With absolutely nothing happening in the hockey world right now, and for the foreseeable future, I’ve decided to take the plunge and write player profiles for each member of the Calgary Flames.
As was the case when I did them last summer, we’ll be looking at the season they just put together and expectations moving forward.
We kicked things off with Elias Lindholm. Sticking with the same order – at least for now – we’re going to shift over to Noah Hanifin.
Let’s get to it.
Counting stats: 70 games played, 22 points (five goals, 17 assists), 21:10 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: .70 points/60, 0.0 CF% Rel, -2.33 GF% Rel, -.63 xGF% Rel, 99.3 PDO
2019-20 review: Noah Hanifin had, uhm, a season. I’m not sure it was a bad one. It wasn't a good one, though. It just kind of happened.
He produced 22 points in 70 games, matching his rookie season for worst raw outputs of his career. His 5v5 efficiency of .70 points/60 was also the lowest of his career, albeit by extremely slim margins (he sat at .71 as a rooke, .73 as a sophomore). Put simply, he didn’t really create much offensively or move the needle for a Flames team that definitely could have used more from the defense due to the bottom-6’s struggles.
If you’re not going to get offense out of Hanifin, you at least want plus-defense. The Flames didn’t get that either. I thought Hanifin did find his game a bit when Mark Giordano and/or Travis Hamonic were down with injuries. In aggregate, his defensive impact wasn’t good.
The Flames conceded more shot attempts, shots on goal, scoring chances, expected goals, and actual goals per 60 with Hanifin on the ice than without. In other words, they were better defensively across the board when he was on the bench catching a breather.
I think this season kind of perfectly summed up Hanifin as a whole. There were flashes where you could understand why he was such a high pick. The overall outputs left you wanting more – much more! – considering the tools.
Fun fact(s): Hanifin recorded just four primary assists at 5v5. That was the lowest total of his career, coming well short of the previous low (seven in his debut season with the Flames).
2020-21 outlook: It is possible Hanifin gets traded this off-season, although that is a lot less likely if both T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic walk out the door. He’ll almost certainly stay put should that be the case, which would be bad. Trading Hanifin while he still has real value, and (ideally) some haven’t figured out he is not who he was drafted to be, is #ThePlay.
The more likely scenario, in my opinion, is Hanifin staying around and playing important minutes next season. Not just as a top-4 defender; as a top-2(?) defender. I could see him pushing 22 minutes per night, especially if Mark Giordano shows any sign of slowing down and/or Geoff Ward remains head coach (he really seems to like Hanifin).
I don’t think that’d be good for Calgary’s chances of being a contender so, for the sake of the fanbase, I hope I’m wrong.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent posts: