Written by Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell)
The ultimate goal in the NHL is to win the Stanley Cup. That’s what all players, coaches, general managers, etc. aspire to do.
As such, players who perform at a high level – or simply ride the percentages – when the games matter most often see their perceived value overly inflated (see Bolland, Dave; Bickell, Bryan) while players that slump at the wrong time have their perceived value plummet.
Judging players off a handful of games rather than a large body of work is never a good idea, but it does happen quite frequently.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few pending NHL free agents who likely earned/lost themselves some money on their next contract as a result of their recent playoff performance.
Eric Staal
Simply put, Eric Staal’s time with the New York Rangers was a disaster.
If tallying just six points (three goals, three assists) in 20 regular season games wasn’t enough to leave a sour taste in the mouth of GMs his playoff performance surely did the trick.
Staal was held pointless in five games against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had just seven shots in those five games, so it wasn’t as if he was generating quality chances and simply not getting bounces.
Beyond his inability to muster up any offense, the Rangers also controlled almost 6% less of the shot attempts at 5 v 5 with Staal on the ice. The sample size was small, and he actually hovered around 50% in possession, but he certainly didn’t help his cause when it comes to negotiating a new contract this summer.
David Backes
Perhaps no other player did as much to increase his value as David Backes has this postseason.
For years the Blues have been a fantastic regular season team that, primarily due to ridiculously tough matchups, have failed to make any kind of noise come playoff time.
As a result many labeled the Blues chokers and, as the Captain, Backes took no shortage of the blame.
This year things were different, though. The Blues took out the defending Stanley Cup Champs and the Western Conference’s top seeded team in consecutive rounds prior to being downed by the San Jose Sharks.
Backes’ play was a big reason why the Blues found success as he scored six goals and added six assists in the first two rounds, while bringing the physical presence we’re accustomed to seeing.
He started to regress to his norms vs the Sharks – he tallied two points in six games – but, as a whole, there’s no doubt Backes has left a good impression on a lot of people.
He is 32 years old and power forwards tend to age, well, poorly but I have no doubt that someone will be waiting to give him a fat contract come July 1. That is if he’s not overpaid by St. Louis prior, of course.
Troy Brouwer
Troy Brouwer is another Blues power forward on the wrong side of 30 who rode unsustainable percentages and will see his value inflated as a result.
Brouwer is a career 14% shooter, but shot 23% in the playoffs, scoring eight times on just 35 shots. Had he scored on 15% of his shots, which is in line with his career average, he’d have five goals in 20 games. That’s nothing special, is it?
He has a Cup ring, though, and scored eight goals while bringing a physical presence against three great teams.
That’s attractive to teams, so I fully expect he’ll be paid more than he is worth in a couple month’s time – whether it be in St. Louis or elsewhere.
Alex Goligoski
Due to a weak free agent market, Alex Goligoski was going to get paid handsomely regardless of where he goes, but his post-season play certainly helped his cause.
In 13 games prior to being eliminated, Goligoski managed four goals and seven points while logging over 23 minutes per game.
As good as his counting totals were, the underlying numbers were even more impressive. With Goligoski on the ice at 5 v 5, the Stars controlled 59%(!) of the shot attempts and scoring chances.
Goligoski’s 59 Corsi For% is good for 1st among defensemen (min. 150 5 v 5 minutes). Only one other blue liner managed a 55CF% or better, which puts in perspective just how good Goligoski was.
He can skate, he can put up points, he can drive play, he can log big minutes and all of that was put on display while playing for the ultimate prize.
