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A month ago, the Ottawa Senators flipped top-nine winger Nick Foligno to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Marc Methot -- a blue liner long coveted by GM Bryan Murray.
With rumors abound about the team's interest in other defensemen -- namely Niklas Hjalmarsson -- and the loss of Filip Kuba to the Florida Panthers in free agency, the fan base collectively expected Bryan Murray to make some sort of move. The deal for Methot, in turn, wasn't surprising. However, the jury is still out as to whether or not the Ottawa native can actually repair a blue line that struggled mightily from time to time one year ago.
Methot was an interesting buy at the time. He's been lauded for his defensive game since coming into the NHL in 2003, and at the age of twenty-seven, figures to have a solid amount of miles left in his tires. However, he's hardly the puck-possessor or point-scorer that Paul MacLean desires in his up-tempo system, and has only eclipsed the sixty-six game mark once in the past five seasons.
There was a lot of hype about Methot immediately improving this defense when acquired -- perhaps a defense mechanism to justify the loss of a talented, yet frustrating piece in Nick Foligno. I don't know if all of it is substantiated, though I readily submit he's an upgrade over the departed Filip Kuba.
One of the things I heard fairly regularly after the deal was how Methot would make real strides coming into a roster -- and subsequently, role -- that offered more surrounding talent. It should be noted, then, that Marc Methot's most common linemates last year included the following: (1) James Wisniewski, (2) Rick Nash, and (3) Vinny Prospal. Not exactly slouches here.
To try and get a feel as to how Methot performed with varying partners over the years, I looked back at his last three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In '09-'10 and '10-'11, Methot carried both
Jan Hejda and
Rotislav Klesla around the ice -- his WOWY (Corsi) numbers were off the charts when separated from each. When together, the pairings weren't nearly as productive.
Last year, though, Methot finally found a player who was probably -- if not certainly -- better than him in James Wisniewski. 'Wiz' played better away from Methot, but not by a ton.
In his increasing role, Methot saw softer, more offense-oriented minutes, but the numbers didn't exactly manifest. Early in his career, Methot was sent over the boards against the opposition's best in all of the ugly minutes right in front of the Columbus net. Last season? A delightful balance. And yet, still Methot lacked to put together much of any scoring. Part of that can be attributed to Columbus being god-awful, but it's still a bit alarming to see just 0G/6A last season with a two-way talent like James Wisniewski -- and quality scoring forwards -- attached at the hip.
Marc Methot's expected to come in and fill the vacant first-pairing role, and I have a hard time imagining he could be a downgrade from last year. While Kuba was lauded as a stabilizing force of sorts for Erik Karlsson, most of the numbers indicate it was the Swede carrying around the Czech -- some joked that Kuba was Karlsson's ball-and-chain, and while I do think Kuba was an integral piece of the team's penalty kill, the above may be a fair assessment of how Kuba operated -- or didn't -- at even-strength.
Regardless, the team bought into the way Kuba played on Karlsson's wing, and presumably are adding Methot into the fray to let Karlsson run absolutely roughshod when on the ice next season. Really, the team doesn't need Methot to be some sensational, shutdown defenseman -- he's simply there to operate as a checks-and-balances type on the hip of a guy who is pretty much going to jump into the offensive zone with reckless abandon. Rightfully so.
The trickle-down effect, though, is measurable. Methot, probably a second-line type, is going to skate with Erik Karlsson on P1. That leaves the following cast of characters to fill bottom-four roles:
Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips
Jared Cowen
Mike Lundin
X
Let 'x' denote any young defenseman -- be it Mark Borowiecki, Patrick Wiercioch, or another -- who could grab a roster spot in training camp next season.
Like it or not, there's maybe -- maybe -- one second-line type in that group, and it's the twenty-one year old Jared Cowen. Sergei Gonchar's still a pretty talented offensive defenseman, but if he's not incredibly insulated by his pairmate, he's in serious trouble. I suspect the Cowen-Gonchar tandem will operate as the team's second pairing, paving the way for a Lundin-Phillips duo to bring up the rear.
It's not the worst of groups, but there's areas of concern for each player individually, and each pair collectively. Is Sergei Gonchar's defensive woes going to hamper Jared Cowen? Is Jared Cowen capable of carrying Sergei Gonchar around the ice? Do Phillips and Lundin offer anything in the offensive department?
Regardless of whether or not you think Marc Methot will succeed in his new role, it's hard to ignore that the alternative -- if Ottawa could add another defenseman -- is pretty desirable. Methot could form quite the shutdown pair with Cowen; Gonchar and Phillips would create a pretty hellacious third-pairing in softer minutes, and Lundin's your ideal 7D -- an NHL talent that can come in and spell minutes regularly.
If last year's empirical evidence is enough to project the future, my guess is that whoever plays on Erik Karlsson's side is going to be quite alright. As for the other four? Only time will tell.
Back with more tomorrow.
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