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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 New Jersey Devils.
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.
I’ve written up 11 players thus far, with Mirco Mueller being the most recent.
Today we’re going with Nikita Gusev.
Counting stats: 66 games played, 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists), 14:42 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 2.29 points/60, +4.40 CF% Rel, +3.47 GF% Rel, +0.94 xGF% Rel, 98.9 PDO
2019-20 review: I don’t think Nikita Gusev could have put together a better campaign, especially given the circumstances.
He wasn’t put in the best situations early in the season and, as such, he struggled a little bit. This led to wonkier usage and inexcusably being scratched from the lineup entirely.
There’s also the fact the Devils were a horrendous offensive team with little reliable support, which isn’t exactly ideal for a player like Gusev.
Despite all that, he still managed to be very productive in his first NHL season. Gusev put up 44 points in 66 games, which is a ~55 point pace.
He finished just a point behind Kyle Palmieri for the team lead. He ranked 1st on the Devils in assists. He ranked 2nd on the Devils in shots. He was at or near the top of the list in almost every standard offensive category.
Gusev’s efficiency numbers were also through the roof. His rate production at 5v5 was that of a high-end 1st liner. I mean, he averaged more points/60 than Alex Ovechkin, Filip Forsberg, Mitch Marner, Kyle Connor, Mikko Rantanen and Patrice Bergeron to name but a few.
A lot of that came from his wizardry as a playmaker. He recorded 1.66 assists/60, tying him with Brad Marchand for 20th in the NHL.
Not only was Gusev one of the best – the best? – offensive players on the Devils, but he also drove play and posted positive relative numbers across the board.
He’s right up there with Mackenzie Blackwood as the biggest bright spot from the 2019-20 season.
Fun fact(s): Only six players recorded primary assists at a higher frequency than Gusev, with the likes of Marchand, Nathan MacKinnon, Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby being part of the elite exceptions.
2020-21 outlook: I don’t care who is behind the bench. I feel confident saying Gusev will be a fixture in the top-6, as he should be. I think he’ll be used in every key offensive situation (PP, extra attacker, OZ faceoffs while trailing, etc) and I expect his production to increase further.
If he could produce at a ~55 point pace playing less than 15 minutes per night on a team that can’t score, I feel like 65+ could be in the cards with proper usage and a better supporting cast.
Let’s hope the next GM, be it Tom Fitzgerald or anybody else, can get this man some help in the off-season.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com
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