Before being acquired by the Senators at this year’s trade deadline for a second-round pick and a third-round pick swap, Warren Foegele had seven goals and two assists with the Kings, well off the pace he’d set from his previous two seasons in Los Angeles.
Maybe all he needed for that offence to come back, though, was a reunion with good friend and former teammate Jordan Spence?
Steve Staios hooked up with Kings general manager Ken Holland to make a similar trade during last summer’s draft, flipping third- and sixth-round draft picks for Spence, who has been a success at the bargain bin price of $1 million on the right side of Ottawa’s defence corps.
Bringing Spence to Ottawa has worked out great for the Senators, but for Foegele, maybe less so.
When Foegele and Spence were on the ice together in Los Angeles, the numbers were gaudy. Over a span of 284:45 TOI, they controlled 64.04 per cent of the high-danger chances, 61.28 per cent of the expected goals, and what truly matters — the team scored 21 goals while only allowing eight, a 72.4 goals-for percentage.
“It was definitely a topic of conversation back in LA, the success that we had with him,” said Foegele.
“He creates a lot of offence by joining the rush, transitioning, so no, it’s definitely been a struggle for me offensively this year, but looking back at some tape, he’d been contributing on a lot of those goals last year.”
When Staios acquired Foegele on the eve of the league’s trade deadline in early March, his playoff experience was one several attributes that stood out to Senators fans, besides his size, speed, defensive aptitude, nose for the net — and affordability, with the winger under team control at $3.5 million through next season.
With all of those skills in mind, the Senators were willing to buy low on the two-time 20-goal scorer for the small price of a second-round pick and a third-round pick swap. Through seven games with the Senators, Foegele has already picked up three goals and an assist.
“Well, I think if he was on a 20-goal pace this year, he wouldn’t have been available,” Staios told the media after the deadline.
“So, sometimes you have to take a look at what the makeup of the player is, and was the fit right? What's the timing of it? There's always a bit of a question when a good player like that is available, but we feel like just because the makeup of the player — that player in particular — the way he plays the game and our style of play, and the way our coaches like to play, we feel like it's a good opportunity for him to get back to his game and for us to get a very good player.”
Ahead of his 30th birthday on April 1 — no fooling — Foegele has already played 86 postseason games in the NHL, scoring 13 goals and adding 14 assists.
Behind Claude Giroux and Lars Eller, the latter his new linemate with the Sens, that leaves Foegele with the third-most postseason appearances on his team, a counting stat he’s been able to build because his teams have never missed the postseason.
He made the playoffs in each season he played in the OHL, the lone season he played in the AHL, and seven straight years in the NHL.
While Foegele’s recent play would suggest he’s not keen on letting that streak die, Sens fans are keen on Foegele being the good luck charm the team needs to claw their way back into the playoffs.
The winger scored in his debut with the Senators, a 7-4 win in Seattle, and then recorded his first multi-point game in his fifth game with his new club, also a 7-4 win, this time at home against San Jose. Then, he scored the game-tying goal against the Islanders on Thursday night in the third period.
“He’s finding his way,” said Travis Green after that win. “It’s a lot when a new player comes in partway through a season, and also coming in to a team that’s going pretty well. I know in his head, he’s probably waiting to play more minutes. We’ve had a lot of communication with him, as far as his minutes, [to] not worry about it.
“It’s not just the trade itself, it’s a new system, it’s a lot of different wording, as far as what we call certain plays, but I’ve liked his game so far.”
“Just being able to experience what he brought to the table last year, I knew that he’s able to score, and to be a 200-foot player,” said Spence.
“Obviously he wants to be better, and obviously him scoring in Seattle, I was really excited for him and I kind of told him that I wished I was on the ice with him when he scored that goal. Overall, [the team is] really excited, but I’m super excited.”
Spence’s wish to be on the ice when Foegele scored did come true a few days later, when he scored against San Jose. He snuck on for Nikolas Matinpalo just in time for Foegele’s five-hole game-tying goal in the second period and joined the celebration.
“Yeah, no, it was pretty cool,” said a smiling Foegele when he met the media after that win over San Jose, which marked both his first goal and first win on home ice. “The fans have been great, they’re loud, you know, the guys, everyone here has been really awesome, and it just felt really nice to get a win here.”
