Minnesota Wild 2013 Alumni Tracking: November Edition

Nov 19, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Florida Panthers defenseman Tom Gilbert (77) during the second period against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. The Florida Panthers won 3-2 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

In a new feature that I will be running here on Gone Puck Wild throughout the season, each month I will compile a report on how each of the players from last year’s Wild roster who have now left the team are performing at their new club. A lot of fans like to keep an eye on their team’s “alumni” so this will be a condensed, informative source for all the information you need about each player.

(For more info about some of the stats and terms I use in these articles, check out my stats introduction piece).

In case you need a reminder; Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Cullen and Brett Clark left via free agency, the latter two signing for the Islanders and the Predators, respectively, while Clark went unsigned. Matt Hackett and Johan Larsson were traded to the Buffalo Sabres in the Jason Pominville deal late last season. Tom Gilbert was the victim of a compliance buyout and signed in Florida, initially on a PTO, and then on a 1-year contract. Justin Falk was traded to the New York Rangers in a contract-dump move. Devin Setoguchi was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2nd round pick.

Matt Hackett is yet to appear in an NHL game this year, currently playing for the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, while Clark is still a UFA and is unlikely to continue playing.

Basic Stats

PLAYER

TEAM

GP

G

A

P

S/Sh%

TOI/G

PP TOI/G

SH TOI/G

PIM

Bouchard

NYI

25

4

5

9

46/8.7%

14:19

1:36

0:00

12

Cullen

NSH

27

5

8

13

56/8.9%

15:44

2:26

0:52

12

Gilbert

FLA

27

1

7

8

40/2.5%

22:13

2:32

1:26

6

Larsson

BUF

17

0

1

1

12/0.0%

12:04

0:05

0:59

13

Falk

NYR

9

0

0

0

5/0.0%

12:00

0:02

0:01

13

Setoguchi

WPG

27

6

7

13

56/10.7%

15:47

2:24

0:01

8

GP=Games Played G=Goal A=Assist P=Points S/Sh%= Shots On Goal/Shooting Percentage TOI/G=Time on ice per game PP TOI/G=Powerplay time on ice per game SH TOI/G=Shorthanded time on ice per game PIM=Penalty minutes

Underlying Numbers (5v5)

PLAYER

TEAM

GP

CF% (5v5 Close)

CF% Rel (5v5 Close)

On-Ice Sh%

On-Ice Sv%

PDO

PMB

NYI

25

50.8%

+0.5%

4.1%

89.0%

93.1

MC

NSH

27

51.4%

+3.2%

7.4%

90.4%

97.8

TG

FLA

27

51.2%

+2.8%

8.3%

92.0%

100.3

JL

BUF

17

44.8%

+7.4%

2.9%

94.9%

97.9

JF

NYR

9

42.8%

-9.0%

4.8%

94.8%

99.6

DS

WPG

27

52.8%

+4.9%

6.6%

94.1%

100.7

CF% Rel=Corsi for percentage relative to teammates CF%=Corsi for percentage FF%=Fenwick for percentage FF% Rel=Fenwick for percentage relative to teammates On-ice Sh%=Team shooting percentage when on ice On-Ice Sv%=Team shooting percentage when on ice PDO=Luck, On-Ice Sh%+On-IceSv%

Usage

PLAYER

TEAM

GP

O/DSt%

Rel QoC

Rel QoT

Bouchard

NYI

25

47.5%

+0.391

+0.967

Cullen

NSH

27

53.5%

+1.140

+1.332

Gilbert

FLA

27

50.3%

+1.146

+2.365

Larsson

BUF

17

42.2%

-0.104

+1.613

Falk

NYR

9

51.4%

-2.051

+1.402

Setoguchi

WPG

27

50.2%

+1.026

+3.463

O/Dst%=Percentage of offensive zone starts compared to defensive zone Rel Qoc=Quality Of Compeition faced compared to teammates Rel Qot=Quality Of Teammates played with relative to teammates

Notes:

  • Pierre-Marc Bouchard is providing some decent depth scoring for the Islanders, and is driving puck possession pretty well. Overall he’s doing a good job, in average minutes, against average competition.
  • Matt Cullen is doing a similar job in Nashville, providing some offence, neither playing sheltered nor buried minutes, being a solid Corsi player; exactly what you want from a veteran forward.
  • Tom Gilbert is having a phenomenal season. He’s is playing top minutes on the Panthers 1st pairing in all situations and is managing to post great puck possession numbers on a terrible team. He is bringing some offence, though you would imagine it is quite hard to get regular assists when your team is so lacking in talent. It’s hard to believe Gilbert was available for $900,000 at the end of September and no competitive team was willing to bite. He is proving all his backers right with his play this year and should find himself on a contender after the trade deadline and will probably earn a new contract in the Summer. It’s a real pity the Wild couldn’t afford to keep him.
  • Johan Larsson is quite simply a beast in the making. He is one of the few impressive players on that Sabres roster this year, posting far better puck possession numbers than all of his teammates. He was sent back to the AHL, as the Sabres fully embraced the rebuild, but if he is putting-up those kind of numbers at his young age, I imagine he is going to turn into the excellent two-way centre that he was often projected to become while he was a Wild prospect. It’s a shame he had to be traded, but I will be watching his development with interest next year.
  • Justin Falk is, somewhat surprisingly, still carving-out a career in the NHL. He is the 7th defenceman for the Rangers, and gets to play sometimes when the coach wants more “sandpaper” in the line-up. He recently dressed ahead of Michael Del Zotto for a couple of games, which would have been unthinkable in previous years. His numbers are pretty awful, and I’m glad the Wild didn’t keep him. He’s just a good AHL defenceman who doesn’t have the skills to survive in the NHL. I’d expect him to be out of the league by next season.
  • Devin Setoguchi isn’t producing much for the Jets, even though he is playing with the best players on their team regularly. His Corsi numbers are good, a product of playing with the best forwards, but he just isn’t scoring. Setoguchi is a great 3rd liner, but just doesn’t have the offensive ability to be a top-6 scorer in the NHL.

 

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*Numbers in this article courtesy of:

Extra Skater

BehindTheNet.ca

Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com

SomeKindOfNinja.com

HockeyAbstract.com