With next to nothing happening in the hockey world this month, I thought this would be as good of a time as any to profile members of the Calgary Flames.
I'll be commenting on their performances last season as well as projected role and expectations moving forward. I've profiled 14 Flames thus far, with Milan Lucic being the most recent.
Today we're going to take a closer look at Rasmus Andersson.
Counting stats: 79 games played, 19 points (two goals, 17 assists), 16:02 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 0.82 points/60, -3.91 CF% Rel, +2.23 GF% Rel, -3.03 xGF% Rel, 1.026 PDO
2018-19 review: Rasmus Andersson's debut season with the Flames realistically couldn't have gone much better. Check that, it couldn't have gone *any* better. He was rock solid on the 3rd pairing each and every night he was slotted there. When T.J. Brodie hit a wall for a game, or somebody was banged up, he seamlessly stepped into the top-4 and more than held his own, especially when given the opportunity alongside Mark Giordano. His numbers with the Norris winner were as good or better than Brodie's across the board.
Andersson's defensive game was rarely an issue and, as the year progressed, his offensive game really took off. He mustered up 12 points over the final 26 games of the year, with a lot of those coming at 5v5. His points per 60 of 1.74 bested all but three defenders during that window.
On top of providing quality hockey at both ends of the ice, Andersson drew eight more penalties than he took. It's somewhat rare for any defender to post a positive differential, let alone one just getting settled in the NHL.
Fun fact: Among defenders, only Sam Girard (+16) and Troy Stecher (+10) posted a better penalty differential than Andersson (+8) last season.
2019-20 outlook: Andersson is likely heading for similar usage to start this season. At least as long as T.J. Brodie remains in the mix.
I think he will anchor the 3rd pairing at even-strength, get some reps on PP2, and step in for Brodie on the top pairing whenever he hits a wall of Bill Peters feels the team needs a different look.
Assuming Brodie isn't traded, which isn't the safest bet, and nobody in the top-4 suffers a long-term injury this season, I expect Andersson's average ice time to be in the 17-18 minute range and him to put up ~25 points.
If Brodie is moved, the ceilings in ice time and point production will obviously increase.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent posts: