Chris Tier-ney
Chris Tierney
Tierney gets his own tier for more reasons than the potential for a pun. He could fit into the same category as Connor Brown and Anthony Duclair, as he’s a 26-year old pending RFA, but he seems to have fallen outside of that middle-aged core mix. He ranked 5th among forwards with 17:11 minutes per game and was sixth on the team with 37 points. While his numbers are pretty good, they don’t jump out at you, especially for someone who’s likely already reached or nearly reached their peak.
There is something to be said for his consistency, as Tierney was one of four Senators to play all 71 games last season, and has only missed one game over two seasons in Ottawa. As a centre, Tierney has the potential to provide some stability down the middle for the foreseeable future. Because of that, I would lean slightly towards signing him but would be cautious as to how many years to commit to him, if he wants a longer deal, I’d be less apt to sign him than with Brown or Duclair. If that is the case, it would seem to be more likely that the Sens could find a trade partner to take him, either as a long-term piece or a rental, that would provide good value in return than they would trading Brown or Duclair.