The summer of Pierre Dorion is not yet over.
After dramatically re-working their roster over the offseason, the Ottawa Senators made one final move on Wednesday to bolster their forward corps ahead of training camp, agreeing to terms with Tyler Motte on a one-year contract worth $1.35 million.
Motte is an interesting case to evaluate.
Stuck on a Canucks team that was hurtling towards disaster for most of the 2021-22 season, Motte was a largely average depth forward, racking up seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 49 games in Vancouver while logging around 14 minutes in average nightly ice time and getting out-chanced by his opponents at even-strength.
Those numbers somewhat improved, however, once Bruce Boudreau came on board midseason, and then proceeded to take a major spike up once Motte was dealt to the New York Rangers a few months later at the trade deadline.
Despite going pointless in nine games with the Rangers down the final stretch of the regular season, Motte seemed far better suited for the role he was now playing in New York, with the 27-year-old helping generate a ludicrous 63.16 percent share of the available scoring chances during his even-strength minutes along with an equally impressive 56.26 percent share of the expected goals.
In the playoffs, Motte only took that play to another level, giving the Rangers’ forward corps the depth it needed to make a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final, while his two goals in 15 games both came at incredibly opportune times.
Motte won’t set the world on fire offensively. It’s not his role. But as a depth player who can help tilt the ice in his team’s favor while taking on bottom-six matchups, Motte is a terrific piece to add, and should only help fortify the Senators’ forwards corps further.
