In a sort-of-expected blockbuster, Marian Gaborik is making his way to Columbus in exchange for forwards Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard, prospect defenseman John Moore and a sixth-round draft pick. I will start with Gaborik.
Marian Gaborik
Background Information
Marian Gaborik has taken lots of flack from the media and fans alike for not producing this year. To be sure, it is warranted. His current goal/game pace of 0.26 is his lowest since his rookie year in 2000-2001, ditto for his point/game pace (0.54). He’s also shooting with the lowest efficiency of his career and has just overall been very underwhelming so far this season.
All the same, Gaborik is still one of the elite goal scorers in the NHL. He has tallied 40+ goals in three of the last five seasons, putting him up there in Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos territory. He has break-away speed and sniping abilities that you simply cannot teach.
In his career, Gaborik has six seasons where he’s played at least 70 games. In all six seasons, he’s scored at least 30 goals. People that might think he’s reached his wall are simply false. He’s an elite goal scorer in a league where these are very difficult to come by.
It’s not like he isn’t trying, either. Gaborik’s On-Ice Corsi of 8.86 is fourth-highest among Rangers forwards that have played at least 20 games this year. That’s ahead of fellow fan punching bag Brad Richards and captain Ryan Callahan. His two-way play might be a bit of a concern, as his On-Ice SV% is just .906, the worst among these same qualified forwards. Gaborik is also shooting at a clip (3.23 shots/game) that is very close to his career average (3.36).
Here’s the funny thing about that 8.86 ES On-Ice Corsi; it’s the highest of any season Gaborik has played for the Rangers. However, he’s also playing the lowest amount of minutes on the power-play of any season he’s been a Rangers blue-shirt.
Fantasy Impact
So it comes down to this, has Gaborik been playing to his 100% ability? At least in defensive terms, probably not. But he’s been just as lethal in the offensive zone without the final result that we’re used to from him (goals). It’s no surprise that if you get less power-play time you’re going to score less, that seems pretty straightforward.
I would like to say that this is going to be a negative fantasy impact for Marian Gaborik. However, considering his production up to this point, I’m not entirely sure. He is going from the worst team in goal production in the Rangers (2.26) to the second-worst team in goal production in Columbus (2.31). So it is an upgrade, right? (I say that jokingly, but I’m not really sure).
There’s no two ways about it, the Rangers are the superior team in every way over Columbus. At face value, this won’t help Gaborik’s numbers. Sometimes though, as they say, you just need a change of scenery (Alex Semin, anyone?).
Background Information
A relatively unknown player to the casual fan, Derick Brassard is a former 6th overall pick for a reason. Brassard racked up 217 points over his final 141 games in the QMJHL. Yes, Junior numbers are Junior numbers, but you need a pedigree to build around. As a 20-year old rookie in the AHL, he tallied 51 points in 42 games.
Since his brief AHL stint, it hasn’t been all roses for Brassard. He’s managed to put up a respectable average of 44 points over the last two seasons but hasn’t been able to break out like I thought he might be able to.
Fantasy Impact
You have to give credit where credit is due. For such a bad possession team like Columbus, Brassard is one of three forwards who have a positive On-Ice Corsi for the season, along with Cam Atkinson and Matt Calvert. So the Rangers are getting one of the best forwards that Columbus has, just not sure how good he really is.
It will be nice to see him get to play with some actual playmakers. Before you cut me off and say “well he had Rick Nash“, Brassard only played with Nash in about 11% of all Columbus’ shifts last year. I’m not a professional hockey coach but I would like to think I would have two of probably my three best players on the same line together more often than 11% of our even-strength shifts.
Because of the depth at centre in New York (behind Richards and Stepan), I’m not sure Brassard will be more than a third liner. Again, like with anyone that plays for Tortorella, this can be pretty fluid. So in that sense, his fantasy impact for this year will be negligible unless you play in a fairly deep league. But I will be paying close attention to how well he does over these last dozen games or so if not for this year but to keep an eye on him for next year.
