Turrishoz:

When he asked for a trade from Arizona, a lot of people around the NHL didn’t believe he’d be a success. But all he did was work, stand face-to-face with everyone’s best centres (many of whom are bigger than he is) and earn the league’s respect. I was there last week for Ottawa’s 3-1 win over Detroit, and talked with Alex Burrows about comparisons between these Senators and the 2009-12 Canucks. One of the things we discussed was who were the comparables to Burrows, Kevin Bieksa and Ryan Kesler — edgy, prideful guys who created the necessary attitude. Burrows mentioned Turris.

At the time, the rest of the league hated the Canucks, who revelled in it. There isn’t the same dislike for Ottawa, but both dressing rooms had/have an “everyone’s against us” attitude that served them incredibly well. When I asked Burrows who epitomized that for the Senators like he, Bieksa and Kesler did for Vancouver, he paused to look around the room. As mentioned, he picked Turris in the Kesler role. For Bieksa, he went with Mark Borowiecki. Borowiecki’s teammates were ecstatic to see him get the two-year, $2.4-million extension. He earned it the hard way.