NHL Rink Wrap: Predators rally past Panthers; Chabot shines

Here’s a take before the Tuesday NHL Takeaways section: the Senators often aren’t getting their money’s worth with costly players.

Most obviously, they’re dropping almost $11 million on the dubious duo of Matt Murray and Nikita Zaitsev. While I have plenty of time for Brady Tkachuk and his antics, it sure feels like he’ll need time to “grow into” his $8.33+ million cap hit.

When it comes to Thomas Chabot, the value proposition is a little fuzzier.

At times, the 25-year-old’s $8M cap hit feels a touch steep. But there are enough times where he seems worth it — maybe even a slight bargain — that the Senators don’t need to lose much sleep about his contract. (Especially since lesser defensemen are making even more after a wild offseason gold rush.)

In his 300th NHL game, Thomas Chabot nabbed player of the night honors for Tuesday with two goals and an assist. His second tally ended up being the game-winner.

Even with that three-point bump, Chabot’s pace (now 27 points in 46 games) would only translate to about 48 points over an 82-game season. Not terrible, but not a slam dunk for that $8M price tag, either. Yet he seems like the sort of net positive the Senators sorely need. Take, for instance, his RAPM chart from Evolving Hockey, which speaks to a mix of strong offense and defense that doesn’t take too much away from the table.

If Chabot can improve a bit more in his end, then Ottawa may end up grinning about that $8M. As it stands, it’s at least not looking overly offensive.

Patrik Laine stayed red-hot, scoring the overtime game-winner for the Blue Jackets over the Maple Leafs:

Patrik Laine ends a close game with this @SamuelAdamsBeer OT winner!