Thanksgiving left us in the rearview and now it is onto the Christmas holiday season. It presents a great time to evaluate the summer free agent signings.
The annual summer of paying and overpaying players often has its share of winners and losers. Almost two months in, we take a look at those who have been studs and those who have been duds.
Let’s examine some right wingers of note for today.
Studs From The Right Wing Position
Alex Chiasson– Edmonton Oilers
Sometimes free agent signings pay off incredibly well. Any team could have signed Chiasson but Edmonton took that risk. Inking the forward to a one year, $650,000 contract was a bit lucky. Chiasson provides the ability to speedily generate chances and now he is potting goals at a high rate.
Overall, the right winger has tallied eight goals and an assist on 19 shots (15 games played). Is a 42.1% shooting percentage sustainable? That seems doubtful. Chiasson’s biggest asset is his speed on the bottom six much like Anthony Duclair. The rest of the season could mean a ton for the forward especially if he scores anywhere close to this rate. At the very least, Chiasson’s take-home pay could go up two or even threefold.
Michael Grabner– Arizona Coyotes
Alas, Grabner is a speed merchant that specializes in short-handed situations. There are few forwards like him in the league. However, he plays a nice defensive forward position as well. It is more than the five goals and five assists in 20 contests. Grabner scored four short-handed goals and has six short-handed points.
His metrics are about 1.5-2 percent below team relative and his even strength play has featured some bad luck. Goalies possess a sub .890 save percentage at even strength with Grabner on the ice. He is on pace for over 20+ goals and 20 assists. His deployment screams defensive forward with a nearly 2/3 rate of all zone starts in the defensive zone. Despite those obstacles, Grabner has thrived on the counterattack and again on the penalty kill.
Grabner signed a three-year deal to enjoy a bottom six role that allows him to roam freely in special teams situations. Sometimes, the best free agent signings allow a team to fill a role that turns them into something special.
2018 Free Agent Studs And Duds — Left Wing
Duds From The Right Wing Position
Jay Beagle — Vancouver Canucks
Beagle performed well in a perfect role for him in Washington. The problem exists that Vancouver is not the same team. His shot volume was never high but less than one a game is problematic. Beagle assisting on one goal in five games is not terrible. his 92.6% deployment in the defensive zone belies a problem. He gets paid over $3 million a year to be a defensive specialist. He does little else.
Will Beagle be counted on for anything more than that? The likely answer looks to be no. Pace of play often slows to a crawl when he is on the ice. He takes faceoffs then plays mostly on the wing afterwards. What is dynamic is the fact that Beagle may see increased ice time out of necessity in Vancouver. Other than that, do not expect much production given his career high is 30 points.
Tobias Rieder — Edmonton Oilers
Rieder enjoyed a decent run the first few years in Arizona but was limited when it came to taking that next step. The forward ran into tough times with Los Angeles and did not seem to fit in. The same seems to have happened in Edmonton so far this year. In 18 games, Rieder assisted on seven goals and that is it. Shot volume for him is up to 1.7 a contest.
The result comes down to a player who plays 12-13 minutes a night where he used to play top-six minutes in Arizona. However, maybe Rieder is just what he is. He generates speed but an erratic shot does not help matters. The Oilers got the hopeful scoring touch from Alex Chiasson and not Rieder like they expected.
