Ottawa Senators: Nate Thompson 2017-2018 Season Preview
It may just be August but the 2017-2018 NHL season will be on our hands before we know it. Training Camp will start in September and all the players will be brought together as they prepare for another season. With August as a down month in the NHL I thought this would be a great time to preview each of the players on the Ottawa Senators for next season.
If you missed it here’s our last preview!
Ottawa Senators: Colin White 2017-2018 Season Preview
The Ottawa Senators had a fairly inactive off-season. Free agency was mainly focused on the re-signing of restricted free agents such as Pageau and Dzingel. However, General Manager Pierre Dorion did make one addition at forward. On July 1st, in the beginning of free agent frenzy, Dorion signed Nate Thompson to a two year contract.
Thompson comes in as the natural replacement for Chris Kelly. Kelly, who was mostly phased out of the roster by the playoffs, had been the 4th line center for most of the season. Next season Thompson will take up that very role. Thompson is signed to a contract with an average annual value of 1.65 million.
The role of a 4th line center is not one that requires an offensive touch. Thompson will be asked to play well defensively and potentially spend some time on the penalty kill. That’s fortunate as Thompson only scored two points in 30 games last season. However, he is considered a good defensive player. Additionally, as he was injured last season it wouldn’t be surprising to see him put up a few more points this season.
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Successful Potential
Although it may seem that the Ottawa Senators are paying a lot for a fourth line center it could be worth it. Thompson has a history with Guy Boucher as he played under him in Tampa. Boucher has a successful record thus far when recommending players to bring in from previous teams. Notably, Tom Pyatt was brought in on a recommendation from Boucher and that worked out very well. Thompson could very well be set up to be a strong member of the Sens’ bottom six for this upcoming season.