Washington Capitals: 2021--2022 By the Tens -- Forwards: Marcus Johansson

Marcus Johansson

“You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood… back home to a young man's dreams of glory and of fame… back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time -- back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.“
— Thomas Wolfe, book You Can't Go Home Again

Marcus Johansson was selected by the Washington Capitals as the 24^th overall pick of the 2009 Entry Draft.  He played seven seasons for the Caps, posting 102 goals and 290 points in 501 games.  He was then traded to the New Jersey Devils, which started a long winding road for Johansson – five teams over four-plus seasons – before the road led back to Washington last March for his second tour with the club.  

Fearless’ Take… Johansson played in just 18 games in his return to DC.  He was just 3-3-6, minus-4, in those 18 games, but the Caps did go 3-1-2 in the six games in which he posted points.  They were 5-3-0 in the eight games in which he logged two of more shots on goal.  His 53.5 shot attempts-for percentage at 5-on-5 was fifth among Caps forwards over the 18 games he played.

Cheerless’ Take… About those six games with points.  The Caps won the first three, then they went 0-1-2 in the last three.  Johansson skated more than 14 minutes ten times.  The Caps went 4-6-0.  He was a minus-2 in goal differential-on ice at even strength.  He was charged with nine giveaways but credited with only two takeaways.

Odd Johansson Fact… Johansson’s last game with the Caps in his first tour with the club was a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins that eliminated the Caps from the playoffs.  From that lineup, the following are still with the team – Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Lars Eller, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, T.J. Oshie, Alex Ovechkin, and Tom Wilson.

Odd Johansson Fact II… Johansson neither drew nor took a penalty in his 18 games with the Caps, the only Capital to do so.  Among players appearing in at least 65 games overall this season, only Seattle’s Riley Sheahan had fewer penalty minutes (two in 69 games) than Johansson (four in 69 games).  Since he came into the league in 2010-2011, no player with 750 or more games has been charged with fewer penalty minutes (112 PIMs in 753 games).

Odd Johansson Fact III… Of 52 players to take at least 250 faceoffs in Caps history, Johansson ranks 51^st in winning percentage (41.9 percent on 2,080 draws), ahead of only Travis Boyd (39.5 percent on 365 faceoffs).  However, he was 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) in his 18 games with the Caps to finish the season.

Game to Remember… April 18^th at Colorado.  Johansson played in only 18 games for the Caps and recorded only three goals, but his second with the team in his return deserves remembering.  In a 2-2 game mid-way through the third period against the Avalanche, Johansson drove a stake in what was, to that point, a nine-game winning streak for the Avs.  What would be the game-winning goal sequence started when defenseman Jack Johnson sent an ill-conceived pass through the middle that Logan O’Connor could not accept cleanly.  Conor Sheary collected the loose puck, circled, and found Johansson in the right wing circle for a one-timer that beat goalie Darcy Kuemper over his glove on the short side, to give the Caps a 3-2 win.

Game to Forget… April 3^rd vs. Minnesota.  This was another of those games in which a player’s effort becomes forgettable because there is nothing in it to remember.  In this one, Johansson had 14:35 in ice time, but in it, he had only one shot attempt (shot on goal), no hits, no takeaways, no blocked shots, a giveaway, and he was on ice for two goals against in a 5-1 loss to the Wild.

Postseason… Johansson did have a game-winning goal in the six-game series against Florida, in Game 3 (the Caps’ last win of the series), his only goal of the postseason. He had one assist, also in Game 3.  He finished a plus-1 for the series and had one shot on goal in four of the six games.  His postseason was “one” that was okay, but not remarkable in any particular way. 

Looking Ahead… It is hard to think that the Caps will make re-signing Johansson (an unrestricted free agent to be) a priority.  He will be 32 years old when next season starts, and his production since he left the Caps after the 2016-2017 season has not jumped off the page (42-75-117, minus-75, in 252 games, 9-20-29, minus-26, this season spent mostly with a struggling Seattle team).  His $900,000 cap hit this season would be affordable if was the basis for a new deal, but the Caps have similarly affordable – and younger – options to evaluate in a bottom six forward role.

In the End… Johansson was the Caps’ “big splash” at the trading deadline, but it caused hardly a ripple.  He is not the player he was in his first tour with the Caps.  Both parties would seem to be going their separate ways at this point.

Grade: Incomplete (too few games to grade)

Washington Capitals: 2021--2022 By the Tens -- Forwards: Garnet Hathaway

Garnet Hathaway

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.”
-- Frank Lloyd Wright

Goals, stick-handling prowess, skating wizardry.  They get the attention, the highlights on TV, the posts on social media.  The grinding in the corners, the work in front of the net, the getting under the skin of opponents, not so much.  But that is the world in which fourth liners work, and Garnet Hathaway is a standout in that world, to the extent anyone in that job can stand out.

The 2021-2022 season was a career year for the seven-year veteran and an important element of what might have been the best fourth line in the NHL.  Accounting for his role and ice time, he might have been a significant contributor across more statistical categories than any Capital this season.

Fearless’ Take… 14 goals. His previous high was 11 in 2018-2019, and those 14 goals in 76 games were almost equal to the combined total he had over the previous two seasons (15 in 122 games).  26 points.  First time he finished a season with at least 20 points, his previous high being 19 in 2018-2019.  Plus-19.  Best rating of his career, topping the plus-14 he had in 2018-2019.  124 shots.  A more than 50 percent improvement over his previous career high (80 in 2019-2020).  13:23.  A career high in ice time, more than a minute more than his previous best (12:19 last season).  62 blocked shots.  Career best, topping the 46 he had in 2019-2020.  250 credited hits.  Another career high, 50 more than he had in 2018-2019.  23 takeaways.  Tied a career high set in 2018-2019.  Plus-19 goal differential at even strength.  Best of his career, almost doubling the plus-10 he had in 2018-2019.  Three first goals in games, most of his career.  Two empty net goals and three empty net points, most of his career in both categories.  And, despite his being something of an agitator, he did all this within the rules, the 0:45 in penalty minutes per game being second fewest in his career (0:44 in 2018-2019).

Cheerless’ Take… Hathaway had five or more hits in a game 20 times this season; the Caps were 10-8-2.  He had two or more blocked shots 14 times; the Caps were 6-6-2.  He took at least one penalty in 25 games; the Caps were 11-11-3.  He missed six games this season; the Caps went 4-1-1 in those games.  Maybe the effect of a fourth liner isn’t all that impactful as far as that gritty stuff goes.

Odd Hathaway Fact… In 373 career regular season games, Hathaway has yet to record a power play point.  Only three active forwards – Pierre-Edouard Bellemaire, Nicolas Deslauriers, and Jay Beagle – have more games played without a power play point in their career.

Odd Hathaway Fact II… In 22 games in which Hathaway logged at least 14:38 in ice time, the Caps were 18-1-3.

Odd Hathaway Fact III… The 2021-2022 season was the first in which Hathaway logged any overtime ice time (1:20 total).

Game to Remember… February 17^th at Philadelphia.  It is tempting to remember the game in which Hathaway scored his 100^th career point (April 18^th at Colorado, a 3-2 win in which he opened the scoring with a first period goal for his 100^th point), but his game against the Flyers in mid-February was a career game and the flip side of the “Game to Remember” we noted for Carl Hagelin.  Hathaway assisted on the first goal of the game, Michal Kempny’s first of the season, in the first period.  But the Flyers took a 3-2 lead with less than four minutes in regulation.  Less than a minute after the Flyers took the lead, Hathaway got the Caps back to even when he darted between the hash marks with a Flyer defender draped on him and got enough in the way of a John Carlson drive to redirect it past goalie Martin Jones to make it a tie game.  Less than two minutes later, Hathaway got the game-winner in a more conventional way, once more getting between the hash marks to take a pass from Hagelin and one-timing it past Jones to make it 4-3.  The two goals and an assist added up to Hathaway’s first three-point game of his career and the first plus-4 game of his career.

Game to Forget… February 26^th at Philadelphia.  Nine days after his career game against the Flyers, he and the Caps returned to the same venue.  Hathaway had what was largely an absentee effort.  He skated just 9:27 in ice time, his second lowest ice time of the year.  He did not record a point, had just one shot attempt (a miss), was not on ice for any of the three goals scored in a 2-1 Flyers win.

Postseason… Hathaway logged the most ice time per game in any of his four trips to the postseason (13:25), but it was a bumpy ride.  He had a goal and an assist in the six-game loss to Florida, but he was on ice for nine goals against at even strength, most of any Caps forward and almost half of the even strength goals scored by the Panthers in the series (19).  He had a goal differential at even strength of minus-6, which was worst among forwards and second-worst among all skaters for the Capitals.  On the other hand, he was an important part of a penalty kill that shut out the Panthers’ power play, averaging 2:10 in shorthanded ice time per game, tied with T.J. Oshie for second-most among Caps forwards.

Looking Ahead… Hathaway will be entering his walk year with the Caps, carrying a $1.5 million cap hit into the last year of his current contract.  In his three seasons with the Caps to date, he has expanded the range of his contributions.  He improved his point totals in each year, and he reduced his penalty minutes load.  He remains a physical player (five consecutive seasons with at least 150 credited hits), but he is also a player who can contribute on the scoreboard in a fourth line role.  No player, especially a bottom six forward, is irreplaceable, but unless Hathaway’s game takes a severe southward turn in 2022-2023, the Caps could do worse than re-upping Hathaway for an extension.

In the End… It is hard to find much fault in Garnet Hathaway’s season, given his role with the team.  He was the “energy” player usually attributed to fourth liners with a gift for getting under opponent’s skin.  He was physical without taking himself out of games with penalties.  And, he improved his offense to the extent that he and those with whom he played on the fourth line constituted what might have been the best fourth line in the league.  He is not the kind of player who will show up on the highlight reels of NHL.com or ESPN, but that does little to diminish his contributions in what was, for him, a career year.

Grade: A-

 

Washington Capitals: 2021--2022 By the Tens -- Forwards: Carl Hagelin

Carl Hagelin

“Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.”
-- George S. Patton

“I'm doing everything I can to be back next year.  Still, I had two procedures so far and the second one was almost a month ago. A month on Friday, so it's still in that time zone of healing and kind of not sure where it's going to end up, but I'm staying positive and I'm optimistic that I'm going to come back next year. It'll be a grind, of course. I'll do everything I can this summer to be ready for camp."

That was Carl Hagelin earlier this month providing an update on his progress and the road ahead after he underwent two surgeries to treat an injury to his left eye suffered when he took a stick to his eye in the last drill of a practice on March 1^st. The injury nearly cost him his eye, which makes even just the possibility of his return to the ice quite amazing.  But in the hockey context, he faces an uphill battle after a year of limited production and with younger players pushing him from below for a regular spot on the ice.

Fearless’ Take… Carl Hagelin’s best days as an offensive contributor are behind him, but good things to happen when he does contribute.  The Caps were 8-2-1 in the 11 games in which Hagelin had points this season.  He finished the season with a plus-10 rating, making him four-for-four seasons as a plus player for the Caps.  His plus-36 over those four seasons is best among all Capitals forwards, while his plus-10 this season was tied for third among Capital forwards while playing in just 53 games.  And despite being a limited contributor on offense in a fourth-line role, Hagelin is tied for third among active Caps forwards in even strength goal differential over his four seasons in Washington (plus-29).  Then there is the penalty killing.  Hagelin was second among the team’s forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (1:54), but he was on ice for only 11 power play goals against.  There were only 14 forwards in the league to play in at least 50 games, average more than 1:45 in shorthanded ice time and were on ice for 12 of fewer power play goals against.  Hagelin was one of them (so was Nic Dowd).

Cheerless’ Take… Hagelin has never been what you would call an elite offensive player, or a particularly dangerous one.  But after going 90-140-230, plus-83, over 526 regular season games with four teams, a 14-22-36, plus-13 pace over 82 games, he is 20-46-66, plus-36, in 187 games in four seasons with the Caps, a 9-20-29, plus-16 pace per 82 games.  And even that diminishing production is diminishing progressively.  His goals per game with the Caps over four season – 0.15/0.14/0.11/0.06.  His points per game – 0.55/0.43/0.29/0.26.  The o.6 goals per game and 0.26 points per game this season were career lows in those categories.  Then there is his efficiency as a shooter.  There were 401 forwards this season who logged at least 50 shots on goal.  Hagelin ranked 390^th in that group in shooting percentage (4.2).  His shooting efficiency, or lack of it, borders on the historic for this franchise.  Among 135 forwards to have recorded at least 100 shots as a Capital, Hagelin ranks 129^th in shooting percentage (6.7).

Odd Hagelin Fact...  That plus-29 even strength goal differential has an odd twist.  Hagelin is tied for third among active Caps forwards in that statistic (plus-29).  He is tied with fellow fourth liner Nic Dowd, and the third member of that group – Garnet Hathaway – is second (plus-30). Evgeny Kuznetsov leads at plus-34 over that span.

Odd Hagelin Fact II… Hagelin had three goals this season, one against each of the Atlantic, Central, and Pacfic Divisions.  None against a Metropolitan Division opponent.

Odd Hagelin Fact III… Over his career, Hagelin has participated in 65 games that went to a Gimmick.  He was called upon only once to shoot.  He missed. In 13 games going to the freestyle competition with the Caps, he has yet to take the ice.

Game to Remember… February 17^th at Philadelphia.  When the Caps headed to South Philly for a Metro Matchup against the Flyers, Carl Hagelin was in the midst of perhaps his hottest stretch of the season.  He took the ice for this game having gone 1-4-5, plus-3, over his previous six games.  Hagelin was quiet over the first two periods, but after the Flyers took a 3-2 lead in the 17^th minute of the third period, he figured prominently in a fourth-line fueled comeback.  Less than a minute after the Flyers took that lead, Hagelin pried the puck loose from two Flyers in the right wing corner and fed it to John Carlson at the point. Carlson fired, his shot ricocheting off Garnet Hathaway and past goalie Martin Jones to tie the game.  Less than two minutes later, Hagelin took advantage of sloppy Flyer play beneath their goal line to grab a loose puck and feed Hathaway for a one timer from between the hash marks that Jones had no chance to stop.  John Carlson added an empty net goal for the 5-3 win.  For his part, Hagelin had his third two-point game of the year and second in the space of five games.  He also finished a season high plus-4, the second plus-4 game of his career and first with the Caps.

 

Game to Forget… January 7^th at St. Louis.  What made this early January game so forgettable for Carl Hagelin was the absence of any crooked marks in his line of the score sheet.  In 11:11 of ice time (his second lowest of the season), Hagelin had no shot attempts, no hits, no giveaways, no blocked shots, one takeaway.  He was not on ice for any goals for or against.  He took one penalty (one of only nine he took all season).  The Caps scored first, but they then allowed five unanswered goals in a 5-1 loss.

Postseason… Having suffered a season-ending injury in the regular season, Hagelin missed the Caps’ six-game series loss to Florida.

Looking Ahead… Hagelin is on the brink of passing a number of career milestones – 200 career assists (he has 186), 300 career points (296), 300 penalty minutes (293), 1,500 shots on goal (1,429).  The question is, will he be reaching these milestones as a Capital.  There is the matter of whether he can return to the ice after suffering a horrific eye injury.  Even if he can, he has one year at $2.75 million on his current contract.  And, he will be 34 years old on Opening Night of the 2022-2023 season.  The Caps have players waiting in the wings to assume fourth line duties who are younger and cheaper.  Hagelin might be too much of a niche player (penalty killer) to merit a regular spot in the lineup, especially for a team that wants to get younger and more affordable.

In the End… There times, it seems, that Hagelin’s lack of offense overshadows other elements of his game.  Offense is but one part of a player’s repertoire, and Hagelin’s strengths lie on the other side of the puck.  One hopes Hagelin can return to the ice and contribute in ways that play to his strengths, but time being a phenomenon that runs in one direction, his age and declining production could spell an end to his tenure with the Caps.  Nevertheless, one hopes he can meet the challenges ahead and find a place, either here in Washington or in another locale.

Grade: B-