Advanced analytics have taken over hockey and the NHL in recent years in the NHL and more and more general managers and fans look to build teams around these analytics.
Advanced analytics are a fantastic way of judging a player based off of their play if points aren’t enough. Points don’t usually tell the story, and advanced stats help people get a better understanding of players and their playing styles. For example Quinn Hughes gets an absurd amount of points every season, but they don’t tell how he plays entirely. Hughes has had issues with his defensive game, and with advanced stats you can obviously see that he needs help in those areas. Advanced stats are statistics that will take over the NHL whether you like it or not and general managers will look to build teams with these stats.
In this article, I’ve created a team (4 forward lines, 3 defence lines, 2 goalies) that consists of the best advanced analytics players available. The only rule is that I can’t build a super-team. My center depth cannot be Crosby, McDavid, Mackinnon, Matthews. To make it fair, I can have only one first line centerman. When I made my forward depth I looked throughout every lineup in the NHL and chose the best second line centerman. That's who will be my second line centerman. Same thing goes for every player on the lineup; I cannot have a first line left defenceman on my third line defence. I must have an NHL third line defenceman on my third line of D. And for goalies, I must have one starting goalie and one backup. Again, I can’t have a starting goalie as my backup as I have to choose the best backup in the league.
Without a second to waste, I am proud to introduce you to the “All Advanced Analytics'' team! As always, big thank you to evolvinghockey for the advanced analytics. If you haven’t checked them out, please do! I get all my advanced stats and team stats from them.
First Forward Line-
Brad Marchand- Connor McDavid- Mikko Rantanen
Brad Marchand- LW
Our first line consists of three all star caliber NHLers. Let’s start with Brad Marchand. Brad Marchand is arguably one of the best wingers in the NHL, if not the best. As a fantastic forward who plays an irritating game against his opponents, Marchand racked up 69 points in 53 games this year… but points isn’t what we’re looking at. What we’re looking at is Marchand’s advanced stats.
In the photos above, the advanced stats prove to us that Marchand is the best left winger in the National Hockey League. Marchand has no negatives in his game except for his penalties taken. That comes in effect when he plays the aggressor and when Marchand attempts to get the most out of his opponents and tries to draw penalties. As you can see, Brad isn’t very good at that. Other than his penalties, Marchand’s statistics are all blue, interpreting that Marchand is a suitable player for any NHL team. Marchand plays a highly offensive game while managing to maintain a sensational defensive aspect to his play. Marchand contributes to Boston’s success heavily, and he is an obvious dark horse contender for the Hart trophy. With his marvellous analytics, Marchand earns the first line, left wing spot on the roster.
Connor McDavid- C
Connor McDavid is unequivocally the finest player in the league. Nobody can compare to McDavid’s skill and dexterity. Connor McDavid had a colossal 105 points in a shortened 56 game season. Adjacent to the end of the regular season, McDavid went berserk and put up Gretzky-like numbers when he had consistent 4 point games. His point-numbers are assuredly imposing, but his advanced stats are far more profound.
Connor McDavid is the best player in the NHL, and advanced stats are here to back it up. His defensive game may not be superb, but even that aspect is glorious. In no way is McDavid abrogating, and furthermore these graphs display McDavid’s superiority in the NHL. Even though his defensive statistics may not be superlative, he exceeds the bar in his evaluated offence. McDavid draws more penalties than taketh, he exceeds expectations when on the powerplay, and he shows positive signs of progression every single season. McDavid’s capability earns himself a 99 rating, which happens to be the highest possible rating a player can receive in evolvinghockey’s player card graphics. If you didn’t think McDavid was the best in the league before, his advanced stats will convert you into a McDavid truther. In fact, I do conjecture that Connor McDavid is the greatest to ever play the game.
Mikko Rantanen- RW
The primitive opinion on Rantanen is that Nathan MacKinnon plays the immersive role on the Colorado Avalanche first line and that Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog both are the underlying players on the line and MacKinnon does all the dirty work. Candidly, that’s not true whatsoever. The biggest reason as to why that first line in Colorado is so successful is because of the chemistry and combined skill that the line has. The honest truth is that one of the fundamental reasons as to why MacKinnon is so good comes from his linemates. Rantanen is a fantastic player, and may as well be the best winger in the National Hockey League.
If you thought McDavid’s and Marchand’s statistics were dominant, feast your eyes on Mikko Rantanen. Name an error in his game, you can’t. His data is more blue than the deep blue sea. He may take one or two senseless penalties, but his offensive and defensive game is absolutely flawless. If you compare Rantanen’s defensive skill to Connor McDavid’s defensive skill, you’ll get the grasp that Rantanen is considerably better in that area. Although it may seem as Rantanen is better, McDavid did have 105 points in a shortened season and that’s outstanding. Rantanen may be the best winger in the National Hockey League, but the advanced stats shouldn’t show that McDavid is worse. If 99 wasn’t the max, McDavid would be 150.
Second Forward Line-
Kirill Kaprizov- Nick Suzuki- Nikolaj Ehlers
Kirill Kaprizov- LW
Kirill Kaprizov came into the league as a 23 year-old rookie before the start of the 2020-21 season and he stunned the league performing outstanding and recording 51 points in 54 games and he netted 27 goals. Kaprizov showed up big time for the Wild points wise, but obviously his points weren’t the only thing that were great.
Kaprizov is undoubtedly the best second line left wing in the NHL and he has almost no downside. His defence may need a quick repair, yet he still manages to stay amazing. What shocked me most was that Kaprizov plays on the second line for the Minnesota Wild. The Wild’s best player, on the second line. I understand spreading out the skill and the chemistry, but you shouldn’t be placing your MVP on the second line. Although it’s a downside for Minnesota, it’s an upside for us and the analytics team. Kaprizov is by far the most remarkable second line left winger in the NHL, points wise and data wise. Kaprizov’s goals help his advanced stats out heavily, but his offensive skill is the thing that helps him out the most. He’s a purebred goal scorer, and that’s why his offence is ranked 95 overall. His defence clearly needs improvement to help him become more of a star, but even with iffy defence he’s a clear star and that’s why he’s on this analytics team.
Nick Suzuki- C
While there are scads of all star centermen in the NHL and so many fantastic goal scorers and playmakers, it truly amazed me how second line centres in the NHL aren’t usually that talented. I noticed that a lot of the centres in the NHL play on their wings from time to time and sometimes these second line caliber players get called up onto the first line, or get put down onto the third line. It’s all about spreading out the skill and coaches use that tactic incessantly. Due to that ploy, our second line centerman on this team is Montreal Canadiens sophomore Nick Suzuki.
I must admit, when I saw the options after entering the names into the RAPM charts on evolvinghockey, I was quite disenchanted. I expected better advanced analytics from some of the players we saw that included Bo Horvat, John Tavares and Anthony Cirelli. There were many options, and it did come down to the wire but Nick Suzuki triumphed over his competitors. Suzuki has a couple holes in his match that include his expected goals for per 60 (xGF/60), and his short handed defensive play. Although I may compliment his defensive game as that is distinctly his best facet. Suzuki is a young player with high potential and is undoubtedly a future first line centerman. Right now, he’s receiving some conditioning on the second line. He currently plays with Tyler Toffoli, so using some basic statistics we learn that Suzuki feans off of Tyler Toffoli’s goal scoring, and when he isn’t he suffers. His defensive play is there, he knows how to backcheck and play his positions. The only issue is that Suzuki is inconsistent. For two straight weeks he can be over point per game (PPG) and then the following two weeks he can’t get a point if his life depended on it. If Suzuki can become persistent on the ice, I am sure that his evaluation will become exceptional and Suzuki will earn himself a rating in the mid 80s rather than his current rating of 78. Remarkably, an avenging seeming player has earned his spot on this roster in the interest that Suzuki is better than the other options we had lined up.
Nikolaj Ehlers- RW
Nikolaj Ehlers is assuredly the best winger in the Canadian division. Or as the NHL calls it the Scotiabank North Division. Ehlers went on a rampage on the Winnipeg Jets this season and recorded 46 points in 47 games. An injury caused his season to end, but come the playoffs he ripped it up. Ehlers’ playing style is proportionate to Sidney Crosby in his early career. Ehlers has a fighting like spirit and he’s always forechecking and getting pucks on net. He’s the perfect player, and lucky enough for us the Winnipeg Jets have him listed as their second line right winger. Ehlers has that grit to his game that makes him such a scarced asset to the Jets of Winnipeg.
Like many high scoring forwards in the NHL, Ehlers toils with his defensive aspect of his game. He attempts to backcheck and it’s discernible that he tries his heart out, but it’s visible it’s not working. Something doesn’t click for him when he’s in his own zone and forced to defend. This off-season, Ehlers needs to perfect his game in his own zone and should focus less on his offensive game as he’s consummated that side completely.
Nikolaj Ehlers is deadly on the powerplay. It seems that when the Jets are buzzing and Ehlers is empowered, he generates a goal for his team. Ehlers draws penalties quite often and rarely takes bad penalties. Ehlers has earned himself 97 overall as well as a 98 on offence, but his 24 on defence massively drags his rating down. Don’t be discouraged by his defence though, he’s one heck of a hockey player. Ehlers severely needs to work on his defence, and once he masters that part of hockey, I guarantee you he might as well get a 99 rating.
Third Forward Line:
Andre Burakovsky- Yanni Gourde- Alex Tuch
Andre Burakovsky- LW
Andre Burakovsky is doubtlessly the most underrated player in the NHL in my eyes. He plays on the third line in Colorado, which isn’t known to be a high scoring line. Meantime while playing on that line this year Burakovsky managed to get 44 points in 53 games. If that isn’t impressive as a third liner I don’t know what is. His contract is a plunder (4.9 million. Players like him can make up to as much as 7 million), he plays every game like it’s his last; what I’m trying to say is that Burakovsky is a perfect player and advanced stats are right by my side when I make this claim.
I must disclose that it came down to the wire between Jared McCann of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Burakovsky. However Burakovsky did end up taking it because of his previous years of success and uniformity. McCann only now had his breakout year while Burakovsky is routinely phenomenal. As you can see Burakovsky, like some other players, has a bit of a hiccup in his defensive game but while that may be true that doesn’t mean it’s bad. 80 overall is generally better than a lot of players, and better than the bulk of NHL forwards. Burakovsky doesn’t draw too many penalties, but in hindsight he doesn’t take very many either. His neutral zone play is marvellous and his offensive play is incredible. Burakovsky has a tremendous game sense which lets him create smart plays at a high pace, that pace being the NHL game speed. For a third liner, there is no downside when it comes to Andre Burakovsky. Burakovsky does play on the super team of the Avalanche, but he is capable of being a second liner on a playoff team, and a star player on a poor team. Even though it came close, Burakovsky is our left winger on the third line on the analytics team.
Yanni Gourde- C
Going into this project I didn’t expect much after the second line, but Yanni Gourde impressed me heavily. Not only does Gourde show up on the scoreboard (he had 36 points in 56 games this year) but also his charts are as blue as the sky.
Notice how Gourde’s offence is ranked at an 82 overall, yet Gourde had 0.64 PPG this year. That’s pretty impressive for a third line centerman who’s known for his defensive play. Not many forwards in the National Hockey League can earn themselves a rating like 95 on offence, but Gourde dismayed me (and hopefully shocked you too) and he may as well be one of the best two way forwards out there. If he isn’t that, he’s arguably the best two way bottom 6 player in the league. Gourde came into the league from the AHL, but he made it all the way up from the ECHL. Gourde has done a wonderful job of working and improving his play to the point of him being such a talented player and as you can see on the charts above his TOI (time on ice) has gone up. Gourde plays on Tampa’s PK and rightfully so. He does a fantastic job of killing penalties, while sometimes having some breakouts and offensive plays. Gourde doesn’t draw too many penalties, because he’s such a big guy and avoids falling and selling penalties, but he doesn’t take penalties too often. At least not the stupid ones. Gourde is a godly-like bottom 6 player and therefore he earns himself a spot on the third line on our roster.
Alex Tuch- RW
My initial thought while looking up Tuch’s advanced stats was “all blue on the offence and absolutely no positives on the defensive side”. Boy, I was wrong. Before I show the advanced analytics, let's get a grasp on Alex Tuch. Tuch joined the Golden Knights in their inaugural season and since joining the squad has had his ups and downs, but has managed to be an adequate goal scorer. In his last 249 games, those 249 of his 255 career games, he’s managed to stay at a steady 0.24 GPG (goals per game). He’s played through injuries, especially the 2019-20 season, but he’s been one of Vegas’ best players and best goal scorers. This year Tuch has found himself a home on Vegas’ third line and lucky for us, I found out Tuch isn’t the player I once thought he was.
It turns out that Alex Tuch is much better at defence than offence. Tuch is rated 87 overall while his offence sits at an odd 76 (odd because he has 33 points in 55 games while scoring 18 goals) and his defence at a mountainous 95. Making this team I’ve realized that not only is this team very offensively structured, but also this team is defensively protected. Sincerely, I don’t watch too many Golden Knights games, but not until recently I learned that Tuch has made his way onto the penalty kill in LV. Over the course of the season he had 61 short handed minutes and also played 161 minutes on the powerplay. Tuch is a fantastic third liner, and he’s worthy of a second line spot. He’s found his way in Las Vegas and for the sake of his production and skill that he obviously has, I hope he stays there and continues to exceed expectations. Tuch is highly thought of in Vegas by the management and fans, yet around the NHL he doesn’t get enough credit. So in respect I don’t think there should even be an argument as to why he deserves a spot on the regular roster. As a goal scorer, you always expect a player’s xGF (expected goals for) to be high, and that’s what carries Tuch’s offensive skill. It’s the most blue you see on his charts and a lot of it is thanks to his production on 4 on 4 and powerplay.
Fourth Forward Line:
Eric Robinson- Nico Sturm- Anthony Duclair
Eric Robinson- LW
Exclusive of Florida Panthers right winger Anthony Duclair, the fourth liners on this advanced analytics team may seem unforeseen, better yet uncharted. Our first inconsequential player is Eric Robinson. Robinson currently plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets as their fourth line left winger and picked up 18 points in 56 games in the 2020-21 NHL season. These raw stats may not seem impressive, but the advanced analytics are solely shocking.
Like many of the players on this roster, Eric Robinson’s defensive skills are imposing. What makes Robinson’s xGA and CA so impressive is the fact that he played on one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, more notable one of the worst teams all around. Robinson is a clean player who doesn’t take futile penalties and using advanced stats we can tell that Eric Robinson is the best fourth line left winger in the NHL. He may not spark up too many points, but Robinson still has a positive impact in the O zone. He’s always battling to get the puck and he’s always shooting the puck and assimilating chances in front of the net. Robinson is the airy spot on a lousy team. Robinson got called up multiple times to the third and second line in Columbus, but it was obvious he performed more advantageously on the fourth line.
As a talented penalty killer and a first-rate bottom 6 player, Robinson could earn a spot on teams such as the Lightning and Hurricanes. Robinson is rated as a 72, but that’s only because his offence is ranked at a 58. Robinson has never been a high-scoring forward but he’s always been able to succour defensively. Even when he was working his way up to the NHL from the AHL he drew up 24 points in 45 games and most recently in 2019-20 he had a paltry amount of points of 5 points in 14 games. May his points not be favourable, his defensive skill helps him make the fourth line of this team and realistically his NHL team moreover.
Nico Sturm- C
Another name that isn’t too illustrious is Nico Sturm. Sturm currently plays for the Minnesota Wild as their fourth liner. Sturm went under after and signed with the state of hockey out of college. Although his point totals make him seem under mediocre (17 points in 50 games) his advanced stats will blind you with the amount of blue he has.
When building a team, you always want to make sure you have a solidly structured bottom 6 group who can score goals and play a shutdown role when taking on bigger challenges in the NHL. Nico Sturm can do both. When playing frequent minutes Sturm racks up some big goals that help the Minnesota Wild win games, but also can save them from letting in goals. Starting with his offence, we already know he doesn’t put up too many points. Although he doesn’t get unduly numbers, Sturm still sends pucks onto the net and gets shots off. When he’s on the ice he never lacks and always plays his 200 foot game. With only 17 points this year, he earns a 78 rating which is unusual because you see players who have more points with a lower rating. That’s because Sturm, unlike many others in the NHL, doesn’t give up when he doesn’t score. Customarily when players don’t score they give up and let loose. Sturm finishes his goals and no matter what tries to put the puck into the opponents net.
Sturm is a rock defensively. He plays his position, he breaks up plays, he blocks shots, and he kills penalties like his life felines on it. That sort of skill earns him a 98 at defence (better than McDavid)! With those valuable defensive skills he ends up at a 90 overall as a fourth line centerman. That’s a better rating than anyone else in the NHL, inasmuch cracking the advanced stats roster.
Anthony Duclair- RW
When Anthony Duclair joined the Florida Panthers organization back in December of 2020, he was coming off of a 40 point season and was willing to sign a low-priced one year deal. Duclair played in the all-star game in the 2019-20 season and was looking to continue that production in Florida. The all-star season he had in Ottawa the year previously saw him record a career high of 40 points in 66 games and obtain 23 goals.
Duclair maintained that point production in Florida as he slowed down a tad with his goal scoring, yet he had 32 points in 43 games. As you can see Duclair’s specialty is his offence. Duclair finished the season a whopping +27, a career high, and has dark blue in his GF/60 and xGF/60 (goals for per 60 and expected goals for per69). Usually I don’t enjoy these types of players that suffer in the D zone but we lucked out as we already have two defensive forwards on our fourth line. Duclair has that offensive touch that will help us get goals on the fourth line. Duclair has been nothing but positive for the Panthers this season. His defensive game lacks quite heavily as he received a 45 on defence, but unexpectedly it’s better than many defencemen in the NHL. Duclair is a definition of a bottom 6 sniper, and you can make the argument he belongs in the top 6. Although that may be true, Florida is so stacked with players Duclair is forced to play on line four. Luckily for us, he’s the best fourth line right winger out there.
First Defence Line:
Mackenzie Weegar- Cale Makar
Mackenzie Weegar- LD
Mackenzie Weegar came out of his shell this season and proved to the world that he is one of the best defencemen out there. Weegar broke out and had 36 points in 54 games played. A defenceman’s job is to defend… we know Weegar can get points, but can he defend?
To answer that inquiry: yes he can, and more sophisticatedly than he can play offence. Weegar’s defence is quite literally off the charts. His xGAR is better than any defenceman in the NHL and he stops almost everything that comes at him. He’s Florida’s number one penalty killer and also he plays some of the best defensive 5 on 5 hockey in the NHL. Weegar came out of nowhere this season and became one of the best defencemen in the NHL, if not the best. It’s a stretch, I fathom that, but he’s ameliorated so much it’s prodrugious. Weegar plays so much on the PK that he gets worn out every game and closer to every game he slows down heavily. Luckily, when Weegar plays slow he's still fast and serviceable. Weegar is such a talented defenceman and with those skills he’s earned himself a top rating of 99 overall. He plays such great offence that he gets points and has gotten himself a 93 on offence, and on defence a 99. That may be one of the best in the NHL. Again, if not the best. With his insane step-up to the plate this year he makes the first defence line on this team.
Cale Makar- RD
When Cale Makar came into the NHL two years ago as a rookie in the playoffs, he made an instant impact and started to play like an NHL veteran immediately. The following season Makar graciously won the Calder Memorial Trophy for being the best rookie, and since then hasn’t looked back. Makar has unquestionably been the greatest defenceman in the NHL.
As catalogued above Makar’s presence on the ice is known best when he’s on offence. Makar plays terrific in 3 on 3 overtime, 5 on 5 and powerplay. Makar is the perfect defenceman who can play at every aspect and his ratings show it. His crazy good skill earns him a 99 overall but also a 99 on offence. His defence is ranked at a 71, but on this roster we can let loose a little bit due to the fact that on this line we have Weegar who is rated 99 at defence. Makar has a ton of time to grow and become better, so defence isn’t something to be perturbed about. Makar doesn’t take penalties and he draws a horde of penalties. Makar is on Colorado’s top powerplay line and he periodically kills penalties too.
As a young defenceman he is the future of the NHL, and the future is now. Makar is an outstanding player and the advanced stats are here to back that up. He can work on his xGA/60, but he’s got lots of time and until then he’s going to stay a machine.
Second Defence Line:
Jakob Chychrun- Brett Pesce
Jakob Chychrun- LD
Jakob Chychrun has always been a promising second line defenceman who’s had a high ceiling but never reached it as a two way guy. He’s been battling injuries and coaching struggles, but this season he exploded and had 41 points in 56 games along with 18 goals. Chychrun’s offence has finally gained some attention and skill and he’s rightfully earned his respect as one of the best and most underrated players in the National Hockey League.
Before we look at Chychrun’s “look to improve” section I need to give credit where credit is due. There is a reason why Chychrun’s offence is rated 99 overall and this year he’s shown it. He’s always the first for the puck and he’s invariably getting pucks to the net. He’s every coach's dream for a defenceman that wants to score and get pucks into the net. Chychrun has stepped up big time offensively. Although his offence is great, his defence needs heavy improvement. He’s made some senseless moves and plays in his own zone this year and that needs to be established. His CA/60 is in the deep red and that needs help. If he can fix it, he can be golden. Although that does need fixing, he’s rated 98 overall thanks to his offensive help and therefore he’s the best second defence line player in the NHL.
Brett Pesce- RD
Aah, backsliding to when people called Brett Pesce an overrated, low scoring defenceman. Fans from every team in the NHL called him overrated and how inconsistent he was. Sure, Pesce isn’t the impeccable defenceman every team wants. Oh who am I kidding, take a look at these immaculate stats.
Whimsical how Pesce went from being called overrated and washed up to being the most underrated defenceman in the league. Pesce’s 2020-21 season was unbeatable. Pesce managed to show up big time in the D and O zone as well as all the other places on the ice. Pesce helped the Hurricanes be a successful team and helped them generate offensive opportunities while assisting his team in the D zone. If you look at the bottom right, you can see that Pesce played a total of 243 minutes on the PK and right above you can examine that Pesce had bright blue stats in his GAR and xGAR on the PK. If I didn’t know any better, I would say Pesce might be the best penalty killer in the league. With his exceptional defensive play he earns himself a rating of 95. Notwithstanding Pesce only had 25 points in 55 games played this year, he subsidized offensive momentum for his team and with his eminent offensive power he earned himself an 86. Pesce is so proficient and he’s easily the best second line defenceman in the NHL.
Third Defence Line:
Nicolas Hague- Nick Jensen
Nicolas Hague- LD
When I was researching these plays and their advanced stats, I was remarkably stunned with Hague’s advanced analytics. Now I realize that him playing on the Vegas Golden Knights may have a positive impact on his stats, but nonetheless they’re impressive. Before we talk about Hague’s impact on the Knights and the game of hockey, let’s lecture about his basic stats. In 52 games played this year Hague scored 5 goals and recorded 12 assists for a total of 17 points. Nothing preposterous for a defenceman, or any player as a matter of fact, but when you’re playing bottom line minutes I wouldn’t expect a player to record too many points.
Ignoring his power play and penalty taking, Hague is an overachieving bottom line pairing defenceman. Hague excels in the offensive and defensive zone. He doesn’t kill penalties too often, but when he does he’s better than many players. He plays his position and covers his guy. His best advanced aspect comes with his xGAR which seems like a basic stat that many players master, yet it’s better than many. Hague is a two way defenceman, but his defensive play is far better than his offensive. He’s rated as an 84 (which surprisingly is far better than any other third line LD in the league) and his offence is at a 79 which is higher than notable players on this roster like Anthony Duclair, Nick Suzuki and Alex Tuch. As a defenceman it’s paramount to play your defence, but having a high scoring, high producing point production is also vital. Coaches like it; scratch that. LOVE it when a defenceman can get pucks on net and generate offensive momentum and get their team on the board. Why Hague is on Vegas’ third defence line is mind boggling to me. On throngs of defensively struggling teams in the NHL like the Canucks, Sabres and Kings Hague could easily be a top 2 defenceman on that team. Fortuitously for us, Vegas isn’t shrewd enough to give him more ice time and we managed to land a fantastic player on our third line of defence.
Nick Jensen- RD
Our final skater on the team comes from the bottom pairing in the capital of the USA, Nick Jensen of the Washington Capitals. The 30 year-old from Michigan recorded a paltry 14 points in 53 games this year in Washington’s last line of defence. It’s only Jensen’s 5th season in the big league, but he’s earned himself a solid spot on the roster in Washington. His point totals may not seem crazy, so why is he on this team?
I hate to end the skaters with a lurch, but Nick Jensen was the best 3rd line RD in the league. There aren’t too many impressive options out there but Jensen should be thankful that his defensive skill helps him majorly. Without his defensive skill, I heavily doubt he ever plays in the NHL. This isn’t a look-down on Jensen, it’s just upsetting that with such an amazing roster this is how it ends. But let’s look at the positives, shall we? Jensen’s defensive play may be one of the best in the NHL. His fantastic penalty killing and 5 on 5 defensive play has reaped Jensen a 94 overall. That 94 brings his rating much higher and his overall is 69. What brings it down heavily is his offence. Jensen plays on a high scoring team but his offence is 22. He doesn’t generate many opportunities and he doesn’t really break out pucks too much. His defensive play makes it up, but when you play him make sure to play him with an offensive player… Nicolas Hague to name a player. *wink wink*
Goaltending
Starting Goalie: Alex Nedeljkovic
What a story. Alex Nedeljkovic came into the league this year as a 25 year old rookie goalie looking to finally make an impact as a starting goalie after being spectacular in the AHL for many years including winning the championship there.
With these stats we can see that there are almost no negatives with Nedeljkovic. His GAR is almost off the charts and he bails out his team almost always. He helps the Hurricanes out so much and he’s done so much for the team he was nominated for the Calder in the 2020-21 postseason. As he is Carolina’s starter, he’s got the best advanced analytics out of any other starter and he’s earned a starting role on this team.
Backup Goaltender: Chris Driedger
Another Cinderella story with another goalie. Driedger came into the 2020-21 season looking to finally make an impact with the Panthers and he did exactly that. Driedger was spectacular, but struggled to be a consistent starting goalie. Luckily for this advanced analytics team, he finished the season as a backup.
Driedger doesn’t have a single red spot in his stats. His FSv% are off the charts and Driedger proves himself to be a fantastic backup. Entering the free agency market this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team like Buffalo offer Driedger as much as 5 million dollars this off-season. Driedger is a heck of a backup and that’s why he’s the best backup in the league. He’s a borderline starting goalie, and he’s managed to become our backup on the analytics squad.
•••
That concludes our “All Advanced Analytics” team. Obviously advanced analytics don’t usually tell the full story. For example, Patrik Laine’s advanced stats are all red but that doesn’t make him a bad player. Most of the time advanced stats are impacted and influenced by the team around the player. It’s always important to judge a player off by everything you can. It’s unfair to judge a player off of points, or advanced stats. When evaluating a player you must watch the player play, and recognize their basic and advanced stats. You’ll never get a good grasp of the player just by some graphs. Now I understand that I said that advanced stats don’t usually tell the story, but what we built here is a strong playoff team that I believe would go very far in the playoffs. The “All Advanced Analytics” team could blind you with its blue, and it is definitely an interesting type of team to look at.
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