Scoring Chance Summary - Part-time Leafs

In this post, I'll go over all the players that played relatively sparingly on the Leafs, and did not finish the year on the team. This includes everyone who played under 400 minutes, with two exceptions; Colton Orr, who played in more than 50 games, and Dave Bolland, who was limited by injury.

Spencer Abbott

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
1	ES	29.4%	-19.5%	2	6	7.6	22.8	25.0%	05:16
	5-on-5 Close	29.4%	-17.3%	2	6	7.6	22.8	25.0%	05:16

Abbott, the University of Maine product who is the Marlies' leading scorer this season, and the only forward over 50 points for the AHL team, got just one chance to suit up, in the third game of the season against Ottawa. It was a busy game for him, as he managed a -4 in chances, and was on for two Ottawa goals. That game makes him the single worst Leaf on the season, and serves as an explanation as to why he only played one game.

Carter Ashton

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
32	ES	43.8%	-0.7%	37	48	3.8	4.9	43.5%	06:08
	5-on-5 Close	42.9%	-1.5%	25	29	3.9	4.5	46.3%	04:02

Despite the fact that Ashton has been one of the Marlies leading scorers, in the 32 games he's played only eight times did he get more than 8 minutes of ice time. While 49.0% OZone/DZone starts and one of the weakest team QoC numbers suggest that he might have some offensive chances, his most regular linemates, Orr and McClement, show that he really wasn't given much of a serious opportunity to score. His 5-on-5 close chance numbers are pretty strong, among the best of the forwards, while his Corsi numbers are less impressive.

David Broll

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
5	ES	42.9%	2.6%	8	15	3.9	7.4	34.8%	08:07
	5-on-5 Close	42.6%	1.4%	7	9	5.1	6.6	43.8%	05:27

A NHL debutant, Broll played five games in early October, getting his first NHL point in a wild game against the Oilers. His Corsi numbers are pretty strong, but his chance numbers are quite bad, as he's one of the worst ES defenders per 20 minutes. The scary thing  is that even at 35%, he's not the worst of players who played at least 5 games.

Jerry D'Amigo

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
22	ES	38.6%	-5.3%	34	39	4.4	5.1	46.6%	06:59
	5-on-5 Close	36.7%	-6.9%	28	33	5.5	6.4	45.9%	04:39

D'Amigo, having a productive AHL season, played most of his games between early December and mid-January, getting a brief return in the closing days of the season. His Corsi numbers have been unimpressive, among the worst of the skaters who have played at least 100 minutes. His chance numbers have been a lot better, as he is one of the best forwards in ES chances, similar to JVR and ahead of Kadri, and also up there at 5-on-5 close. D'Amigo has been good at being on for Leaf chances at 5-on-5 close, and I'm interested to see if he can improve if given an opportunity higher in the lineup. However, given his Corsi numbers, it's not clear that he'd deserve such an chance.

Jamie Devane

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
2	ES	35.3%	-15.2%	2	2	3.4	3.4	50.0%	05:51
	5-on-5 Close	35.3%	-13.1%	2	2	4.6	4.6	50.0%	04:21

The big 23-year-old, who has over 120 penalty minutes for the Marlies, made his NHL debut this year, playing against Ottawa and Colorado in the 3rd and 4th games of the season. There's not a lot to note about his performances; he played little, and mostly on a fourth line, with the likes of Orr, McClement and Bodie.

Josh Leivo

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
7	ES	41.4%	0.3%	13	16	3.8	4.7	44.8%	09:41
	5-on-5 Close	38.9%	-3.9%	5	8	2.3	3.6	38.5%	06:16

The 86th pick in the 2011 draft managed to play in seven games this season, all coming, as with so many of these players, in October. He scored his first career NHL goal against Carolina, and actually was a decently effective player in limited time, though his numbers were a fair bit worse in the limited sample of close play. He was a low-event player, not generating a lot of offense, but not on for many chances against either, and unlike other players that can be labelled that way on this team, he didn't play with the fighters, with Bolland and McClement his most regular linemates. He had a terrible game against Columbus, just 11% Corsi and -3 in chances, which was his last before being replaced.

Greg McKegg

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
1	ES	100.0%	55.6%	1	0	5.4	0.0	100.0%	03:43
	5-on-5 Close	100.0%	54.4%	0	0	0.0	0.0	-	02:42

McKegg played just once, against Ottawa at the start of February. He was on for just three Corsi event, as well as a wraparound shot of his own which happened to be a scoring chance. A runaway leader in virtually every puck possession category.

Frazer McLaren

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
27	ES	40.6%	-3.1%	15	18	2.8	3.3	45.5%	04:00
	5-on-5 Close	36.4%	-7.7%	7	14	2.0	4.0	33.3%	02:37

It's telling that Frazer McLaren will have more games than many of these other forwards, but averaged less 5-on-5 close ice time than virtually all of them. His job wasn't to be out on the ice when the game was on the line, but instead to fight, with 77 penalty minutes in those 27 outings. A raw reading of the numbers would suggest McLaren was strong defensively, boasting one of the best chance against/20 minutes ratings, but in fact, with the weakest QoC on the team, what in fact happens is that he only gets on the ice against other fighters, and thus ends up in a low-event environment. He wasn't abysmal 5-on-5, but when you are getting the worst players on the other team, you need to be able to take advantage of them if you want to help the team, rather than being clearly outchanced.

Trevor Smith

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
28	ES	41.0%	-3.5%	53	71	3.9	5.2	42.7%	09:42
	5-on-5 Close	40.5%	-5.0%	29	42	3.8	5.6	40.8%	05:22

Smith's 28 games almost all took place in 2013, though he did make a couple of appearances after the Olympic break. There was a point when due to some injuries at centre, he was playing nearly 20 minutes a game, and while he wasn't particularly impressive, his chance numbers weren't bad. In fact, he was ahead of Jay McClement in both Corsi and chances,  and their QoC was similar. Smith did a decent job as a fill-in centre, but its hard to see him as anything more.

Jerred Smithson

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
18	ES	32.6%	-10.7%	10	27	1.6	4.3	27.0%	06:56
	5-on-5 Close	28.8%	-12.8%	6	16	1.6	4.1	27.3%	04:17

Jerred Smithson has somehow played more than 600 NHL games. Having seen him this year, this is really quite a stunning fact, as he was easily the most useless player on the Leafs who played more than a couple of games. He did get stuck with pretty low-event linemates, for the most part, and got a higher percentage of defensive zone starts than any other Leaf. However, even given that, his Corsi numbers are terrible, and his rate of generating chances is by far the worst on the team; no other Leaf had less than 2.5 chances for/20 minutes, and only Orr and McLaren had less than 3.

Defensemen

Mark Fraser

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
19	ES	41.4%	-3.3%	57	75	4.7	6.2	43.2%	12:42
	5-on-5 Close	41.5%	-2.1%	46	56	5.8	7.1	45.1%	08:21

Fraser, shipped off to Edmonton at the end of January, is a classic example of a 'defensive defenseman'. However, this season with the Leafs he hardly showed anything of the sort. Only the two young offensive defensemen, Gardiner and Rielly, had a higher ratio of OZone starts vs. DZone starts, and only Liles had a weaker quality of competition. Based on this, we'd expect a defensive specialist to have good chance and Corsi numbers. However, at 5-on-5 close, he was the Leafs' worst regular defenseman in chances against/20 minutes. His close chance percentage was actually one of the better on the back end, though at ES overall he was near the bottom of the team rankings.

Petter Granberg

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
1	ES	19.0%	-26.2%	1	6	1.8	10.6	14.3%	11:21
	5-on-5 Close	21.4%	-24.7%	1	4	2.4	9.6	20.0%	08:18

The 21-year old Swede made a splash last season, as he was a member of the Swedish team that won the World Championships, just a year after helping his country to win the World Juniors. He's a solid, defensively responsible player, and the Leafs will be hoping that he can contend for a spot on the back end within the next couple of seasons. He had a rough night in his NHL debut, hung out to dry a few times by team-mates, and it's impossible to make any conclusions based on that game.

John-Michael Liles

GP	State	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
6	ES	37.5%	-6.4%	27	37	5.6	7.7	42.2%	16:06
	5-on-5 Close	39.0%	-5.1%	14	23	4.5	7.3	37.8%	10:28

The four-year extension Liles signed last season seemed like a mistake almost from the outset, and this year he was sent down to the Marlies at the start of the year, and only came back for six games before being traded during the Winter Classic. He was the worst of the Leaf defensemen, statistically, and, like Fraser, struggled in terms of preventing opponent chances, with his 7.7/20 minutes against easily the Leafs' highest. Being under 40% at 5-on-5 close was also the worst on the defense. Liles' possession numbers have markedly improved in Carolina; he dealt with his demotion to the Marlies with class, and it's good to see things looking up for him.

Here's a summary of all the part-time players, green for forwards and red for defensemen.

Player	GP	CF%	CFRel%	ChF	ChA	O/20	D/20	Ch%	TOI
McKegg	1	100.0%	54.4%	0	0	0.0	0.0	-	02:42
Devane	2	35.3%	-13.1%	2	2	4.6	4.6	50.0%	04:21
Ashton	32	42.9%	-1.5%	25	29	3.9	4.5	46.3%	04:02
D'Amigo	22	36.7%	-6.9%	28	33	5.5	6.4	45.9%	04:39
Broll	5	42.6%	1.4%	7	9	5.1	6.6	43.8%	05:27
Holland	39	41.6%	-0.7%	65	94	5.1	7.4	40.9%	06:31
Smith	28	40.5%	-5.0%	29	42	3.8	5.6	40.8%	05:22
Leivo	7	38.9%	-3.9%	5	8	2.3	3.6	38.5%	06:16
McLaren	27	36.4%	-7.7%	7	14	2.0	4.0	33.3%	02:37
Smithson	18	28.8%	-12.8%	6	16	1.6	4.1	27.3%	04:17
Abbott	1	29.4%	-17.3%	2	6	7.6	22.8	25.0%	05:16
Fraser	19	41.5%	-2.1%	46	56	5.8	7.1	45.1%	08:21
Liles	6	39.0%	-5.1%	14	23	4.5	7.3	37.8%	10:28
Granberg	1	21.4%	-24.7%	1	4	2.4	9.6	20.0%	08:18