BUFFALO — Dave Cameron, fitter than most NHL coaches and most 57-year-olds, was pushing so hard on the stationary bike even he was struggling to catch his wind.
But not struggling to get his point across.
“We. . .have to. . . manage expectations,” said the Ottawa head coach.
So true. The Senators, in some ways the hottest, most dangerous of all NHL clubs in the second half last year, have to know they can’t play at a 23-wins-in-31-games clip for the entire 2015-16 season.
What they can do, however, is hope that the players who fueled that second half charge will pick up where they left off. Goalie Andrew Hammond can’t right now, as he’s on the injured list with a bad groin.
But winger Mark Stone can. After a pre-season in which, according to GM Bryan Murray, he was Ottawa’s best player, Stone goes into this season knowing that he has the ability to be among the NHL’s elite scorers.
He had 47 points in his final 46 games last season, a rate that would have had him in a dogfight for the scoring title had he achieved it all season long. He also plays on a line with centre Kyle Turris and left winger Mike Hoffman that, based on Thursday’s 3-1 victory in Buffalo in the first game of the season for both clubs, could terrorize other NHL teams this season.
“I want to be that player,” says Stone. “The team success we had towards the end of the year obviously helped my individual success. With Kyle, we really found a way to produce on a night-to-night basis and help our team win down the stretch, which is comforting, and a good start to this season.
“I had a pretty good pre-season, and I’m ready to go. I’m healthy, 100 per cent, for the first time in a little bit, so I’m excited.”
This was an individual story that, in many ways, came out of nowhere last season. Stone was a sixth round draft pick who played four full years of major junior. He had two shots at sticking with the Sens in his first two seasons, and failed, and in the minors scored 15 goals twice.
So where did last season come from?
“I was always confident in my ability, particularly once I was given the opportunity by Dave to go out and maybe make a few mistakes and work through them,” he says. “Whereas maybe earlier in the season (with Paul MacLean as coach), if you made a mistake you’d be in and out of the lineup.
“I got some power play time, my ice time increased a ton, and I was able to take advantage.”
All that may be true, but it also is a partial picture. What those who watch Stone play, and have over the years, will tell you is that he is a master of the subtle arts of puck-stealing and stick play. So many just see the upright, awkward skating style and miss the really important stuff.
“He has one of the highest hockey I.Q.s in the NHL,” says Cameron. “He flew under the radar a little bit because at other times when we thought he was ready, he got bit by the injury bug. That set him back, but I’m not surprised with what he did last season because of his hockey I.Q.”
Murray feels certain Ottawa’s first round playoff loss to Montreal in six games last spring might have gone very differently had Stone not been slashed in the hand and injured. There was an undeniable magic to the Winnipeg native’s game down the stretch as, once again, he showed it’s not all about how fast you can skate.
“I’m always looking to improve, and that’s a part of my game that could still use improvement,” says Stone. “At the same time, I don’t feel like I’m slow, I feel good out there, and the pace of the game doesn’t bother me. I’m comfortable playing against anybody.
“I have different things in my game that make up for that. I think I read the play pretty well, see the ice in a way some other guys can’t see it. I’m really good with my stick, and that helps me a lot.”
The Sens will be a fascinating team to watch this season as they move further and further away from the Daniel Alfredsson/Jason Spezza years. That first line could be terrific, Erik Karlson won the Norris Trophy, Cody Ceci is maturing on the back end and the June draft harvested three promising youngsters in Saint John defenceman Thomas Chabot, Boston College freshman Colin White and 6-foot-5 Victoriaville winger Gabriel Gagne. If Bobby Ryan could be the elite NHL scorer Ottawa traded for, the picture would be more complete, but if that isn’t the case it will matter more if Stone proves to be the real thing this season.
Last season Ottawa, forced to operate on a budget and be resourceful, got hot when it had to. Now, Cameron’s hope is that the team becomes good. Consistently so.
“We have to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a position where we have to go on a record run,” he says.
So while he figures he has to manage expectations, he believes he can expect Stone will be what he was in turning himself into a Calder Trophy finalist.
We’ll know by, oh, December whether that expectation was reasonable.
