“There is no better high than discovery.”
-- E. O. Wilson
When the Washington Capitals traded defenseman Madison Bowey
and a fifth-round draft pick to the Detroit Red Wings last February for
defenseman Nick Jensen, the hope was that lightning was striking twice, that
the Caps would benefit from a little-known, if perhaps underappreciated player
that could play an important part in a deep playoff run, just as they did with
defenseman Michal Kempny in 2017-2018.
The move certain had more than a passing resemblance to the
deal that brought Kempny to the Caps from the Chicago Blackhawks a year
earlier, at least in terms of results on the ice. In 20 games with the Caps to close the
regular season, Jensen averaged 16 minutes of ice time per game, and while he
posted modest offensive numbers (0-5-5, plus-3), the team was 14-5-1 in those
20 games, good enough to hold off the New York Islanders to finish atop the
Metropolitan Division for the fourth consecutive season.
But all was not as good as it seemed. Jensen’s acquisition became something of
after the fact triage for the blue line rather than addition of a supplemental
piece when Kempny went down to injury.
Including the game in which Kempny was injured, a 4-3 overtime loss to
Tampa Bay on March 20th, the Caps went 5-3-1 in nine games to end
the regular season. And, while Jensen
did have the reputation of being an earnest defender and an adept puck mover,
his lack of offense, compared to that of Kempny, was telling in the
postseason. He was on the ice for only
four goals against in the series (only Jonas Siegenthaler was on ice for fewer
– three – in four games played), but he did not record a point in the
seven-game loss to the Carolina Hurricanes and was minus-2 overall.
Odd Jensen Fact…
With all the players from Minnesota to have reached the NHL
(271), Nick Jensen is the only one to have done so having been born in Rogers.
Bonus Odd Jensen Fact…
If you like durability, Nick Jensen will be one of three
Capitals defensemen to have appeared in at last 160 games over the past two
seasons. He has 161 games; John Carlson
has 162, and Dmitry Orlov has 164.
Fearless’ Take…
Nick Jensen is something of an odd duck in the NHL. On the one hand, he is a late bloomer. While he was drafted in the fifth round of
the 2009 Entry Draft by Detroit in 2009, he did not see his first NHL action
until he was past his 26th birthday, in December 2016. On the other
hand, he hasn’t “bloomed” in the obvious ways.
He is the only defenseman in the last decade to log his first three
seasons in the NHL between the ages of 26 and 30 and record fewer than 50
points in doing it. What this means, or what fans hope, is that it is in the
less obvious aspects of his game where his appeal is evident. He has had good possession numbers with a bad
team (50.89 shot attempts-for percentage at 5-on-5 with Detroit in 190 games) and
had a rather clean sheet in his own end when on ice (178 total goals against,
on ice, third fewest among seven Red Wing defensemen playing at least 100 games
over his tenure there). And, his modest
offensive numbers with the Caps at the end of last season might be the
performance outlier. Jensen was 6-37-43
in 190 games in Detroit, a 3-16-19 pace per 82 games. It is not eye-popping, but it is roughly the
per-82 game output of Karl Alzner over his career as a Capital (3-14-17).
Cheerless’ Take…
Kempny’s absence at the end of the regular season provided a
useful, if unwelcome basis for comparison.
The late addition of Kempny in 2017-2018 ended up becoming something of
the last missing piece the Caps needed for success. His offense, especially in the postseason,
while not especially impressive overall, had a timely quality to it. And, the Caps were 31-15-0 in games in which
he played to finish the regular season and through the playoffs. On the other hand, Jensen, who essentially
replaced Kempny in the “missing piece” role when Kempny went down, did not have
as much of an impact. The Caps were 17-9-1
in the games Jensen played – regular season and playoffs – and he did not
record a point in the postseason in the opening round loss.
Potential Milestones:
- 100 games as a Capital (20; he need 80)
The Big Question… Will skating for a better team reveal
elements of his game we have not yet seen from Nick Jensen?
It is hard to impress with a struggling or rebuilding team,
and the Detroit Red Wings were both in Nick Jensen’s time there. One wonders if skating with better talent
around him will allow him to free up other aspects of his game. There were times at the end of last season he
did not look comfortable in the Caps’ scheme, but part of that might have been
a case of being spoiled by how well Michal Kempny fit in a year earlier under
similar circumstances. With the 20
regular season and seven playoff games under his belt, not to mention the security
and stability a four-year/$10 million contract provides, Jensen might not have
the same burdens under which he labored at the end of last season.
On the other hand, Jensen turns 29 on September 21st. And that raises the question of whether with
Jensen, what you see is what you get. No
bad, mind you, but at age 29, is there an additional upside to be revealed
here? In the ideal scenario, he would
open the season on the third defensive pairing, perhaps alongside Christian
Djoos or Jonas Siegenthaler on the left side.
It would result in a lighter burden than he had to carry in Detroit
(almost 21 minutes per game last season)
In the end…
Stars have to do what stars do for a team to be successful,
and the Capitals are no exception. But
the difference between successful teams and also-rans, even ones with superior
talents on the roster (Edmonton comes to mind) are the nuts-and-bolts guys who
provide steady, dependable play on a night to night basis. Nick Jensen is not likely to wow anyone with electric
offensive displays, but if he plays with consistency and discipline – moving the
puck, playing the angles, keeping opponents invisible on the ice – his not
being noticed on a night to night basis could be an important ingredient to whatever
success the Capitals enjoy this season.
We are left to discover just what sort of player Jensen will be.
Projection: 76 games, 2-14-16, plus-4
Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images North America
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