Five Thoughts For Friday

I should probably say a few words on fans of the Ottawa Senators booing the U.S. national anthem, but I can't come up with anything more analytical and nuanced than "kinda based". So, here are five more thoughts for the start of your weekend.

On Merilainen Being Returned to Belleville

After posting his third shutout in 12 starts this sesason, Leevi Merilainen was returned to the AHL as the Sens' best goaltender by save percentage with a .925. Goaltending and team defense has been the driving force behind Ottawa's strong season, and there's definitely an argument the Senators, especially with further damage to their forward corps, should keep their strongest position as strong as possible. On the other hand, Merilainen's sample size is still quite small, and for a young goalie it's best to get as many games as possible without being overwhelmed. With all the confidence in the world, Merilainen will be starting tons of games in Belleville and hopefully lead them into the playoffs. If Linus Ullmark (or Anton Forsberg) suffers another injury, Merilainen will be called upon once again, and it's best for his development to not just play, but dominate.

On Keeping Forsberg in the NHL

Meanwhile, Anton Forsberg hasn't been as strong, but has recovered from some early struggles to provide Ottawa with good goaltending in 5 of his last 8 appearances. Keeping three goaltenders isn't going to work for an injury-riddled team up against the cap, but having three in the organization that can play is a luxury. Sending Merilainen down was the only way to guarantee that luxury stays in tact. Waiving Forsberg could create some additional cap room, but it could also see him picked up on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of our competitors for a playoff spot, as an upgrade to their backup position. Among all of the adversity the Jackets have dealt with, they'd be a playoff team with better goaltending, and the Sens should not be willing to provide said better goaltending for free.

On Acquiring Winger Depth

This is where moving Forsberg potentially comes into play is at the trade deadline, particularly in service of potentially upgrading their depth on the wings. Even at full health, the Senators don't have a strong presence on the wings, with a hole in their top six that hasn't been adequately filled by David Perron, Ridly Greig, Adam Gaudette or Mike Amadio. The obstacle towards Steve Staios making a move to add a winger is the organization's lack of valuable prospects and draft picks, and moving Forsberg to a Western team like the Calgary Flames for, say, a third-round pick, would go at least a little ways towards addressing that deficit. Then, turn around and flip that pick for someone like Chicago's Ryan Donato, who, while lacking an established record as a top-six player, would be Ottawa's fourth-best winger.

On David Perron's Shooting Luck

Now, I just said Perron hasn't been a top-six contributor, and we shouldn't expect him to be at this stage of his career. That said, I don't think 4 points in 17 games does his limited play this season justice. For starters, he's fired 36 shots on goal, averaging over 2 per game. Quite a few of these have been high-danger as well – according to NaturalStatTrick he's only second behind Brady Tkachuk in terms of individual expected goals for per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. I don't think a decline due to age should have much of an impact on shooting percentage, and his career low of 2.8% should be trending towards his 12.7% average over the remaining 28 games. He banked a shot in off of Adam Wilsby's brain bucket a few games back, so that's some well-overdue good luck.

On a Rare DOPS W

Holy shit. The NHL's Department of Player Safety actually issued a suitable punishment to Ryan Hartman's attempt to concuss Tim Stützle. That's the second time this season Stützle has narrowly dodged a potential month-to-month injury, and it was bound to continue unless appropriate sanctions were issued.

Generally speaking, inflicting head trauma on an opposing player should warrant some clear-cut consequences. Of course, not every incident is identical. There's a difference between a routine hit that was poorly executed, versus what Hartman did. But it's time to establish a more serious bare minimum. No more two-minute minors for illegal check to the head. If the referees call a check to the head, it's a five-minute major and a *minimum* five-game suspension, with increased length depending on factors such as repeat offences and the severity of injury caused by the hit. Yeah, players will complain, and suspensions will be given out like candy in the beginning, but as with any major paradigm shift, they will adjust.