Jay Beagle: 2014-15 Season Review

Is the final RMNB beagle.jpg?

It was a good season to be a Jay Beagle fan, which we are. We just watched him wrap up the best season of his career, plus he got a new cell phone. Beagle was so good, he might have just played himself out of a contract.

p.s. I vow to use no dog puns in this whole article.

By the Numbers

Beagle’s on-ice shot-attempt percentage in 10-game running segments, according to War on Ice

Peter’s Take

In 2014-15, Jay Beagle hit career highs in the following:

• games played (62, tied with last season)
• ice time (794, 12:49 per game)
• goals scored (10, all at even strength)
• assists (10)
• on-ice shot-attempt percentage (51.2 percent, adjusted for score)
• shots fired (84)

And speaking of shots fired, Beagle can no longer be a Washington Capital. Wrapping up the final year of his contract, earning a cool million for a great season, Beagle is due to be an unrestricted free agent. And like a number of beloved bottom-six Caps of yore like Matt Bradley, Matt Hendricks, and Boy Gordon, he’s earned a payday– but it’ll have to be out of town. There are just too many players at or about Jay Beagle’s talent level who are also at or below his salary to justify the pay raise he’s gonna get.

And regarding the circumstances leading to that pay raise, let’s consider Beagle’s usage this season. First, he certainly benefited from the Barry Bounce (or was it the Oates Obliteration?), jumping from a miserable 44.6 in possession up to a woo-hoo 51.2 percent, but he also got about the same top-line ice time that Oates gave Beagle last spring to much derision. Except this time, Beagle was on the wing instead of at center. And man did that pay dividends:

Just kidding. It didn’t work at all.

But I’m not giving Beagle a hard time for playing well or for the circumstances into which he was thrown. He is a great depth player and a universally loved guy in Arlington. He plays his style of hockey well: a fundamentals-based grinding game, heavy on the walls (and you know how Trotz loves Heavy Hockey), with a top-notch work ethic. He’ll be an asset to whatever team signs him, even if his paycheck outstrips his production.

Because Beags really is the best. Maybe this next section will tell you why better than my analysis ever could.

Beags on RMNB

• Gotta start with the goal above, which Jay scored on Hank Lundqvist in the playoffs.
• Your boy Chris Gordon wrote what I think is the essential Jay Beagle article of the season on any website. It was about his new cell phone. It ends with this quote from Beags: “What’s an app?”
• We actually published multiple articles about a hockey player’s cell phone. If you ask him, which I haven’t, I bet Chris is really proud of this.
• Beagle on his off-season studies: “I worked a lot this summer on trying to become a little bit more offensive in my game. Just being a more two-way player where I can contribute offensively.”
• It worked. This was Beagle’s face on March 8, when he hit double digits in goals for the first time in his 7-season career:

“i will schettle the schcore with schtone cold schteve auschtin as schummerschlam!”

• Patrick took a look at what was driving Jay’s explosion in offense this season. He makes a couple truly disgusting dog puns in the article, none of which I’ll repeat here, but he comes to an important and salient conclusion about repeatability.
• And I’ll leave you with this nasty drop pass to Ovi.

Your Turn

Do you think I’m dead wrong about Beagle’s looming exit? Chris’s article from earlier this morning depicts the Capitals as optimistic about re-signing. How much do you think Jay Beagle could earn on the open market and for how long?

And what’s your favorite Jay Beagle memory? I’ll share mine below.

Read more: Japers Rink

p.s. told you I wouldn’t use any dog puns and I meant it.