Japers' Rink - All Posts

Thursday Caps Clips

2013-06-20T10:36:20Z

Your savory breakfast links:

As Alex Ovechkin basks in the glow of his third Richard Trophy, we pause to consider - could there ever be a fourth? Or even another 50-goal season? [WaPo]
This year's pending UFA list sports a fedora right at the very top ... [Star Phoenix]
... and the question is asked - would the Caps consider trading the rights to that fedora? [RtR]
... oh and here's a look at his season. [GM on a Couch, with our take here]
On the best laid plans of mice and men. [Peerless]
Dmitry Orlov gives great interview. He's home in Novokuznetsk right now, and shares his thoughts on his injuries, getting sent down to Hershey, his good friend Sergei Bobrovsky, and oh yeah, he'll be back Stateside in July. [Novokuznetsk News Portal, link in Russian]
In which John Walton, Mike Vogel, and Kyle Woodlief break down the upcoming draft. [Monumental (video)]
It's never too early to start making your hockey-watching plans for the new season. Reading Royals fans, you're in luck. The Royals' 2013-14 schedule is set and operators are standing by. [Patriot-News]
Today in prospect news:
- Evgeny Kuznetsov is doing a bit of offseason cross-training by a) holding cute babies, b) signing autographs, c) playing rock-paper-scissors with his Traktor 'mates, or d) goalie'ing it up at a metric football game. [RMNB]
- There's another MVP in the Caps organ-i-zation, as Golden Gophers defenseman Nate Schmidt picked up the honor from Minnesota. [Gopher Sports, Star Tribune, Gold and Gopher]
- Counting down the organization's top-10 prospects. Checking in at #9: Stanislav Galiev. [CSNW]
The Jean-François Fortin Era in Washington may be over, but the JFF Era in Blainville-Boisbriand is just getting started. Fortin has been named to an assistant coach position with the Armada of the QMJHL. Bon voyage! [Journal de Montreal, link in French]
KHL economics are murky at best, but KHL-during-the-lockout economics are positively mystifying... [R-Sport]
... and speaking of the K, the League announced they will shut down a full two weeks prior to the Sochi Games. Your move, NHL. [R-Sport]
Finally, happy 36th birthday to Joe Corvo.

2013 Rink Wrap: Jeff Schultz

2013-06-19T15:00:05Z

Japers' Rink Player Card (click for hi-res version; a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via Behind the Net, Hockey Analysis, CapGeek and NHL.com; h/t Habs EOTP):

Schultz and his most frequent partners:

2013 Capitals 5v5 defenseman usage, via Hockey Abstract:

Schultz's past six seasons (via Hockey Analysis):

Previous Rink Wraps: 2011-12 (3.38 rating) 2010-11 (4.07 rating) 2009-10 (7.63 rating) 2008-09 (4.93 rating) 2007-08 (6.32 rating)

Key Stat: In 2013 Jeff Schultz racked up a career low -6 plus/minus rating in only 26 games played, capping off a three-year span in which Schultz's +/- (and basically every other statistic) steadily declined.

Interesting Stat: No Caps defenseman received worse goaltending behind him at five-on-five than Schultz, with the man in the pads behind him putting up only a .901 save percentage (although how much of that was Schultz and how much the goaltenders or his other teammates is certainly up for debate).

The Good: Somewhere, at sometime this season, Jeff Schultz came to a realization: his time in Washington had concluded. The wick had burned down, the embers had stopped smoldering. Some athletes like to take the bellows to the embers one last time, flame them back to life for a short-lived, dramatic exit, usually culminating in a burned bridge or two. Even from the press box, Sarge went about his business quietly and with dignity. He requested a trade from the organization, but the information did not get out until after the season had concluded. He said nary a negative word to the ever-present bouquet of microphones, and diligently and silently watched as his team plowed forth without him.

There's something to be said for Double Nickel's immaculate professionalism, even in the face of less than ideal circumstances.

The Bad: Schultz was the team's worst defenseman by almost every metric available. He possessed the worst RelCorsi rating among defenseman who played more than 16 games. Only John Erskine had a worse Corsi On rating. No defenseman who played as many games as Schultz possessed a worse On-Ice Shooting percentage, and no defenseman was subject to a better shooting percentage by opponents. Among blueliners, only Steve Oleksy averaged more penalties taken per 60, and no one who saw more than five games drew fewer penalties than Sarge's - not that anyone is exactly expecting him to be drawing hooking calls with his blistering speed, of course.

Schultz was benched halfway through the season - the third time in three seasons by three different head coaches and three different defensive coaches he's been benched. The time he spent in a suit correlated with the Capitals sudden and dynamic success, a consequence of which was that just about every skater's possession numbers improved when Schultz wasn't on the ice with them.

And on top of it all, Schultz earned a hefty $3 million dollars this year - a number he's slated to carry to the bank again next season. When it comes to value per dollar, Schultz has made a convincing case as the organization's worst investment.

The Vote: Rate Schultz 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: It's clear that Schultz doesn't think he's got a spot in the Nation's Capital going forward, and with the re-signings of John Erskine and Jack Hillen, the surprising emergence of Steve Oleksy, and the expectation that Dmitry Orlov and Tomas Kundratek both be serviceable (if not top-4 in the case of Orlov) defensemen, he's probably right. With it being unlikely that the team can move Schultz with his inflated price tag, do you use a compliance buyout on the man who we should perhaps call Sixty-Million Nickels? And on his regression and failure to develop as reasonably expected... how much of that is on the player and how much is on the team?

More on Schultz's season: WaPo: Capitals season review: Defensemen Peerless: 2012-2013 By the Tens -- Defensemen: Jeff Schultz RocktheRed.net: Offseason Evaluation: Jeff Schultz

Wednesday Caps Clips

2013-06-19T10:43:25Z

Your savory breakfast links:

A summer after interviewing for one coaching job in the Caps' organization, Mike Haviland is in as the new bench boss for Caps' AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. [Caps, Patriot-News, WaPo, CSNW, SHOE]
- For the new guy, old memories linger of a particularly feisty playoff series almost a decade ago between his Norfolk Admirals and the eventual Calder Cup Champion Bears. [Patriot-News]
- One of the things Haviland brings to the table: the ability to communicate and develop a good rapport with his players. Hmm, sounds familiar... [Patriot-News]
One coach in, another coach out, as it appears as if Tim Hunter's tenure as assistant coach has come to an end after just one season. So who's next? *scans 1997-98 Caps roster* [WaPo, CSNW, PHT]
Lost in the whole "Sidney Crosby was robbed by Alex Ovechkin" Hart Trophy discussion is the fact that John Tavares had an MVP-worthy season, too... but we still think the PHWA made the right choice. [THW]
Breaking down the season that was for Mike Ribeiro (and if you missed it, be sure to check out our take from yesterday here) [CSNW]
Poor Jeff Schultz; even on a list of potential buyouts he's basically a healthy scratch. [LWoS]
Five years later, a do-over of the 2008 draft. Why yes, we will take Gustav Nyquist instead of Anton Gustafsson, thanks! [ESPN ($)]
Counting down the organization's top-10 prospects, starting with recent BC grad Patrick Wey. [CSNW]
The GMs will be meeting later today to discuss the changes proposed by the NHL's competition committee, including hybrid icing and mandatory visors. [KK]
More on the preseason visit to Belleville, Ontario, where 3,257 lucky people will get to see a game between Eastern Conference exile Winnipeg and our very own Capitals. And probably eat a lot of Kraft Dinner. [CSNW]
Looks like Nicklas Backstrom's name will be engraved on a shiny silver trophy this summer after all... unfortunately it's just the Gagarin Cup, but congrats to ol' #99 anyway. [RMNB]
Finally, happy 66th birthday to Walt McKechnie.

Ovechkin's Hart Hat Trick: The Writers Got It Right

2013-06-18T17:00:06Z

Like most awards in professional sports, the NHL awards are often the subject of debate and, at times, controversy, as fans and media alike weigh in on who should or should not have won each trophy once the ballots have been cast and the hardware handed out. Of all of the awards, however, few seem to draw as much focus and generate as much conversation as the Hart Trophy.

The Hart Trophy is awarded annually to "the player judged to be the most valuable to his team", criteria which may seem fairly straightforward but which can be (and often are) interpreted slightly differently as being the League's best player... of course if that were the case, it would beg the question of why the NHL would hand out two awards that mean the same thing, since the Ted Lindsay Award (nee Lester B. Pearson Award) is given to the League's most outstanding player, but that's a separate issue.

Regardless of how one views the Hart Trophy, 2013 was one of those rare years in which a case could actually be made for each of the three finalists to win (to say nothing of at least one or two others who didn't make the cut) - in large part because of the 48-game sample, which provided less time for the the top guys to separate themselves from the pack. This season it came down to a battle of the top draft picks, pitting Alex Ovechkin against some very tough competition in Sidney Crosby and John Tavares for the trophy.

Despite missing the last 12 games of the regular season with a broken jaw, Crosby was without question the best player in the NHL this season (when he played), putting up huge numbers in just 36 games and elevating the respective games of his linemates - neither of whom played at nearly the same level after he got injured. Meanwhile Tavares drove the Islanders' playoff push with a point-per-game pace, including some impressive road numbers en route to one of the League's best records away from home and the first postseason berth for the Islanders in six years.

Which brings us to the third finalist - and eventual winner - Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin's 2013 resume is fairly impressive in its own right and more than enough to justify his Hart Trophy win, particularly if one takes the words "most valuable to his team" literally... and yet his win still set off a fair amount of complaining about why he didn't deserve it (or worse, why his win means the Hart Trophy criteria are somehow flawed). So what's the case for Ovechkin's third career Hart Trophy win?

For starters, his offensive numbers were simply phenomenal. In this lockout-shortened season, Ovechkin finished the year with 32 goals in 48 games, equaling his production from the entire 2010-11 season (consisting of 79 games) and falling six goals short of last year's total (which he scored in 78 games). Those 32 goals topped the League, besting reigning Richard Trophy winner and division rival Steven Stamkos by three; half of them came on the power play, also a League-leading total that was six more than anyone else in the NHL this season and the most he's scored since the 2008-09 season. With 24 assists to go along with all of the goals, he finished the year with 56 points, good enough for third-best in the NHL and tying him with fellow Hart finalist Crosby.

For Ovechkin, the midpoint of the season signaled a complete turnaround (at both an individual and team level), as he went on a tear over the second half to help guide the Caps to the playoffs for the sixth straight year. An amazing 23 of his 32 goals and 36 of his 56 points were accumulated in the final 24 games of the season, a torrid (albeit somewhat unsustainable) pace that changed his season - and that of the Caps - from highly disappointing to highly promising.

By the end of the season Ovechkin had scored just over 21% of the team's total goals and either scored or assisted on 37.5% of them

It went well beyond just the sheer volume of offense from #8, as his production was both timely and crucial to the team's success down the stretch. By the end of the season Ovechkin had scored just over 21% of the team's total goals and either scored or assisted on 37.5% of them; for comparison's sake, Crosby produced just 9% of his team's goals and assisted on or scored 35%, while Tavares matched Ovechkin's 21% in goals for the Islanders but also played a role in "just" 35% as well.

But Ovechkin's share of the team's offense rose dramatically when looking at the stretch of games from March 1 to the end of the season. Over the course of those 8 weeks, no one in the NHL put up higher numbers than Ovechkin. His 24 tallies were seven better than the next-highest scorer and accounted for a League-best 25% of the team's total output (97 goals) during that stretch (Rick Nash's 17 goals made up the second-highest percentage, contributing 21% of New York's 82 goals after March 1). With 41 points overall - five more than the next-highest after March 1 - he helped create 42% of the team's production, tied for fourth-highest behind Martin St. Louis, Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall.

And then there was the team's record when Ovechkin provided that offense. It's often said that as Ovechkin goes, so go the Caps, and this season was a perfect example of that as he practically put the team on his back and carried them to another Southeast Division title. 16 times this season Ovechkin was kept completely off the scoresheet; in those 16 games, the Caps were 4-11-1 (2-8-1 in the first half of the season). When he scored at least one goal? 19-4-1. In multi-point games for the captain, the team was 15-1-0; when he scored more than one goal, they were undefeated (6-0).

Despite all of this, of course, there are those who would argue against his "worthiness" as Hart Trophy winner. Some would perhaps point to his slow first half as reason enough to keep him out of the running, and that's fair to a certain extent. The fact is that Ovechkin needed to get red-hot in the second half of the season to keep pace with the top scorers in the League. 23 goals and 36 points in the final 24 games is noteworthy but it also means that he only had 9 goals and 20 points through the first 24 games... which is noteworthy for a completely different reason.

That said, the slow start is somewhat understandable when considering that Ovechkin swallowed his pride and, at the suggestion of his coach, made the switch from the left-wing position he'd played for years to the right side. Not only does that somewhat mitigate the uncharacteristically low numbers he posted early on but it also shows leadership and maturity, a willingness to evolve and make sacrifices for the good of the team.

It's also not unheard of for a second-half resurgence to propel someone to a Hart Trophy win; as Greg Wyshynski pointed out, one need only look back two years to Corey Perry's win to see that this is pretty common. While the games late in the season are worth the same as those early on, they somehow seem to matter a bit more - points become that much harder to come by (both on the ice and in the standings), playoff races that much tighter, the battles that much more intense, voters' memories that much fresher. If the situation had been reversed, if Ovechkin had started the season red-hot and faded when his team needed him late in the year, it's unlikely he would have garnered consideration for the Hart regardless of how shiny the numbers were at the end of the season.

In some ways it's [Ovechkin's] lackluster start that helps further underline how valuable he is to his team's success.

In some ways it's his lackluster start that helps further underline how valuable he is to his team's success. On March 10, Game #24 of the season, the Caps were seven points out of 8th place and nine points back of the division lead, due in some degree to the lack of scoring by their top line and most notably Alex Ovechkin. Less than a month later they had climbed into first place in the Southeast for the first time this season; in the 12 games between March 11 and April 4 Ovechkin put up 11 goals and 17 points. It wasn't the only factor in the team's turnaround (and Adam Oates deserves a ton of credit for both the team's resurgence and that of his captain) but there's no question that it was at least part of the story. Take Ovechkin off of this team for even half of those games down the stretch and it's unlikely that the Caps make the push that they did; if, for example, you took Crosby off of his team, odds are they'd be just fine. In fact we know they were.

For others, the argument centers around everyone's favorite narrative: that Ovechkin's numbers (and his team's second-half resurgence in general) is based almost entirely on competing against so-called "weak" teams. No one would deny that the Southeast Division was less than stellar this season, and it's true that Ovechkin was able to put up some bigger numbers against division rivals and non-playoff teams than he had against "good" teams. But he certainly wasn't doing so early in the season (or the two seasons prior, for that matter). Once he turned things around he was scoring against everyone, playoff team or not - the 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) he posted in 11 games against playoff teams down the stretch showed that he was more than capable of putting up points regardless of opponent.

He wasn't alone in taking advantage of some of the weaker teams, either; in fact, both Tavares and Crosby had higher points-per-game rates against non-playoff teams than Ovechkin (1.37 points/game), posting 1.75 and 1.5 points-per-game respectively... both of which jump up a bit higher if you include games against the Caps, a non-playoff team for more than half the season.

More: Alex Ovechkin Finds His Even Strength Alex Ovechkin Wins the Hart Trophy

Regardless of their place in the standings, the fact remains that every opponent Ovechkin faced was still an NHL-caliber team with NHL-caliber players. He still had to face the best defensemen from those teams, to say nothing of their best defensive forwards. And if you consider that his hot streak really began during a particularly road-heavy stretch of the schedule, it meant that not only was he facing the other team's top defensive players each night, the opposing coaches were also able to get that favorable matchup against him almost every shift. - and yet he still managed to score 19 goals away from Verizon Center, more than half of his entire season total (including five goals in six games against playoff teams).

There will always be debate about who is deserving of what award and who was robbed. And the reality is that all three finalists this year could have won, for vastly different reasons, and that alone will (and should) inspire debate. In an 82-game campaign, perhaps things are different; maybe Ovechkin comes back to earth or maybe the final 34 games are more of the same, maybe the Islanders can't sustain their late-season push or maybe Tavares rises to an even higher level. Maybe Crosby returns to health and resumes terrorizing goalies Leaguewide, maybe he doesn't or can't. Give us 82 games to determine who is the most valuable next season and perhaps there are three new faces in the mix.

For this year, though, the trophy belongs to Alex Ovechkin - and deservedly so.

2013 Rink Wrap: Mike Ribeiro

2013-06-18T15:00:06Z

Japers' Rink Player Card (click for hi-res version; a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via Behind the Net, Hockey Analysis, CapGeek and NHL.com; h/t Habs EOTP):

Ribeiro and his most frequent linemates:

2013 Capitals 5v5 forward usage, via Hockey Abstract:

Ribeiro's past six seasons (via Hockey Analysis):

Previous Rink Wraps: Not Applicable

Key Stats: Ribeiro’s first-rate play-making skills and pass-first instincts were on display with the extra-man all season, the center’s 21 power-play assists and 5-on-4 assist rate both comfortably pacing the League.

Interesting Stat: Ribeiro's 16 multi-point games were tops on the team (tied with Alex Ovechkin), two off the League-leader, and just two less than his 0-point games.

The Good: Despite being tabbed the team’s number two center, Ribeiro made the most of the last year of his current contract and produced like a first-line pivot, finishing second on the squad in scoring behind Hart Trophy winner Ovechkin, thanks in large part to his power-play production and team-high (and certainly unsustainable-over-time) 20.6% shooting percentage. The 33-year-old pivot averaged more than a point per outing for just the second time in his career and set a new career high in assists-per-game, finishing with 36 helpers (a 62-assist 82-game pace) that placed him fifth in the NHL, alongside an impressive list of All-Star set-up men (Martin St. Louis, Sidney Crosby, teammate Nicklas Backstrom, and Henrik Zetterberg, four of the top-nine assisters over the last five seasons).

Ribeiro’s play stood out during a nine-points-in-five-games mid-April stretch that was a big part of the Caps’ successful late-season playoff push, the team capturing eight of ten points along the way (and even in that one loss, it was Ribeiro putting up the team’s lone goal in Ottawa). The run carried the Capitals through the month after Backstrom’s scorching hot first week of April got the team going, and the effective one-two punch down the middle that Caps fans had envisioned since last summer had seemingly come to fruition (even if Ribeiro was still doing most of his damage on the power-play) when the team needed it most.

Neither injury nor illness kept Ribeiro out of Oates’ lineup (one of only seven Caps skaters to receive a sweater each and every time out), the lockout-shortened season marking the third time Ribeiro hasn't missed a game over the course of a season.

Then came the playoffs, overtimes, and Ribeiro heroics, first when his fake shot and perfect pass set up Mike Green's game-winning one-timer in Game 2, and then when he ended Game 5 on his own by depositing a rebound behind Henrik Lundqvist. And that would be the end of the good for Ribeiro.

The Bad: Put bluntly, Ribeiro was nothing special at even-strength, despite sharing plenty of ice with the League's MVP (which didn't quite work out as well as everyone might have thought). The Caps gave up more goals than they scored when he was on the ice at five-on-five, and his possession stats were fairly atrocious, with the team hemorrhaging shots-against when he was on the ice. (Put another way, he had a negative goal differential, despite a high PDO... not easy to do unless you're getting killed in possession.)

As a top-six center, Ribeiro saw the face-off dot often, his 505 draws second on the Caps to Backstrom, but his 44.8% success rate could certainly be improved upon (and his struggles there certainly didn't help his and the team's possession numbers). Ribeiro also didn't shoot the puck all that much (apparently Ryan Callahan didn't get the memo), and while that's not his game, his 1.31 shots per game were his lowest rate since before the lockout. Err, the 2004-05 lockout, that is.

Ribeiro’s 53 penalty minutes was second-most on the team, and he set a personal high in PIMs-per-game thanks in part to his first career fighting major and a pair of ten-minute misconducts. Ribeiro plays with an emotional edge, noticeable in his offensive flair at the best of times and seemingly unavoidable at the worst of times, as his mouth was often going when his offense wasn't. Perhaps fittingly, Ribeiro's season (and maybe Caps career) ended with an early trip to the locker room, hit with another misconduct in the final minutes of the Game 7 embarrassment (a game in which he had a minus-four rating).

And while his personal highlights for the series that were touched on above were great moments, Ribeiro’s overall production (like that of so many of his teammates) took a dip in the playoffs, with those two points all he was able to produce over the seven games. That lack of production can partially be attributed to John Tortorella’s game plan and Lundqvist’s play, and were particularly frustrating in light of the Caps’ lack of postseason power-play effectiveness after such a strong regular season; the man advantage team only scored one goal on only nine attempts over the last five games (seriously... nine attempts in five games). How much of that futility rests on Ribeiro’s shoulders is up to an individual’s interpretation.

The Vote: Rate Ribeiro 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: It was a hot topic in late March, but at this point, do you regret the Caps hanging on to Ribeiro at the trade deadline? Ribeiro has said that he would like to continue (and possibly end) his career in Washington, but he's coming off of a five year, $25-million contract and looking for a "four to five year deal." In a summer of thin UFA talent Ribeiro sits at the top of a short list of proven NHL centers (arguably the only premier one) and teams will come calling for the free agent as soon as they can - but is there a deal that would work for both the Caps and Ribeiro to keep him in D.C.? If he's here, what would it take for him to earn a "10" next year?

More on Ribeiro's season: WaPo: Capitals Season Review: Forwards, Part I Peerless: 2012-2013 By the Tens -- Forwards: Mike Ribeiro

Tuesday Caps Clips

2013-06-18T10:34:39Z

Your savory breakfast links:

Don't think we won't link to "Alex Ovechkin, Hart winner" posts all summer as long as they're there. Because we will. Here are some more. [Ted's Take, CP, Y! Sports]
Ovi, just remember: laces out. (Alternatively, "So does that make Slapshot Snowflake?") [CBS DC]
A look at how the team was built (is "mediocrely" a word?). [Peerless]
Speaking of building, with the 23rd pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the Caps select... the best available player? [Patriot-News (and many thanks to Tim Leone for including us in the piece)]
The Caps will play a preseason game against Winnipeg for all the mac and cheese. Or something. [NHL]
If Mike Ribeiro walks, might the Caps look to Danny Briere, Tuomo Ruutu or Shawn Horcoff to replace him? [CSNW]
The Penguins' swift (albeit not early) exit from the playoffs was delightful and... familiar? [RMNB, which also has something worth a click on Joey, err, Aleister Ochvekin, err... just go read it]
2012-13 was a very fashionable year for the Reading Royals. [Caps Outsider]
Finally, happy 49th birthday to Bob Rouse.

2013 Rink Wrap: Mathieu Perreault

2013-06-17T15:00:04Z

Japers' Rink Player Card (click for hi-res version; a glossary of terms used in this post can be found here; data via Behind the Net, Hockey Analysis, CapGeek and NHL.com; h/t Habs EOTP):

Perreault and his most frequent linemates:

2013 Capitals 5v5 forward usage, via Hockey Abstract:

Perreault's past three seasons (via Hockey Analysis):

Previous Rink Wraps: 2011-12 (6.18 rating)2010-11 (5.15 rating)2009-10 (7.10 rating)

Key Stat: Perreault led the Caps in primary assists per sixty at five-on-five and finished third in overall assist rate (behind a pair of Swedes who skated predominantly with the League's MVP).

Interesting Stat: Perreault was credited with just seven giveaways, tied for second-lowest (with Joel Ward) among all Caps forwards who played at least half the season.

The Good: Mathieu Perreault's time in the NHL so far has been one marked by flashes of brilliance and bouts of inconsistency, solid defensive play mixed with occasionally poor decision-making, time spent in his coaches' good graces and plenty of trips to the doghouse. This year was no different for Perreault, with a new coach, new system (to say nothing of the new expectations that came with both) and a shortened season in which to work.

While his surface-level offensive numbers in the regular season weren't much to write home about, they were well in line with his role as a third-/fourth-line center - and didn't necessarily tell the whole story, either. For Perreault, much of the tale is told in the underlying numbers, both offensively and defensively, numbers that show a continued pattern of improvement at both ends of the ice. His individual Fenwick and Corsi ratings rose above last year's level, and no forward on the team had more primary assists per 60 than Perreault; in fact, his assists and points per 60 were all well above where they've been in previous seasons. And at the other end of the ice, his goals-against per 60 was the lowest it's been since his NHL debut back in 2009-10.

It wasn't all "fancy stats", of course - Perreault became a contributor on the team's second power play unit, scoring a third of his goals with the extra man while averaging about a minute of power play time per game. He took the fourth-most faceoffs on the team but finished with wins in 51.7% of them, trailing only Nicklas Backstrom. And few loved home cooking more than Perreault, who brought his A game at Verizon Center. 13 of his 17 points were scored on home ice - the third-highest percentage on the team behind only Jason Chimera and Wojtek Wolski - and he took just three of his ten minor penalties at home (and broke out some of his best celebrations, as well).

If Perreault's regular season suffered from inconsistency and the occasional benching, it was in the playoffs where he developed into one of the team's best and more consistent performers. He had just one goal in the first round series loss to New York but his four points were tied for the most on the team, as was his plus-three rating; he was one of just five Caps to not take a single penalty in the series, and he won 54% of his faceoffs - just 0.6% shy of Backstrom's team-leading mark.

The Bad: It was kind of a strange season for Perreault, as he was one of the team's more consistent producers early in the season only to find himself benched around mid-March for reasons that perhaps only the coach knows. His production was solid early on, but as the season progressed and the playoff race heated up, Perreault's numbers almost went the opposite direction of his teammates - he had ten points through the first half and seven in the second, but there were long stretches in between those points as the season drew to a close.

And while his home numbers were sparkling, the opposite was true outside of DC, with just four points in nineteen road games, a combined minus-two rating and winning just 46.8% of his faceoffs. Matchups and home ice advantage play a role there but for a guy who played relatively sheltered minutes (and entirely at even strength or the power play), one point for every five road games just isn't good enough.

Perreault averaged 1.2 shots per game, which is right about where he usually is, but his shooting percentage was lower than his career average (and while one wouldn't expect him to match the absurd 26.7% rate he posted last year, such a huge dip from one season to the next is a bit of a concern). As a result his offense struggled, with just six goals on the season and a goals-per-60 rate of well under 1 for the first time in three seasons (although he did make up for it with his improved playmaking abilities). And as it did in the regular season, his playoff performance dwindled as the first round drew to a close, with just three shots on goal in the final three games against the Rangers and no points to show for it - despite skating over 16 minutes (the most ice time he had all season) in two of the three games.

The Vote: Rate Perreault 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: Perreault has bounced around the lineup a bit over the years; what do you see as his role going forward, and how much does that change if Mike Ribeiro returns (or the team brings in another second-line center) versus whether the 2C slot is open next year? Are Perreault's skills more suited to a top-six or bottom-six role? Finally, what would it take for him to earn a '10' from you next season?

More on Perreault's season: WaPo: Capitals Season Review: Forwards, Part II Peerless: 2012-2013 By the Tens -- Forwards: Mathieu Perreault

Monday Caps Clips

2013-06-17T10:32:19Z

Your savory breakfast links:

If you missed any Clips this weekend, un-miss them now.
M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!, cont'd: [Rink, previously.]
- Ovechkin: It's all about the Oates... [NHL.com, PHT, CSNW]
- ... and then some. [WaPo]
- Oates: It's all about the Ovechkin. [RMNB]
- Either way, Ovi reports that the broken foot is healing just fine. [WaPo, TSN, 106.7 The Fan]
- When past is prelude. [GM on a Couch]
- The Oviphoenix arises. [Soviet Sport (click through for the pic (Ovi's #1!); link in Russian)]
Don't look now but the off-season is about to go into overdrive:
- Fire up CapGeek, pour yourself something frosty, and have a look at GMGM's to-do list. [TSN]
- Buyer's Guide to the Buyout Season, Southeast Division edition. [Blueshirt Banter]
- The long lockout last fall shortened this summer's off-season, which is making some things a bit jumbly. [Kukla]
Instant Oatesmeal made a pretty tasty porridge. The steel-cut Oates may be even better. [Peerless]
One of us. [ECAC Hockey]
Two rich-and-fabulous guys hanging around being rich-and-fabulous. Also fedora'd. [Caps Outsider]
Finally, happy 32nd birthday to Matt Hendricks.

Japers' Rink - All Posts

Thursday Caps Clips

2013 Rink Wrap: Jeff Schultz

What Happened to Jeff Schultz?

How do you rate Jeff Schultz's 2013 season?

Wednesday Caps Clips

Ovechkin's Hart Hat Trick: The Writers Got It Right

2013 Rink Wrap: Alex Ovechkin

2013 Rink Wrap: Mike Ribeiro

How do you rate Mike Ribeiro's 2013 season?

Tuesday Caps Clips

2013 Rink Wrap: Mathieu Perreault

Wolski, Perreault and a Look Into Adam Oates's Thought Process

How do you rate Mathieu Perreault's 2013 season?

Monday Caps Clips