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 16 thus far, with Wayne Simmonds being the most recent player profiled.
Today we're taking a closer look at Nikita Gusev.
Counting stats: 62 games played, 82 points (17 goals, 65 assists)
2018-19 review: Nikita Gusev has dominated the KHL for years but he really took it up a notch and did everyone dirty this past season. With 82 points in 62 games, Gusev led the KHL in scoring by a country mile. The league's 2nd leading scorer tallied 69 points and only three players besides Gusev even hit 60. For perspective of how insane Gusev's campaign was, you could take away every goal he scored and he'd still have finished 3rd in points.
What's particularly impressive, and encouraging, about Gusev is he was very clearly the guy driving the bus for SKA. Alexander Barabanov was 2nd on the team in points with 46 (36 fewer than Gusev) and Pavel Datsyuk was 2nd on the team in assists with 30 (35 fewer than Gusev).
SKA scored 209 goals, meaning Gusev registered a point on 39.2% of them. Barabanov was involved in 22% and Datsyuk 20%. That's quite the gap!
It's not hard to see why Gusev wouldn't take pennies from Vegas and held out for a fairly lucrative contract. It was certainly warranted.
Fun fact(s): Gusev took just five minor penalties in 62 games. This after taking *checks notes* one minor in 54 games the year prior. He is extremely disciplined and should contribute positively – in a big way – to the Devils' penalty differential.
2019-20 outlook: I think Gusev is walking into a really promising situation in New Jersey. While Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier are known as playmakers first, Hughes took nearly as many 5v5 shots as he setup in the games I tracked. Hischier ranked 32nd in high-danger chances/60 – just ahead of guys like Jeff Skinner and Zach Parise – so he's clearly not trigger shy around the net. I have no doubt Gusev can put some on a platter for those two and the same can be said of the guys playing opposite side him – be it Kyle Palmieri (an excellent sniper), Wayne Simmonds (a high-end net-front scorer), or anyone else. There is no shortage of firepower to work with on the power play, either, and you can bet Gusev will be one of the primary facilitators on his unit.
Gusev has a long track record as a high-end point producer. While it's hard to project how many points he'll put up, I feel comfortable saying a good chunk of his offense will translate – especially given the talent he has around him.
I think 50+ points is a reasonably safe bet and, in my opinion, there's potential for plenty more.
numbers via eliteprospects.com and quanthockey.com Recent Posts best forward duo in the Central?