2009-10 Rink Wrap: Eric Belanger

Gave him a 5, wasn’t expecting miracles from that slot considering he’s been in Minny forever.

If they decide to keep him, I wouldn’t give him more than $2.5m, and to get a 10, I’d expect something in the neighborhood of 20 goals and/or 60 points.

I expected a lot more offensive input from Belanger, so I gave him a 4. I was really, really disappointed in him during the regular season, but I felt like he stepped up his game in the playoffs at the faceoff dot and in terms of overall toughness. I would have given him lower than a 4 if not for that.

I expected much more from Belanger. He was offensively non-existent. I was excited about him coming over here and was left disappointed by his lack of performance. If it wasn’t for his faceoff talent he would get a 2. He was way overpriced in dollar amount and the draft pick we gave up to get him.

He is not the answer at 2C and I’d rather have Perreault stick around @ 3C and give Gordon a chance there too.

Didn’t expect much, and he delivered less.

Let him go, bring up Matty.

Gave him a 4. Expected a little better offense. Could see him as the 3rd line center, but not for much more than he made this year.

I was expecting him to actually improve the PK. While he helped, not nearly as much as I, or anyone else, was expecting. Also, as stated, his goals- and assists- per game dropped off considerably. Definitely not worth the 2nd round pick IMO.

I’m going to have to give this one a lot of consideration. I can’t really recall what my expectations were, which is part of the problem. I also felt like he had a rough go of trying to figure out the Caps’ system and difficulties making adjustments to it. I’m finding it hard to judge quickly right now.

I voted 5. He was brought in to give us depth at center, and, uh, well, he did that pretty well. I thought we overpaid back when we picked him up, and I really hope we don’t overpay to keep him in the future. He is, however, a better option than Brendan Morrison for a third-line center (and I’m actually a BMo supporter), though in no way should he be expected to fill in as a second-line scoring center. He also has a history of getting injured.

That being said, having Belanger gave us a third option for winning draws and maintaining possession on the PK beyond Gordon and Steckel. So, there was that.

The 9, 8’s and 7’s are amazing.

My expectations were half a point a game or better (Belanger produced at a .35 ppg pace) and improved Penalty Killing. Was underwhelmed.

I’d be ok with brining him back for under 2 million per, but wouldn’t be heart broken if he walked.

Overall, pretty disappointed in what he brought. My hopes for him were to come in and solidify the 2C position, which never happened. Also didn’t really give us the PK skill that was advertised. He did win his fair share of faceoffs, so that’s good. As I type this, I realize I should have gone 3…he was really quite disappointing despite his tooth sacrifice and faceoff ability.

I don’t think the caps should pursue bringing him back, because he’s not 2C material IMO and I would like to promote from within (Mackan, MP, Steckel, Gordon) to fill the 3C spot. If they do bring him back, I would be disappointed if they pay him anything more than 1.5, and I will be disappointed if they bring him back with the expectation that he can fill our gaping hole at 2C.

To earn a 10 in 2010, he would need to prove me wrong by locking down the 2C position, scoring at about a 70 pt pace, and becoming a valuable PK’er, while maintaining his status as a top faceoff man. He would also need to continue to be productive (and by extension, help his linemates be productive) deep into the postseason.

we knew a lot of belanger’s flaws the day of the trade (including his less-than-stellar PK proficiency). i remember being upset the caps gave a second round pick for the guy, but really that falls on brendan morrison, david steckel, and by proxy, GMGM.

as it turned out the caps really did need belanger on the second line, with BB choosing to sit morrison and steckel for a combined 6 games during the montreal series. still, to put up worse offensive numbers with the caps (i.e. running mates semin, laich, chimera, fehr) than with the wild (i.e. running mates clutterbuck, nolan, sheppard) has to be somewhat disappointing.

if the caps bring him back, i hope GMGM doesn’t pay him a penny over the $1,750,000 he made in 2009-2010.

I gave him a 6, which appears to be towards the top end of ratings. Actually flirted with a seven.

The rating system that Natty so kindly blockquoted as the first comment on this story sort of doesn’t apply, I feel. He definitely didn’t play as I expected—I thought he’d provide more offense—but I don’t feel like he deserves anything lower than a 5 or so. Since he came at the deadline, I place an emphasis on playoff play (short-term eyes, I guess, which stats guys like Mr. Desjardins aren’t too fond of) and quite honestly, he struck me as a little above average in the playoffs. He wasn’t contributing offensively, but he was winning draws, getting his line to attack with speed (Chimera and Fehr on his wings?) and was, most importantly, consistent. We knew exactly what to expect from Belanger, and sometimes even got a bonus (though losing 7-8 teeth in a first-round losing effort isn’t exactly a bonus for Belanger himself). His offense should never have been needed in the first place because of all the depth in front of him, so I don’t place too much value in that. And he did endear himself to us, I think, even before catching a stick in his mouth, meaning he was doing what he could to contribute.

In other words, he underwhelmed in some areas, exceeded expectations in others, and I think those cancel out because of his role.

I was expecting a checking forward with decent PK skills and good on the draws, and he delivered that in the few regular season games for the Caps. In the playoffs he stepped up his game and was astonishingly good on the dot.

I would like to see the Caps resign him as he will make a good 3C between Chimera and Fehr or Chimera and Bradley. He could be a 15-20 goal guy next year. I think his numbers will be better with a full year in the Caps line up. And I am all for having someone in the line up who is top 10 in faceoffs regularly. As for the $$, probably something above what Brads and Beast make, maybe $1.7-1.9M/ year

4 – had no idea who he was when the traded for him. expected him to help the PK, which he did not. only his playoff, F/O %, cool french-canadian accent, and willingness to perform personal dentistry on the bench moved him up from a 3 to a 4 in my book.

i would let him seek other opportunities before i would consider resigning him. depends upon what the team feels about MP85’s ability to make the big club and fill the 2/3C position and whether they endeavor to keep BMo. i’m also presuming we are going to sign gordon to fill the 3/4 line center position. i would not sign him for more than 1 year at no more than $2M.

I probably overestimated how much offense he was bringing to the table, but I’d have thought that at least he would make his linemates better. I don’t think he ever did that.

The Caps can get a 3C or 4C cheaper or just go with what they have. I wouldn’t bring him back for more than a mil, which basically means he wouldn’t come back.

Actually, I didn’t vote. I couldn’t recall seeing him play before, so I had no expectations to form an opinion. That said, based on what I did see in his time here, I’d be in favor of him returning to center the third line. Unlike a lot fo others, I’m not sold on MP for the #3C spot quite yet. The way he hit the wall in December and his size has me believing he needs at least another season with Hershey before he’s ready to be a full-time NHL player. And frankly, the Caps need to get older not younger at the center position. Coming from Minnesota, there couldn’t have been a greater culture shock than playing for the Caps. Belanger’s numbers weren’t great, but I thought he showed flashes of offensive creattivity. His failure on the PK is more a system problem than it was on him. Give him a full training camp to work with his linemates and I think he’ll fit in quite nicely as the #3 center for a couple of seasons. And having a guy who can win faceoffs like he does is never a bad thing. Given his rather modest point totals, he shouldn’t cost that much to resign. And if MP does prove ready in a year, then a guy like Belanger shouldn’t be tough to move. God knows he’s small enough that Montreal would love him.

As opposed to a high five, I suppose.

Probably one of the hardest for me to assess. We heard soon after the trade that his vaunted PK skills weren’t as advertised so I didn’t get my hopes up about that aspect. The faceoffs were hit and miss in the regular season but really came to the fore in the playoffs so it evened out. I like the guy’s skating. I never expected big offensive numbers from him and never got them. I like his work on the half wall and boards, especially come playoff time.

I did keep saying I expected him score a key playoff goal at some point in the playoffs. Never materialized but he did show me enough in the post season to bump me up a number in his rating.

I am in a crux about his status for next year. I would want to keep him as 3C preferably with Chimera and Fehr flanking him at around 1.5-1.75. That said I don’t see MP as a 2nd line C but I would like him on the roster. If we could get a stopgap 1 year 2C such as Koivu EB probably becomes expendable with MP inserted at 3C. I know I am Nylandering around the issue but my heart and head say two different things regarding Belanger’s role with the Caps.

I expected him to produce at around the same level he did in Minnesota, with less ice time but a superior system and linemates. He failed to deliver on that, and while he brought some energy to the third (and briefly first) line in the Habs series, that energy resulted in few chances and fewer goals. Defensively, he failed to make an impact on the PK and didn’t seem to draw the opponent’s top line enough at even strength to be called a shutdown forward.

For next season, thanks but no thanks. He’s not a 2C, and I think most of us want to see Perrault and Gordon fill 3C/4C next season.

Gave him a 6.

I really wasn’t expecting all that much from him. Never thought he would be more than a 3C, win some faceoffs, speedy skater, decent defensively. Would have been a 5 or lower but loss of teeth and finishing the game earn him at least a point in my book. He showed heart and toughness in the playoffs, which we could have used a little more of.

Keep him a 3C with a Chimera-Belanger-Fehr line. No more than 2M. 10G/30A would be about what I would expect as a minimun from him next year.

This is also assuming we get a real 2C and no one from Hershey is seen as a replacement 3C. Speaking of which – why all the MP talk and not Beagle as a 3C?

I gave Belanger a 4. He was a second-line center for the Wild when he was traded, and from what I gathered, he was more deserving of a third-line role, even on that team. Based on that, I expected him to fill in as a third-line center with the Caps and to adjust accordingly. It turned out that he played on the second, third, and fourth lines, so I count that versatility as a minor bonus. I expected him to at least match his offensive production per game, if not improve it, considering his transfer from the defense-oriented system to an offense-oriented system under Boudreau (though I am admittedly not familiar with Richards’ system as opposed to Lemaire’s). Regardless, his numbers are disappointing because a center playing most frequently with Semin and Laich on his wings should easily score at a higher rate than with Owen Nolan and Cal Clutterbuck on his wings. The folks over at Hockey Wilderness have said that Belanger is known to be streaky, however. It would be interesting to see how he would fair during an entire season on the Caps. His faceoffs remained good in the regular season and were great in the post season. That is what bumped him up from a 3 to a 4 for me.

To get a 10 next season, Belanger would have to put up some career numbers without any prolonged slumps. I am thinking along the lines of at least 20 goal and 35 assists (doable on the Caps). He would also have earn a spot at 2C (not that I condone that plan of action). Being a top contributor to an improved PK unit would also be necessary.

Also, I remember reading this post over at Hockey Wilderness when the trade went down, so I went back and re-read it. The most depressing part of the article in hindsight is this line:

Belly, I’d like to thank you on behalf of The Team of 18,000. Now go get a cup.

Sigh.

Had low expectations, got bonus points for face off dot in the playoffs and the fact that I hate the dentist.

I didn’t factor what the caps gave up for him in my grade, right or wrong, probably wrong

Next year he’s a 3 or 4 line center. 2 mil max

On one hand, rating him as coming in to be the 2nd line center he’s like a 2 or 3. Rating him as what he really is, a 3rd line center, he’s more of a 6 or maybe even a 7. I want him to stick around because he has decent wheels, discipline and faceoff ability. He’s a good fit for the team…just not as a 2nd liner.

I gave him a 3. I didn’t think he was going to be a great PKer because of his numbers in Minny, but I was expecting significantly more offensive production. I did almost choose four 4 because he was pretty good in the playoffs, though.

Belanger has a pretty solid bell curve going on in his ratings right now. Guess that means he is a C student?

He is from Montreal, therefore I refuse to vote in disgust.

I meant 4 but accidentally hit 5, sounds like we all want to give him the benefit of the doubt versus dump (and chase?) on him.

Previously we groaned when GMGM waited to the deadline to see IF we were positioned for the playoffs and then blow some resources on “the missing piece.”

I wouldn’t mind holding onto Belanger for the duration, see how he develops in the Caps system, and actually am looking forward to the trade deadline for once for another potential shot at a 2C. We’d better be positioned for the playoffs at that point or the team will have some serious even bigger questions/problems.

I’m on the border of 4 and 5. I didn’t expect his PKing to be great after looking at his numbers in MIN, and I didn’t expect much from him offensively given a reduced role and a completely new system. Still, I expected a little more than what he provided. But he was a solid two-way guy and great on faceoffs, and he had a good playoffs, so I’m not upset about the trade. I think he’s a good enough skater and has decent enough skill that he can provide a lot more offense given a full training camp and season to settle in.

I wouldn’t mind having him back for around $2 mil. He’s a good 3rd line center and he can fill in at 2C in a pinch. The Caps do need a legit 2C, but I don’t see that happening through free agency. It has to be a trade or promotion from within, and in that case I don’t care when it happens as long as it’s before next spring. So if no trade materializes this summer I’m okay with keeping Belanger and letting him and Perreault and Mackan and anyone else duke it out for the 2C spot during the regular season while we figure out what we really need at that spot and try to fill it.

If we kept Belanger and he took over the 2C role putting up 55-60 pts and great faceoff numbers I’d give him a 10 next year.

I expected more scoring, and didn’t get it; didn’t expect such good FO work in the playoffs, so that balances it out a bit.

I didn’t expect great PK performance, but I expected better than I got, so that downgrades him.

To bring him back? Nothing more than $1.5MM, or Matty Perreault can make his bones in the NHL. And I still might want MP to get his shot to be a cheap and serviceable young player, so we can make a play for a legit 2C, which Belanger ain’t.

Having played for Bodreau before, I though Belenger would make the transition from the Wild a little more easily and would be more productive offensively. No on both counts. But he also played with so many different Wingers in so many different combinations that I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt about his offensive falloff. And has been mentioned before many times on this blog, the problem may be the CAPS penalty kill system and structure, not the actual players killing penalties. He even thought the penalty kill was too passive.

Seems like a solid, high character guy, who understands how to play defense, and has the potential to be more effective offensively with the right chemistry and some consistency, so I would like to keep him, but again, at the right price which may be less (1.5-1.8m) than he would command on the open market.

Any chance Marcus Johansson is ready to step in as a C on the 2010-2011 caps?

I didn’t see his name in this post at all

FYI, when people refer to “Mackan,” that’s who they’re referring to.

are coaches, GM’s and ownership part of year end rink wraps?

Oh, forgot to mention – I blame Belanger for Semin’s failure to score in the playoffs, too. /SuperHans’d

gave him a 5. The guy is tough and was fantastic at the dot in the playoffs. I wasn’t expecting anything great, but he has got to score more to improve his ratings. Could have been a 4, but getting whacked in the face, removing his own tooth, and coming back on the ice gets style points from me (call it “exceeding my expectations for tolerance of pain”)

I was flip flopping a lot on a 5 or a 6 on Belanger, but I bumped it to the 6 because he was one of the guys who was definitely not a passenger in the series against the Habs. Truthfully I wasn’t expecting Belanger to be the answer at 2C, so my expectations were measured with him. He seemed to be a little off on producing goals/points in his short stay, but he was creating chances with his puck possession and skating ability. He was good in the faceoff dot and ramped that up dramatically come the playoffs. Defensively (at 5 on 5) he was solid as well, I think in a longer stint we’d see those offensive numbers come up.

To earn a 10 next year he’d have to post career highs in goals and points, and really anchor the 3C spot and give us the threat of 3 scoring lines. Producing at some clutch times to help lead us deep into the playoffs and improving our PK would be a must too.

No more than $2M a year, and I wouldn’t want a long term deal.

I just don’t see him sticking around; he’ll get a better deal to play more meaningful minutes (read: 2C) somewhere else.

I expected more, he didn’t deliver. Faceoffs are important, but if thats all he can offer, I’m ok with moving on. If you want a defensive center, and the choice is between Belanger, Steckel and Gordon, then I’m stuck. Gordon played well in the playoffs, but he’s got a wonky back and didn’t do all that much in the regular season other than hold down the fort. Of course, often times the fort was out manned 5-4 and, well, when the wagons were circled there was generally a successful attack waged.
The best Belanger did was lose teeth and keep playing. He’s tough, but can he produce to the level that we need? Putting him at 2C means expecting a lot more out of him than he can deliver, a failing of the Caps at numerous times.

Its like Mel Kiper once said about the Jets, that they just get what the draft is for, or in this case understand what the rating system is about.

I’m shocked. Even the 6’s kinda creep me out.

I expected him to come over and continue to put up the kinds of numbers he had in Minny. Maybe even be a little better, being on a higher scoring kind of team. And then to help out on the PK. He was worse across the board, and thus gets a 3. I considered putting him up at a 4 for his FO% in the postseason, but really, the Caps needed more out of him. They brought him over to fill the 2C role, and he didn’t do as well as expected, IMO.

I dunno if they should resign him. Maybe in the 1.75 million range he got this year. But if they really want to sign a C who can score and help out on the PK in that price range (or maybe a wee bit higher), the Caps should look at Matt Cullen. I think he would fit much better on this team next season than Belanger would. Just my 2 cents.

BTW, I’m ‘awarding’ the entire team a 1 for leaving Belanger out to dry when his teeth got jacked. At the very least, the team should have worked a little harder to get a win with their teammate having dental surgery under the stands. They work plenty hard when Bradley bleeds.

I know noting about him but love him for pulling his own tooth out ;)

Fehr needs to legally change his first name to “Rakim,” should Belanger come back. Corvo and Juice… Eric B. and Rakim.

Gave him a 4… I expected him to come in and perform a lot like he did in the playoffs, maybe with slightly less impressive faceoff numbers, but with that amount of toughness/badassitude and faceoff superiority . Looking back at the time since the trade to the morning of Game 1, he definitely didn’t do that.

Honestly, I remember several times thinking to myself— did we just trade for Michael Nylander 2.0? He never seemed to get the system or feel comfortable in it. And whenever it seemed like a great passing lane was open, he’d call his own number, and if there was absolutely no passing lane but the goalie was laying on the ground and looking the opposite direction, he’d pass. Infuriating.

That said… his playoffs gave me hope. I like that he was so dominant in the circle, which is exactly what a third liner should be. He was Bad. Ass. with the teeth thing. He fell short in certain things (whoever said they blame him for a portion of Semin’s disappearing act, I concur) and excelled in others. I’m intrigued. I guess that’s the best way to say it. Chalk it up to seeing a glimmer of a guy who stepped up a least a portion of his game in the playoffs instead of turtling for the whole thing, and wanting more of that on our team instead of less. I’m looking at you, Flash.

I’d be happy to give him $1.2-1.5 if he’d take it, and hope and pray that being here a full training camp and season stops the maddening pass/shoot factor and gels him with consistent linemates.

Plenty of useful (even good!) players chosen after pick 60 over the years. Belanger didn’t contribute as much as Perrault did. It’s moves like that that make me wonder just how good vs. lucky GMGM really is.

5 – I liked Belanger at 3C. His speed along with Chimera’s gave the line odd man rush opportunities, even if they did not cash in that often. His face-off percentage was good. I think Belanger is probably a good PK’er even though the stats don’t bear that out. JP’s article mentioned it could be a factor of the Cap’s lousy PK vs Belanger lack of ability in the role. At this point I buy into the premisis that it’s more the Caps than Belanger. How can you not like a guy who loses 9 teeth and comes back into the game. That was the first hockey story I recall hearing on NPR. I would be fine if we re-signed him. For a 10? 25 goals, 30 assist.

I gave him a 5, was happy with the pick up and his overall role but expected more points. Would like to have him for the whole season at a reasonable cap number.