Evaluating Assets: Colin Greening

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about trading Craig Anderson, and that was part one of an ongoing series I have titled “Evaluating Assets.” Today I will take a look at Colin Greening‘s value and see what his future holds with Ottawa.

It’s no secret that Greening is in Ottawa’s doghouse right now, and for good reason. Since his 17 goal season in 2011-12, he has gone completely downhill. It wasn’t that hard to see his downfall, considering the main reason he scored all those goals was because he was playing with Jason Spezza. At the time he was seen as a top-six power forward, that was obviously never going to happen.

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That 2011-12 season he was decent for the Senators, but in 2012-13 he only put up 19 points in 47 games, and last year he had 17 in 76. The led to his role being severely diminished this season, and he has only played in 20 games, and has just one power play goal to show for it. He has been trending downwards for a few years now, and sadly his value has never been lower.

The funny thing (maybe not for Ottawa fans) is that Greening’s goal came on the power play, so this year he has 0.00 points/60 minutes, which is calculated for even strength. He’s even behind Chris Phillips who at least has 2 assists. Oddly enough he does have good possession numbers this year, with the third best corsi on the team, but his history shows that that’s probably an aberration.

He has been given chances by Paul MacLean in the past, and that includes roles in the top six. However, even with Spezza he was ineffective a lot of the time. He can’t say that he never had an opportunity to prove himself. Now though, he has been passed on the depth chart by players like Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Erik Condra, JG Pageau, and Curtis Lazar.

His play for the past few seasons hasn’t justified a spot on an NHL roster, to be honest

The Senators would rather play a young inexperienced player than try to see what Greening brings. The problem is Ottawa knows what he brings, and it’s not much.

It’s clear that Greening is no longer part of Ottawa’s plans for the future or present, and his play for the past few seasons hasn’t justified a spot on an NHL roster, to be honest. The Senators seem so fixated on getting a big power forward for the top six (hello, Mark Stone?) and I think they desperately wanted Greening to be that guy. However, he’s turning 29 in a few months and there’s no more potential left in him anymore.

The team has obviously realized that, and according to Bruce Garrioch, he won’t be in Ottawa for much longer

He has been on the trade block for what seems like forever, and it looks like it will finally come to an end. If Greening was never signed to the horrible 3-year contract extension he signed in 2013, then he wouldn’t be the teams problem right now. He still has two seasons left after this one, and with Ottawa’s budget, there’s no way they can keep him.

Trading him seems like an easy solution, but I worry that nobody in the league wants him. Bryan Murray has been saying for about a year that he wants to move him, but there have been no buyers. That’s obviously a bad sign, and any possible return for him would be minimal.

I would be ecstatic with any sort of draft pick, even if it were a 5th-7th round pick. However, I don’t have any expectations, and I doubt any team is going to give up anything of value for him. The more likely possibility is that he is waived. That’s a last resort of course, but the team would get some cap relief, and also that would open up a needed roster spot.

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone claimed him just to see what he can do for a bit, but at the same time him clearing is just as likely an option. He wouldn’t fit on a contending team, but a bottom-feeder might claim him just for the hell of it.

Greening has very minimal value right now especially because of his bad contract, and Ottawa is in a bad spot with him right now. Whether you like him or not, it’s most likely that he won’t be wearing a Senators (at least “Ottawa” Senators) jersey in a few weeks time.