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):
Grubauer’s Season, Game-by-Game (via HockeyViz, explained here):
Grubauer’s 10-Game Rolling 5v5 Save Percentage for 2015-16 (via Corsica):
Grubauer’s SAVE Chart (via IMF Analytics):
Grubauer’s Even-Strength Hextally Shot Chart for 2015-16 (via war-on-ice):
Grubauer’s 5v5 Save Percentage in Two Qualifying Seasons (via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com):
Grubauer’s Career Even-Strength Hextally Shot Chart (via war-on-ice):
Key Stat: The Capitals scored only 37 goals in Grubauer’s 16 starts — 30 in 15 excluding the seven on January 10 — while Grubauer allowed 40 (2.5 per game).
Interesting Stat: The Capitals were shut out in each of Grubauer’s final three starts. The last Capitals goal Grubauer was on-ice for was March 12 at San Jose.
The Good: Grubauer made the jump to the NHL full-time in 2015-16 and performed fine in a backup role. He posted a .918 save percentage in 22 appearances — slightly down from his .925 in 17 appearances in 2013-14, but still solid — and was especially good in relief, posting a 1.17 GAA and .952 save percentage when he didn’t start (and got a win over Tampa Bay in one of those appearances). He posted a .934 against the Eastern Conference, yet another reason the Capitals were able to clinch the top seed as early as they did. Grubauer’s .938 over December, January, and February combined helped the Caps keep chugging along even as Braden Holtby and the rest of the team started slipping a little, and he started (and won) the game in which Alex Ovechkin scored his 500th goal.
The Bad: Grubauer’s other months were below-average to poor, and included a .872 in his final five appearances. He picked up four losses in four starts in those five, with a soft go-ahead game-winning goal at San Jose surrendered in the third and three goals allowed at Arizona after a strong first 40 minutes.
Grubauer still has a little way to go to become a starting-caliber netminder. He can be a little slow to reposition himself — he was often liable to get beaten by a shot between the faceoff circles (as his hextally chart shows) by being a little off his angle or not being aggressive enough after some passing or movement on the rush. His rebound control, while looking better than it did last season, could be better as well. He also wasn’t always sharp tracking the puck through traffic. He has the physical tools to succeed, but the rest of the game still needs work.
The GIF/Video:
The Vote: Rate Grubauer 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: Will Grubauer eventually develop into a starting-caliber netminder? Does he need a regular workload to take the next step in his development, and can he get that workload in a backup role? Set to become an RFA in 2017, should the Caps move him or re-sign him, and if the latter, at what cost and for how long? What would it take for you to give him a “10” next year?