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2014-15 Rink Wrap: Marcus Johansson

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):

Johansson card

Johansson linemates

Johansson’s Rolling Shot-Attempt (Corsi) -For Percentage (2010-15):

Johansson’s HERO Chart (via Own The Puck):

Johansson’s Past Five Seasons (via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com; click to enlarge):

Johansson HA

Key Stat: Marcus Johansson was second on the Capitals in even strength five-on-five goals (15).

Interesting Stat: Johansson scored more goals during the 2014-2015 (20) season than he did in the two previous seasons combined (14).

The Good: Marcus Johansson played the vast majority of the 13-14 season on a wing with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin and he struggled with that assignment. Why did Johansson struggle? Well according to Barry Trotz the problem was a lack of shot volume due to Johansson’s propensity to defer to Ovechkin or Backstrom. Johansson started the 2014-15 season on the second line with Andre Burakovsky and Troy Brouwer and saw some early success there. That line posted 53.8% GF and a 53.3% CF. Johansson shined away from his old running mates and appeared to make an effort to follow his coach’s advice by posting the highest individual shot rate of his career. His increased shooting led to a career high in both goals and points.

Johansson also played a key role in the Capitals’ potent power play, as he was frequently responsible for carrying the puck into the offensive zone, and did so exceptionally well during the regular season. Overall the 2014-2015 campaign was a bit of a renaissance (or breakout) for the often maligned Johansson.

The Bad: On the heels of a generally strong regular season, Johansson potted just one goal during the playoffs and it came in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals against the Islanders. While he wasn’t scoring points, Johansson appeared to still be doing the right things until he took a hit during Game Three that required some medical attention, and although Johansson returned to that game (and played for the rest of the playoffs) he never quite looked the same.

Shooting percentages fluctuate a lot so it’s hard to know if this is anything more than variance, but this season, in almost 200 minutes of time together, the line of Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Johansson had an on-ice shooting percentage of just 5.1 % (SuperWOWY). Each of those players saw significantly better shooting when they were not on the ice with one another (Ovechkin 9.2%, Backstrom 8.7%, and Johansson 8.9%). That line does an exceptional job of generating shots and possessing the puck, but for some reason they are unable to turn those chances into goals. But, to be fair, Johansson did have the primary helper (and a beauty at that) on Ovechkin’s lone goal in Game Seven against the Rangers.

The Video:

The Vote: Rate Johansson 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: Does Johansson have the skills necessary to be a true top-six forward in the NHL? How much is he worth to the Capitals? Is there more value in trading Johansson than there is in re-signing him? What would it take for you to give him a “10” next year?

Johansson

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