“The measure of success is not whether you have a tough
problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.”
-- John Foster Dulles
When the Washington Capitals traded Cody Eakin and a draft
pick to the Dallas Stars for Mike Ribeiro on June 22, 2012, folks might have
been pardoned for thinking that the Caps solved a long-standing problem –
finding someone who could reliably center the second line. The Capitals did not have what one might call
an incumbent in that position since Sergei Fedorov played 52 games there in the
2008-2009 season.
Oh, they tried, all right.
Brendan Morrison got a shot for one season. Brooks Laich, Marcus Johansson, Mathieu
Perreault, Jason Arnott, Eric Belanger… all of them had a turn (or more).
With Mike Ribeiro, the Caps had a bona fide scoring line
center with eight consecutive seasons of more than 50 points on his
resume. The Caps did not have a
full-time center not named “Backstrom” record 50 points in a season since
Michael Nylander had 56 points in 2002-2003.
Ribeiro was as advertised.
He finished second on the club in total scoring (49 points), third in
goals, tied for first in the league in power play scoring (with teammate Alex
Ovechkin). He was arguably the Caps’
most valuable player in the first half of the season, going 9-19-28, plus-3 in
his first 22 games.
But all was not smooth sailing, at least at 5-on-5. Ribeiro spent most of his 5-on-5 ice time
in the 2013 season with Troy Brouwer and Alex Ovechkin. He
also spent large chunks of full and even strength time with Jason Chimera and
Brooks Laich. In the case of Brouwer,
Ovechkin, and Laich, those players fared worse in terms of team goals scored
for per 20 minutes (GF20 at stats.hockeyanalysis.com) skating with Ribeiro than
they did when apart.
Ribeiro’s 5-on-5 possession numbers were nothing to get
excited about, either. Among 14 Caps
forwards playing in at least 20 games, he had the second worst raw Corsi on-ice
value and the second worst Corsi on-ice relative to off-ice. And there was the matter of his taking more
than twice as many penalties per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time as he drew.
We can put his even strength effectiveness in another
context. Ribeiro tied for 71st
in even strength points this season, one point behind Chicago’s Bryan Bickell
and one more than the player for whom he was traded, Cody Eakin.
Even on the power play there was a sense of there being less
there than a first look might suggest.
Yes, Ribeiro tied for the league lead in power play points with teammate
Alex Ovechkin. His six power play goals
tied for 18th in the league, but he had only one power play goal in
his last 32 games. He did close with a
rush in power play assists, recording eight in his last eight games of the regular
season, but that came after recording only three power play assists in his
previous 18 games.
Odd Ribeiro Statistic… “29.0.” Mike Ribeiro connected on nine of 31 shots on
goal in his first 22 games, a 29.0 percent shooting percentage. He was only four for 32 in his last 26 games
(12.5 percent) but still finished fifth in the league at 20.6 percent. It was the second time in his career he
finished over 20 percent for the season in shooting percentage (25.2 percent in
2007-2008 with Dallas).
Game to Remember… April 20th at Montreal. It might seem odd that the game picked here
would be one in which Mike Ribeiro did not record a shot attempt, but he was a
factor nonetheless. It was his faceoff
win against Lars Eller back to Karl Alzner that started a play on which Troy
Brouwer scored barely a minute after the Caps took a 1-0 lead in the first
period. It was Ribeiro winning a battle
along the wall against Francis Bouillon, sliding the puck to Marcus Johansson,
who fed Brouwer for another goal to make it 3-0. Then, with the score 4-0 and the Caps on a
power play, it was Ribeiro faking a shot from the right point, and starting a ‘round-the-horn
passing play, feeding Mike Green, who sent the puck along to Alex Ovechkin for
a shot from the left-wing circle that beat goalie Carey Price. Ribeiro had three assists in the 5-1 win at
Bell Centre, his first three-assist game since October 15, 2011 with the Dallas
Stars against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Game to Forget… March 10th vs. New York Rangers. After a three-game winning streak to start
the month of March, during which Ribeiro was 3-3-6, plus-5, the Caps laid an
egg on Long Island, losing to the Islanders, 5-2. The Caps were looking to get back on track at
home against the Rangers. The Rangers
would have none of it, though, and Ribeiro had a forgettable game. In 20:39 of ice time he managed just one shot
on goal, lost the only faceoff he took, was sent off for a roughing penalty in
the third period, and was on ice for three of the four Ranger goals in a 4-1
Caps loss.
Post Season… The warts that might have been hidden in
Ribeiro’s regular season, especially at even strength, came out in the first
round series loss to the Rangers. His
20-plus shooting percentage of the regular season did not make itself known in
the series, scoring only one goal on 13 shots in the seven-game series (it did
happen to be the overtime game-winning goal in Game 5). He had one assist, that coming in a Game 2
win. He happened to be on ice for the last four Ranger goals and then took a
ten-minute misconduct in the last four minutes in the 5-0 Game 7 loss. He finished 1-1-2, minus-2 for the series.
In the end…
Was Mike Ribeiro the solution to the second line center
problem the Caps have had? That is not
an easy question to answer. He was
certainly more productive than any second line center the Caps have had in at
least a decade. Then again, a lot of
that production was obtained on the league’s best power play, he being the
trigger man from the goal line extended on the top unit. At even strength his 0.46 points-per-game was
not significantly different from Marcus Johansson’s 0.48 even strength points
per game in 2011-2012. That unremarkable
even strength production became important in the playoffs against the Rangers,
and it contributed to the Caps’ demise, the team scoring only nine-even strength
goals in the seven-game series.
The question now becomes, “is Mike Ribeiro the answer as the
second-line center going forward?” The
realities of the salary cap might answer that question for the Caps. There is not much room to do what the club
might like to do in re-signing restricted free agents Karl Alzner or Marcus
Johansson. The other part of the issue
is even if the Caps could afford Ribeiro, who might sign a contract north of
the $5.0 million cap hit that is expiring, would it be a value signing given
the level of even-strength contribution he made this season? And if not him, then to whom do the Caps turn
to solve the perennial problem of who centers the second line?
Grade: B
Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America
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