Simon Gagne is a skilled veteran forward who suffered through another injury riddled season. How did he fare though when he was a regular in the line-up and what can the team expect out of him going forward?
We’ll take a brief a look at this in our ’11-12 Simon Gagne season evaluation after the jump.
Positives
Usage
Even though Gagne had the fortune of playing with the highest quality of teammates on the team, as well as nearly the highest amount of offensive zone starts— he also played against the toughest opponents.
Negatives
Possession and Point Production
His possession numbers were 6th best among forwards and was also 6th best in producing points at even strength. Given that he started his shifts so often in the offensive zone and got solely first line minutes at both even strength and the power play, one would have hoped for better production.
For his part though, he suffered from some of the worst luck among the forward corps.
Power Play
Gagne saw almost more time on the power play than any other forward. The power play suffered a bit when he was out there. They were not great at controlling the play nor was Gagne able to produce very many points.
Penalties
Gagne took a lot of penalties this season while also drawing very few. This was the worst penalty differential over the last 5 seasons. Perhaps these numbers were just an aberration given Gagne’s limited amount of games played. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on in the ensuing season.
JFTC Report Card Grade: C
Simon Gagne had a rough year injury-wise and we certainly aren’t faulting him for that. Yet, when he was a regular on the roster he was not able to produce points (both on the power play and even strength) at the level you’d expect from a top line forward. Hopefully he has a healthy and successful 12-13, but the organization should not count on him producing at the level he has in the past– even if he is back at 100%.
How would you grade Simon Gagne’s 11-12 season?
| A | 8 |
| B | 15 |
| C | 56 |
| D | 21 |
| F | 8 |