Ryan Dzingel looked to have a ton of free agent promise before his trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets. As we profiled the forward in June, that trade changed everything. Dzingel performed so poorly for the Blue Jackets that Columbus did not offer a deal to him.
The result became a two-year “bridge deal” That the forward signed on Friday. It was a Carolina Hurricanes team fortunate to get a 20-goal scorer for a fraction of the cost. Let’s take a closer look into the why.
What Ryan Dzingel Means to the Carolina Hurricanes
Again, with the departure of Micheal Ferland, there was an opening of sorts in the top-six. Dzingel showed in Ottawa an ability to play meaningful minutes and score goals. In 57 games, he had 22 goals and 44 points. This included ten points on the man advantage. Considering that the Carolina Hurricanes always seem to have an issue on the power play, Dzingel should help.
With the right linemates, Dzingel expects to eclipse 20 goals and potentially more. Does he wind up on a line with Sebastian Aho or on the second line? That is the question. Some potential exists for a middle-six role. However, that will not be known until training camp. Dzingel played bigger minutes with more bravado than the smaller err lesser minutes. That cannot be disputed.
His dropoff in Columbus raises some red flags. It is partly the shot attempts and shots but also defensively, Dzingel looked lost out there. Ultimately, the playing time by the playoffs dropped to a fourth-line level. Consequently, it became clear Dzingel would not re-sign in Columbus.
There exists this “good and bad” balance with Dzingel much like with Ferland. Dzingel weighs nearly 30 pounds less but many aspects of their game are similar. Shot rates and chances spike when paired with top forwards who can shelter them is a big one.
The new Carolina forward could be placed on the second-line left-wing as well to pair with Martin Necas and Nino Niederreiter. Again, this is all tentative as Carolina could keep him as a 2C.
Salary Breakdown of Ryan Dzingel contract
Here are the details below from PuckPedia on the new Dzingel deal. Tentatively, year one is a base salary of $3.25 million and year two comes in at $3.5 million. At press time, there was no mention of an NMC, NTC, or signing bonuses.
The #Canes signed Ryan Dzingel to 2 year $3.375M Cap Hit.https://t.co/V4a1Kj7Opf
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 12, 2019
Then, there is the numerology of Dzingel.
A little numerology with Ryan Dzingel
Easily, Dzingel can be summed up just by using Bill Comeau’s SKATR Solo visual. It foretells a predictable tale of sorts.
In addition, possession relative shows poorly in the red. Thus, this drags down his game score dramatically. Despite his offensive numbers, one could argue the Carolina Hurricanes gambled on a poor man’s Ferland or worse. Shooting percentage is also high for him which could regress and his underlying numbers are mostly average.
So, what did Carolina see here? Was it the nearly 2.1 points per 60 at even strength? That has to be it, right? The Hurricanes saw quite the goal spike last year during the second half (nearly 3.5 goals per game). It seems Carolina does not expect that to continue as robustly so they made some moves. This is along with placing Andrei Svechnikov on the top line.
Evolving Wild’s projection suggested a two-year deal with an AAV of around $3.66 million so they were just almost on target. Again, Dzingel can eat up some minutes and thankfully has plenty of possession drivers in Carolina. All he has to do is simply shoot the puck on the net, score, and occasionally distribute the puck. Those are things he can do well.
Finally, confidence will be vital for Ryan Dzingel to thrive. Columbus killed it and now can Carolina help bring it back. A two-year deal helps as Dzingel will be a UFA again at 29 and aids the Hurricanes if the signing goes poorly. It becomes a win for everyone.