Washington Capitals 2014-2015 Previews -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

“My work is a game, a very serious game.”

-- M. C. Escher

Since John Erskine joined the Washington Capitals as a free agent in September 2006, only 12 NHL defensemen have logged more penalty minutes.  The thing is, though, Erskine compiled his 529 penalty minutes in only 350 games, while 11 of the 12 defensemen in front of him on that list did it in more than 400 games, six of them in more than 500 games.

That statistic speaks to the hard way that John Erskine makes a living, something that deserves more respect that it sometimes gets from fans.  He is the closest player – perhaps the only player – resembling a physical defenseman the Caps have had since he arrived.  Consider the list of Capitals defensemen who have played in at least 100 games with the club since Erskine arrived:

• Mike Green
• Jeff Schultz
• Karl Alzner
• John Carlson
• Shaone Morrisonn
• Tom Poti
• Milan Jurcina
• Brian Pothier
• Dmitry Orlov

There are not many defensemen with the adjective “physical” attached to them on that list.  Here is another way to look at it.  Erskine has been involved in 29 regular season fights in a Capitals uniform.  The other eight defensemen on that list above were involved in a combined seven fights in their tenures with Washington.  If the Discovery Channel ever brings back “Dirty Jobs,” John Erskine could host it in place of Mike Rowe.

Unfortunately, doing the dirty work has come at a price for Erskine.  Of the 622 regular season games that could have been played in Erskine’s eight seasons in Washington, he has appeared in only 350 of them, just 56 percent of the total number of games.  Only once – in 2010-2011 when he appeared in 73 games – has Erskine played in more than 52 games in a season with the Caps.  The injuries that accumulated over those eight seasons – foot, thumb, lower body, upper body, concussion, leg, hand, shoulder, knee – have peeled off a lot of games from those in which Erskine might have appeared.

Fearless’ Take…

For all the abuse John Erskine has taken physically over his eight seasons in Washington, he is 14^th on the list of games played as a defenseman with the franchise, and it is possible that he passes both Shoane Morrisonn and Rick Green (tied with 377 games apiece) this season.  That experience might not be as big an issue with the addition of Brooks Orpik (703 regular season games) and Matt Niskanen (491 games), but experience can only be earned, and there are young Caps defensemen who are still building on that.  It might require careful management, but Erskine’s experience (not to mention his ability to be a physical presence) can have its place.

Cheerless’ Take…

Cuz, there just isn’t any way to sugar coat this.  The Caps were 13-17-7 in games in which John Erskine appeared last season, 25-13-7 in games he sat out.  What do those fancy stat guys say, “constipation is not causation?”

(Peerless… “correlation is not causation”)

Yeah, that.  But still.  That should be an alarm going off when you consider that the Caps were 21-7-2 with Erskine in the lineup in 2012-2013, 6-11-1 without him, and that was with the same coaching staff (whatever you think of it).

The Big Question… Does John Erskine have a role to play in 2014-2015?

The Caps went out and got two free agent defensemen precisely because of the lack of depth in talent on the blue line in recent years.  While John Erskine is a high-effort player, there is a reasonable question about his being capable, at this point in his career, of being a 16-minute a night player on a contender (he averaged 15:51 a game over his first eight seasons with the Caps). 

He is going to have a hard time cracking the 2014-2015 lineup unless there are injuries or one of the top six (Alzner, Carlson, Green, Niskanen, Orpik, and Orlov) simply goes into the dumper in terms of his performance.  He seems relatively safe to start the season with Orlov still recuperating from a broken arm suffered during last spring’s world championship that could delay his return to the lineup.  There does seem to be a bulls-eye on Erskine with respect to his continued presence on the roster, though.

In the end…

John Erskine has been nothing less than a stand-up guy on a team that did not have much of a physical presence over his eight seasons with the club.  But the physical abuse has taken a toll.  He appeared in only 95 of 212 games over the last three seasons, only 37 of 82 contests last season.  With the additions of Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik for the defense, the Caps do not have a lot of spare minutes on the blue line into which Erskine can be slotted on a regular basis. Orpik, who can provide the physical style of play (within the rules) that Erskine might have provided, has been more durable a player than Erskine, despite being the same age (34).

As far as the physical style of play at the edge of the rules, there were rumblings of the Caps seeking to move Erskine’s contract so that the club could sign Paul Bissonnette, a move that might have save the team a considerable amount from Erskine’s $1,962,500 salary cap hit.  What it probably means is that Erskine is now on the edge of the roster, a 7/8 defenseman on this club.  If the Caps carry only seven defensemen, it would seem he will be in a battle with Jack Hillen for that seventh spot, especially now that Cameron Schilling (a prospect defenseman who is not waiver-exempt) was sent down to Hershey, pending his clearing waivers.

For eight years John Erskine has been a player who as much of more than any other Caps defenseman found himself in serious circumstances on the ice that required the exercise of his physical gifts and temperament.  The roster log jam is a different sort of circumstance in which he finds himself, one that is no less serious.

Projection:  17 games, 0-2-2, minus-2

Photo: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2013-2014 By the Tens -- Defensemen: John Erskine

"By the work one knows the workman."

-- Jean de La Fontaine

John Erskine’s 2013-2014 season looked a lot like his 2012-2013 season, which looked a lot like his 2011-2012 season.  That is not good news.  Erskine dressed for only 37 games this season.  That happens to be a personal high over the past three seasons over which he appeared in 95 of 212 games.  Erskine missed 37 games to injury this past season and another three to a suspension.  Thought of early on as a potential second-pair defenseman in 2013-2014, he became part of the parade of defensemen marching through the third pair over the course of the season.  As it was his longest string of consecutive games played was 17, from December 15^th through January 19^th, and he appeared in only two of the Caps last 19 games.

Erskine is not what one would call an offensive defenseman, and his games played do not make for easy evaluation or comparison.  But there are a few things to point out.  For instance, at 5-on-5, John Erskine finished 176^th of 230 defensemen playing at least 25 percent of their teams’ games in goals-for percentage (44.7 percent of all goals scored when he was on ice).  He was nestled between Mike Green (175^th/44.8 percent) and Karl Alzner (177^th/44.6 percent).    Oddly enough, though, his goals for percentage on ice relative to the teams’ performance with him not on the ice (+1.5 percent) was 84^th in the league and roughly equivalent to teammate John Carlson (+1.6 percent) and the Rangers’ Ryan McDonagh (+1.6 percent).

Erskine suffered from the nature of his partners this season, although the suffering might have been mutual.  In Erskine’s limited action he played more than 100 5-on-5 minutes with only two partners on defense – Connor Carrick and Steve Oleksy.  That is a pair that would finish the season with a combined 95 games of NHL experience.  Erskine’s experience with those partners was like night and day, or more precisely early and late. 

Erskine played 154 minutes of 5-on-5 time with Oleksy this season, all of it by January 4^th, corresponding to Oleksy’s last game of the season with the Caps.  Paired with Erskine at 5-on-5, Oleksy had a goals-for/goals-against per 20 minutes of +0.26.  That sounds rather good until one looks at Olesky’s 5-on-5 goal differential when apart from Erskine (+0.35).  Erskine’s experience with Carrick was a bit different.  Carrick’s goal differential per 20 minutes with Erskine at 5-on-5 was 0.00.  When apart, though, Carrick’s goal differential was -0.49.  Strange results are these.

Fearless’ Take… Did you know that only 13 defensemen in Capitals history have played in more games for the club than John Erskine?  He passed Darren Veitch and Yvon Labre this season and now has 350 games played in a Capitals uniform.  Only Mike Green among active Capitals have appeared in more games with the club (503).

Cheerless’ Take… Nine defensemen played in at least 20 games for the Caps this season, including John Erskine.  Of those nine defensemen Erskine was seventh in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 (45.7) and seventh in Fenwick-for percentage (44.7).  The only players with lower numbers were Alexander Urbom (44.2/44.2), who is no longer with the club, and Connor Carrick (43.9/42.8), who might have been better served being in Hershey for more of the season.

Odd Erskine Fact… The Caps were 13-17-7 in games in which Erskine appeared and 25-13-7 in games in which he did not.

Game to Remember… January 25^th versus Montreal.  John Erskine does not score goals often, so those he does get are sort of memorable by definition.  However, the one he scored in Montreal on January 25^th was bizarre.  After a scoreless first period the Caps took the lead 1:46 into the second period on a goal by Alex Ovechkin.  Less than two minutes later the Caps started out of their own zone with John Carlson sending the puck up to Troy Brouwer before heading to the bench.  Brouwer left a touch pass for Martin Erat, who carried the puck into the Montreal end.  Erat put on the breaks at the right wing wall waiting for the play to unfold.  He spied Erskine coming late down the middle.  Erskine was about to be tied up by Brandon Prust when he sort of half shot, half shoveled the puck at the Canadiens’ net.  The puck crawled along the ice past Prust, past P.K. Subban, past Brooks Laich, and between the pads of goalie Carey Price, settling softly in the back of the net to give the Caps a 2-0 lead on their way to a 5-0 win at Bell Centre.

Game to Forget…  March 5^th versus Philadelphia.  The Caps’ schedule for March included a home-and-home set of games against the Flyers, the first in Washington on March 2^nd and the second on March 5^th in Philadelphia.  Washington dropped the front end of the set, 5-4 in overtime, and was looking to salvage a split in Philadelphia.  The Flyers got off fast with a pair of goals in the first eight and a half minutes.  Then things got angry.  In the 12^th minute Tom Wilson laid a hit on Brayden Schenn in the Washington end, and as the puck spun around the boards John Erskine put a hit on Vincent Lecavalier.  That was merely prelude.  Wheh the Caps dumped the puck into the Flyers’ end on the ensuing rush, Luke Schenn laid the lumber to Ryan Stoa. 

That brought Wilson back into the picture to take on Schenn.  While this was going on, John Erskine stepped in on Wayne Simmonds.  That led to a pile up in the corner with Erskine tumbling to the ice, and when Erskine got to his feet it was Lecavalier standing in his way.  Erskine and Lecavalier started in on one another, which led to Simmonds coming in to Lecavalier’s assistance.  He grabbed Erskine from behind, tying up Erskine from throwing any more punches and leaving Lecavalier free to throw a couple of his own.  Erskine went down to end the fracas, and the fall would end Erskine’s night after just 5:34 of time on ice.  The Caps went on to lose the contest, 6-4, and Erskine would miss the next ten games.

In the end…

Time and circumstance have taken their toll on John Erskine.  In seven seasons with the Capitals (not including the abbreviated 48-game 2012-2013 season) he has appeared in more than 55 games in a season only once.  It is not for lack of trying or will; Erskine remains, night in and night out, among the hardest workers on the ice when he is in the lineup.  One must wonder, though, just how much Erskine has left to give.  He will be 34 on Opening Night of the 2014-2015 season, and while that is not inordinately old for a hockey player, his injury history suggests that he might be an “old” 34. 

In that respect his 2013-2014 season was not unusual and seems at least as likely as not to serve as a preview of the future.  He was available on a limited basis, and both his production and underlying numbers did not suggest a consistent level of effectiveness when he was in the lineup.  One might hope for better, but one cannot help but think that the body of work John Erskine put together this season is going to be of the sort he displays going forward.

Grade: C-

Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals 2013-2014 Previews -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme: “My range is limited.”

-- Bob Dylan

If you saw the movie, “Titanic,” you will know that the plot focused on the plight of Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater, star-crossed lovers on a doomed ship.  Only briefly during the film did the moviegoer see scenes of men caked in soot, shoveling coal into the boilers powering the ship.  But without those guys doing that hard work, the ship would not have been going anywhere, and there would have been no story of the unsinkable ship, no movie.

That’s a bit of a roundabout way of saying that John Erskine is that specie of defenseman who does a lot of the hard, the dirty work and doesn’t figure prominently in the credits.  Doing that hard work is testimony to Erskine’s persistence and determination to carve out a role as an NHL player.  Despite enduring eight separate occasions in which he missed five or more games to injury as a member of the Washington Capitals, he is one of 148 defensemen to play in at least 300 games over the 2006-2007 to 2012-2013 period (coinciding with his career with the Capitals).  That sounds like a big number until you think of it in terms of there being 30 NHL teams and that it covers a seven-year period.

In 2012-2013 Erskine had a deceptively effective year in the context of his role.  He is by no means thought to be a significant contributor on offense, but he finished the year with his best goals-per-game level in his seven years with the Caps.  His points per game was surpassed only by his 2006-2007 season (his first with Washington). His shooting percentage was his best as a Cap, and his shots on goal per game was a career best.  He set a career best for average ice time per game.  And he did this comfortably within the boundaries of the rules.  His penalty minutes per game was a career low.

Let’s just not get carried away with that though.  A 3-3-6 scoring line in 30 games is not evidence of being Washington’s answer to Erik Karlsson.  Erskine’s role is more of the “serve and protect” variety.  Sometimes, that means engaging in the pugilistic arts.  And say what you will about Erskine, he is a stand-up guy.  When he is called upon or calls upon himself to play that role, he doesn’t do it against sunflowers.  Over the last three season Erskine has been involved in 11 bouts.  Here is the fight card (most recent first):

• Shawn Thornton (114 NHL regular season fights)
• George Parros (149)
• Bracken Kearns (49 AHL fights)
• Arron Asham (96)
• Chris Thorburn (68)
• Jared Boll (125)
• Andy Sutton (46)
• Mike Rupp (79)
• Ryan Malone (38)
• Eric Boulton (132)
• Milan Lucic (45)

Sometimes, Jack and Rose get to cavort on the promenade deck and on the Grand Staircase because the John Erskine’s of the world are below decks doing a lot of hard and, at times, necessary work.

Fearless’ Take…

How many Capitals defensemen had a higher PDO (sum of on-ice team shooting and team save percentages) at 5-on-5 last season than John Erskine?  None (minimum 20 games played).  How many had fewer offensive zone start shares at 5-on-5.  None.  Who had a better goals against-on ice/60 minutes at 5-on-5?  None.  The Caps were 21-7-2 in games in which Erskine dressed, 6-11-1 in games he did not.

Cheerless’ Take…

There were 201 defensemen who played in at least 20 games last year.  Only 19 of them had worse Corsi/on-ice numbers at 5-on-5.  In seven seasons with the Caps he has lost 127 games to injury or illness.  If you look at his salary cap hit, age and contract duration, his comparables look like Shane O’Brien, Cory Sarich, Michal Roszival, and Jordan Leopold.  Is his a good deal in that neighborhood?

The Big Question… Does John Erskine have the wherewithal to take on second pair minutes effectively?

There are two parts to that question – his own effectiveness and his effect on his partner’s.  Erskine averaged 18:27 in total ice time per game last season, a personal best in his 11-season career.  Given the narrative that attaches to Erskine (that he isn’t quick enough or well-rounded enough to take on a heavy minute load), you would think that high-volume minutes he logs puts the club in a bad situation.  Last year, the Caps were 7-2-0 in games in which Erskine recorded at least 20 minutes of ice time, and both losses were of the one-goal variety (3-2 to Ottawa and 2-1 to the Rangers, both on the road).

However, there is the matter of Erskine being 33 years old with a history of injury.  He lost a quarter of last season to an upper body injury and has played only 58 percent of the regular season games scheduled over his seven seasons with the Caps.  One has to think that someone is going to be occupying that 4D spot a significant amount of the time in Erskine’s place (all other things being equal, like any further personnel moves).

In the end…

John Erskine seems to be one of those players for whom fans are always thinking of or looking for a replacement.  He lacks foot speed, he doesn’t have any offensive game, he’s…something.  There might have been some ominous signs about his game in last spring’s playoff loss to the New York Rangers.  The Rangers scored 14 even strength goals in the seven-game series.  Erskine was on ice for eight of them.  He had the worst Corsi/on-ice value of any Capital defenseman and had the worst relative Corsi (his value on ice less his off-ice value).  And, regression being what it is, his PDO value (best among Caps defensemen during the regular season) was the second worst among defensemen in the playoffs for Washington.

Last season, Erskine skated more than 75 percent of his 5-on-5 time with John Carlson as his partner.  Whether that is how things will unfold this season is something that bears watching.  The Caps are not particularly settled once you get past their top three of Mike Green, Karl Alzner, and John Carlson.  Erskine, Jack Hillen, Steve Oleksy, Tomas Kundratek, and Dmitry Orlov could be competing for time on that second pair.  If Erskine wins the competition, it would seem likely that one of the others is going to have to fill in from time to time, perhaps significant minutes.  Because, while Erskine is one of those players who gives a supreme effort despite what others might view as shortcomings, the fruits of that effort often reveal themselves as time lost.  Being of limited range did not hurt Bob Dylan much.  For John Erskine, it might be a different story.

Projection: 59 games, 2-5-7, minus-3

Photo: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Countdown to Opening Night by the Elements: Number 33

If it’s Thursday, we’re down to number 33 in Fearless’ look at the Caps and their positions in the periodic table…

Arsenic

Arsenic is one of those elements that conjures visions of a skull and crossbones on a glass bottle, the poison of choice for mystery writers. Before it took on cultural connotations, it recorded quite a history on its own merits.  Arsenic compounds were known to Greeks in the fourth century.  As “orpiment” (arsenic trisulfide), it was important trade commodity in the Roman Empire.  In China it was used for medicinal purposes.  And, of course, it was used as a poison, preferred for the difficulty in identifying it as the cause of death (well, at least until the 1830’s when James Marsh published his results on a method for detecting arsenic).

It does have other, less nefarious (not to mention less lethal) uses.  It was used as a wood treatment, preserving it against insects, bacteria, and fungus, but less so in the United States over the past decade or so.  It has had a variety of medicinal uses, used to combat parasite-caused diseases and even cancer.  In compound form it has a wide range of uses – with lead in car batteries; with gallium in semiconductors, lasers and light-emitting diodes.  It has been used in pigments, fireworks, and lead alloys for bullets.  It has been used in optical glass and in taxonomy to preserve samples.  However, many of these applications have fallen into disuse because of the toxic and environmental effects of arsenic in larger concentrations.

Arsenic is one of those elements that has been known for quite some time, one that in small doses or in compounds with other elements can have beneficial uses.  At higher concentrations or larger doses it can be quite harmful.  Care must be taken to find that balance between bane and benefit.  It is not unlike a hockey player who, while having been around for a while, might, in some situations, provide quality minutes and a measure of intensity that is useful.  However, that same player, if given to overexposure (maybe getting top-four minutes when he is suited to something less), might lead to problems for his team. 

Arsenic… the “John Erskine” of the periodic table.

Washington Capitals: 2012-2013 By the Tens -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

“Success, remember is the reward of toil.”

-- Sophocles

When the 2013 season started, the Washington Capitals had a depth chart for defensemen that might have looked like this…

• Mike Green
• Karl Alzner
• John Carlson
• Roman Hamrlik
• Dmitry Orlov
• Jack Hillen

One of the odd men out in that scenario was John Erskine, who between assorted injuries (shoulder, lower body) and healthy scratches was coming off a 2011-2012 season in which he played in only 28 games.

Erskine’s 2013 season was not much different from his 2011-2012 season with respect to the injury bug – he missed 12 games in March due to an upper-body injury – and he missed another three games in February for elbowing Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers.  But he did dress for 30 games, and by the end of the season, with Hamrlik waived and off to the New York Rangers, Orlov injured and trying to rehabilitate his game with the Hershey Bears in the AHL, and Hillen injured in the first game of the season and trying to work his way back into the lineup after missing 25 games, Erskine found himself by year’s end on the second defensive pairing with John Carlson.

For Erskine it was a productive year, in the technical sense of the term.  While his 0.10 goals-per-game was modest, it was the best such mark he posted over an 11-year career.  His 0.20 points-per-game was his best since posting a 0.24 points-per-game mark in in first year with the Capitals in 2006-2007.  He was plus-10 over 30 games, a plus-27 pace over 82 games, also a career best.  His 32 shots on goal in 30 games was the only season in his career in which he averaged more than a shot per game. 

The problem for Erskine was, as it has been in so many of his seasons with the Capital, injuries.  In seven years with the Caps, Erskine has missed 121 games to injury or illness (tsn.ca), including the 12 he missed in the 2013 season due to an upper body injury. 

Although the games played did not change much for Erskine this season – 30 this year, 28 last season – the ice time did.  Befitting his partnership with John Carlson on the second defensive pairing (78 percent of his 5-on-5 ice time was spent with Carlson), Erskine’s total ice time jumped from 12:05 per game to 18:27, and his even strength ice time jumped from 11:33 per game to 16:13.  It amounted to more than one extra shift per period per game (17.5 shifts per game in 2011-2012 to 21.9 shifts per game in 2013).

The thing is with that pairing is that Erskine’s influence – or at least his presence – had a salutary effect on Carlson.  When on ice together, Carlson’s 5-on-5 goals for were better (0.939 GF/20 vs. 0.824 GF/20 when apart), the goals against were better (0.692 GA/20 vs. 0.733 when apart, numbers from stats.hockeyanalysis.com).  There was not a lot of ice time with these players spent apart, but in terms of even strength outcomes, Erskine did not appear to be a liability.  Of course, that also might be tempered by the fact that the top four forwards with whom Erskine shared 5-on-5 ice time ice time were, in order: Mike Ribeiro, Alex Ovechkin, Troy Brouwer, and Nicklas Backstrom.

Odd Erskine Stat… John Erskine scored three goals for the Caps this season, all of which came at Verizon Center, and all of which came in noteworthy games.  His first of the season put the Caps ahead to stay in what would become Adam Oates’ first win as head coach, a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on January 27^th.  His second goal came on February 26^th in a 3-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, which spoiled Alexander Semin’s first game in Washington since leaving the club in free agency after the 2011-2012 season.  His third goal came on March 7^th in a 7-1 win against the Florida Panthers.  His goal, the first of the contest, set in motion a four-goal barrage in 6:12, the second-fastest four-goal start in team history.

Game to Remember… April 23^rd vs. Winnipeg.  John Erskine was the emergency goaltender of sorts on the evening on which the Capitals clinched the Southeast Division title.  Just one minute after Matt Hendricks scored for the Caps to post the home team to a 1-0 lead, Erskine dove through the crease to block a Bryan Little shot that was targeted to the back of an empty net.  Then, with the clock ticking toward 6:00 remaining in the first period, it was Erskine again, sweeping the puck off the goal line after a deflection of a shot by Aaron Gagnon (who Erskine was tying up in the low slot) hit goaltender Braden Holtby and climbed over his shoulder to fall into the crease.  Erskine added an assist on the goal that would give the Caps the lead for good, and as if to punctuate his performance, took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with 22 seconds left in the 5-3 win.

Game to Forget… February 12^th vs. Florida.  Florida proved a pesky adversary on this night.  The Caps scored first, but Florida took leads on three separate occasions, taking a 5-3 lead on goals straddling the second intermission, both of which Erskine was on ice for, making it a total three such on-ice goals for Erskine in the game.  He added a penalty for good measure.  It was the only game all season in which Erskine finished as bad as minus-2.

Post season… Live by the second pairing, die by the second pairing.  Erskine tied with John Carlson – his second pairing defensive partner – for the most goals scored against the Caps while on ice (eight) in the seven-game loss to the New York Rangers.  He also did not finish any of the seven games against the New York Rangers in plus territory (minus-4 overall).  He is not expected to provide anything more than serendipitous offense, but he did not record a shot on goal in any of the last three games of the series and was last among Caps defensemen in that regard overall (six shots on goal for the series).

In the end…

John Erskine almost never lacks for effort, but one still has the feeling that he would be a much better third-pair defenseman than a solution as a second-pair defenseman with John Carlson.  It was the second pair that was exploited by the New York Rangers in the playoffs, denting it for half of the goals the Rangers scored in the series.  When Erskine was getting significant minutes against the Southeast Division, he was fine – 2-2-4, plus-10 in 12 games.  But in 25 games outside the division (including playoffs), he was 1-2-3, minus-4.  In a sense Erskine is the canary in the coal mine, the signal of questionable blue line depth.  Circumstance led to Erskine taking second pair minutes this season – Roman Hamrlik not performing as expected, then waived; Dmitry Orlov and Jack Hillen suffering injuries, the inability of Jeff Schultz to dent the lineup.  That does not mean Erskine is a solution at that position.  Hard worker though he is, there are better ways to employ his effort.

Grade: B-

Photo: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals 2012-2013 Previews -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme: “Remember: there are no small parts, only small actors.”
-- Konstantin Stanislavsky

When John Erskine finished the 2010-2011 season with career highs in games played (73), goals (four) assists (seven, tying his total in 2007-2008), points (11), and shots (58), while finishing a respectable plus-1, he might have cemented a spot on the roster as at least a consistent third-pair defenseman. But in 2011-2012 Erskine dressed for only 28 games regular season games – none after February 12th – and another four in the playoffs. His ice time dropped from 14:49 in those 73 regular season games in 2010-2011 to 12:05 in 2011-2012.

Part of the problem was his having injured his left shoulder in March 2011, after which he had surgery in May. His participation in training camp for the 2011-2012 season was limited, and he missed all of October getting back into shape. His action was intermittent thereafter. He had to deal with the balky shoulder through November (missing five games in all), but with the change in coaches for the last game in the month he would dress for 16 of the next 19 games. However, starting with a game against Pittsburgh on January 12th, Erskine would dress for only five of the next 15 games, his regular season coming to an end on February 12th. He would get four starts in the post-season, averaging a little more than nine minutes a game. But the combination of his slow start as a product of his shoulder injury and the emergence of rookie Dmitry Orlov (who would dress for 60 games in all after his call-up in late November).

The 28 games played was the second fewest for Erskine since his second season in the league (16 games for Dallas in 2003-2003). Although Erskine has never been called upon for large contributions at the offensive end, his two points in the 2011-2012 season tied a career low (also in the 2002-2003 season). And that 12:06 in average ice time was his lowest since his first two seasons in the league. All-in-all it was something of a lost season for the ten-year veteran.

Fearless’ Take…

If one assumes that it is unlikely any defensemen from Hershey are ready to break into the Capitals’ lineup, the Caps have eight defensemen under contract. Tom Poti, who almost certainly will not dress for the Caps, is one of them (the last year of his contract in 2012-2013). John Carlson is not under contract, but is a virtual certainty to be re-signed. So, we still have eight defensemen to think of here. Jack Hillen, formerly of Nashville and picked up as a free agent in July, has not played in more than 69 games in any of his five NHL seasons. Jeff Schultz, who fell out of favor last season, dressed for only 54 games (fewest since his rookie season). Then there is Dmitry Orlov, who did get those 60 games as a rookie, but who did not dress in any of the 14 post-season games for the Caps last spring. It would be reasonable to think Erskine is squarely in the mix to compete for one of two spots on the Caps’ third pair. That is not much different from the expectations for Erskine in any of his six seasons with the Caps.

Cheerless’ Take…

One has to think Orlov is going to get a clear shot at the “Wideman” slot from last season, at least as far as even strength ice time is concerned. That leaves Hillen, Schultz, and Erskine battling for that last spot. And, as Peerless pointed out in his wrap-up last spring, Erskine had a lot of advantages in terms of zone starts and competition faced last year, and was not especially effective with the benefits.

The Big Question… Is there room for John Erskine in the starting lineup?

The Capitals appear set on their top two defensive pairs – Karl Alzner and John Carlson being one and Mike Green and Roman Hamrlik being the other. The third pair will be one of those tough decisions for new head coach Adam Oates to deal with. While Dmitry Orlov would seem to have the inside track on one of the spots, his inexperience has to be weighed in the matter. His presence on that pairing is no sure thing. Erskine is in the mix with Jeff Schultz and Jack Hillen for a spot on that pairing. The difficulty for Erskine is that he does not stand out at either end of the ice, hence the fight for a third pair spot. Among 237 defensemen playing in at least 20 games last season Erskine was 167th in Corsi value at 5-on-5, 219th in Corsi relative to quality of competition., this despite being 46th in offensive zone starts. Oddly enough, however, his goals against-on ice per 60 minutes of 1.69 was much better than his corresponding value off ice (2.79). But again, his quality of competition faced was inferior to that faced by most other defensemen. According to behindthenet.ca it was 228th of 237 defensemen in this group. Perhaps having to comeback from significant injury played into this, but still, he is likely to face quite a battle for that third pair spot.

In the end…

It is easy to count out John Erskine as a consistent contributor, but the fact is that injury more than performance has been the big factor in keeping him out of the lineup during his six-year tenure with the Caps. It was a fractured foot and thumb injury keeping him out of 39 games in 2006-2007. It was a concussion sidelining him for 22 games in 2008-2009. An assortment of injuries kept him out for 16 games in 2009-2010. Then there was the shoulder injury that delayed his start last season. Erskine is one of those players who gives his all when he is out there, but sometimes all of it is not there to give. His ability to avoid injury might be the key factor in determining whether he plays a large part or a small part in this lineup in 2012-2013.

Projection: 30 games, 1-5-6, plus-2

(photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America)

2011-2012 By the Tens -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme: “A short absence is the safest.”
-- Ovid

(click pic for larger image)

In 2010-2011 John Erskine set a career record in games played with 73. He had career highs in goals (four), assists (seven), points (11), and even had a game-winning goal on his season resume. Among Caps defensemen playing in at least 70 games he had the lowest number of goals scored/on ice by far (41, to Jeff Schultz’ 60 in 72 games). He led Caps defensemen in hits by a wide margin and even managed to average more than a minute of penalty killing time per game (1:18).

In other words, a tidy sort of year for a guy who is generally pigeon-holed into the “physical defenseman” category.

You might have thought that such a season would be a nice springboard to 2011-2012. Well, it is a nice thought. It just did not turn out that way. It didn’t help that he had shoulder surgery in May and was not ready to go by opening night of the 2011-2012 season. He missed the first nine games of the season as a result. He played in eight of the next nine games trying to catch up from a largely wasted training camp, then missed four more games with shoulder trouble. The last of those games was the infamous 5-1 pasting laid on the Caps by the Buffalo Sabres and their bevy of AHL call-ups due to injury, a game that would be the last of Bruce Boudreau’s tenure as coach of the Capitals.

So, what Dale Hunter inherited in John Erskine was a hard-working guy with damaged goods, a defenseman able to dress for only eight of the Caps first 22 games (0-1-1, plus-2 at the time). And he probably did not endear himself to his new coach when in Hunter’s first four games behind the Caps’ bench, Erskine was on the ice for three goals, all of them game-winners in one-goal losses.

And the nightmare was hardly over.

It was during this period, immediately after Hunter stepped behind the Capitals’ bench, that Erskine enjoyed his most sustained stretch of playing time. Over the first 18 games of Hunter’s tenure Erskine was in the lineup for 15 of them (0-0-0, minus-2). The last of those 18 games was a bit curious. In a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on January 9th, five of the six Capitals defensemen were on ice for at least one goal. The one who was not? John Erskine. Of course, having played only 10:25 in that game (by far the least of any Caps defenseman) undoubtedly played a role.

And perhaps that was it, not wanting to skate even a sixth defenseman so few minutes (he had been averaging about ten minutes of ice time in his last 12 games, including that game in Los Angeles). Erskine appeared in only five of the next 15 games and would not appear in any of the last 27 games of the regular season (he did have a lower body injury that kept him from appearing in the last six games, but by then it appeared he was glue-gunned to the press-box seating). When all was said and done, Erskine appeared in only 28 games. It was the fewest number of games Erskine played in since the 2002-2003 season (16 games).  Here is how this season compared to last:

PDO – that measure of shooting percentage plus save percentage while on ice while at 5-on-5… among Capitals defensemen playing in at least 20 games this season, John Erskine had the highest value (1025). Now be assured, he also faced the weakest competition by a healthy margin among that same group of defensemen (numbers from behindthenet.ca). Goalies had a .945 save percentage when he was on the ice, no doubt also a product in part of that quality of competition, but also because in this group of Capitals defensemen he had the most frequent offensive zone starts (54.9 percent).

And only John Carlson and Karl Alzner had more frequent defensive zone finishes (they being the Capitals’ principal defensive shutdown pair, this is not unexpected). The moral here is that even with advantageous offensive zone starts, there weren’t many finishes there for Erskine. Where Carlson and Alzner had zonie start-finish differentials in positive territory (finish over start frequency), Erskine had the worst differential among defensemen playing in at least 20 games for the Caps.

Erskine was not as challenged in the defensive zone as many folks might have assumed, but he had certain advantages in where he started play on the ice, and in protections in terms of time on ice and quality of competition faced.

Odd Erskine Fact… Erskine had only one “minus” game in the last 16 contests in which he participated. The Caps were 8-5-3 in those games.

Game to Remember… November 11, 2011. Deuces were wild in this game, at least for Erskine. Two penalty minutes, plus-2, two shots on goal. He also assisted on the game-winning goal (a short-handed goal by Jason Chimera) in a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Game to Forget… December 5, 2011. By the time Erskine had completed four shifts in a game against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida, the Panthers had a 2-0 lead. Erskine was not on ice for either of those goals, but when you are that “physical” defenseman, sometimes the situation calls for being “physical.” And at the 10:22 mark of the first period, that is what he did, picking a fight with Bracken Kearns, who happened to be playing in his first NHL game and thought he might open some eyes when he stepped up on Jeff Halpern when the latter had his head down trying to control the puck at the side wall. The fight itself was no contest – Erskine made short work of Kearns. But Erskine was given the gate for his effort – two minutes for instigating, five for fighting, and a misconduct. The effort did not have the intended effect. Florida scored the next goal. And as if to rub salt in the wound, the Panthers scored again on Erskine’s first shift after paying his penance. It put the Panthers ahead 5-1, just enough scoring to withstand a Caps rally that fell short in a 5-4 Caps loss.

Post Season… Although he did not appear in the last 27 games of the regular season, Erskine did make four appearances among the Caps’ 14 games of the playoffs, three of them in the opening round series against the Bruins. The Caps were 2-1 in those three games in which Erskine appeared. They might have given reason to believe that he could contribute against the Rangers in the second round, and in fact the Rangers did not score any of their three goals with Erskine on the ice in what would be a 3-1 Ranger win in Game 1. But it would be his last appearance of the season.

In the end… John Erskine simply could not establish any momentum this season after having a pretty solid 2010-2011 season. He started behind the eight ball in training camp, still recuperating from shoulder surgery.  He was behind the curve having missed out on contact for training camp and missing the first couple of weeks of the season.  Then events out of his control overtook him – the team’s face plant after winning its first seven games, the change in coaches, the seemingly months-long effort to try to find a combination that could string together some wins. He was lost in that mix and ended up enduring a season that he really did not deserve to endure.

Grade: C+

Your Capitals-Senators Three-Fer

(Photos by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

Washington Capitals 2011-2012 Previews: John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme: “Act well your part, there all the honour lies.”
-- Alexander Pope

Last spring, the Capitals obtained Dennis Wideman as insurance against the absence of then injured Mike Green. This past summer, the Caps signed Roman Hamrilk to add some more punch to the offense and a veteran presence. Where that leaves the Caps today is that they have six defensemen who could conceivable play every night – Green, Hamrlik, Wideman, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, and Jeff Schultz.

The question is, where does that leave John Erskine? Last season Erskine played in a career high 73 games and for the first time in his career reached the ten-point mark in season scoring (4-7-11, plus-1), not bad for a fellow known primarily as a physical, defensive defenseman. As far as that goes, he did finish 22nd in hits among all defensemen.

And here might be the strangest part of Erskine’s 2010-2011 season. He seemed to have saved his best for the best. In 26 games against the other seven teams in the Eastern Conference that made the playoffs, he was 2-4-6, plus-5. Against everyone else he was 2-3-5, minus-4 in 47 games. But that result should be balanced against the fact that Erskine was 3-4-7, plus-3, through December 1st, covering the first 26 games of the season. He even had a run in November in which he had points in four of five games (2-2-4, plus-4), three of the point games coming against teams that would make the playoffs (Buffalo, Philadelphia, and the Rangers). But in the last 47 games in which he appeared, he was 1-3-4, minus-2 (0-2-2, minus-1 in 15 games against Eastern Conference playoff teams).

Call it reverting to type, perhaps, but Erskine still had what was arguably his best season since entering the NHL. But that has to be tempered with a bit of reality. And that reality is that among Caps defensemen playing in at least 50 games last season, Erskine faced the weakest competition at 5-on-5 (numbers from behindthenet.ca). In fact, only 23 defensemen in the league (among 173 having played in at least 50 games) faced weaker competition.

Fearless’ Take: The Caps won 44 of 73 games in which Erskine played, only four of nine in games in which he did not dress. And the Caps allowed 22 goals in the nine games he missed or 2.44/game. They allowed 2.32 goals/game in the 73 games in which he did play. Just sayin’.

Cheerless’ Take: If there is one Cap who is thrilled with the Thrashers leaving Atlanta for the icier climes of Winnipeg, it might be Erskine. In three games in Atlanta last season he did not record a point and was a minus-4. In fact, he was a minus-3 against the Southeast as a whole. Just sayin’.

The Big Question… Can Erskine crack this lineup with all the changes?

It would appear to be difficult. Erskine has made great strides since coming to the Caps in 2006. But with the additions of Wideman late last season and Hamrlik over the summer, the Caps have added almost 1,800 games of NHL regular season experience. However, there could be opportunities for a seventh defenseman on this team, given the recent injury history of Mike Green and, if it carries over into this season, the inconsistent play of Jeff Schultz. But Erskine is coming off an injury of his own, a shoulder injury sustained late last season that require off-season surgery. He might be a while getting into the lineup. That might open up some minutes for Dmitry Orlov, although Orlov’s future this year is going to be in Hershey. But chances are, given that teams have to use ten or more defensemen in a season, that Erskine will get some significant minutes.  It does not seem likely that he will approach last year’s total.

In the end…

Erskine remains the Caps most physical defenseman. He has been a real gamer, becoming a more rounded and more reliable defenseman over the past couple of years. But being a physical defenseman is still the hallmark of John Erskine’s game, and what effects the shoulder injury will have on that is the big unknown going into the season. Erskine can still contribute valuable minutes, provided they are managed effectively. That was the case last season, to a point, when he was not asked often to face an opponent’s top tier forwards. But keep this in mind. He was plus-11 at home, minus-10 on the road last season. It was by far the largest home-road swing in plus-minus of any Caps defenseman.

More than most defensemen, perhaps, managing Erskine’s minutes and roles is important to maximizing his contributions. But it can be a valuable role he plays. Not as prominent as last year’s, perhaps, but an important part, nonetheless.

Projection: 31 games, 1-3-4, plus-2

(Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images North America)

2010-2011 By the Tens -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme: Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.
-- Boris Pasternak

Coming into the 2010-2011 season, Capitals defenseman John Erskine had never played in more than 60 games in one season, never more than 52 games in a season for one team. His career high in goals was two. He never recorded double digits in points, never took more than 50 shots on goal.

Well, wasn’t this year a nice surprise? Erskine – pigeon-holed as a “physical defenseman” of modest (by NHL standards) skills, who might have been penciled in as a 6/7 sort of defenseman for the Caps – finished the regular season having played 73 games (a career high), scoring four goals (another career high), recording seven assists (tying a career high) and 11 points (yup…career high), and had 58 shots on goal (ditto).

Oddly enough, perhaps, he did most of this offensive “damage” in the first half of the season, as his ten-game splits illustrate…

That pace he was on in the first half of the season, had he been able to extend it, might have left him as the Caps’ third leading point getter on the blue line by the end of the season (behind John Carlson and Mike Green). But Erskine reverted to form in the latter half of the season, going 1-1-2, minus-2 in the second half after going 3-6-9, plus-3 in the first half.

It would be damning with faint praise to say Erskine had a pretty good year, “given his talent level.” Uh, he’s an NHL player, which means he’s among the top couple hundred or so of his kind (job title, “hockey defenseman”) on the entire planet. Anyone reading this want to make that claim in their job? That said, the fact that Erskine had a career year in so many respects might be as much a product of players around him. By this we mean that the emergence of a John Carlson or a Karl Alzner allowed Erskine to remain more often within the confines of his productive comfort zone.

An example…John Erskine’s first year with the Capitals was the 2006-2007, one in which he played in 29 games (the low number being largely a product of missing 25 games with a broken foot). He averaged 18:02 in ice time that season. Since then, his ice time has dropped…15:42 in 2007-2008… 16:47 in 2008-2009… 15:58 in 2009-2010… 14:49 this past season. Perhaps managing Erskine’s time more closely – a luxury the Caps could indulge with Carlson and Alzner now gobbling up large chunks of time – allowed him to become more productive in a more limited role. He certainly improved in most respects from the 2009-2010 season…

In fact, Erskine’s quality of competition ranked lowest among all nine Caps defensemen playing in at least 20 games. That has been true in the previous two seasons as well, and he was next to last in the 2007-2008 season. But with less ice time, the exposure to liability was not as great.

There is another set of considerations here with Erskine. Beyond numbers, it would be hard to name a Caps defenseman who gave his “A” effort on a more consistent basis. Indirectly, this might have been evidenced by his finishing with lower than a minus-2 only once in 73 games, and only twice this season did he finish consecutive games on the minus side of the ledger. OK, last year those occurrences were “never” and “once,” but last year the Caps steamrolled teams to the tune of better than a goal-per-game winning margin. This year, with the Caps playing games with much thinner average margins of victory, a defenseman with the alleged liabilities of an Erskine would have been harder to hide, or at least hide from the numbers. Erskine accounted well for himself.

Odd Erskine Fact…Plus-11 at home, minus-10 on the road.

Game to Remember… February 16, 2011. In a game in Anaheim against the Ducks, the home team was on the long end of a 5-4 puck fest late in the second period. With 3:13 left in the frame, the Ducks’ Andy Sutton boarded Matt Hendricks. Erskine jumped in to get his pound of flesh from Sutton. He was given an instigator, a fighting major, and a ten-minute misconduct for his trouble, although he did win the fight (and Sutton got his own “two and five” for boarding and fighting). The Caps would have to kill another penalty later in that period, but they came out smoking in the third, getting a goal from Mike Knuble on a breakaway in the first minute, then getting two more (to Anaheim’s one) while holding he Ducks to five third period shots in stealing a 7-6 win. Erskine did not skate another shift after that, but maybe he played his part in kicking the Caps up a notch for the third period.

Game to Forget… November 19, 2010. The Caps were on an 8-0-1 roll when they went to Atlanta to visit the Thrashers. The Caps had just beaten Atlanta, 6-4, only five days before. But the Caps stepped in a big steaming pile, and Erskine certainly didn’t step around it. In less than 14 minutes of work he was on the ice for three goals against (his season-worst minus-3 the result) and took a late elbowing penalty in a 5-0 loss.

Post Season… Not too good. Erskine was on ice for seven of the 24 goals scored against the Caps, which in and of itself is not necessarily bad (he was a plus-1 for the post season). But he was on the ice for five of the 16 goals scored against Washington in the second round series against Tampa Bay. Given his ice time and the matchups one would want to get, that’s a high number, especially since he was on the ice for three goals scored by Sean Bergenheim. Tampa’s forward had a Drucian post season (nine goals in 16 games, four of them against the Caps), and Erskine got to see much of it from entirely too close a vantage point.

In the end, the Caps got more out of John Erskine this season than perhaps fans might have expected. Erskine was on ice for 41 goals in 73 games (by way of comparison, Mike Green was on for 40 in 49 games). On ice for 0.56 goals/game, Erskine experienced a marked drop from his being on ice for 0.64 goals against in 2009-2010. Yes, that might be a reflection of the Caps shifting to a more defensive posture generally, but Erskine wasn’t a “weak link” in that change. The post-season revealed some problems, but we think Caps fans should be more pleased with John Erskine’s contribution in the regular season portion of the 2010-2011 season.

Grade: B-

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America)

2010-2011 Previews: Defensemen -- John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme:  "'Manage' is a verb..."

John Erskine is the designated “physical defenseman” for the Caps. In 182 games as a Cap he has recorded 391 hits (2.1 per game) and 294 penalty minutes. But there is another number that lurks ominously among Erskine’s tenure as a Cap – 87. Nope, not the player he’d like most to smear into the glass (ok, maybe). It is the number of games he has missed to injury over his four seasons with Washington. On a club that has only seven parent roster defensemen at the moment, the fact that Erskine has missed so many games to injury and has not played in more than 52 in any of his four seasons with the Caps is an issue. In fact, based on his previous three seasons – 50, 52, and 51 games played – he is a pretty good bet to miss 30 games or so (you might think you’re having déjà vu if you read this space, and yes, we did make this point last year).

On a team that has offensive capability from the blue line from such as Mike Green, Tom Poti, and to a lesser extent John Carlson, Erskine doesn’t have to contribute at the offensive end. What a 5/6 defenseman in his situation has to contribute is a physical edge and not be a liability in his own end. Erskine does provide that physical edge, but he gets next to no penalty killing time (he has barely ten minutes of total shorthanded ice time in his entire career with the Caps). So that’s going to leave 5-on-5 defense. He was one of three Caps defensemen last year with a Corsi differential in negative territory (Corsi-on ice minus Corsi-off ice). Parenthetically, it is more than a little ominous that the other two – Tyler Sloan and Karl Alzner – along with Erskine make up three of the seven parent roster defensemen at the moment. A related number (all numbers from behindthenet.ca) – shots on/off per 60 minutes differential – also show Erskine finishing as one of three defensemen in negative territory (Sloan, Alzner).

Curiously enough, however, he did post the fourth best goals for/against per 60 minutes differential on the club, but this might be as much a product of his time and matchups being managed. Erskine finished the season last year having faced the weakest competition of any Caps defenseman.

However, even with the competition against which he played being relatively weak, Erskine had difficulty in this respect. He led all Caps defensemen in penalties taken per 60 minutes and tied for second worst in penalties taken/penalties drawn per 60 minutes differential among the defensemen (largely a product of Karl Alzner not having drawn a penalty).

Erskine does not drop the mitts as often with the Caps (16 times in four seasons with the Caps) as he did when he split the 2005-2006 season between Dallas and the Islanders (13 fights). That will be more D.J. King’s role on the club. And that’s probably a good thing, given his injury history. Not that one is necessarily the product of the other in each instance of injury, but the two do not go hand-in-hand, either.

But here is the thing. Erskine was a plus-16 in 50 games. And say what you will about plus-minus, but more good things happened than bad ones when Erskine was on the ice. And while his play against playoff teams was not up to what it was against non-playoff teams, it isn’t clear that his play was significantly weaker against one than the other. He was 0-1-1, plus-7 against teams that would make the post-season and 1-4-5, plus-9 against teams that sat home in the spring.

Fearless: Caps fans might take comfort that the team plays 14 Tuesday games this season, cousin. Erskine was 1-2-3, plus-7 in seven Tuesday tilts last year. He was 0-2-2, plus-5 the previous year (his best day of the week).

Cheerless: If he plays 50 games, he probably has a pretty decent season – might look a lot like last year’s. If the Caps are expecting 70 games out of him, playing against all manner of team, including the ones that will leave him standing by the side of the road… Well, that ain’t gonna be good.

It would be easy to dismiss Erskine as a 6/7 defenseman. Truth be told, that is probably the role he should have on this team, given his skill sets and the likely number of games he might play. But you have to have such a defenseman to fill in gaps and contribute against opponent against which he might match well. He can contribute minutes as long as he’s not put in situations outside his comfort zone. An example. Last year, Erskine was scoreless in four games against Montreal and was a plus-3. He did not see action in the series against the Canadiens in the playoffs (John Carlson played in all seven games, getting the ice time that an Erskine might otherwise have received). Some players need to have their appearances and ice time managed more than others, and Erskine might be just such a player. But if that is accommodated, he can be a positive asset. What he probably should not be is an every night 5/6 defenseman on this team, which is probably where he resides at the moment.

Projection:

56 games, 1-4-5, plus-9

The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: John Erskine

John Erskine

Theme: “Do not worry about holding high position; worry rather about playing your proper role.”
-- Confucius

If you are going to look for John Erskine in the statistical tables at the NHL Web site, you are not going to find him very highly ranked in the summary tables – tied for 20th in total scoring for the Caps, tied for 24th in goals, tied for 19th in assists, no power play goals, no game-winning goals, and he finished with 50 shots on goal in 50 games played.

Head over to the “real time stats,” and you’ll see where the value of a player such as Erskine lies. He finished fifth on the team in hits (third in hits per game), fifth in blocked shots. And on a team that lacked a true bruiser to keep the peace, Erskine was part of enforcement-by-committee, finishing second on the club in fighting major penalties. And he hardly took on any shrinking violets in his four bouts. The opponents he faced – Chris Thorburn, David Koci, Georges Laraque, and Shawn Thornton – combined for 45 fights among them.

Erskine’s was a tough role to play, one that does not necessarily show up in his 10-game segments…

His numbers are somewhat lopsided in this respect – Erskine finished 0-1-1, plus-4 in 24 games against playoff teams. On the other hand, he was 1-4-5, plus-12 in 26 games against the teams failing to get a ticket to the dance. In fact, he was 1-4-5, plus-8 against the five teams he played against that finished with a winning percentage below .500 (Tampa Bay, Carolina, the Islanders, Florida, and Toronto). He was 0-0-0, minus-3 against Montreal in four regular season games, which might explain why he did not get the call during the playoffs.

Peering a little further into his numbers, Erskine (perhaps surprisingly) had the second best goals against/on ice-per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 of all Caps’ defensemen playing in at least 40 games (Jeff Schultz led the club). He also had the second best differential of goals against (on ice/off ice) per 60 minutes. But with that comes the fact that Erskine also faced the lowest quality of competition among that same group of defensemen.

Erskine had a particularly rough time on the penalty kill. Among those Caps defensemen playing in at least 40 games, Erskine had the second worst goals against/on ice per 60 minutes. However, he had the worst goals against differential (on ice/off ice) per 60 minutes and the worst plus/minus differential (on ice/off ice) per 60 minutes.

Erskine is as close as the Caps have to a physical defenseman. As such, he is expected to walk a fine line along the edge of the rules from time to time. This year he showed a considerable amount of discipline when it came to taking minor penalties. The 18 minors he took in 50 games is half the number he took (38) in 51 games two seasons ago, and it was six fewer than he took in 52 games in 2008-2009. The difference is a reduction in the number of “obstruction” penalties (holding, holding the stick, hooking, tripping, interference). In 2007-2009 Erskine committed 19 such penalties among the 36 minors he recorded. This past season, that number was reduced to ten. The more physical infrations (roughing, boarding, slashing, instigating, elbowing, cross checking, high sticking, kneeing) went from 14 in 2007-2008 to eight this past season.

Erskine is entering the last year of a contract that will pay him $1,275,000 next season. Assuming that John Carlson and Karl Alzner make the big club next season, and Jeff Schultz is re-signed, Erskine is one of seven defensemen under contract for next season (this number does not include free agents Shaone Morrisonn, Milan Jurcina, or Joe Corvo). He has played 51, 52, and 50 games for the Caps over the past three seasons, missing 48 games to injury and the rest to other scratches. That would seem to be where his best mix of games lies – somewhere in the 50 game range as a 6/7 defenseman, either filling in for injury, playing against teams where a physical presence is needed, or taking the ice where the shortcomings he has cannot be taken advantage of effectively by opponents. It isn’t a role likely to be much heralded, but it is one that Erskine can play adequately for this team moving forward.

Grade: C+