Wild West: Random Notes from the New Year to the All-Star Break
Grant Campbell
2023-02-06
With the All-Star break just concluded, we will look at some players with notable production (both good and bad) from the start of this calendar year up until the break. We will look at ice time, faceoffs, hits, blocked shots, power-play time and any other interesting takeaways.
Anaheim
Trevor Zegras is starting to catch fire, with eight goals and seven assists in the 13 games he played in 2023. What caught my attention was that he had 11 ES points in those 13 games after only 19 ES points in his first 37 games.
Mason McTavish has seen his ice time go from under 15 minutes a game to averaging 17:23 since the new year. His SOG/game has increased from 2.05 to 2.67 in that same period.
Simon Benoit has been noticeable in the past 13 games with three goals, two assists, 43 hits and 24 blocked shots while averaging 18:52 per night. He had just one assist in his first 33 games.
Arizona
The Coyotes have struggled to put up much offense in 2023 with just 1.87 goals per game (32nd in the NHL), but are led by Nick Schmaltz who had four goals and eight assists in 15 games while averaging 20:38 per game.
After a hot start of four goals, 13 assists and a plus-11 after 19 games, Jakob Chychrun has cooled off a little in 2023 with a goal, seven assists and a minus-five in 15 games. He is still rumored to be dealt this season.
Barrett Hayton has seen his ice time go from under 16 minutes per game to 19 minutes. In his first 35 games he had just two goals on 59 shots (1.68/game), but in his past 15 games he has had five goals on 35 shots on goal (2.33/g).
J.J. Moser surprised a few people after putting up five goals and 17 points in his first 35 games while averaging over 21 minutes per game. In the 15 games since he has just one assist and his ice time is down to 17:17 per game.
It might be a little concerning for teams interested in Shayne Gostisbehere that he has just three assists in his past 13 games after starting the season with nine goals and 17 assists in his first 35 games. His power play time is still around 60 percent.
Connor Ingram has played six of the last 15 games and while he only has a record of 1-4-1, he does boast a save percentage of 92.9 and a GSAA of 5.06 in those games.
Calgary
The Flame’s depth has helped carry them this calendar year to a 6-4-2 record. Mikael Backlund has 10 points in 12 games while Andrew Mangiapane has 11 and Blake Coleman has nine. Backlund led the team in SOG with 44, while Coleman had 40 in those 12 games.
Dan Vladar has played six of the past 13 games and has a record of 5-0-1 with a save percentage of 90.8 and a GSAA of 0.29 while Jacob Markstrom has struggled in seven starts with a record of 1-4-1 with a save percentage of 88.6 and a GSAA of negative 3.55.
Jonathan Huberdeau hasn't had the expected offensive bump yet that most of us are waiting for. In the past 12 games, he has eight points with 20 SOG while averaging 16:18 per game. His ice time has decreased from just over 17 minutes per game and his shot rate has stayed around 1.7 throughout the season down from his career average of 2.3 per game.
Chicago
Seth Jones is heating up as he had 12 points in his past 13 games with 26 hits and 20 blocked shots while averaging 24:26 per game. The important stat for him is that he was only minus one in those 13 games, while being minus 25 in his first 25 games.
Alex Stalock had four starts in the past 13 games with a 2-2-0 record and a 91.8 save percentage and a GSAA of 1.47, while Jaxson Stauber won both of his first two NHL starts with a 94.0 save percentage. Stranger things have happened, but the 23-year-old Stauber who is the son of former NHL goalie Robb Stauber has only 12 games of experience at the AHL level and had a save percentage of 89.6 in those games.
Sam Lafferty had three goals in his first 29 games this year on 35 SOG, but has five in his last 13 games on 26 SOG.
Taylor Raddysh has 10 points in the last 13 games and has the most power play points in that period with four. He had 14 points of which six were power play points in the 35 games before that.
Reese Johnson has seen his hitting go up in 2023 as he had 47 hits in 13 games after 66 in his first 26 games.
Colorado
Last season, it seemed that the Avalanche just needed average goaltending to win, but this year it's become clear that they need above-average goaltending and that is what they are getting. In 2023, Alexandar Georgiev has played eight games and went 5-3-0 with a 93.3 save percentage and a GSAA of 7.19. Pavel Francouz has played five games with a record of 3-2-0 with a 9.25 save percentage and a GSAA of 2.72.
Nathan MacKinnon has not missed a game this calendar year and in his past 13 games, he has five goals and 15 assists while taking a whopping 69 shots on goal (5.31 per game). Believe it or not, his shooting percentage of 7.2 during that period is higher than his first 24 games when he had eight goals and 26 assists on 123 shots on goal (5.12 per game) (6.5%).
Samuel Girard seemed to find his offense a little since the New Year as he had two goals and seven assists and was a plus four in his past 13 games with two of the points on the power play. In his first 29 games he had two goals and five assists and was a minus 12.
Dallas
With Roope Hintz out of the lineup for seven of the 13 games the Stars have played in 2023, his linemates Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski were still able to produce about a point per game with Robertson putting eight goals and 12 assists and Pavelski two goals and nine assists.
Jake Oettinger has continued his impressive season with a record of 4-2-4 in his past 10 starts while posting a 93.0 save percentage and a GSAA of 6.98.
Jamie Benn had an impressive first half of the season with 15 goals and 21 assists in his first 38 games on 87 shots on goal for a 17.2 shooting percentage. In 2023 he began to slow down just a little with four goals and four assists in 13 games on 34 shots on goal for an 11.8 shooting percentage.
Mason Marchment has dropped off considerably in 2023 with just one assist in his past 13 games after 21 points in his first 38 games as a member of the Stars.
Edmonton
Zach Hyman has produced exactly the same as Connor McDavid in his past 12 games with nine goals and 11 assists, which is one more point than Leon Draisaitl. He is producing at a level with the best of the best with just five of those points being on the power play. While McDavid is a minus one and Draisaitl is a plus one in those games, Hyman is a plus 11.
It might be a small indicator of future production, but Ryan Mcleod has five goals in his past 12 games on 20 SOG after having only three goals in his first 25 games on 28 SOG. I'd like to see him shoot more as it will be difficult for him to sustain a shooting percentage of 16.7.
The 26-year-old 6-6 and 215 lb defenseman, Vincent Desharnais garnered some attention in his first eight games with Edmonton as he had three assists and was a plus five. He has only averaged 12:24 per night, so we will need to take his impressive start with a grain of salt.
Jack Campbell has quietly gone 7-1-0 in his past nine games with a save percentage of 91.3 and a GSAA of 1.18, while Stuart Skinner went 1-1-2 with a save percentage of 89.7 and a negative GSAA of 1.28.
Los Angeles
I had doubts that Adrian Kempe would ever come close to the 35 goals he put up last season ever again. He had 14 goals after 40 games, but has eight in his past 13 which puts him right on pace to repeat.
Drew Doughty seems to have his game back to a level in which the Kings need him to be. He has 12 points in his past 13 games and is averaging over 25 minutes per game.
Viktor Arvidsson has slowed down after a very good start with 30 points in his first 36 games as he only had four points in his past 12 games.
While Phoenix Copley has gone 7-2-1 in his past 11 games, there are some concerns with his save percentage of 88.9 and GSAA of minus 2.96. The Kings might look for some help in goal leading up to the trade deadline.
Minnesota
While Kirill Kaprizov continues to produce on his way to perhaps a 100-point season, Joel Eriksson Ek has become a threat to Patrice Bergeron winning the Selke Trophy this season. In his past 12 games, Eriksson Ek has six goals and six assists on 40 SOG and has averaged over three shots per game on the season.
While Calen Addison continues to average just over 15 minutes per game, he is still quarterbacking the power play and has five power play points in his past 12 games. He was a minus-seven in those 12 games.
Jordan Greenaway has struggled this season and doesn't seem to be coming around. He has just one assist in his past 11 games but did have 24 hits after putting up five points and 25 hits in his first 20 games. If a physical player is not physical, not producing and struggling defensively it's a bit of an issue. I wonder if he is dealt this season, with two more seasons at $3 million AAV. Perhaps the rumor of Brock Boeser heading back to Minnesota comes into play here?
Nashville
Juuso Parsinen has 12 points in his past 13 games with three of those points on the power play. He had nine points in his first 21 games.
Cody Glass has four goals and five assists on 26 SOG in his past 13 games with two of his goals being on the power play. He had two goals and seven assists on 39 SOG in his first 25 games. He has seen his ice time go from around 12 minutes per game to 14.
Dante Fabbro has one assist in his past 11 games and has only averaged 14:58 per game. He is another intriguing player who other teams might be interested in.
Juuse Saros has the top GSAA in the Western Conference for the calendar year of 2023 at 8.53. He's followed by Georgiev at 7.19 and Oettinger at 6.98.
San Jose
Michael Eyssimont has two goals and four assists in 10 games since being picked up on waivers from Winnipeg and after going pointless in his first three games with the Sharks. He has 31 SOG in the 10 games compared to the 26 he had in 19 games with Winnipeg. He has also posted 21 hits in 10 games with the Sharks and 36 in 19 games with the Jets.
The only stat that I see slowing down for Erik Karlsson in the past 13 games is his shots on goal as he had 23 in that period (1.77) compared to 108 in the 38 games before (2.84).
Tomas Hertl has slowed down a little after putting up 35 points in his first 36 games as he has just a goal and seven assists in his past 13 games.
Seattle
For the first time in their existence, the Kraken are getting above-average goaltending for a sustained period. In 2023, Martin Jones has a record of 9-2-0 and a save percentage of 91.6 with a GSAA of 2.82. Philipp Grubuaer is 2-1-1 with a save percentage of 94.0 and a GSAA of 3.9.
Vince Dunn has emerged this season and especially since the new year. In his past fifteen games he has five goals, 12 assists and is a plus 18 while averaging 24:22 per night while having 29 hits and 17 blocked shots.
Adam Larsson is partnered with Dunn and has nine points in his past 15 games while being a plus 18, with 45 hits and 27 blocked shots.
Eeli Tolvanen has eight goals in his past 15 games with Seattle on 35 SOG (22.9 shooting percentage) after just two goals in 13 games on 19 SOG with Nashville.
Morgan Geekie started with four goals and 10 assists in his first 28 games but has slumped in 2023 with just a goal and an assist in 11 games.
St. Louis
Justin Faulk has five assists in his past 14 games with 24 SOG with 13 hits and 26 blocked shots. In his first 37 games he had six goals and 15 assists on 98 SOG with 73 hits and 58 blocked shots. His SOG has decreased from 2.65/game to 1.71.
Jordan Binnington has started in 11 of the past 14 games, while he has a record of 5-6-0 with a save percentage of 88.3 and a GSAA of negative 7.30 (2nd worst in the West). Thomas Greiss has started three games and played in four with a record of 1-2-0 and a save percentage of 92.7 and a GSAA of 2.34. It's hard to see Binnington playing at this level and not getting fewer starts.
Jake Neighbours has three goals and four assists in his past 14 games after he had just one goal in his first 13 games. Ryan O'Reilly has been out of the lineup in those past 14 games.
Vancouver
Quinn Hughes leads the Canucks in points with 15 in 13 games this calendar year. He also had four goals in those 13 games after just one in his first 32 games.
Luke Schenn has six assists and 71 hits in his past 13 games while averaging just 16:32 per game. He is almost a certainty to be dealt by the Canucks leading up to the trade deadline. He leads the NHL with 237 hits on the season.
The Canucks have been fairly bad this season, but their goaltending has been awful. Combined, Collin Delia and Spencer Martin have 79 NHL games and in his past six starts and eight games, Delia has a record of 4-2-0 with a save percentage of 88.7 and a GSAA of negative 3.67. Martin is 0-7-0 in his past seven starts with a save percentage of 83.9 and a GSAA of negative 12.52 (last in the West).
While Hughes (15) and J. T. Miller (14) have as many if not more points than Elias Pettersson (14) over the past 13 games, they both have seven power play points while Pettersson has just two.
Vegas
Jack Eichel has not made the trade from Buffalo look particularly good of late as he has just five points in his past 11 games and is a minus 10 during that period. Alex Tuch has 55 points in 50 games this year while Eichel now has 34 points in 38 games.
Keegan Kolesar has thrown 62 hits and had five points in his past 12 games which is 5.17 hits per game. In his first 37 games he had six points and 118 hits which was 3.19 hits per game.
Reilly Smith had 18 goals in his first 39 games on 102 SOG. In his past 12 games he has no goals on 25 SOG.
Logan Thompson is still holding up relatively well as he has a record of 2-4-2 in his past eight starts with a save percentage of 90.7 and a GSAA of 0.28. Adin Hill has started four times with a record of 2-2-0 with a save percentage of 93.2 and a GSAA of 4.44.
Winnipeg
Josh Morrissey has had an incredible season, but there are some signs of slowing down a little. In his first 37 games he had six goals and 36 assists and was a plus 13. In his past 15 games he has four goals and seven assists and is a minus six. Of those 11 points, six were on the power play, whereas 16 of his 42 points were on the power play in 2022. His even strength production might be something to keep an eye on.
Adam Lowry had an impressive first 37 games where he had seven goals and 13 assists on 62 SOG. In his past 15 games he has just three assists on 17 SOG and is a minus six.
Blake Wheeler is still productive with nine goals and 17 assists in his first 29 games on 66 SOG, but in his past 14 games he has three goals and eight assists but just 14 SOG. That is quite a drop off from 2.28 to 1.0 for SOG.
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