–Robin Lehner has been sent back to Binghamton. It’s exactly what was expected. Bryan Murray stated the obvious:
It didn’t make any sense to have three people here and two not playing very much. We know Robin has a great future in this game, and I think for him to go play, get lots of starts, will be beneficial in the long run for him.
Lehner himself said:
It’s part of a process, and there’s politics involved. I’m happy and I’ll keep on going.
I agree with Wayne Scanlan (whose story is linked) that “politics” refers to Ben Bishop‘s one-way contract.
–Kyle Turris and Patrick Wiercioch are childhood friends and talked about what connecting on their first NHL goal meant:
It was a very special moment [Turris said]. I think that’s a moment we won’t forget for a long time. To be able to play not only in the NHL together but on the same team, to be on the power play together and connect on the power play together … it was really neat. We were joking when we got back in the room at the intermission, saying that was kind of like the Burnaby Express days, when we were on the power play together, and he kind of moved the puck over to me for a one-timer. That was probably the last time, other than the training sessions in (New Westminster’s) Moody Park that we do every summer. We take thousands of those shots every summer. We work a lot on one-timers like that.
He’d be my best friend growing up [Wiercioch said]. I talk to him about almost anything. When he was in Phoenix, going through hard times, we’d call each other. Last year, when I had my (serious throat) injury he was the first one to call my girlfriend to make sure she was OK. We’ve just kept in contact over the years. It’s a relationship we haven’t lost. He called me before the news broke that he was traded. I was just on my way back from Boston getting my throat checked out by a specialist there, preparing myself for the worst. He called me and that was the best news of the day. I didn’t really care what happened that day. I just knew he was going to be here and hopefully one day I’d join him up here.
There’s little doubt that Turris‘ arrival in the organisation has helped Wiercioch, who finally did the work necessary over the summer to start filling out his frame. I suspect that Wiercioch will stay once Lundin is healthy and it will be interesting to see how he handles an extended stay in the NHL.
–Don Brennan has decided Marc Methot is already an upgrade over Filip Kuba:
Methot, a better skater than Kuba, leads the Senators with nine hits, whereas Kuba rarely used his big body for such purposes.
As we know, hits define how good a defenseman is (who wouldn’t take Andy Sutton over Nicklas Lidstrom?). He adds that Karlsson enjoyed a Norris season playing with Kuba who received an “excess amount of credit.” It’s not much of an argument or comparison. They are different kinds of players and Methot‘s track record in Columbus doesn’t match Kuba‘s career. All this really establishes is that Methot has become one of Brennan’s favourites.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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