Shane Prince agreed to a one-year, two-way deal this morning. Here are the terms of the deal, via Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen:
One year, two-way deal for F Shane Prince. $700,00/$120,000. #sens
— Wayne Scanlan (@HockeyScanner) July 15, 2015
Immediately, the question arose as to whether he would get a longer look in Ottawa following his two-game stint last season. The answer is certainly yes.
Prince had an all-star worthy campaign in the AHL and was Binghamton’s leading scorer. Considering he had a few rough seasons before that, it was nice to see Prince put up numbers similar to the numbers Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman put up just a few seasons ago.
While Prince certainly looks to project as a top 6 forward, and the Senators have no spot available for the youngster in the top 6, there is one spot that comes to mind. With the departure of Erik Condra, Prince, a fellow left-winger might slot in nicely beside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Curtis Lazar. That said, the line would be incredibly young and perhaps some veteran assistance from a guy like Milan Michalek, who seemed to find his step last season would be better.
And even if that spot isn’t a fit, and there isn’t a spot open for Prince, he’d absolutely be the first call-up if there was any injury to the top or bottom 6 group.
Does He Make It Out Of Camp?
It’s certainly a possibility, but there’s no open spot and he’s competing with a few other players.. so it makes it difficult.
One thing working against Prince is he still isn’t waiver eligible. So, he’ll be able to go straight to Binghamton, free of worry for the Senators. As for who he’ll be competing against, fellow prospect Matt Puempel would fill the same position well.
Puempel had an extended look and personally, I’ve always liked his game a little more. Puempel was a first rounder a few years back and will look to make the same step Prince will try to take as they will both be NHL players over the next season or two.
Then again, Puempel doesn’t require waivers either, so he’ll be easy to send back to Bingo. There’s a chance neither of them get a look with 15 forward contracts already in Ottawa. But, all it would take is a big camp from either and there’s a chance to start the year on the NHL roster.
Either way, waiver eligiblity kicks in fairly soon for these two, and the Senators want to make sure they are etablished NHLers by then. Whatever route their development takes this year, both should gets looks and space will be made next off-season as they will then look to join the Senators roster full time.
Next: Top 10 Ottawa Senators Prospects: Post NHL Draft