THE OTHER UNDESERVING ALL-STAR
There has been a lot of talk about how John Scott shouldn’t be participating in all-star weekend despite being voted captain.
Well, he’s not the only guy who doesn’t deserve to be there.
One player who somehow made the cut despite sub par performance is goaltender Pekka Rinne.
Rinne is perceived by many to be one of the league’s top goaltenders, but in reality that is simply not the case. From 2010-12 he was elite but his time on top was short lived as in three of the last four years he has posted a sub .910 save percentage (below average) despite playing behind one of the best defenses in the NHL.
Since the beginning of the 2012-13 has posted a .913 save percentage in 171 games. That’s just enough to top Jhonas Enroth, Al Montoya and Alex Stalock, among others, while the likes of Chad Johnson, Anton Khudobin, Eddie Lack, and Robin Lehner rank ahead of him.
Rinne has struggled the last few seasons but he has reached a new low this year, as he is one of the main reasons the Predators don’t currently possess a playoff spot.
Among 54 goaltenders with at least 10 starts Rinne ranks 47th (from Hockey-Reference) with a .904 save percentage. That puts him below Ondrej Pavelec, Mike Condon, Chad Johnson, Jonas Gustavsson et all. That’s not exactly a good spot to be in.
I know the all-star game is in Nashville but that doesn’t mean a player should get a free pass despite sub par performance; especially when there are significantly more deserving candidates like Corey Crawford.
FALLING STARS
At the turn of the calendar the Dallas Stars sat 1st in the NHL with 59 points in 39 games and had a nine point lead over the western conference’s 2nd place St. Louis Blues.
Fast-forward a few weeks and, following a 2-6-2 stretch, the Stars are three points back of the Chicago Blackhawks for 1st in the central division and western conference.
So, what happened to the once mighty Stars? Have the wheels fallen off? Their underlying numbers suggest that’s not the case.
Prior to the turn of the calendar the Stars generated at least 52% of the shot attempts and scoring chances. The numbers have changed around a little bit but that still holds true post-January 1st.
So why has a team that lost just 11 of their first 39 games been on the losing end of eight in their last 10?
The short answer: goaltending. Prior to January 1st the Stars’ had respectable .925 goaltending at 5 v 5. Over the last few weeks their goaltenders have combined to post a .907 save percentage at full-strength.
Only Montreal (minus Carey Price) and Ottawa rank below them in that span. That’s certainly not ideal given the Stars have a league-leading $10.4 million committed to their two goaltenders.
Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi are far from elite but they’re both at worst average goaltenders. They’ll come out of this rough stretch sooner than later. When they do, expect the Stars to resume their winning ways.
NO CECI NO PROBLEM
There is no shortage of suitors after Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin; and rightfully so.
One of the parties rumored to be most interested is the Ottawa Senators.
The Lightning are rumored to be looking for a young asset on an entry-level deal that can step into their lineup and contribute now and in the future.
With that in mind, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that defenseman Cody Ceci is a player that has reportedly caught the eye of Lightning GM Steve Yzerman.
It is, however, a surprise that moving Ceci in a deal for Drouin is a non-starter for the Senators; even factoring in their defensive issues.
Through 171 games Ceci has managed a very respectable – but not eye-popping – 42 points. That’s .24 per game, or 20 per season.
What about his impact on possession?
In his first two NHL seasons, the Senators were a 49% possession team with him on the ice and a 52% without him. It’s obviously not good to be negative relative to the team, but he managed to tread water as a young defenseman breaking into the league. Credit to him for that.
His numbers are going south in a hurry, though, as he has been somewhat of a disaster this season.
With Ceci on the ice at full-strength the Sens get 41% of the shot attempts while they get a 48.7% share of the shot attempts when he’s not on the ice.
Those numbers are, uh, not encouraging to say the least.
At just 22, he is not a finished product and is far too young to write off, obviously, but his actual on-ice value is not nearly as high as his perceived value.
If Sens GM Bryan Murray can acquire a potential superstar in Jonathan Drouin with Ceci the key piece going the other way, it’s certainly something he should do without thinking twice.
Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.