Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson
One metric that contradicts some of what you're saying is goals above replacement (GAR) ( https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2...-sprigings-nhl), which tries to take into account contextual factors such as the level of teammates one plays with and the level of competition.
GAR says Hamilton was the Flames best defenceman in 2017-2018. League-wide, he was 99th percentile for overall play, 99th percentile for 5v5 offence, 92nd percentile for 5v5 defence and 82nd percentile for the power play. However, GAR does say he struggles in terms of taking penalties (9th percentile) and drawing penalties (26th percentile).
I think a pretty good comparable for Hamilton is Seth Jones. In 2017-2018, Jones was better on the power play and much better in terms of taking penalties and drawing penalties while Hamilton was better at 5v5 offence and 5v5 defence.
If you look back to 2015-16 and 2016-17, Hamilton was 80th percentile and 95th percentile for overall play, while Jones was 84th percentile and 79th percentile for overall play.
Over three seasons Hamilton and Jones are neck and neck in terms of overall play.
I think in evaluating the trade it is important to understand the kind of player the Flames gave up. They gave up a monster.
On the positive side of things, GAR says Hanifin is a great young defenceman. In 2017-18, he was 79th percentile for overall play, 86th percentile for 5v5 offence and 32nd percentile for 5v5 defence. This is similar to what Hamilton and Jones were in 2015-2016. It'll be interesting to see if Hanifin grows to become a dominant player like those two. I think the potential is there. |
Again, the stats say this, but watching the player play sure didn't. Hamilton was a good player last year, and his shot is elite. But suggesting he was a monster is laughable.
My original point was that stats guys hate the trade because they love Hamilton. And people that rely on watching him play are far less enamored with him. And you refuted that with another stat calling him a monster.
Yes, he is a stats darling. But the Flames will not miss him defensively IMO.