Japers’ Rink Player Card (click for a hi-res version, and a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via NHL.com, war-on-ice.com, General Fanager and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):
Latta’s Season, Game-by-Game (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Latta’s HERO Chart (via Own The Puck):
Latta and His Linemates:
Latta’s 5v5 Teammates and Competition (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Latta’s 5v5 Usage:
Latta’s With-or-Without You (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Latta’s Rolling Shot-Attempt (Corsi) -For Percentage:
Latta’s Two Qualifying Seasons (via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):
Key Stat: Latta was on-ice for just 93 shot attempts (by either team) per 60 minutes of 5-on-5, fewest among team forwards. Daniel Winnik was the only other Caps forward under 100.
Interesting Stat: Only four players averaged less ice time per game (minimum 40 games played) than Latta — Brandon Mashinter, Mike Brown, Andrew Copp, and Ryan Reaves.
The Good: Latta continued to be a low-risk, low-event player, though this year, he didn’t go a full season without scoring again. He tallied against Calgary in November, and then added a couple of goals in December. Latta set career-highs in goals (3), points (7), and shots on goal (29), of which 3, 6, and 19 respectively came in his first 22 games.
Latta also continued to drop the gloves when he felt the situation called for it, fighting eight times. When Justin Falk was waiting to drop the gloves, he stepped in so Marcus Johansson did not get drawn in. He also provided some entertainment value outside of game time, through various antics on social media, in practice, and in warmups — though that may not translate to any value in the win column.
The Bad: Latta had just one point over his final 21 games and continues to be a poor point producer. He still seems like he has a bit more offensive smarts than his numbers suggest, but hasn’t been able to turn that into a commensurate number of points, despite the mildest, most limited minutes on the team. He was scratched often down the stretch, playing only two games after February 22.
And the fights are not all good — Latta injured himself fighting Nicolas Deslauriers after a hit on Justin Williams.
The GIF/Video:
The Vote: Rate Latta below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.
The Discussion: Latta will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in July. Can he be an everyday NHL player? Can the Caps do better for a spare NHL forward? What’s his ultimate ceiling? What would it take for you to give him a “10” next year?