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WTF, fringe player Hansen +10, Sniper Vrbata -9


Nuckster1970

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Who cares about +/-. It is useless. 

It's not useless at all.  Granted, it's a stat that is influenced by many other factors, but it is still a strong indicator of overall performance... as long as it is considered along with those other factors.

Anyway, good on Hansen.  I don't think we can expect these kinds of stats from him the whole season, but he's certainly showing what he is capable of.  As with Higgins, he's the kind of player that is great to have on a team as long as expectations are kept in check.  He's NOT a 2nd liner.... he's a 3rd liner who can contribute.

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I think there were a few reasons for the 11 point night.

1 - the element of surprise. I am sure the Jackets were preparing to defend against the Sedins and Vrbata and did not really know how to defend with Hansen.

2- Hansen wanted to show Torts the all the yelling in his ear helped.

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The Hansen-Burrows comparison Deb made on the previous page (couldn't get a quote to work on mobile, grrr...) is a good one and worth consideration.

Hansen is roughly the same age (I think one year older) that Burr was when he started having his big years with the twins. And Hansen's career production and role, to-date, is very similar to what we saw from Burrows pre-2008 or so (minus some of the shenanigans and peskiness).

We've seen glimpses of what Hansen can do with the twins over the years but never a sustained period with him as their RW. Maybe it's finally time?

Hansen plays very similarly to how Burrows plays with the twins. He provides the same relentless pressure and puck retrieval. And while Burr has probably lost a step with age, Hansen remains one of our fastest skaters and has one of the best motors on this team. Plus he has the RH shot the twins covet in a linemate (unlike Burrows) and a deceptively hard shot that the rest of the league doesn't seem to have a book on yet. And Hansen has underrated passing/playmaking that, when he's on his game, can sometimes even rise to "sedinery" levels (as seen in a couple of primary assists last game).

I really think it's time to start using Hansen as more of a regular option with the twins instead of an occasional swap-in (but never getting the same opportunity as Burrows, Vrbata, and even Sutter this year). I'd like to see Hansen get maybe a ten game stint with the twins. And not taken off if they have a couple unproductive nights. But rather, just play them together for a stretch of games and then look at the overall results.

The history shows us (over what is now a pretty meaningful total TOI over several seasons) that the Sedins produce very well with Hansen and that their on-ice fancy stats are probably better with him than with any other player (arguably even better than with Burrows during prime years). So why not roll with Hansen for a while and see what happens? He's never really been given that chance.

And like I said at the top, Hansen today is very similar to Burrows in 2008. He's in his prime and playing extremely well. If the twins have a couple more years of gas in the tank, maybe Hansen should be the guy to take the ride with them?

EDIT: Just wanted to add the following:

PITB posted a "Just put Jannik Hansen with the Sedins" article back in September that showed just how good Hansen's numbers have been with the Sedins.  And now, with 30+ more minutes together (since the numbers posted in the article), Hansen has crossed into 500+ minutes of 5v5 even strength played alongside the Sedins.  Here are his current numbers with the twins:

On the ice: Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Jannik Hansen

TOI: 503:23, GF: 31, GA: 14, GF60: 3.69, GA60: 1.67, GF%: 68.9, CF: 519, CA: 366, CF60: 61.86, CA60: 43.62, CF%: 58.6, OZone%: 58.6

There's simply no way to discount those numbers IMO and the sample size is more than large enough to be meaningful. Hansen has performed as well (if not better) than Burrows with the twins. And there's really no comparison when you consider Hansen versus Vrbata, in terms of their results playing with the twins.

Even if you throw out the pre-2014 numbers and compare the stats after Vrbata arrived in Vancouver, Hansen pretty much blows everybody out of the water:

Sedin RWers (Sept 2014 through Nov 2015):

Hansen: 4.24 GF60, 2.12 GA60, 66.7 GF%, 58.62 CF60, 39.55 CA60, 59.7 CF%, 55.8 OZone%

Burrows: 2.45 GF60, 2.80 GA60, 45.5 GF%, 59.47 CF60, 45.94 CA60, 56.4 CF%, 58.2 OZone%

Vrbata: 2.08 GF60, 1.52 GA60, 57.9 GF%, 55.88 CF60, 45.75 CA60, 55.0 CF%, 54.7 OZone%

Sutter: 3.62 GF60, 0.00* GA60, 100* GF%, 48.31 CF60, 54.34 CA60, 47.1 CF%, 43.2 OZone%

*the Sutter sample is pretty small and has zero goals against (which would be pretty unlikely to continue given the Corsi numbers)

NOTE: all statistics in this post are sourced from puckalytics.com

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It's not useless at all.  Granted, it's a stat that is influenced by many other factors, but it is still a strong indicator of overall performance... as long as it is considered along with those other factors.

I really disagree. There are much better stats. 

Some of the problems with +/-:

Time on Ice bias, doesn't account for usage (quality of comp., quality of linemates, zone starts), small sample size, recorder error (especially for defencemen), and lastly it captures team play more than individual play.

Say a really bad team had a very good defenceman. Where would you expect his plus/minus to be on his team at the end of the season? Most people would say near the top which would be wrong because of time on ice bias. The best defenceman on a bad team would most likely be closer to the average on his team (if not a little below).

Plus/Minus is garbage. There really is no need to even look at it anymore. It is often misleading. 

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Hansen and Higgins...two of the best bottom six forwards in the NHL. 

Vrbata...don't know what he is anymore.  An overpaid, under-producing, soft Czech is what I'd describe him as now. 

If JB can pull off a second for a player he got for free, I'll be ecstatic.  That alone will make up for losing Matthias and Richardson for nothing after last season (though it can be argued that they had to go to make room for the kids).

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I've always wondered why so many thought Hansen was expendable over the summer months. He is one of if not the most underrated players on his team. He skates with speed, he plays with heart and you never ever watch a game thinking Hansen must've taken the night off. He gives it his all game in and game out. I've loved him since he first joined the club and have love him ever since. He's a valuable asset to the team and is a key cog in the machine.

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I have always maintained that when "no hands" Hansens hands catch up to his feet, he will be an awsome player. He always plays hard.

He's 29 now, I don't think he's gonna be turning into Datsyuk anytime soon.

His stickhandling has improved since he's come into the league though, and he's been a huge contributor to the team in ways other than being an offensive dynamo.

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