Sometimes having some success too early can come back to haunt you...a name like Brandon Bochenski come to mind, where a person has a rather remarkable run early on and then expectations go sky high and they can't possibly live up to them in the long run.
Such is the case with the Senators' Colin Greening. He has been the scourge of many Senators fans on twitter, and even in the message boards on this site in response to articles that don't even mention his name.
And quite frankly I don't blame Greening. He is an honest, hard-working player who found magic for a season playing with two all-stars and cashed in as a result. I think I could have scored 20 playing with Jason Spezza in that 2011-12 season.
Greening was a solid player at $850K, even if the Senators did try to force him into roles he wasn't capable of playing. Once he settled in on a grind-type line with Zack Smith and Chris Neil, it seemed he had found his niche, and I had no problem with him in that role. Even now, I wouldn't mind that being the Senators (rather expensive) 4th line. But with his contract extension kicking in he is making $2M this season, and it will only get worse as it jumps to $2.75M next and then $3.2M the following year. With great salaries come great expectations, and Greening will never meet those.
Again, I don't blame Greening for maximizing his deal and taking what he could get, not one little bit. When the contract extension was announced last summer I panned it immediately, because it was simply too much for a one-hit wonder without any true offensive ability.
I'm sure he will get into his fair share of games this season, but in the long run I could see the Senators looking to buy him out next summer, even though it will count against the cap. That contract is a tough one to move for what he gives you and with guys like Buddy Robinson, (who is bigger, as fast and appears to have better offensive instincts), chomping at the bit, Greening's days might be numbered. And it is all because of the expectations arising from his one good offensive season.
Now, on to Jean-Gabriel Pageau. A little bit of a different circumstance, but again a victim of his own success. Pageau became an instant and unlikely hero two springs ago with his playoff hat trick and the infamous "Pageau, Pageau, Pageau" chant. Then all of a sudden the fan base wanted to anoint him as the second coming and an everyday player. He simply isn't ready to be a full-time NHLer and might never become a consistent scorer at this level.
When the cuts were made yesterday, and Pageau was sent down, there were a few who protested the move, citing Greening and Erik Condra as players that Pageau should and could replace. This might be the case, but Greening and Condra look like the 13th and 14th forwards, and if Pageau is what I think he is, then he needs to play to continue to develop, as he did last season.
Greening and Condra are both 28, and are probably at or near their ceiling. Pageau is just 21 and still has time to mature and get better and play in offensive situations. He can continue to hone his skills so that he might come up and be a contributor at some point. At the very least he can hone his all-around game and become a great defensive checking center. There is no reason to make him sit around Ottawa as a healthy scratch when the option is there to have him play important minutes in Binghamton.
But for Pageau, with memories of that rather unbelievable April evening still fresh in everyone's minds, I am not sure he can ever meet the high expectations people have for him. Whatever numbers he does put up when (and if) he makes it to full-time NHL status, I think a certain segment of the fan base that will be consistently disappointed.