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| Tommy Wingels and Cody Ceci. (Photo courtesy of My NHL Trade Rumours) |
Almost one month before the trade deadline, Senators GM
Pierre Dorion made his first move with an eye on the playoffs. With a record of
26-15-5 through 46 games, the Senators currently sit in second place in the
Atlantic division and have several games in hand over their divisional
opponents. Despite this rosy picture there are some obvious holes on the team
that have not been resolved. Chief among these is the performance, or lack
thereof, of the fourth line, usually consisting of veterans and long-time
Senators Chris Neil and Chris Kelly and former first round pick Curtis Lazar.
The line has been an Achilles heel for the Guy Boucher and
his staff as the fourth line regularly plays under 10 minutes a night. Thus,
the Senators routinely play a three line game which puts even more pressure on
the top 9 to make up almost all the offence in addition to their defensive
assignments. Depth scoring is badly needed as the fourth line has contributed a
combined 4 goals on the year.
Enter Tommy Wingels. The 28-year-old winger has spent his
entire 7 year NHL career with the San Jose Sharks. Wingels has had a
disappointing season so far in San Jose, tallying 5 goals and 3 assists in 37
games. His underlying numbers have been strong this year as he has posted a
51.9 Fenwick% (taking all shot attempts except blocked shots). The two most likely candidates for Wingels to replace are Curtis
Lazar and Chris Neil who have posted a 41.9 F% and 45.2 F% respectively. Wingels
has a connection to the Senators as he is a former Miami Redhawk and was
teammates with Senators defenceman Chris Wideman for 2 seasons there.
Wingels will wear #57 and will made his Senators debut
against the Calgary Flames, scoring his first goal as a Senator in the 3rd
period.
