Today the Ottawa Senators announced that Chris Wideman was sent back to the AHL after being a healthy scratch over the weekend for two games with the team. The corresponding move to this was Marc Methot coming back up to the NHL after playing just one game with the Binghamton Senators on a conditioning stint.
It’s disappointing for Wideman and others involved, because I know that I was looking forward to seeing what he could bring to the team. I still believe that he’s better than at least a few defensemen on the team, and hopefully he will get his chance some time this season. He may be the solution for a power play that has been struggling recently, and the team won’t have to rely on Erik Karlsson so much.
Of course his call-up was seen as a precautionary move just in case another player got hurt, but I think he should have at least played one game considering it was a back-to-back scenario. Although it’s disappointing for him, he can go back to the AHL and continue his fantastic season and prove others wrong. Fredrik Claesson may be the next call-up, although I’d be shocked if Wideman wasn’t up with the team one more time this season.
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The decision to get Methot back up to Ottawa is a surprising and odd move to many people. There has never been much clarity about Methot’s injury situation, but it was expected that he was going to be out quite a while. If he plays on Tuesday, it will be exactly a month since his last game, however there were murmers that he could be out for the year. That isn’t the case (just yet) and hopefully he can stay relatively healthy.
Of course he’s already been injured for essentially the whole season besides two games, so it already has been worse-case scenario. He has been out for a long time, but his second return does seem a bit early this time around. He played only one game in Binghamton, and apparently it wasn’t that pretty according to Alicia Strauch:
Woah woah, wait. Methot is back in Ottawa? He was "rusty" to say the least in Binghamton over the weekend... #BSens #Sens
— Alicia S (@AliciaS20) January 5, 2015
I’m fairly skeptical with his call-up, because his back is obviously a big problem with him right now. If he didn’t look good in the AHL, I doubt he’s the steady defenseman that he once was. It’s a scary situation for Methot, because bad backs never seem to work out for NHL players. He has been out for a month already in his second injured stint, but it feels like he is being rushed.
The team knows that they need some sort of spark, and I think they believe Methot can be the glue that holds the defense together. I think he’s being way too overvalued right now, because he is a solid second pairing defensive defenseman at best. He plays well with Karlsson, but who doesn’t? I can’t say for myself what he looked like in his game in the AHL, but if there are plenty of people questioning the timing of this move, that can’t be good.
Purely for Methot’s well-being and health, I hope that he is fully healed
Obviously Methot wants to get back to playing as well, so of course he will say he is alright. However, if he indeed is being rushed, there could be long-term consequences. If his back is a recurring problem, teams may not even want to sign him, let alone give him Brooks Orpik money.
Purely for Methot’s well-being and health, I hope that he is fully healed. Back injuries are scary, and if he can get back to what he was in 2012-13 that is huge for the team. That’s what Ottawa is hoping for, because they need a massive overhaul on defense. Safe to say if he gets injured quickly again, the big question will be regarding rushing him back to the NHL.