Ever wonder how the current makeup of your favorite team came to be? Teams are being built through the draft, free agency and the trade market. Every team approaches it differently and sometimes having a bad draft or making a bad trade forces management to try other areas. Earlier in the week I took a look at how the teams in the Central Division were built and you can read that here. Now it is time to look closer at the Metropolitan Division.
Goaltenders are included in the lists but are not factored in to the statistical analysis.
Another quick note, the Corsi-for-percentages are only factored in for players who have played at least 100 minutes this season.
Washington Capitals
Acquired via trade – Chris Brown, Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich, Michael Latta, T.J. Oshie
Acquired via free agency – Jay Beagle, Justin Williams, Taylor Chorney, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik
Acquired via draft (round and year in parenthesis) – Nicklas Backstrom (1st in 2006), Andre Burakovsky (1st in 2013), Stanislav Galiev (3rd in 2010), Marcus Johansson (1st in 2009), Evgeny Kuznetsov (1st in 2010), Alex Ovechkin (1st in 2004), Tom Wilson (1st in 2012), Karl Alzner (1st in 2007), John Carlson (1st in 2008), Dmitry Orlov (2nd in 2009), Philipp Grubauer (4th in 2010), Braden Holtby (4th in 2008)
Analysis
- Players that came to Washington via the trade have put up about 22% of the goals and 16.5% of the points scored by the above roster.
- Those traded players have an average Corsi-for-% (at even strength) of 50.91 and an average cap hit of $2.365M per season.
- Free agent finds of the Capitals have scored just over 17% of goals and 19% of points this season. They have an average Corsi-for-% of 50.36 and an average cap hit of $3.39M.
- Players drafted by Washington have scored over 60% of the goals and just under 64.5% of the points this season.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 51.36 and an average cap hit of about $3.41M.
Holy first-round picks Batman. Washington has had tremendous success in the early rounds with a total of nine players drafted in the first two rounds currently contributing at the NHL level. Those draft picks make up for a majority of the offense for the Capitals this season. They have a couple of expensive free agents in Niskanen and Orpik but they are playing well enough so far.
New York Islanders
Acquired via trade – Cal Clutterbuck, Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Jaroslav Halak
Acquired via free agency – Steve Bernier, Eric Boulton, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolay Kulemin, Thomas Hickey (waivers), Brian Strait (waivers), Thomas Greiss
Acquired via draft – Josh Bailey (1st in 2008), Casey Cizikas (4th in 2009), Anders Lee (6th in 2009), Matt Martin (5th in 2008), Brock Nelson (1st in 2010), Frans Nielsen (3rd in 2002), Kyle Okposo (1st in 2006), Ryan Strome (1st in 2011), John Tavares (1st in 2009), Travis Hamonic (2nd in 2008), Calvid de Haan (1st in 2009)
Analysis
- Players traded to the Islanders make up for just under 11% of goals and almost 13.5% of points scored by the above roster this season. They have an average Corsi-for-% of 49.22 and an average cap hit of $4.75M.
- Free agent pick-ups by New York have contributed about 12% of goals scored and 15% of points scored this season.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 47.18 and an average cap hit of about $2.25M.
- Drafted Islanders have scored 64 goals and 154 points this season, good for just over 77% and 71% of the team totals respectively.
- Islander draftees have an average Corsi-for-% of 50.3 and an average cap hit of around $2.66M.
It isn’t totally fair to assess the traded-for Islanders based off the above numbers alone. General manager Garth Snow targeted the defensive side of the puck in trades and has been ultra-successful by getting Boychuk, Leddy and Halak to solidify the back-end. Those draft-picks though. They are contributing at a ridiculous pace and most of them are still quite young. This team should continue to grow.
New York Rangers
Acquired via trade – Derick Brassard, Emerson Etem, Oscar Lindberg, Rick Nash, Kevin Klein, Ryan McDonagh, Keith Yandle, Antti Raanta
Acquired via free agency – Tanner Glass, Kevin Hayes, Viktor Stalberg, Mats Zuccarello, Dan Boyle, Dan Girardi
Acquired via draft – Jesper Fast (6th in 2010), Chris Kreider (1st in 2009), J.T. Miller (1st in 2011), Dominic Moore (3rd in 2000, originally drafted by Rangers and came back as a free agent), Derek Stepan (2nd in 2008), Dylan McIlrath (1st in 2010), Marc Staal (1st in 2005), Henrik Lundqvist (7th in 2000)
Analysis
- Traded-for Rangers have made up for just over 43% of the goals and just over 42.5% of the points scored this year.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 48.12 and an average cap hit of about $3.5M.
- Free-agent finds of New York have made up for over 30.5% of goals and 29.5% of points this season. They have an average Corsi-for-% of 45.81 and their average cap hit is just over $2.99M per season.
- Drafted Rangers have scored over 26% of the goals and just under 28% of the points this season.
- Those draftees have an average Corsi-for-% of 47.68 and an average cap hit of about $2.66M.
With players like Brassard, Nash and Yandle, it is clear the Rangers like to trade for scoring. They have delivered so far as they have contributed much of the offense this season. Also I can’t pass up mentioning how ridiculous it is that Lundqvist was found in the 7th round. What an incredible find that turned out to be.
New Jersey Devils
Acquired via trade – Brian O’Neill, Kyle Palmieri, Tuomo Ruutu, Cory Schneider
Acquired via free agency – Mike Cammalleri, Stephen Gionta, Sergey Kalinin, Tyler Kennedy, Lee Stempniak, Jiri Tlusty, Jordin Tootoo, Andy Greene, John Moore, David Schlemko, Keith Kinkaid
Acquired via draft – Patrick Elias (2nd in 1994), Adam Henrique (3rd in 2008), Jacob Josefson (1st in 2009), Stefan Matteau (1st in 2012), Travis Zajac (1st in 2004), Eric Gelinas (2nd in 2009), Adam Larsson (1st in 2011), Jon Merrill (2nd in 2010), Damon Severson (2nd in 2012)
Analysis
- Players traded-for by the Devils have made up for just under 19% of goals and 13.5% of points this season. The have an average Corsi-for-% of 46.47 and an average cap hit of $1.94M.
- Players that have come to New Jersey via free agency have made up for just under 45% of goals and just under 49.5% of points scored this season.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 47.93 and an average cap hit of just $1.71M
- Drafted Devils have scored just over 36% of the goals and 37% of the points this season. They have an average Corsi-for-% of 49.04 and carry an average cap hit of $2.65M.
Ray Shero has found some fantastic value in players like Lee Stempniak and Kyle Palmieri. I was surprised to see the free-agents of the Devils outscoring the many talented draft-picks of New Jersey like Elias, Henrique and Zajac. Palmieri makes up most of the offense of the traded-for players with Schneider looking like one of the best trades in recent memory.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Acquired via trade – Nick Bonino, Pascal Dupuis, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Chris Kunitz, David Perron, Adam Clendening, Ian Cole, Trevor Daley, Brian Dumoulin, Ben Lovejoy
Acquired via free agency – Matt Cullen, Eric Fehr, Sergei Plotnikov, David Warsofsky, Jeff Zatkoff
Acquired via draft – Beau Bennett (1st in 2010), Sidney Crosby (1st in 2005), Evgeni Malkin (1st in 2004), Daniel Sprong (2nd in 2015), Kris Letang (3rd in 2005), Ollli Maata (1st in 2012), Marc-Andre Fleury (1st in 2003)
Analysis
- Penguins who have arrived via the trade have contributed over 43% of the goals and 45% of the points this season.
- Those same players have an average Corsi-for-% of 47.75 and carry an average cap hit of about $2.95M.
- Free agent players have scored just under 9% of the goals and just over 8.5% of the points this year. Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 51.09 and carry an average cap hit of $1.08M.
- Draftees of Pittsburgh have combined to make up for under 48% of the goals and just over 46% of the points this season.
- Those players have averaged a 48.03 Corsi-for-% and have an average cap hit of $4.64M.
Free agency hasn’t been a big focus of the Penguins as it has been used for depth-signings more than anything else. Outside of Crosby, Malkin and Letang the Pittsburgh draft picks have not contributed a lot. While the traded-for players do make up for a lot of the scoring, the Penguins are expecting a lot more from them and they will need to step up to get Pittsburgh back in the playoffs.
Philadelphia Flyers
Acquired via trade – Sam Gagner, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, R.J Umberger, Jakub Voracek, Radko Gudas, Andrew MacDonald, Luke Schenn, Mark Streit, Chris Mason
Acquired via free agency – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Vincent Lecavalier, Michael Raffl, Matt Read, Chris Vandevelde, Ryan White, Michael Del Zotto, Brandon Manning, Evgeny Medvedev, Nich Schultz, Michal Neuvirth
Acquired via draft – Sean Couturier (1st in 2011), Claude Giroux (1st in 2006), Scott Laughton (1st in 2012), Shayne Gostisbehere (3rd in 2012)
Analysis
- Flyers that were brought to Philadelphia by trade have scored 35% of the goals and over 42% of the points this season.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 48.43 and an average cap hit of $3.6M.
- Free agent finds have scored over 28% of the goals and 25.5% of the points this year. They have an average Corsi-for-% of 49.25 and an average cap hit of $2.12M.
- Draft picks by the Flyers have contributed over 36.5% of the goals and 32% of the points this season.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 51.28 and an average cap hit of $2.95M.
The Flyers are one of the more balanced groups I have come across while doing these or at least it appeared that way. On one hand, all three groups are pretty close in the percentage of contributions. However, there are far fewer draftees of the Flyers on the current roster and they are out-producing many of the expensive free agents. There are some rough contracts on Philadelphia’s roster to say the least.
Carolina Hurricanes
Acquired via trade – Riley Nash, Joakim Nordstrom, Jordan Staal, Kris Versteeg, John-Michael Liles, James Wisniewski, Eddie Lack
Acquired via free agency – Nathan Gerbe, Brad Malone, Jay McClement, Andrej Nestrasil (waivers), Ron Hainsey
Acquired via draft – Phillip Di Giuseppe (2nd in 2012), Elias Lindholm (1st in 2013), Victor Rask (2nd in 2011), Jeff Skinner (1st in 2010), Eric Staal (1st in 2003), Chris Terry (5th in 2007), Justin Faulk (2nd in 2010), Noah Hanifin (1st in 2015), Brett Pesce (3rd in 2013), Jaccob Slavin (4th in 2012), Cam Ward (1st in 2002)
Analysis
- Players brought to Carolina via the trade have contributed over 16.5% of the goals and just under 22% of the points scored this season.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 53.87 and an average cap hit of $3.22M per season.
- Free agents that have signed with the Hurricanes have made up for just under 14% of the goals and just over 18% of the points this season. Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 52.36 and an average cap hit of $1.47M.
- Players drafted in Carolina make up for just under 69.5% of the goal scoring and just under 60% of the total scoring this season.
- Those draftees have an average Corsi-for-% of 53.35 and an average cap hit of $2.45M.
Carolina has two downright nasty blue-liners for their age in Faulk and Hanifin. Faulk is a power play goal scoring machine while Hanifin has shown he belonged in the NHL this season. Free agency hasn’t contributed a ton but they don’t cost much either. One player they would like more out of is Jordan Staal, we’ll see if he can turn it on.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Acquired via trade – Rene Bourque, David Clarkson, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, William Karlsson, Brandon Saad, Jack Johnson, Fedor Tyutin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Curtis McElhinney
Acquired via free agency – Gregory Campbell, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Kevin Connauton (waivers)
Acquired via draft – Cam Atkinson (6th in 2008), Jared Boll (4th in 2005), Matt Calvert (5th in 2008), Boone Jenner (2nd in 2011), Ryan Johansen (1st in 2010), Alexander Wennberg (1st in 2013), Cody Goloubef (2nd in 2008), Ryan Murray (1st in 2012), Dalton Prout (6th in 2010), David Savard (4th in 2009)
Analysis
- Blue Jackets who have arrived via the trade make up for 50% of the goals and just over 43.5% of the points scored this year.
- Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 49.38 and an average cap hit of $4.49M.
- Free agent signings have made up for just over 2.5% of goals and 5.5% of points this season. Those players have an average Corsi-for-% of 44.64 and an average cap hit of $944K.
- Draftees of Columbus have made up for over 47% of goals and 50% of points scored this season.
- They have an average Corsi-for-% of 48.68 and an average cap hit of $1.7M per season.
Columbus is spending a lot for very little so far this season. They pretty much knew what they were getting in Clarkson but they have spent a lot of money on what would be depth forwards on many teams in the NHL. Free agency hasn’t been a big market for Columbus either.