It’s obvious to even casual hockey fans that every player is not equal. Skill level is one obvious differentiator that we’ve looked at through the player projections, with overall impact as the measure of a player’s skill. Player type is another way to differentiate players based on how they approach the game and we’re going to delve into it in this post.
A Look At The 2022/2023 Season Models
I’ve been working on improving and updating the models used for the 2021/2022 season projections for next season. Now at the mid-point of the season, there’s enough data to start making some preliminary projections for the 2022/2023 season. With the trade deadline approaching, some teams will be starting to look at next year already so it’s time to a take the new models out of the box and peek at some early projections for next season.
Biggest Surprises of the Season: 5v5 GF/60 Edition
We’re now well into the 21/22 NHL season and longer term trends are starting to show in each team’s performance. With model projections giving us a reference point for how strong each team’s even strength offense was expected to be, let’s take a look at which teams have fallen in line with the projections and which have surprised.
Trade Check-in: Gostisbehere+ (ARI) / Future Considerations (PHI) – Jan 2022
offseason. They found one in the Arizona Coyotes, who were busy snapping up all the perceived low value contracts they could to pile up draft picks alongside them. Let’s take a look at how the Gostisbehere trade looks now.
Biggest Surprises of the 21/22 Season: Point % Edition
We’re now well into the 21/22 NHL season and teams have generally settled into a pecking order in the standings. Some teams are performing as expected. Others are not. Let’s take a look at which teams have been the biggest surprises relative to the model projections so far this season in terms of overall performance.
Trade Proposal: Paul Stastny (NYR) / Schneider+ (WPG)
The New York Rangers have fallen off their early season pace as their mediocre 5v5 results have started to catch up to them, but still look like a contender in the Metropolitan. The Jets sit 6th in the Central and look like they need to re-tool the roster to get back to contender status. These two teams could be excellent trade partners, so let’s take a look at a hypothetical trade proposal.
Trade Check-in: Seth Jones+ (CHI) / Adam Boqvist+ (CBJ) – Jan 2022
informing the Blue Jackets that he would not re-sign in Columbus, the Jackets put Jones on the trade block last summer with one season left on his contract. They found a trade partner in the Blackhawks and completed one of the bigger deals of the offseason. There’s lots to digest here, including an extension and secondary trade, so let’s dig into the deal.
RFA Signing Check-in: Jordan Kyrou – STL (Jan 2022)
performing on their new deals. Today, we’ll check in on Jordan Kyrou who signed a two year extension with the Blues as a restricted free agent.
Trade Check-in: Atkinson (PHI) / Voracek (CBJ) – Jan 2022
We don’t see a lot of one for one trades, particularly with higher impact players, but we got one last offseason with a swap between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jakub Voracek headed back to Columbus for a second stint with the Jackets while Cam Atkinson headed to Philly. Let’s take a look at the early returns on the trade.
Armchair GM: Winnipeg Jets – Jan 2022
As an Armchair GM, we’ll put ourselves in the driver’s seat of an NHL team and put together a plan to contend for the Stanley Cup. Today, we’re sitting in Kevin Cheveldayoff’s chair as we take charge of the Winnipeg Jets.