Amongst a myriad of larger summer transactions, it was one move the Ottawa Senators didn’t make which frustrated me. Stephane Da Costa, handed a one-year, two-way deal in the summer of 2013, was not re-signed.
The move irritated me for multiple reasons, chiefly the fact that the Senators sorely lacked elite-level offensive talent. While I’ll happily admit Da Costa fell far from the realm of elite talent, he did showcase a talented set of hands and good offensive instincts. Unfortunately, a borderline playoff team with a traditional ‘grind-it-out’ coach at the helm didn’t give him an opportunity. In just 12 games, Da Costa picked up three goals and an assist. All in all, not a terrible haul for a guy that averaged only 10:25 of ice time per game almost exclusively at even strength on the Sens’ bottom two lines.
Over the course of a full season, Da Costa could have reasonably expected to pick up around 20 goals and maybe even eclipsed 40 points. However, buried on a depth chart considered deep at center by head coach Paul MacLean (if Zack Smith and Colin Greening can be considered more effective depth than Da Costa), Da Costa spent most of last season in the AHL with Binghamton, where all he did was put up the second-best offensive stat line (18G/40A/58Pts) on the best offensive team in the league.
Thus, when Da Costa’s camp requested a one-way deal, the Sens would naturally oblige him in the paltry region of $1 million, right? Wrong. Instead, the club handed Bobby Ryan, a guy who had 48 points for them in 2013-14 alongside a quality playmaker who had since left the team, a whopping seven-year, $50 million contract.
And so, the poor little French-Pole who played at Merrimack College (interesting background, huh?) packed his bags and headed off to a much more lucrative opportunity in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Give the KHL credit, it has done its absolute best to legitimize itself in the continental European market. With strong franchises in places like Riga, Bratislava, and Zagreb, as well as the 2014-15 addition of Finnish giants Jokerit Helsinki, the league is rapidly becoming the undisputed number-two circuit in the hockey world. Despite noticeable second-rate goaltending on some teams, the league as a whole offers a high level of play, good contract terms for perhaps borderline NHLers, and a unique opportunity, especially for players of European origin.
Hence, it made sense for Da Costa to roll on over to jolly-old Moscow, where he has done nothing less than dominate for one of the KHL’s top teams, CSKA. Currently tied for second in the league in goals with 16, only trailing point-per-game former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk (who’s bested him by one with 17), and finally able to play proper minutes for a player of his specific skill set, Da Costa’s showing the hockey world he deserved a shot with the Sens.
A shot he never got.
That being said, Da Costa seems perfectly happy in Russia. He’s lighting the lamp on a more consistent basis than almost anyone else in the league. He’s within a four-hour flight of his native Paris, and he’s getting opportunities to showcase his talent.
The best part of his journey to Russia, though, is the fact that he can make an NHL return as soon as next season. With a contract that only runs until the end of April 2015, Da Costa will have the chance if he so chooses to return to the league he never truly got a fair shake in.
To mix in some perspective with the current Senators roster, take Colin Greening as an example. A player who ‘fit’ head coach Paul MacLean’s defensive, grind-it-out mentality (which has coincidentally come into question early this season as the Sens continuously find themselves giving up over 35 shots-per-game), Greening is making $2.5 million on a one-way contract in 2014-15 and has played a total of 20.5 minutes in the Senators’ first 10 games, picking up two shots and no points. Through 10 games entering the night of Nov. 4, the Senators’ offense ranked 25th in the NHL.
You can be sure of one thing: with all 30 NHL organizations constantly scouting the globe, at least one will be waiting with the one-way contract Da Costa so desperately wanted and so ill-advisedly did not receive from the Senators. Whether or not he takes it after having lived the good life in 2014-15 with one of Russia’s top organizations is a whole other story.
Regardless of what comes to pass the rest of this season and regardless of where the 25-year-old Frenchman ends up chasing a puck for a living in 2015-16, it is clear that the Ottawa Senators goofed this one up a bit.
Thank you for reading.
Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo:
