Silver Nuggets: Kyle Turris, 30 Goal Man?
After back to back seasons where he scored 12 goals in just under 50 games, is next year the year that Kyle Turris follows through on his vision for himself?
How many of you remember that time when Kyle Turris told us that he was going to be a 30 goal scorer in the NHL?
As far as I can tell, he didn't mean in EA Sports NHL 13 either.
Kyle Turris had one heck of an up and down year. Plenty of digital ink has been used to talk about how he committed to staying in Ottawa with his friend Patrick Wiercioch last summer to work with the Senators strength and conditioning staff, and even more has been used to write about how he was thrust into the number one centre role with this season's injury to Jason Spezza.
So how did he fare? Well, he lead the team in goals and points in the regular season, and in goals in the playoffs. All in all he played 58 games this year (regular season and playoffs) and put 18 pucks in the net. Over an 82 game season, that would amount to roughly 25 goals. Keep in mind, this is a player who went through long long stretches (of 13 and 21 games) without scoring a single goal. Since stretches like that are uncommon for players as talented as Turris, and since he won't likely have to play against top shutdown players on the opposing team with Spezza back and healthy, could we see Turris come through on his promise?
A more interesting question for me is, if he does, if he can, and the Sens have a 30 goal scorer on the second line of their hockey club... will Murray really need to go out and get another scorer? Could he instead focus on replacing Sergei Gonchar on the back end? It is an interesting idea. The fact is though, many people had Kyle Turris as a potential breakout player for this past season, and I think in his natural spot on the second line, we may see him add a dimension we've never had- a high scoring second line centre.
And that is pretty cool.
Sens Links:
- Final entry in Ryan's superb Report Card series, this time looking at the forwards. As you can see, there was a touch of disagreement on some of those marks. [SSS]
- Here is a FanPost on the state of the Senators back-end! Remember, this community is driven by YOU, and we always love to read what you have to say, whether it be in the comments, or a post of your own. [SSSFP]
- Scott Cullen does his offseason game plan for the Senators. [TSN] Interestingly, he put together a Cap Geek lineup to accompany it. [CG]
- Ten thoughts from Ken Warren. [SE]
- Hope you all celebrated international Erik Karlsson Day yesterday! [Sens]
League News
- Flyers WILL buy out Danny Briere. I'd love to see him in Ottawa. 2 year deal, like 6 million total? In a heartbeat. [NHL]
- Lindy Ruff is the new head coach of the Dallas Stars, which is all kinds of ironic. [NHL]
- I would like the Senators to have a photoshop Wednesday, this is fun. [Blackhawks]
- Presented without comment. [TBHS]
Will Kyle Turris score 30 goals next season?
| Yes, he was almost on pace this year | 127 |
| No, won't see enough ice time behind Spezza | 14 |
| No, not next year, but someday | 64 |