So it took a little longer than I thought it would to get this post finished, and player movement has started to pick up. Between the first Selanne post and this one I was writing a post about backup goaltenders, but Joey MacDonald closed the book on that one. I was going to write a post about Hal Gill, but then those pylon-lovin' Predators picked him up. I thought about writing a Rick Nash post but then it took about two seconds to realize that Ken Holland isn't going to move the entire Griffins roster, three first round picks, and a new skate sharpener to Columbus so I scratched that idea. This brings us back to Selanne. The first post looked at even strength numbers. In this one we'll break down powerplay numbers and (non-existent) penalty kill numbers.
Selanne plays 3.54 powerplay minutes per 60 minutes played, or almost two powerplays per game. Teammate and fellow right winger Corey Perry averages 3.58 powerplay minutes per 60 minutes played, making him perhaps the best teammate to compare Selanne against. He also happens to be the league's reigning MVP. However, Relative Corsi Quality of Competition shows that Selanne is playing against the tougher defenders, as he has a Rel Corsi QoC of 4.370 compared to Perry's -2.661.
For every 60 minutes played, Selanne is averaging 2.72 goals, 1.82 first assists, and 2.42 second assists for a total of 6.96 points. Whoa. Perry's stat line is 2.99. 2.09. 0.30 for 5.39 against weaker competition. Selanne has been on the ice for 27 powerplay goals for an average of 8.17 goals for per 60 minutes. When Selanne is off ice, the Ducks have averaged 3.36 powerplay goals per 60 minutes. The difference here is +4.81 powerplay goals per 60 minutes. Again, comparing against Perry yields a favorable result (if you're a Selanne fan) as Perry's differential is +2.9.
Moving on to the penalty kill, Selanne doesn't play on the penalty kill. Annnnd....section covered.
Bottom Line: I hate cliches, but one seems warranted here. Selanne is a difference maker of the highest order, and the stats back that up. He has good even strength numbers and sterling powerplay numbers, numbers that are made even more impressive when compared against Corey Perry. Selanne is playing against good competition and continuing to score on special teams. The Wings could use another top six forward who knows his way around a good powerplay. Ken Holland has let it be known that he's looking for a veteran player who's been through the grind of the playoffs. Selanne fits that bill perfectly, and though he'd only be a rental player I think he might be exactly what the Wings need to breathe life into a flat powerplay. If it only takes a draft pick or two to acquire Selanne then I'd act without hesitation. Let's see if we can corner the market on the Nordic-over-40-first-ballot-HHOFer crowd.
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