PAGEAU BRINGS MORE TO ISLES THAN POINTS
Centre always willing to lay it on the line and for that teammates and fans love him
With the third- or fifth-overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, the Ottawa Senators will likely select a centre.
They will be looking at either Germany’s Tim Stutzle or Quinton Byfield of the Sudbury Wolves. But they will be looking at more than just their names and their on-ice credentials. They will be looking for someone with good character, a strong work ethic and who can grow and develop right alongside Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and the rest of the rebuilding team.
With a little bit of luck, they will end up with a slightly more skilled version of Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
The 27-year-old was traded from Ottawa to the New York Islanders in February for a firstand second-round pick as well as a conditional third-round pick in 2022. He was selected 96th overall by the Senators in 2011. But more and more, he is looking like the one that got away.
In case you missed it, that was Pageau who scored three goals in a best-of-five qualification series win against the Florida Panthers. And it was Pageau who picked up a pair of assists in a 5-2 win in Game 2 against the Washington Capitals.
Chances are that even if Ottawa ends up with Stutzle or Byfield, GM Pierre Dorion will be searching for Pageau — or a facsimile of him — years from now if the Senators ever find themselves in the position the Islanders are in today.
After all, the Islanders, who immediately signed Pageau to a six-year extension worth US$30-million, had their eye on him all season long.
“We identified Pageau early on in the process and had many discussions with (GM Lou Lamoriello) and with our scouting staff,” said Islanders head coach Barry Trotz. “When it came down to the trade deadline, Lou said this is the type of player we want in our organization and we went and got him. It’s been a really good fit for us. It gives us that strength down the middle for the next few years.”
Strength down the middle is an asset — if not a luxury — in the NHL.
Many teams have a true No. 1 centre. Fewer, however, have a No. 1 and a No. 2 centre. But a 1-2-3 punch down the middle?
The Maple Leafs don’t have that anymore after trading Nazem Kadri. Neither do the Oilers, Penguins or Blackhawks.
Who do the Senators have? Colin White? Chris Tierney? Hopes and prayers?
The Islanders, who have Pageau playing behind Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson, have centre depth. And because of that — and also because Trotz is coaching circles around his former team — they now have a 3-0 series lead against the Capitals heading into Tuesday’s Game 4.
“Playing against the Islanders was always a hard game,” said Pageau.
“They were a tough team to play against. I was fortunate to join the team and I love to play that style of game. I think we have a solid group of guys that go to war every game and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Pageau scored 24 goals and 40 points for the Senators this year. But his biggest skill has always been his heart rather than his shot. He’s not particularly big or strong or tough in the way that Max Domi is. But there he was in his Islanders’ debut, not only scoring a goal but also dropping the mitts and fighting a bigger and stronger Jacob Trouba after the Rangers defenceman levelled Pageau’s new teammate with a questionable hit.
“Anything to get the fans to love him,” Chabot said to me in February. “He’s such a big competitor and he’s going to do anything for his team. He’s always going to put the team ahead of himself.”
It’s that team-first mentality that made trading the Ottawa native worse than when the team parted ways with Erik Karlsson or Mark Stone or even Daniel Alfredsson.
Fans loved him. Teammates respected him. He was a coach’s dream, the type of player who would gladly kill penalties and who could play on any one of the forward lines. He might not be a No. 1 centre or even a No. 2 centre. But playing on a third line with another former Senator in Derick Brassard and ex-Leaf in Leo Komarov, he’s producing like one.
Then again, it shouldn’t be any surprise.
When the Senators came within one game of reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2017, Pageau led the team with eight goals in 20 games. He has five points in seven games in these playoffs with the Islanders, all of which have come in even-strength situations.
“It was an easy decision to identify that player,” said Trotz.
“It was probably a harder decision to go out and get that player.”
Go tell that to the Senators.