Stephen Halliday can approach his second year of NHL duty with the optimism of a full-time role on the Ottawa Senators. Halliday signed a two-year, $2.15 million contract extension back in May, and that signaled the inevitability of Halliday having a secure spot in the Senators’ lineup. The biggest question for Halliday, however, will be where it is he’s lining up.
It’s most likely that Halliday will find himself lining up as the team’s fourth-line centre, with what will be a rotating cast of players around him. Although, for what Halliday’s game is, he may be stunted in his role there.
Yes, a fourth-line centre is extremely important, and getting depth scoring from that line is how teams win, but Halliday’s game has the potential for much more. Though his stats don’t catch the eye, four goals and seven assists in 30 games, when you look under the hood, it shows a player who can make positive offensive impacts.
Halliday brings plenty to the Senators table
Halliday does a lot of things well, but one of the things that can set him apart is his ability to see the ice and make a play with the puck on his stick. In his 29 games in the AHL last season, he had 29 points; all but two of those points were assists. He has a big body, and he is not shy to use that up against the boards to win puck battles.
His game thrives in the offensive zone, where only 29.9% of his time on ice was spent in the defensive zone. Halliday averaged 6:32 minutes of 5-on-5 time on ice and 1:52 minutes of power-play time. Despite his time on ice being that low, his offensive analytics point to the player being able to do much more with his Pts/60 (points per 60), which is one of the highest rates in the league.
With the continuous rumours of trying to find another top-six forward for the team, what if there was already one internally who could be given an extended look on the first or second line? Halliday’s playmaking ability would take the pressure off Tim Stützle to continuously pass off chances and use his excellent shot. Or have Halliday play with Dylan Cozens, who himself had 28 goals. Halliday is young and has the potential to grow with this lineup, and if head coach Travis Green is going to staple him to the fourth line, he should be given the chance to see if he can be further up the lineup.
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