PAGEAU LOCKED UP
Playoff hero to get $9.3M
The Ottawa Senators didn’t want to do battle with Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
After all, Pageau has battled pretty hard for them.
With an arbitration hearing scheduled for next week in Toronto, the Senators and the diminutive centre avoided what could have been an ugly process by agreeing to a three-year, US$9.3-million contract extension Monday.
Pageau, 24, has battled the odds since being selected in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL draft. He finished with 12 goals and 33 points in 82 games during the 2016-17 regular season, but stepped up in a big way in the playoffs, producing eight goals and two assists while also playing an important shutdown role.
He was pleased he didn’t have to go through salary arbitration to get a deal, and this is also a big item off the to-do list of Senators general manager Pierre Dorion.
“I wasn’t sure how the talks were going, but I kind of knew that we’ve always had a good relationship with Pierre and Bryan (Murray, Dorion’s predecessor as Senators GM) before,” Pageau said during a conference call. “They always knew that I wanted to stay with the team and I take pride in playing for the Senators.
“I feel that helped to get the deal done, and I’m happy to be here for the next three years.”
The 5-10 Pageau, who had to earn his ice time under new head coach Guy Boucher and his staff, was at his best during the post-season. He sent the city into hysterics with a four-goal effort, including the overtime winner, in a 6-5 victory against the New York Rangers in Game 2 of the secondround series.
Pageau isn’t known for his goalscoring prowess, though. Instead, he’s the kind of player who is hard to play against. He does a good job of being a pest, and there aren’t many nights when Pageau can be accused of not being a factor.
Ideally, Pageau would like to play the kind of hockey he did in the playoffs all season.
“That’s the game you want to play every year and that’s the comfort level that you want to have,” he said. “I felt like at the start of the year that I felt my play could be better by being consistent.
“To be here now and to sign that deal, I think it shows a lot of confidence that they have in me. I don’t want to disappoint them and that’s the way (it was) when I signed my first deal: I didn’t want to disappoint them. And that’s the way I’m going to approach this one. I think I know what I have to do to be good and to help the team to win some hockey games.
“That will be my main focus: to show up every day and give everything I have.”
Dorion said he was quite happy to get the deal done with Pageau. He has a lot of respect for the player and for what he offers.
“As an organization, we’re thrilled to have this contract done,” Dorion said. “Arbitration is definitely a path we didn’t want to go down with Jean-Gabriel, especially the way he’s performed over the course of the last few seasons. He showed he’s definitely deserving of this contract.
“Any player that has a history of raising his game, whether it was in junior playoffs, American (Hockey League) playoffs or NHL playoffs, I think you have to give credit for what he’s accomplished. We’re really happy to have him on board for the next three years.”
Dorion said he wouldn’t be surprised if Pageau was one day considered for the Frank J. Selke Trophy awarded to the NHL’s top defensive forward.
“We’ll never question JeanGabriel’s work ethic, we’ll never question his tenaciousness. He’s someone who plays with a lot of heart,” Dorion said. “... Our coach really seemed to challenge JeanGabriel to play against the other team’s best lines and he showed through the course of the season and the playoffs that he’s able to frustrate some of the better players on the other team. I think he opened a lot of eyes through the league with his play in the playoffs and he’s someone down the road that will get some Selke consideration as he matures into his own.”
Pageau said he appreciated the opportunity the Senators have given him.
“I think everyone that plays in the league has to put in the work and deserves their place. Nothing is given to any of them, so I’m happy and satisfied with the effort and work I’ve put in to get here,” Pageau said. “When you are a player at this level, we’re all competitive and we all want to get better, but I think Ottawa made it easier for me, all my teammates made it easier for me, and I think without them I wouldn’t be who I am today.
“Without all the help that the organization and the coaches have given me from my time in the American League and now in the NHL, I wouldn’t be the player I am now.”
They always knew that I wanted to stay with the team and I take pride in playing for the Senators.