It was hard to totally blame Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray for acquiring Nikita Filatov this summer. Every now and then, a prized prospect struggles in a not-so-great environment but then breaks through thanks to a change of scenery and a golden opportunity.
Filatov’s young enough (21 years old) that the dream isn’t anywhere close to dead, but the reality of his flaws better start sinking in. The Senators announced that they sent him to their AHL affiliate in Binghamton, so he’ll have to stomach yet another setback in his floundering NHL career. Let’s face it, if you can’t stick with the Senators as a forward this season, then things aren’t going very well. (So much for him being a top-six winger, I guess.)
Sorry to Filatov apologists, but he can’t blame Ken Hitchcock anymore.
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In far less grim demotion-related news, two first rounders from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft were sent back to the juniors today. Both players are OHL-bound, as the New York Islanders sent Ryan Strome (fifth overall) to the Niagra IceDogs (great name) while the Carolina Hurricanes moved Ryan Murphy (12th overall) to the Kitchener Rangers.
Expect more demotions in the next week or so, as NHL teams will have to face the decision to keep players up (thus burning a bargain year from an entry-level contract) or sending them down (therefore preserving that cheap year for next season).