“The things that Brooks Orpik does you can’t put a value on.” That’s what Barry Trotz said in July, and he was wrong. You can put a value on it, and that value is $27.5 million over 5 years.
In year one of his contract, Orpik did well enough– but this was never about the player so much as the wacky expectations foisted upon him.
By the Numbers
| 78 | Games played |
| 21:48 | Average time on ice per game |
| 0 | Goals |
| 19 | Assists |
| 50.5% | Shot attempt percentage during 5v5 |
| 50.4% | Goal percentage during 5v5 |
Orpik’s on-ice shot-attempt percentage in 10-game running segments, according to War on Ice:
Peter’s Take
Brooks Orpik ranked third in hits in the entire league with 306, which doesn’t matter. Sure, he was a punishing force on the ice, but that didn’t stop him from allowing opponent shot attempts at the highest rate among all Caps defense and goals at a higher clip than any Caps defensemen except Tim Gleason. We could– and should– qualify that distinction by noting that Orpik played tough minutes and lots of them, but that’s kind of my point. The Capitals asked Orpik to do too much.
I worry that the team may have fetishized the role of a physical stay-at-home defenseman as a result of not really having any in the last decade (Erskine doesn’t count). The more we learrn about hockey, the more we understand that there is little virtue in a player getting shelled just because of the manner in which that player gets shelled (i.e. while hitting dudes).
Other top-minute defensemen in the eastern conference do reliably better against the best forwards than Orpik does. Niskanen too. I can’t help but think that the Caps would see better results if Orpik played slightly softer minutes. That may matter a lot more in coming years, because Orpik isn’t getting any younger.
Orpik is exactly three years older (and like $50 million richer) than I am. On September 26 he’ll be 35, with four more seasons on his contract. Those seasons will test his durability, which his tremendous physical fitness should help, but there is definitely some adversity ahead. The doubters of the Orpik signing (hi, it’s me) weren’t so much concerned with the first year of the contract so much as years three and four, when he’ll be earning $5.5 million at ages 36 and 37.
Then again, if the Capitals nab a conference final or bring a big-ass trophy home in the next couple seasons, it’ll all be worth it. The clock is ticking.
If this all read like a criticism of the situation and not the player, good. That’s the point. Orpik himself is a good player. He’s a curious mix of old-school playing style and new-age conditioning. He’s widely admired in the locker room (as you’ll see below). By all accounts, he’s a Good Dude to have on your team. And he’s totally gonna score a goal (scorpik) next season. I like him; I just don’t like the situation around him.
I’ve got a lot more to say about Orpik, and specifically about what his contract signals about Brian MacLellan’s pitch to get named GM last season, but I think that’s enough for now. Good work in year one.
Batya on RMNB
- We’ve got a healthy collection of big hits leveled by Brooks– what the Pensblog used to call free candy. Eat it, Dan Boyle. Take that, Josh Jooris. Up yours, Vladislav Namestnikov. Boomshakalakashakalakshakaboom, like eight different Canadiens.
- Defensive coach Todd Reirden has nothing but good things to say about Orpik, but would prefer if you kept numbers out of it please: “He makes people around him better. Maybe his analytic numbers aren’t always going to line up and be perfect, but I can tell you that when the guys he’s sitting next to on the bench and they don’t have a good shift, they feel like they’re letting him down.” Meanwhile, Pat looked closely at what stuff Orpik brings Carlson. It’s not stability.
- For most of the season, when a Caps player said “Brooks,” no one was sure exactly whom he was talking about. And then, late, we learned Brooks Orpik had become known as Batya.
- Remember when Brooks got pegged with a beer after winning game four over New York?
Looks like Brooks Orpik was hit by a cup of beer #WASvNYI https://t.co/kcEqw6JxgK
— Mathias Ask (@MathiasAsk) April 22, 2015
- And for a while we thought his season was over after this collision with Cal Clutterbuck. (He was fine.)
- There’s this one silly story we tracked all season: Brooks Orpik’s seeming love affair with his former city of Pittsburgh. These stories made some people very cross with us, but it’s more a matter of what you bring to the story. Here we go.
- On his return to Pitt: “I’ve played in some big games before, but I probably haven’t been that nervous to be honest.”
- He gave an interview to EITM that kept on coming back to how great things were up there.
- He wore a Pittsburgh shirt to his first Washington press conference.
- New dad! Everyone on the Caps had a baby this season!
- Finally, John Scott vs Brooks Orpik:
Your Turn
What do you expect from the next four years and $21 million of Orpik’s contract? How long will he be a shutdown defenseman?
Read more: Japers Rink
