2011-12 Rink Wrap: Mike Green

From Alzner to Wideman, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2011-12 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Caps for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2012-13. Next up, Mike Green.

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Mike Green

#52 / Defenseman / Washington Capitals

Height: 6-1

Weight: 207

Born: Oct 12, 1985

NHL Seasons: 7

Contract Status: $5,250,000 cap hit in 2011-12; RFA summer 2012

'10-'11 Rink Wrap: 5.61 rating

'09-'10 Rink Wrap: 7.14 rating

'08-'09 Rink Wrap: 8.33 rating

'07-'08 Rink Wrap: 8.98 rating

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	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	GWG	SOG	PCT	TOI/G
Regular Season	32	3	4	7	5	12	3	1	1	64	4.7	21:03
Playoffs	14	2	2	4	5	10	1	1	1	27	7.4	23:45

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Key Stat: Green has played in just 32 of the Caps' last 102 regular season games (but has played in 22 of the team's 23 playoff games over that span).

Interesting Stat: With his overtime goal on opening night, Green moved into sole possession of second place in franchise history in career overtime goals with six (Alex Ovechkin, of course, is in first with an even dozen).

The Good: Green started the season strong, punctuating the team's hot start with a two-goal, two-assist game against the Wings in the 7-1 rout that pushed the Caps to 7-0-0, and for much of the season, Green's mere presence in the lineup made the Caps a different team - with him dressed, they went 19-10-3; without him, 23-22-5. His maturation into a solid two-way defender continued, as he finished the season second among the team's blueliners in relative Corsi at even-strength, posted the best on-ice goal differential per sixty and was relatively effective in limited penalty killing minutes.

Green started to look more "Green-like" as the playoffs rolled around, though his scoring numbers don't necessarily reflect it. But of the 29 goals the Caps scored in the post-season, Green was on the ice for 13 of them, second on the team only to Brooks Laich (14), and his plus-seven goal differential was tops on the team, bolstered by the best goals-against per sixty at even-strength of any Caps blueliner (and best among any rearguard who has played more than ten games in these playoffs).

Finally, while it's certainly implied throughout this Wrap, Green deserves kudos for persevering through an injury-riddled season that included uncertainty, surgery, rehab and a return to the ice, if not to form.

The Bad: The offensive numbers were eye-poppingly bad for a player who just two seasons prior led all defensemen in scoring and averaged more than a point per game, the 30-game goal-less drought almost inconceivable for a man who three years earlier set an NHL mark for blueliners by scoring a goal in eight-straight games. Green - who led all defensemen in even-strength goals over the three-year span ending in 2009-10 - didn't have a single one in 32 games in 2011-12, and in 87 minutes of power-play ice time, he managed just a single assist. At even-strength, Mike Green was outscored, per minute, by Karl Alzner. Yeah, it was that bad.

And while Green's defensive numbers, at least, looked good, they came against relatively soft competition at five-on-five, and those penalty-kill numbers were aided by other-worldly goaltending/puck luck (ditto his five-on-five numbers in the playoffs). Mike Green is a better defender than he was years ago, and better than his reputation in some circles... but let's not get carried away.

Of course, the elephant in the room is durability, and Green hasn't been able to demonstrate any in years - he's missed more than half of the Caps' regular season games over the past two seasons, and nearly one-third over the past four. His ability to stay healthy went first, but Green's production wasn't far behind.

The Vote: Rate Green below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Discussion: Despite the persistent injury concerns and decline in productivity, it's hard to envision the Caps and Green parting ways this summer... but should they? In order to keep him, the Caps need to qualify him at $5 million for one year, though the two sides could agree to a deal with different dollars and term - should they pursue a longer-term/lower-dollar deal? Can Green stay healthy, and, if so, what should his role be going forward? Assuming he's still here next season, what will it take for him to earn a "10"?

Poll

How do you rate Mike Green's 2011-12 season?

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  80 votes | Results

2011-12 Rink Wrap: John Erskine

From Alzner to Wideman, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2011-12 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Caps for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2012-13. Next up, John Erskine.

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John Erskine

#4 / Defenseman / Washington Capitals

Height: 6-4

Weight: 220

Born: Jun 26, 1980

NHL Seasons: 9

Contract Status: $1,500,000 cap hit in 2012-13; UFA after 2012-13

'10-'11 Rink Wrap: 7.02

'09-'10 Rink Wrap: 4.54

'08-'09 Rink Wrap: 6.47

'07-'08 Rink Wrap: 4.84

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2010-11 Stats	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	GWG	SOG	PCT	TOI/G
Regular Season	28	0	2	2	3	51	0	0	0	20	0	12:06
Playoffs	4	0	1	1	-1	0	0	0	0	3	0	9:26

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Key Stat: Erskine's 28 GP and 12:06 ATOI were his lowest as a Capital.

Interesting Stat: Erskine led the team in highest percentage of offensive zone starts at 54.9%.

The Good: John Erskine continued living up to his billing as a defensive defenseman, placing third on the team (and leading the defensive corps) in goals allowed per 60 (1.69) and leading the entire team in shots allowed per 60 (25.0). Additionally, he continued to make his presence felt, sustaining a hitting pace that was second among defensemen (1.39 per game) and also chipping in with three fights, all decisive wins (including a vengeance bout against Aaron Asham).

Big John also stepped up in the Boston series, coming off of a two-month layoff to play a gritty, effective style that helped challenge Boston's rugged forwards. It may be coincidence, but a majority of Boston's overly physical antics stopped once Big John was inserted in the line-up. The Caps are light on players who can stand up to Shawn Thornton and Milan Lucic, but Erskine is one of them. And that certainly gives players a bit more assurance that someone has their back if something goes wrong.

The Bad: One year after having a career-defining season, Erskine slipped back into the 7th/8th defenseman abyss, never gaining favor with the Dale Hunter regime. He only suited up for 24 of Hunter's 74 games coached; his ATOI plumetted to a paltry 12:06; he took almost twice as many penalties per 60 as the next closest player; his blocked shots/game of 0.96 ranked seventh among Caps defensemen; and he only averaged 0:32 per game in penalty killing. All this occurred while playing against weaker competition and getting high OZ% starts.

One would expect that Dale Hunter's tight-checking, physical and slower system would have benefited a player like Erskine, who would not be as exposed to the speed game that was more prevalent in the Run-n-Gun days. But he never could find his groove with Hunter. It didn't help that he had a few games where he put the Caps in a hole with his decision-making, like this one against Florida where he took 17 minutes in penalties, or his doozy of a night in Montreal where he earned a triple minor. One would have to believe that the latter event was the final straw for Hunter, who only played Erskine four more times (in the regular season) after January 18; Erskine must have breathed a sigh of relief following Hunter's resignation. With one year left on his contract, he lives to fight again for the red, white and blue.

The Vote: Rate Erskine below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Discussion: Are there certain teams or styles of play for whom you would rather see Erskine earn a sweater? Should the Caps consider a contract extension with Erskine? If so, at what price? What would it take for Erskine to earn a 10 next year?

Poll

How do you rate John Erskine's 2011-12 season?

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  67 votes | Results

2011-12 Rink Wrap: Cody Eakin

From Alzner to Wideman, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2011-12 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Caps for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2012-13. Next up, Cody Eakin.

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Cody Eakin

#50 / Forward / Washington Capitals

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190

Born: May 24, 1991

NHL Seasons: Part of 1

Contract Status: $637,778 cap hit through 2013-14; RFA summer 2014

Previous Rink Wraps: N/A

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	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	GWG	SOG	PCT	TOI/G
Regular Season	30	4	4	8	2	4	0	0	0	31	12.9	9:17
Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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Key Stat: Eakin played the fewest minutes of any player in the League who played 30 games and had fewer than five fighting majors.

Interesting Stat: Eakin's per game average of 9:17 of ice time was the lowest of any non-enforcer Cap who played 20 games in a season since 2005-06 when Nolan Yonkman, Jakub Klepis and Rico Fata all averaged less.

The Good: Eakin was recalled from Hershey on November 1 and suited up for his first game in the NHL at home against the Ducks (though his debut was somehow overshadowed on that night). In his second game, just three nights later, Eakin notched his first NHL goal and assist in Carolina in a remarkably efficient 8:45 of ice time, and got honored by the captain for his efforts. He'd add another goal and a pair of assists over his next seven games (in ice time that ranged from a mere 5:11 to a season-high14:23) and another couple of goals and a helper the rest of the way.

Unsurprisingly, Eakin's scoring rates were pretty good - at five-on-five he was fifth on the team in goals-per-sixty-minutes (behind Mathieu Perreault, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin) and sixth in points-per-sixty (behind Keith Aucoin, Perreault, Semin, Backstrom and Marcus Johansson). His Corsi rating was also relatively good (thanks in part to facing weak competition and favorable zone starts), and his on-ice goal differential was sixth-best on the team (though that in part owes to a very high PDO).

It's also worth noting that no rookie in the AHL played fewer games and had more points than Eakin, and his .63 points-per-game was higher than all but 21 of the 52 freshmen that outscored him on that circuit.

The Bad: Eakin was on a yo-yo all year, officially recalled from Hershey seven different times during the season and getting little more than spot duty even when he did play (he topped ten minutes in ice time just three times in 15 games after December 5). That, of course, isn't necessarily so much Eakin's "bad" as management's, perhaps, but it was the overarching theme of his rookie campaign.

While the samples are small, Eakin seemed to struggle with the coaching change, not only in terms of minutes, but in terms of performance as well. After two goals and three assists in 11 games under Bruce Boudreau, Eakin managed just two goals and a single helper under Dale Hunter. But even more stark than that difference in production were Eakin's possession numbers - his score-tied Fenwick percentage dropped from 53.8% to just 41.4% after the switch (worst on the team among everyone not named Tomas Kundratek). And while the entire team's possession numbers fell off a cliff after the change, Eakin's numbers did so even more dramatically, and only a .943 save percentage behind him spared him some very ugly numbers.

Eakin suffered through 11-game goal-less and 17-game assist-less droughts and fired just 19 shots on goal in his final 21 games of the season. He was scratched for the final four games of the regular season before being assigned to Hershey (where he registered just one point in five playoff games) and eventually recalled as a Black Ace after the Bears were eliminated, but Eakin's hockey season was done as far as games went.

The Vote: Rate Eakin below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Discussion: Do you see Eakin as an NHL regular in 2012-13? What aspects of his game need the most improvement and what looks good so far? What's his ceiling at this point? What is Cody Eakin's role on a team with Stanley Cup aspirations? Finally, what will it take for him to earn a 10 rating next year?

Poll

How do you rate Cody Eakin's 2011-12 season?

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  92 votes | Results

2011-12 Rink Wrap: Jason Chimera

From Alzner to Wideman, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2011-12 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Caps for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2012-13. Next up, Jason Chimera.

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Jason Chimera

#25 / Left Wing / Washington Capitals

Height: 6-2

Weight: 213

Born: May 02, 1979

NHL Seasons: 10

Contract Status: $1,875,000 cap hit through 2013-14; UFA summer of 2014

'10-'11 Rink Wrap: 5.04

'09-'10 Rink Wrap: 6.84

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	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	GWG	SOG	PCT	TOI/G
Regular Season	82	20	19	39	4	78	1	0	5	205	9.8	14:25
Playoffs	14	4	3	7	5	6	0	0	1	28	14.3	13:42

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Key Stat: Chimera's even strength points/60 rate of 2.24 was the highest on the team during the playoffs.

Interesting Stat: Four of Jason Chimera's twenty goals came against the New Jersey Devils - three of them on Martin Brodeur.

The Good: In a season filled with surprises, the performance of Jason Chimera was probably one of the bigger and more pleasant ones, as he not only demolished his previous career highs in a number of categories - including goals in both the regular season (20) and playoffs (4) - but also spent a good deal of the season among the team's scoring leaders.

Through the first three months of the season, only Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom scored more goals than Chimera, and he finished the year with the third-highest goal total on the team behind Ovechkin (38) and Alexander Semin (21). His five game-winning goals were tied for the team lead, and he was one of only two players to score a shorthanded goal - in fact, he had two of the three shorthanded goals the team scored all season, and was the only player to score one until Brooks Laich's tally against Toronto in March.

Chimera turned into a bit of a Southeast Beast this year, with ten goals and sixteen points in twenty-four games against division rivals. And his scoring touch continued into the playoffs, his speed proving to be a bit more than New York could handle as he racked up four goals to trail just Ovechkin for the team lead and double his previous career high set a season ago; his seven points in fourteen games tied for the third-highest point total on the team. His goal against the Rangers in Game 6 was his seventh point and fourth career playoff goal against Henrik Lundqvist - and his third game-winner.

The Bad: Despite his hot hand over the course of the regular season, Chimera seemed to cool slightly as the season went on and lost a little of the consistency he'd established early on. After lighting the lamp on numerous occasions over the first few months, he had lengthy droughts between goals from December to March including two goal-less streaks that hit eleven games. That seemed to carry over a bit into the Caps' first-round series against the Bruins, as well. He managed just two points against Boston, both in the final two games of the series - his only goal came in a losing effort on home ice in Game 6, his only assist a secondary helper on Matt Hendricks' opening tally in Game 7.

And while he did provide an unexpected amount of offense for the Caps this year, he also had a tendency toward bad retaliatory penalties - the chippy stuff is a part of every game, but it's the stuff that happens after the stuff that tends to get called and Chimera found himself in the box for a lot of... well, stuff. He averaged a penalty per 60 minutes during the regular season, one of the higher rates among forwards on the team, and his 24 minor penalties on the season were second only to the infamous Semin.

The Vote: Rate Chimera below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Discussion: Chimera's twenty goals were just shy of his total combined output from the two seasons prior - how much, if any, do you expect him to regress next year? Coming off a career year and boasting a reasonable cap hit of just under $2 million for the next two seasons, would you like to see Chimera finish out his contract as a Cap or perhaps used as trade bait? What do you see his role being going forward? Can he hit (or exceed) the 20-goal plateau again? Finally, what will it take for him to earn a 10 rating next year?

Poll

How do you rate Jason Chimera's 2011-12 season?

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  75 votes | Results

2011-12 Rink Wrap: John Carlson

From Alzner to Wideman, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2011-12 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Caps for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2012-13. Next up, John Carlson.

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John Carlson

#74 / Defense / Washington Capitals

Height: 6-3

Weight: 212

Born: Jan 10, 1990

NHL Seasons: 2 (and part of one other)

Contract Status: $845,833 cap hit in 2011-12; RFA this summer

'10-'11 Rink Wrap: 8.13

'09-'10 Rink Wrap: 8.50

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	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	GWG	SOG	PCT	TOI/G
Regular Season	82	9	23	32	-15	22	4	3	0	152	5.9	21:52
Playoffs	14	2	3	4	-1	8	1	1	0	27	7.4	24:02

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Key Stat: Carlson was one of only 6 players in the league, and the only one on a playoff team, who was on the ice for 100 goals-against this season.

Interesting Stat: At even strength Carlson was top-two in toughest competition faced (by either metric) and toughest offensive zone starts, yet still finished top-two in points per 60 among Caps defensemen.

The Good: Carlson got the Caps season going with the first goal of the year against the Carolina Hurricanes, and at the end of the day Carlson ended up with a career high 9 goals on the season. Carlson, once again, played all 82 games for the Caps, which became all the more important when Mike Green missed 50 games due to various injuries. As noted above, no full-time Caps defenseman had a better offensive season than Carlson at even strength (Dennis Wideman had a great offensive season, but did his damage on the power play. Dmitry Orlov had better points-per-60 at even strength, but only played 60 games and was given much easier minutes). At the end of the season, only Wideman had more points overall than Carlson. The high-point of Carlson's regular season came in December when he became the first Caps defenseman to post back-to-back 3 point games in over 19 years (and earning him NHL third star of the week honors). Carlson also took a larger defensive role on the team this year, leading the team in blocked shots and trailing only Karl Alzner in shorthanded time on ice per game among D.

Carlson shook off his tough regular season (more on that below) and was a stud in the playoffs. He took the most shifts per game of any Caps player, and once again led the team in blocks, led the D corps in hits, shots (tied), and was the leading scorer from the blue line, despite getting significantly less power play time than Wideman or Mike Green. Carlson did all this while facing the toughest opposition on the Bruins and Rangers, and the lowest offensive zone start percentage (35.8%) of any D. Carlson also trailed only Alzner and Brooks Laich in shorthanded time on ice per game. At even strength, only Roman Hamrlik had better Corsi than Carlson among defensemen, and no D had more points per 60 at even strength. Despite the limited power play time he got in the playoffs, Carlson led the team in power play points per 60, by a lot. In short, during the playoffs Carlson was everything the Caps (and their fans) expected him to be all year. He was a beast in all three zones, in all three phases of the game.

The Bad: Carlson started the season as Caps fans expected, but he hit a rough patch in November (as did the rest of the team) and just never seemed to fully come out of it until the playoffs. Fans thought that being reunited with his old coach from the OHL might help spark Carlson's game, but it was not to be. Throughout the season fans wondered whether Carlson may have earned himself a spot in the press box for a night (or two), and began wondering whether or not he really was the top pair defenseman they had expected him to be. Things got so bad that Carlson was separated from longtime partner Alzner, as Carlson wasn't able to keep up with the difficult assignments Alzner was tasked with. For most of the regular season Carlson didn't look like the guy who had taken a hold of a top D pair position just a season ago. While Carlson did end up with a career high in goals, 5 of the 9 were scored before December 8. Between December 9 and April 6 Carlson only had 3 goals (he finished the season off with a goal against the Rangers in the regular season finale), and had zero goals in January and March. He wasn't finding many other ways to contribute offensively during that long cold stretch, as he only had 1 assist in January and 2 in March and was -20 from December through April.

At the end of the season, Carlson had the most giveaways on the team, and it wasn't close. Second place (Wideman) had 24 fewer giveaways than Carlson did. As flawed as the giveaway stat is, that's not a good place to be. Carlson had the worst goals against on ice per 60 and the worst plus/minus per 60 of any D on the team. While some of that is mitigated by the tough assignments, it's notable that Alzner had much better results than Carlson, despite even tougher minutes. Things weren't much better for Carlson on the power play, as he was on the ice for more shorthanded goals against than any other D overall, and per 60. He was moderately productive on the PP, but with all the shorties he had the worst plus/minus per 60 of any Caps D that got regular power play minutes (meaning Wideman, Green, and Orlov).

The Vote: Rate Carlson below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Discussion: Is Carlson the player the Caps have seen in the last 3 playoff seasons and the 2010-11 season, or the guy we saw in the 2011-12 regular season? Given Carlson's RFA status (without arbitration rights), what kind of contract should Caps fans expect to see him sign this summer? Is the Carlson/Alzner pair the top pair of the foreseeable future, or might Carlson get supplanted? What does Carlson have to work on to win a Norris Trophy and make Elliotte Friedman's observation in his latest 30 Thoughts come true? How does Carlson fit on a championship team, and did the Caps use him that way this year? Finally, what will it take for him to earn a 10 rating next year?

Poll

How do you rate John Carlson's 2011-12 season?

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  108 votes | Results

Sunday Caps Clips

Your savory breakfast links:

' It was a good news / bad news kind of day for the Caps and Caps' prospects still playing hockey.

' The good news, of course, is that Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, and Evgeny Kuznetsov will be playing for a title in today's World Championship final. The puck will drop on the gold medal match against Slovakia at 1:30pm Eastern.

' The 6-2 victory over defending champion Finland was powered by a dominant performance by Evgeni Malkin and his hat trick, but Ovechkin chipped in with a lethal snipe and a strong Hunter Hockey two-way game, including laying out to block shots when his team was already up 5-1. [RMNB]

' Sasha Syomin went pointless, but he's still on board for upping his defensive game. [AllHockey.ru]

' Birthday boy Kuznetsov was deployed as the thirteenth forward, which meant he had plenty of time to enjoy the action from the Russia bench. He got a little more than two minutes of ice time as the clock wound down in the third and with the outcome no longer in doubt. And guess what? He's fine with that. [AllHockey.ru]

' Misty Peter Bondra memories as RMNB looks back at the last time Russia and Slovakia met in the gold medal game. [RMNB]

' The bad news: Back in Shawinigan, QC, Stanislav Galiev and the Saint John Sea Dogs experienced their first-ever loss in a Memorial Cup game. Frustrated by bad ice and a disciplined London Knights team, the Dogs top-six were held off the scoreboard and two of their three goals were scored while on the penalty kill. Galiev went 0-0-0, 1 hit, 1 SOG, and was on-ice for two goals against. Their next game is Monday against the WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings. [Station Nation, Buzzing the Net]

' Finally, happy 47th birthday, Bruce Cassidy!

Saturday Caps Clips

Your savory breakfast links:

' Mike Green thinks the Caps are close... but will he be here to see things through? [CSNW, Puck Daddy, SB Nation DC, with Green's "By the Tens" review at Peerless]

' Nicklas Backstrom sits down with Mike Vogel for a one-on-one exit interview. [Caps365 (video)]

' Lessons learned from the Dale Hunter Era. [WaPo]

' Would Alexander Semin be a fit on the Island? And what might the Caps be looking for this summer? [THN, with more sizing up the summer at RLS]

' Dennis Wideman would love to return to D.C. next year, but he and the Caps are likely too far apart on salary, term and role to make it work. [WashTimes]

' Buy or sell: "[Evgeny Kuznetsov]'s value on May 18, 2012 also still far exceeds that of a first-round draft pick in 2013." [DCEx (good read)]

' Mike Knuble isn't done yet. Well, isn't done with the NHL, at least. [KOL]

' Looking back at John Erskine's 2011-12. [RtR]

' ESPN's "best" moments of the playoffs might not fit Caps fans' definition of the word. [ESPN]

' Handing out Caps fight and rookie of the year awards. [RtR, RtR]

' Alex Ovechkin is the world's 11th most marketable athlete. [Alex Ovetjkin]

' A digital portrait of Braden Holtby that's so life-like you wonder why someone spent 79 hours doing it. But... cool? [Capitals Outsider]

' You can watch Stas Galiev in the Memorial Cup tonight, if you so desire. [WashTimes]

' Finally, happy 20th birthday to Kuznetsov, who recently lost a hardest shot contest to... a fan?