Silver Seven Newsletter: Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man, Here Stands Ridly Greig
Ridly Greig has seized the opportunity in front of him, and the Sens are all the better for it
Two months ago, the Ottawa Senators appeared primed for a breakout season. The young core, carefully assembled, was flanked by capable veterans. For the first time in a very long time, there was a measure of depth up and down the line-up. Yes, there was the pesky question of Shane Pinto being unsigned and the related salary cap restrictions, but most fans would have told you that they felt better about this group of players than at any time since at least 2017 and possibly even before that. Looking back, it's amazing what can happen to your "depth" in just a few short months.
Since those heady end-of-summer days, Josh Norris' return was delayed numerous times, the aforementioned Pinto has remained unsigned (and is currently suspended for 41 games) , and Artem Zub, Erik Brännström, and Thomas Chabot have all missed time. Chabot's recently broken hand is severe enough that he has been placed on LTIR.
The thing about injuries is that they are also opportunities for someone else. In what I would say has been one of the most positive developments of the early going, Ridly Greig has jumped up and seized the chance put in front of him. If the Sens currently have three lines that are all functioning reasonably well, it is only possible because of Greig. It's difficult to envision a third line centre playing much better than he has so far in the first eight games of the year.
I've been a Greig convert since he first came into the line-up at the end of last year. Before his first NHL game, I wrote:
