Preseason games matter; in fact, they matter a lot. They definitively tell us which team is better at all things hockey, and serve as a great way to draw broad conclusions about the season as a whole. That question of which Ontario hockey club is more talented and skillful? It’s been put to rest, with the Ottawa Senators dominating the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-1 victory last night.
Here are some key takeaways from that monumental victory:
1) Jason Spezza still wants to be a Senator
Plus-minus is a relatively ineffective statistic in today’s game, but it’s still worth mentioning that Spezza managed to tally a -3 next to his name in game that saw his opponent score a total of three goals. Let the conspiracy theories begin – it’s abundantly clear that his head and his heart are still with the more talented squad.
2) Tristan Scherway could earn up to $22M per season if he signs an NHL deal one day
Scherway, who joined the Senators from SC Bern in Switzerland as a training camp invite, had two points last night and looked very good in the process. Mitch Marner, who recently signed a deal that pays him in the neighborhood of $11M per season, only notched one point. Simple math dictates to this blogger that Scherway, when eligible, could sign for upwards of $22M per season ($11M x double the points, for those not following along at home). Of course, that deal won’t be signed this season, as Scherway is committed to a return to SC Bern, but it’s important to have foresight when it comes to signing these monster-money deals.
3) Anthony Duclair is a better goal scorer than Auston Matthews
There was a lot of talk on social media this past summer about Auston Matthews being the best goal scorer in the league, about how his scoring rates rival those of Alex Ovechkin, and about how he could dominate the league for years to come. Those conversations should be over. It’s the Anthony Duclair show now. He scored one goal in last night’s game, while Matthews scored ZERO! In percentage terms, that means that Duclair is a #Div/0! better scorer than Matthews. Facts are facts.
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In all seriousness… preseason games aren’t particularly important. Despite what you hear from coaches and GMs around the league, most roster decisions have already been made for one reason or another. It’s exciting to have hockey back on television (thanks, TSN!), but it would be foolish to draw any sort of conclusion from what we saw last night. The Senators won the game. They benefited from some shaky Toronto goaltending. They had good performances from players like Scherway, Duclair, and Anders Nilsson. That's all there was to it.
The Leafs and Senators take to the ice for a preseason rematch tonight.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart was the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz from 2012 to 2015, and has been the Ottawa Senators writer since September 2019. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter. 
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