As he approached the end of his contract last season and the negotiations became a little bit contentious, Marc Methot had an ace up his sleeve.
That ace was the fact that his chemistry with Senators captain and best player Erik Karlsson made him too valuable to let get away.
Let's face the facts. Methot on his own probably isn't a first pairing defenseman on a lot of teams. He has never had more than 6 goals or 23 points, in a season.
Some would argue that Karlsson makes Methot, but it is probably more of a symbiotic relationship. After all, Karlsson was average at even strength, with most of his production coming with the man advantage.
Methot returned to action on a full time basis on January 8th, in the team's 40th game of the season. Using a pre-Methot and post-Methot division of Karlsson's season, the difference is rather remarkable.
*Rank among defensemen playing 200 minutes or more in time period
His production at even strength doubled, and his Corsi improved substantially. He went from being an equal opportunity defenseman (in terms of scoring chances for and against), to over 55% in the Senators favor.
Granted, last season was one of change where it was really a tale of two seasons for the club as a whole, and pinpointing a specific reason is almost impossible because it was a perfect storm of change. All I know for sure is that Karlsson wasn't even in the Norris conversation when the calendar turned, and ended up winning the award with a strong second half.
Maybe the change in the team system and the way the team as a whole matured had as much of an impact as Methot's return, or maybe Methot's return was a key factor in changing the way the team played. It is kind of a chicken or egg theory.
Methot isn't, and probably never will be, a key offensive weapon for the Senators, but his presence allows Karlsson to do what he does best. Without having to worry so much if he commits a turnover by trying to do too much sometimes, which almost every star player is guilty of, Karlsson can free-wheel relatively guilt free.
Much like Filip Kuba was during Karlsson's early years and especially during his first Norris season, Methot is a security blanket for Karlsson. That presence turned Karlsson from about a $3M defenseman into an $9M blueliner (who gets paid $6.5M), in a matter of days.
Sure, there are better defensemen than Methot in the league that the Senators could have brought in for Methot's (just under) $5M, but there would be no guarantee that the same chemistry would develop with the replacement. If Methot is overpaid, then the difference is more than made up by the extra the team gets out of Karlsson when he is there.
It will be interesting and exciting to see what will happen over the course of a full season if the duo can stay healthy and on the ice together. If that happens, there might very well be a 3-time Norris Trophy defenseman patrolling the blue line in Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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