Over the last few years one thing we’ve learned as analytics have become more prominent in the hockey world is that players hit their prime several years before many were led to believe.
It was once thought that players around 30 years old were in the midst of their prime, but the reality is, in most cases, players are on the downslope of their career by that point.
That’s what makes the season Joe Thornton has quietly put together in San Jose so remarkable.
At the age of 36 Thornton has tallied 70 points in 72 games and sits top-10 in league scoring. Thornton isn’t just piling up the points on the man advantage, either. He has been an elite contributor at 5 v 5.
Thornton has 41 points at full-strength and is averaging an absurd 2.50 points per 60 minutes of 5 v 5, good for 5th in the NHL. The only players who average more? Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jaromir Jagr(!). That’s pretty good company to be keeping.
What’s most impressive about Thornton, perhaps, is that even as a 36-year-old on a solid Sharks team, they’re still significantly better with him on the ice than without.
Thornton may no longer be regarded as one of the game’s truly elite players – at least by some – but by all objective measurements he still is. He deserves a lot of credit for that.
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There’s a belief by many that defensemen don’t truly hit their stride and become comfortable at the NHL level until the 200 game mark.
If true that is a scary thought for the rest of the NHL as, just a handful of months into Shayne Gostisbehere’s NHL career, he has already emerged as one of the best offensive blue liners in the league; especially on the power play.
With Gostisbehere on the ice the Flyers generate more than 60 scoring chances per 60 minutes of power play time.
He ranks 3rd in that regard sitting above the likes of Brent Burns, P.K. Subban, Erik Karlsson and Shea Weber, among many others, and just below John Klingberg and Kris Letang.
As for power play shot attempts, only Torey Krug has been on for more on a per 60 minute basis.
With that in mind it should come as no surprise that the points have followed Gostisbehere on the man advantage. Among 20 blue liners with 200+ minutes on the PP, Gostisbehere ranks 6th in points per 60 with 5.60 and 2nd in shots per 60 averaging a hair under 20.
The numbers he has put up would be impressive for anyone. When you factor in he is just a rookie and essentially didn’t play hockey last season (he missed all but seven games with a torn ACL), his accomplishments are even more mind-numbing. And he’s just getting started.
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Prior to the trade deadline Eric Staal was involved in one of the bigger deals made as he was traded from Carolina to New York for promising prospect Aleksi Saarela as well as a pair of draft picks.
In 10 games since Staal hasn’t exactly lit the league on fire (he has tallied three points) and as such he’s been on the receiving end of some criticism.
While it’s fair to expect more from him in the way of points, he is probably playing better than he’s been given credit for.
As you can see the Rangers get a larger portion of the shot attempts and scoring chances when Staal is on the ice. The on-ice numbers for Staal are nothing to write home about, obviously, but he is making a positive impact and moving the needle towards respectability.
The points may not be there yet, but the Rangers have been much better, relatively speaking, with Staal on the ice than when he’s not. He’s doing his part.
Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.
