As the 2023-24 regular season begins, the Senators are forced to lean hard on Ridly Greig and Rourke Chartier.
With Shane Pinto still unsigned and Josh Norris not cleared to play, it seems the Ottawa Senators are set to start the season without either middle-six center. In a year where a good start is a must with playoff expectations on this team, it's not ideal, to say the least.
Without knowing when either will rejoin the lineup, there are some interesting short and long-term implications for the Senators.
Short-Term
While Norris and Pinto are out, the Sens will need temporary replacements on the second and third lines. It appears, for at least opening night in Carolina, that Ridly Greig and Rourke Chartier have won those jobs.
Greig played in five preseason games for Ottawa and put up 3 points (2G, 1A) while averaging 16:16 minutes on ice. Overall, he seemed to have an okay camp but started to stand out in the final games. Something to keep an eye on to start the season will be his faceoff percentage. With only a 39.2% in pre-season and 39.4% in 20 games last season, he will have to improve quickly. Greig will likely start the regular season as the second-line center.
Chartier played in six preseason games with the Sens and was unable to put up any points while averaging 13:36 minutes on ice. Unlike Greig, his value will come in the faceoff dot posting 51% throughout preseason and 57.6% in 6 games with Ottawa last year. Chartier is slated to start the year as the third-line center and, while he's a high energy player, do not expect him to contribute to middle-six scoring.
Long-Term
Looking slightly further down the road at this year's playoff odds, it's no surprise this is a massive hit for the Sens. The center depth, as it is, is not a playoff team and it's not particularly close. It might come down to how long Greig, Chartier, and to an extent Kastelic, who didn't have a great camp, can be capable replacement-level players until Norris and Pinto return. If it is less than 10 games, it may have little effect. If it drags on into November or longer, it could be devastating for a hopeful Ottawa squad.
The longer this contract dispute goes with Shane Pinto, concerns about the long-term relationship with the player may arise. Especially when there was a recent offer of 1 x $1M from the team, much less than he is worth and putting him in the same spot without leverage next off-season. Having watched everyone around him get taken care of, including a two-year deal, with a no-move clause for Travis Hamonic, and a three-year deal for Zach MacEwen, it's understandable if Pinto is frustrated. The team simply does not have enough to pay him market value.
With a recent report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, stating that the gap may be as small as Pinto asking for 2 x $2.5M and the team offering 2 x $1.9M, there's some hope it may be done soon.
As of now, Josh Norris is listed as day-to-day by coach DJ Smith so there should be no reason to believe he should wind up on LTIR. However, at the start of camp, there was also no reason to believe there would be any further problems with his shoulder. Norris did make the trip to Raleigh but is not expected to play tin the opener.
Having missed significant portions of the last two seasons, as well as a bunch of time while in college for his shoulder, I think there's reason to be concerned about long-term implications. Signed to an AAV of $7.95M for the next seven seasons, his injury must be handled with all the caution in the world. Everyone hopes he can get back to his goal-scoring ways someday soon.
If Norris does wind up on LTIR, he would be required to miss a minimum of 10 games, making him eligible to return on November 8th @ Toronto Maple Leafs.