Defenseman Jordan Spence was acquired by the Ottawa Senators in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings this past June.
In Los Angeles, Spence showed promise and was one of the best Kings defensemen on the roster over the past two seasons. At 24 years old, a fresh start was awaiting him in Ottawa.
It's 13 games into the season, and the Senators haven't used Spence as an everyday player like the Kings would. Now, the scratching of Spence is starting to get concerning.
Spence needs to be in the Senators lineup
Of Ottawa's 13 games played this season, Spence has only played in five of them. The sratching of SPence is starting to get concerning with how the Senators have handled who to insert in the lineup.
Spence was scratched in the first two games of the season for Donovan Sebrango. The Senators eventually traded Sebrango to the Florida Panthers.
When Spence has played, his impact has been strong with recording five assists and a +2 rating, but the Senators have played Nikolas Matinpalo more over Spence.
Matinpalo has played in eight games and has recorded just one assist with a -1 rating. Spence has averaged over 3.5 more minutes of ice time per game over Matinpalo this season.
Spence appeared to be an everyday starter when he recorded four assists in his first three games as a Senator. One of those games was a three-assist game. Spence was fitting in well in his first full season in Ottawa, but now has played in two games since then.
Spence recorded an assist and was solid in the Senators' 4-3 shootout win this past Thursday against the Calgary Flames, but the team decided to scratch him for Matinpalo in last night's game against the Montreal Canadiens.
In his final two seasons as a King, Spence played in over 70 games in each season. Last season, Spence delivered a career year with 28 points, 24 assists and a +23 rating in 79 games played.
For a player who just had a career year last season to now not playing in half of the team's games is a concern. Spence has been more productive than Matinpalo this season. However, Spence is still not getting playing time.
Spence's scratching can be similar to last season when Jacob Bernard-Docker, who did show progress, was still scratched over Travis Hamonic.
Spence is on the final year of his contract. With not being an everyday player, Spence could potentially be a trade bait piece at the trade deadline.