What the Filatov?

When the Ottawa Senators demoted Nikita Filatov to their American Hockey League farm team last Thursday, a lot of Sens fans were left scratching their heads and thinking, “What the Filatov?” In three AHL games in a span of three days, Filatov recorded ten shots and scored three goals and an assist. He’s still with Binghamton, though, and likely will be for the foreseeable future. So, what’s up with that?

Filatov’s demotion was largely a surprise because he hadn’t played badly at all in his first six pre-season and two regular season games in Ottawa. Granted, he hadn’t produced much offense (just four assists in eight total games), but Filatov had managed sixteen shots and performed such admirable tasks as “backchecking” and “skating hard” – two areas in which Sergei Gonchar, Nikita’s fellow Russian Senator, appears to need some work.

Based on quotations from General Manager Bryan Murray and Head Coach Paul MacLean retrieved from articles in the Toronto Sun and Columbus Dispatch, Filatov needed top-six ice time that he wasn’t going to get in Ottawa because other players were outperforming him. Murray said that Filatov has to “be a little more competitive and hopefully score some points” in the AHL. MacLean was more vague, saying the young forwards is “still learning how we’re playing the game and the speed we want to play the game at.” Whatever that means.

While the justification that “we need to make sure our best players are playing” is fair, it’s difficult to accept that reasoning and not look any deeper for answers. The fact is that there is a proverbial “numbers game” in Ottawa: arguably fifteen NHL-calibre forwards must fight over twelve spots. It doesn’t do much good for a 21-year-old’s development to sit and watch games, so Filatov was the easy choice to send down, especially given his two-way contract.

Of the Senators’ fifteen NHL-calibre forwards, only three are on two-way contracts: Filatov, Mika Zibanejad, and Stéphane Da Costa. Zibanejad will only play in the NHL or the Swedish Elite League this year, and Da Costa had outperformed Filatov at the time of the latter’s demotion. It’s true that one-way and two-way contracts don’t determine waiver eligibility – Bobby Butler, Erik Condra, and Colin Greening are all on one-way contracts and are exempt from waivers for now, according to CapGeek’s waiver calculator –, but it’s a lot less difficult to justify paying a player an annual salary of $65,000 (Filatov) than $900,000 (Butler) to play in the AHL.

Some have speculated that a lack of work ethic in practice and a poor defensive game led to Filatov’s demotion. This is possible, and it partly stems from the fact that Filatov was loaned (by his own request) to a team in the Kontinental Hockey League for part of the 2009-2010 season when he wasn’t receiving much ice time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, the Russian winger has stated time and time again that he wants to play in the NHL. He remained positive after being sent down on Thursday, and he started off well with the Binghamton Senators, recording two goals and an assist in his first game.

It’s easy to get riled up about such a skilled player being sent down to the minors after just two regular season games – after all, the Senators promised Filatov “every opportunity” to succeed, and I’m not sure that two games fits that definition. It’s also easy to already want to write off the 21-year-old, especially given the troubles he faced with the Blue Jackets. But consider two points: Firstly, of the Blue Jackets’ nine first-round picks between 2000 and 2008 (which ranged from first overall to eighth overall), only two are still with the organization – Columbus has had serious problems developing their players. Secondly, Erik Karlsson started his first season with the Senators in 2009 and struggled in the first nine games, prompting the team to send him down to play with Binghamton. After recording eleven assists in twelve games and playing big minutes in the AHL, Karlsson was recalled and the rest, as they say, is history. Karlsson quickly became Ottawa’s best offensive defenseman and hasn’t looked back. Who’s to say a stint in the AHL for Filatov won’t produce similar results?

The fact is that Filatov will get another chance. If he continues to play well in Binghamton, he will force the Ottawa Senators to recall him. Even if he doesn’t, injuries are common in the NHL and when one arises in Ottawa, a spot will be opened up. And even if that doesn’t happen any time soon, it looks increasingly likely that Zibanejad will be sent back to Sweden this season before the first year of his entry-level contract is burned up, so that, too, will create an opportunity up front.

Filatov wasn’t a sixth-overall pick for no reason. He’s talented and determined to play in the NHL, and if he can “develop his game” in the AHL while patiently waiting for a spot to open up, he’ll be back up in Ottawa in no time – just as Karlsson was in 2009.