The Ottawa Senators are coming off of another disappointing loss last night, this time at the hands of the Calgary Flames. It’s almost impossible for them to ever have a good West Coast road trip, even when the two Alberta teams have been awful for years. Because of their recent slumping, there’s been plenty of questions about the teams lines and the usage of certain players.
I’ll be the first to say that I have been displeased with a lot of the line combinations this year from Paul MacLean, and in my opinion a lot of the changes are quite straight-forward. For example, besides regular-scratches Erik Condra and Colin Greening, Mike Hoffman, Alex Chiasson, and Mark Stone are the three least used forwards on the team. At this point, Hoffman is Ottawa’s third best winger, and perhaps even better. The only winger I’d say who has played better is Clarke MacArthur, although Bobby Ryan is still ahead of him as of now.
An easy first solution is to play Hoffman and Stone much more, because they are going to produce, and they already have in limited minutes. That won’t make the team completely different, but it should help. Another thing I have noticed is the occasional odd power play units.
David Legwand has played 53 minutes on the power play this season, ranking third amongst Ottawa forwards behind Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur. However, do we really need him there? I say no, because there are much better options. In the past, Legwand had some success on the power play ranking 11th in points per 60 on the power play back in 2011-12; however, every season besides that he has been very average/below average on the man advantage.
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This season he has been rather underwhelming, and he seems like a signing that wasn’t that necessary. Six points in 17 games doesn’t scream “offensive force.” I like that he’s a veteran who can perhaps help some of the younger players, but at this point I’m expecting him to just get over the 30-point mark at season’s end. That isn’t a player that should be on the power play, including sometimes the first unit.
To me, Legwand is a player that should be sheltered in the bottom six (which he has been sometimes), and in this Ottawa lineup he is now best suited on the fourth line. There is no obvious spot for him, because he and Chris Neil aren’t the greatest combination, but there is no way that Neil is coming out of the lineup because of his “toughness.”
I don’t know what MacLean sees in Legwand as an offensive weapon, because it’s clear that he isn’t a 50-60 point player anymore. So if we take him off, who can we use? Well there’s three no-brainer forwards in MacArthur, Turris and Ryan. I think they should be the first line for 5 on 5 and on the power play. The obviously have fantastic chemistry, so there should be no need to break them up. After that, there’s six players that I would consider for the second unit.
It’s clear that isn’t a 50-60 point player anymore
Mika Zibanejad and Curtis Lazar would be the two options at centre, and I’d rather put Zibanejad there. He’s struggled this season, but he needs more opportunities to succeed. Then on the wings there’s two of Stone, Hoffman, Chiasson, and Michalek. It’s not even close who has been the best two of that group, which is Stone and Hoffman. They are first and second on the team in 5 on 5 points per 60 minutes by a country mile. If they are put in a spot to succeed on the power play, even more points will come.
Chiasson is also another good option, as he’s third on the team in points/60, and I like having him in front of the net providing screens on the goalie. Still, it’s asinine right now if both Hoffman/Stone aren’t on the power play. If there were legitimately better players on the second unit, then I wouldn’t mind too much. However, Legwand has nowhere near the same level of offensive ceiling as the two aforementioned.
I think it’s time that MacLean realized who his better wingers are on this team, and they are the “young guys.” Michalek and Legwand aren’t what they used to be. The power play should include the most creative players on the team, and Stone and Hoffman are exactly that. I guarantee that if they are given more minutes on the power play, and/or Legwand is taken off Ottawa will score more goals.
Sometimes you have to throw rookies into the fire because you know they can handle it. I’m confident enough in the two of them, and I am not very confident in Legwand. This team needs to optimize its lines better or else it may be a long season.
What do you think? Should Legwand be taken off the power play or not?