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Jay Beagle's name is being thrown around in the online community as a potential free agent target for the Calgary Flames this off-season.
The logic behind it is a) he may be a cap casualty in Washington; b) he has lots of playoff experience; c) the Flames need to revamp their bottom-6 and; d) he's a local guy.
All of that is true. On the surface it makes sense.
In saying that, I think Beagle is a guy the Flames should steer clear of if he does hit the open market.
For starters, he's one of those good old fashioned possession anchors the Flames have stuffed their bottom-6 with for years.
Lance Bouma, Troy Brouwer, Brandon Bollig, Chris Stewart, Curtis Lazar...yeah, no need for any more of those guys.
Heavy defensive usage is a factor in Beagle's poor underlying numbers, no doubt, but they weren't exactly good even when he wasn't given all the defensive zone starts he can handle.
Beagle has played at least 30 NHL games eight times. He posted a sub 50 Corsi For% in all eight and a sub 50 Scoring Chance For% in seven of those seasons while making a negative impact on the team's numbers annually.
Yeah, but he's a strong penalty killer, right? Great question, I'm glad you asked. No, he's not.
In 2017-18, eight Capitals forwards logged at least 50 minutes on the penalty kill.
Beagle ranked 8th in Corsi Against/60, 8th in Scoring Chances Against/60, and 7th in Goals Against/60.
In 2016-17, six Capitals forwards logged at least 50 minutes on the penalty kill.
Beagle ranked 6th in Corsi Against/60, 6th in Scoring Chances Against/60, and 6th in Goals Against/60.
Admittedly, his penalty killing numbers were pretty good in years prior but it's probably not a coincidence things went south when he hit the wrong side of 30.
The Flames already have a perfectly capable 4th line center on their roster in Nick Shore. There's no need to go into free agency and pay double(?) for someone like Beagle.
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