We want Pinto!… Or do we want Greig?

Written by: Franky Robertson

“We want Pinto!” The crowd chants, as General Manager Pierre Dorion nervously wipes the bead of sweat off his forehead, trying his best to look calm and collected in front of newly hired President of Hockey Operations Steve Staios… probably, I’m not sure, really. But what I do know for sure, is that the mismanagement of cap and the inability to sign RFA Shane Pinto during the off-season is not a good look for Dorion. Spending the remaining of our cap space by signing several other free agents this summer before signing a player like Pinto is an error that we as a fanbase are hoping doesn’t happen again now that Staios is here to oversee Dorion’s work. Nevertheless, here we are, 5 games into the season, with no Pinto, and no cap space to make any type of signing.

Luckily for Dorion… and his job, the 21-year-old rookie center Ridly Greig has been outstanding so far this season. Through five games played, Greig has one goal and three assists for four points and a +5 plus–minus rating. Not to mention he and Vladimir Tarasenko seem to have found chemistry playing with each other. A performance that has not only helped the team win games but has also raised an interesting question within the Ottawa Senators fan base… would you rather Pinto or Greig?

André Ringuette – NHLI

After being drafted with the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft by the Ottawa Senators, Pinto had a quick but impressive college career at the University of North Dakota. In his second and final year of college hockey, Pinto made the All-NCHC First team, he was selected as the NCHC’s defensive forward of the year and forward of the year and was a Hobey Baker finalist.[1] When his sophomore season came to an end in 2021, he quickly joined the Senators near the end of the regular season.

Playing only 12 games with the club, Pinto made a great impression on both fans and the organization, deeming him a great middle-six center to have on the team. Unfortunately, five games into the 2021-22 season, he suffered a season-ending injury, leaving the bottom six depth with little to no skilled players. But in the 2022-23 season, Pinto had some big shoes to fill, when Josh Norris, who had previously scored 35 goals in the 66 games played during the previous season, also suffered a season-ending injury.

Sens players and their shoulders, am I right?  

Pinto, still an eligible rookie at the time, and playing against some of the league’s top players, finished the 2022-23 season with 20 goals and 15 assists. On top of his scoring, Pinto put up a 52.1 percent faceoff win percentage, which was just slipping into the top 20 percent for faceoff wins amongst all forwards who played a minimum of 10 games.[2] We can’t forget his incredible defensive play, where he accumulated 49 blocked shots, the second most blocked shots amongst forwards on the team last year, as well as 38 takeaways, which was the fourth most on the team. [3]

All this is to say that Pinto really is invaluable to this team. He’s good at faceoffs, he can get back and play great defence as a forward, and he’s capable of putting up 20 goals on the season. What more could you ask out of your third-line center?

Here comes Greig into the equation. Sure, the reason he even is in this equation is because our general manager failed to sign Pinto before the 2023-24 season started, as well as because Norris was still injured and couldn’t play right away. But nevertheless, Greig took the opportunity that has been given to him, and he has not disappointed.

After being drafted with the 28th overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft by the Ottawa Senators, Greig went on to have a pretty impressive season in his last year in the WHL, where he tallied 26 goals & 37 assists for 63 points, as well as 92 penalty minutes for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Last season, he had a pretty good year in Belleville scoring 15 goals and 14 assists in 39 games played, where he then came and finished the last 20 games of the NHL season, scoring two goals and seven assists. [4]

But it’s the start of this season that’s impressed everybody the most. With one goal and three assists through just five games, Greig has already begun to show his ability to set up his teammates and create some offence. From the eye test alone, you can tell that the team generates offensive chances when he’s on the ice. In fact, Greig is leading the team with a 67.0 expected goal percentage at 5v5.[5] Not to mention he also has a 57.8 corsi for percentage, which is first on the team amongst players who have played more than one game. For those of you who don’t know, when the corsi for percentage is above 50 percent, it essentially signifies that the team was controlling the puck more often than not with this player on the ice in this situation.[6] On top of his ability to create scoring chances, Greig is also the type of player to play with his heart on his sleeve. With 7 hits on the season so far, Greig only trails two other forwards on the team with more hits than him; Brady Tkachuk and Parker Kelly.[7] And for those of you who have been watching, we all know how good Greig is at getting under the opponent’s skin. At times, Greig does remind me of Tkachuk. Physical, offensively skilled, and annoying to play against.

With all that being said, here we are. Five games into the season, two third-line centers to choose from, though one remains unsigned. If it came down to it, who would you rather be on the team? The shoot-first two-way center who can win draws and play great defence, or the physical center who naturally generates offensive chances and isn’t afraid to put his body on the line in order to get a win. 

My vote? I want them both, obviously. If we were to finally sign Pinto, he would take up the third-line center role, seeing as his faceoff percentage and 200-foot game give him the edge at that position. Plus, moving Greig to the wing, on a hypothetical line of Pinto and Vladimir Tarasenko, could give him two shoot-first players to create high-danger chances with. But for now, Greig continues to impress us at center, while Pinto watches from home.