The Kings made the big headlines yesterday, nabbing one of the better defenseman that would be available at the deadline. The Kings traded a conditional 2015 1st round pick and defensive prospect Roland McKeown for Andrej Sekera. (Condition being if the Kings make the playoffs it is 2015, if they miss it is 2016.)
With a Carolina team looking to need a reset, Sekera was never going to resign with the Hurricanes. The impending UFA has been a rather low-key figure in the hockey world until a trade from Buffalo to Carolina ignited his career.
The Slovak was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2004 NHL entry draft by Buffalo, but was never really pushed in to too many high value minutes. When Sekera was dealt to Carolina for Jamie McBain and a 2nd round pick at the 2013 Entry draft, little did the Hurricanes know they were getting a 40-point defenseman. While Sekera isn't anywhere near his 44 points 2013-14 campaign this season, he has been a tremendous contributor with Carolina in his short time there. He has progressed nicely over his career and has responded well to more minutes and more responsibility.
The defenseman is 28 years of age, and it is definitely possible that the Kings got their hands on a very solid late blooming defenseman.
This season Sekera is inside the top 40 in corsi for, and is doing so on a team that is in the McDavid sweepstakes. That is fairly impressive. He is in the positive realm of possession most nights, which should fit nicely into the Kings style. What will also fit in nicely is how Sekera can play both right and left point, and is not confined to playing just one side. That kind of maneuverability is something the Kings haven't really had too much of this season. Injuries, suspensions, and inconsistencies have forced several of the Kings defenseman into playing on a side of the ice they are not familiar with, ala Alec Martinez. With Sekera that isn't a problem.
He is working on a 20+ point season this year, and has been paired up with Justin Faulk for the majority of his career as a Hurricane. The pair have been one of the few positives for the Hurricanes over the last two seasons. Both have contributed solid offensive possession and production, while remaining a vigilant defensive pairing at even strength.
Outside of Justin Faulk, Sekera has posted the most ice time in his career with Tyler Myers, Jaro Spacek, and current King Robyn Regehr. He showed strong numbers with all of the aforementioned pairings except, you guessed it, Regehr. With Faulk, Myers, and Spacek, the Slovakian was an exceptional complimentary player. He increased the overall possession his defensive partner, while having little to no drop off from his own averages. The likelihood that Sekera and Regehr could be paired together on the Kings seems high. There is a familiarity there and Sutter may lean on that while Sekera gets settled in.
Outside of all the analytics and possession numbers, the simple scouting report on Sekera is that he is a smooth skating defenseman with a more offensive oriented touch to his game. However, he is as steady defensively as he is offensively. If you want the definition of a two-way defenseman, Sekera is it. He has quickly become a favorite of Carolina fans for his steady and consistent play.
You want consistent, here it is:
In a 10 game rolling average, Sekera hasn't dropped below 50% corsi for. Meaning that even if he and partner Justin Faulk had down games, they didn't have too many in a row. The slumps were few and far between, and that's on a team that is 22-30-7. Those are numbers you want to see.
He has played both shorthanded and powerplay times with Carolina, and five of his 19 points have come with the extra man.
He isn't an overly physical defenseman, standing at 6'0" at around 200lbs. He does, however, have excellent gap control. That is something the Kings have been lacking since the departure of Willie Mitchell. Sekera is also exceptional at blocking shots and getting in the lanes. At the time of the trade he was leading the Hurricanes with 100 blocked shots. He also led the team last year with 127. He is 46th overall in the league right now in blocked shots.
He has had a tough year offensively in many regards, as his shooting percentage is only 2.6%. That is half his career average, and 5% lower than last season when he touched 40 points. Given that he has been playing with a more offensively oriented player in Justin Faulk, the reins may come off Sekera just a bit if he is paired with the likes of a McNabb or Regehr. The 28-year old can produce and has in the past.
While he can suffer from mental lapses defensively, all of these positives are why Sekera was one of the more heavily talked about assets being moved at the deadline. His career certainly started out slow but he has slowly morphed into exactly what you want in a two-way defenseman. His ability at both ends of the ice are above average, he can chip in offensively, he stays out of the box, and he can play in all situations.
While the pending free agent status is a noteworthy consideration, it isn't outside of the realm of Dean Lombardi to get working on an extension right away if Sekera is keen and things look good on ice.
Look for him to be in a top-4 role with the Kings and logging some pretty decent minutes as we head down the stretch here.
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