With next to nothing happening in the hockey world, I've decided to take the plunge and write daily profiles for members of the New Jersey Devils.
I'll be commenting on the year each player just had as well as their projected role and expectations for 2019-20. I've written 19 thus far, with Jack Hughes being the most recent player profiled.
Today we're taking a closer look at John Hayden.
Counting stats: 54 games played, five points (three goals, two assists), 9:10 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 0.66 points/60, -2.87 CF% Rel, -12.96 GF% Rel, +2.26 xGF% Rel, 0.984 PDO
2018-19 review: Even for a role player, John Hayden did not have a good season. Quite the opposite. He mustered up just five points in 54 games, which equates to 7.5 over a full season. It wasn't just because he averaged nine minutes a night. He was not remotely efficient. Of the 423 forwards to log 300+ minutes at 5v5, Hayden only out-produced seven on a per 60 basis. Miikka Salomaki, Mario Kempe, Lukas Sedlak, Sheldon Dries and Markus Hannikainen are just a few of the many players you've probably never heard of that managed to accomplish more offensively than Hayden. He was also a bit of an anchor in possession and the Blackhawks controlled just 37.50% of the goals with him on the ice.
The positives? Hayden's 47.86 xGF% suggests he was unlikely to have such a poor GF%. It was actually better than Chicago's xGF% without him on the ice.
Hayden also drew four more minors than he took – the opposite tends to be the case with physical bottom-6ers – while playing with a lot of bite. He averaged 12.32 hits/60, which would have led all Devils regulars.
Fun fact: Hayden has drawn 1.55 minors/60 over the last two seasons, which is 21st in the NHL during that time and more than the likes of Mathew Barzal, Johnny Gaudreau and Nico Hischier.
2019-20 outlook: The Devils have talked about wanting to be more physical and 'tougher to play against'. I think they fully intend on rostering Hayden and carving out a role for him. I don't know that he'll play every night – if Jesper Boqvist makes the team, and everyone is healthy, there's not really room – but at the very least he figures to be a rotational 4th liner who steps in against bigger, more physical opponents.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com Recent Posts best 1-2 punch in the Metro?