{"id":401243,"date":"2026-01-10T21:19:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/401243\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T21:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:19:18","slug":"ridly-greigs-rise-a-rare-bright-spot-in-gloomy-senators-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/401243\/","title":{"rendered":"Ridly Greig\u2019s rise a rare bright spot in gloomy Senators season"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA\u2014 The empty-net slapshot heard across the hockey world.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Ridly Greig<\/a>\u2019s cult-creating moment will be commemorated by the Ottawa Senators<\/a> with a bobblehead picturing the slapper that clapped back at the Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t we all love it when teams are petty?<\/p>\n

As the wheels of the Senators’ season are on the precipice of falling by the wayside with surreal on- and off-ice drama, Saturday\u2019s celebration might bring a modicum of joy in an otherwise gloomy season.<\/p>\n

It was the night of Feb. 10, 2024 \u2014 a meaningless game in the standings, yet another edition of the heated Battle of Ontario rivalry.<\/p>\n

The \u201ccode\u201d was broken as Greig fired a clapper into an empty net, but Senators fans’ hearts certainly were not. Morgan Rielly\u2019s retaliatory cross-check to Greig\u2019s face earned him a suspension, and Toronto players and fans were furious. The play instantly vaulted Greig into a fan favourite. It certainly pleased Senators\u2019 owner Michael Andlauer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was more of a statement about their fans than Toronto\u2019s team because we had so many Leafs fans in our building,\u201d Andlauer said earlier this season. \u201cI talked to (Greig) and sometimes in these situations I think players have blackouts and don\u2019t know what they did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Greig, the slapshot thrust him into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely got a lot of hate for it, but I think from a fan\u2019s perspective, it was entertaining. Whether you hated it or loved it, you probably watched it,\u201d Greig said last year.<\/p>\n

The play hasn\u2019t just been a one-off for the hard-nosed, versatile forward; he\u2019s a natural pest at his core. Greig routinely throws himself into scrums and launches little cross-checks and slashes to get under opponents\u2019 skin while accidentally-on-purpose bumping into opposing netminders.<\/p>\n

His slapshot was a mere preview of public displays of irritation against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The crescendo came when the Battle of Ontario hit the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Greig\u2019s tussle with Anthony Stolarz created amazing playoff theatre and ammunition for the Senators. It embodied the Senators\u2019 little-brother mentality, whereby they wouldn\u2019t back down from the big, bad Leafs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely annoying. I think we\u2019re going to play hard on him and not make it easy for him the rest of the way,\u201d Matthew Knies said after the incident.<\/p>\n

Still, while the Senators couldn\u2019t dethrone their archrivals in the playoffs, but Greig’s fiery competitiveness was emblematic of his Senators’ series against Toronto, coming back from 3-0 down to force a Game 6.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just Toronto where Greig is despised, but\u00a0La Belle Province,\u00a0too.<\/p>\n

During the 2025 pre-season, Greig hit Kirby Dach, leading to shenanigans and a fight<\/a> between the two.<\/p>\n

Later in the\u00a0season, Greig laid a massive hit on Juraj Slafkosvky in Ottawa and the two squared off for another fight.<\/p>\n

It takes a special personality to have both Toronto and Montreal players and fans despise you. No wonder Sens fans adore Greig.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, Greig\u2019s bobblehead night is when the Florida Panthers come to town with plenty of rats, none more accomplished than Brad Marchand, another diminutive pest. Despite am underwhelming season from the Senators, Greig has been a bright spot, especially of late.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just agitator antics with Greig, either \u2014 he\u2019s become a very effective utility player for head coach Travis Green who kills penalties, is as tenacious as they come and can play anywhere in the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there’s just certain guys that are just hockey players and just play the game, never worries about where he’s playing, who he’s playing with,\u201d said Green.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s always one of those players that you like to have. He’s hard to play against, and you can’t have enough guys like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

All season, Greig, a natural centre,\u00a0has shuffled onto different lines and positions. Recently, he went from fourth-line centre one game to first-line left winger the next.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell him one day he\u2019s playing the fourth line, first line. He just got a good attitude about the game,\u201d said Green. \u201cRidly is confident enough to know that he finds a way to play 15 to 19 minutes, playing on the fourth line or third, second. He\u2019s a valuable player for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

His multi-tooled approach earned him a four-year, $13 million contract last year. However, it wasn\u2019t a perfect start to the season as Greig ednured separate 13- and 14-game goalless stretches.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’d be the first to admit he had a bit of a slow start,\u201d said Green.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s never a lack of compete, when it comes to Rids or his care. Just his game wasn’t sharp. He looks sharper now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"3232 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n

Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n

Latest episode<\/a><\/p>\n

Greig has collected a point in seven of his last 11 games and goals in four of his last nine. Impressive for someone primarily on the third line of late with some brief pit stops elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know,\u201d Greig told Sportsnet.ca about the reason for his improved offensive play. \u201cIt was a 10-game stretch up the middle, but just playing centre the puck definitely finds (you) a little more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s obviously a lot more fun to get the puck a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n

When third-line centre Shane Pinto went down with an ailment, Greig replaced him admirably alongside Claude Giroux and Michael Amadio. The trio outscored opponents 4-2 at five-on-five with a solid 52.7 per cent expected goals share.<\/p>\n

Overall, the six-foot centre from Lethbridge, Alta., has become a really good NHLer for the Ottawa Senators, yet his impact outweighs his five goals and 15 points this season. <\/p>\n

In sports, we say we\u00a0\u201ccan’t measure someone’s heart.\u201d If the Senators want to turn their season around, we know Greig will need to be a part of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OTTAWA\u2014 The empty-net slapshot heard across the hockey world. On Saturday, Ridly Greig\u2019s cult-creating moment will be commemorated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-401243","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}