Logical: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (27, C, Ottawa Senators)
Looking at the Panthers from an outside perspective, trying to trade for a center might not make too much sense. The Cats have been one of the top-scoring clubs throughout the league, but recently, that run is coming to a close.
Vincent Trocheck’s 2019-20 season has been well under expectation, with Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari’s ridiculous runs of form fading with February passing. With that, Dominic Toninato hasn’t quite produced as much from the third line, and the Panthers are in need of a new face to freshen up the offense.
Lo and behold, another player with a memorable playoff performance against the New York Rangers could move to new pastures this month. Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau has had a career year north of the border, emerging as a consistent offensive threat for the Sens.
That aforementioned game came back in 2017 when Jean-Gabriel Pageau took the second round by storm. Pageau gave Ottawa a 2-0 lead in that series on a 2OT goal, his fourth of the game, completing a natural hat trick to boost Ottawa to a 6-5 win.
While Pageau would score four more goals during that playoff run that led Ottawa to game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, goal-getting, up until this season, hasn’t been his forte. Pageau is a stellar two-way forward, giving the Senators a reliable face in both ends. Nicknamed “Honey Badger” similarly to the NFL’s Tyrann Mathieu, Pageau is known for his aggressive playstyle, nominated for the Selke in both 2015-16 and 2016-17.
This year, Pageau has been fantastic in front of goal. Pageau already has a career-high 21 goals in 50 games and is just nine points shy of his career-high 43. This has been an important season at just the right time, with Pageau dominating in his biggest contract year.
At 27, this could be Pageau’s last chance for a big payday. As mentioned last week, Ottawa has a lot of money coming off the books this season, but need to start putting it into their young core to keep them locked up. They’ve already started by locking up 23-year-old Colin White until 2026, and Pageau’s future is up in the air in the Canadian Capital.
Being a UFA at season’s end, Pageau could be a very good get as a rental, with a chance to secure a long-term deal if he performs above expectations. Florida could use this depth on both ends at the forward position, and Pageau could even challenge Trocheck for the 2nd center spot going forward.