injury while playing in Europe during the lockout and missed the first couple of weeks of the season.  He was in the lineup less than a month, playing 7 games before being knocked silly by a hit from Flyers forward Harry Zolnierczyk that put him back on the IR.  He missed almost 3 weeks with that injury and never really found his groove, sitting out most of the last month as a healthy scratch.  His stat line for the season was an underwhelming 11 GP, 1 assist with a -2 rating and 13 shots on goal.

February 13, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Ottawa Senators defenseman Mike Lundin (10) turns the puck up ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Pittsburgh Penguins won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Playoffs – Lundin never go a sniff of playoff time.

Contract Status – Lundin is scheduled to become a UFA on July 5th, but jumped the gun on that by signing a contract in the KHL on June 11th.

Importance To Franchise – nil.  The upside was negligible at the time of the signing, and things didn’t work out at all.

Needs to Improve – A fairly big body, he needs to be more physical if he wants to return to the NHL.  He isn’t offensive enough to make it solely on that basis. With more physcality comes more wear and tear, and Lundin hasn’t shown the ability to stay healthy.

Grade – F – There wasn’t much positive whatsoever in Lundin’s season.