A major deadline acquisition, Carl Hagelin turned the Washington Capitals from decent to deadly. If only he could stay.
By The Numbers
| 20 | games played |
| 14.9 | time on ice per game |
| 3 | goals |
| 8 | assists |
| 54.7 | 5-on-5 shot-attempt percentage, adjusted |
| 54.8 | 5-on-5 expected goal percentage, adjusted |
| 55.7 | 5-on-5 goal percentage, adjusted |
Visualization by HockeyViz
About this visualization: This series of charts made by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows various metrics for the player over the course of the season. A short description of each chart:
- Most common teammates during 5-on-5
- Ice time per game, split up by game state
- 5-on-5 adjusted shot attempts by the team (black) and opponents (red)
- 5-on-5 adjusted shooting percentage by the team (black) and opponents (red)
- Individual scoring events by the player
- 5-on-5 adjusted offensive (black) and defensive (red) zone starts
Peter’s Take
Ugh, I love Carl Hagelin. I know I shouldn’t. He haunted the Caps in years past with his quick skating and excellent puck-moving while in transition. But those were the two things the Caps lacked the most in February of 2019. Brian MacLellan identifying that need as well as the opportunity to pick up Hagelin on the cheap (after Jim Rutherford fumbled him earlier in the season) was a masterstroke. Here’s what Hagelin (and Jensen too, picked up around the same time) meant to the team:
The Caps went from having 48 percent of shot attempts to having 54 percent. They went from having 47 percent of expected goals to 50. And they went from scoring 53 percent of goals to 61 percent. All because of one player hopping around the middle six, making everyone around him better like bacon bits on a salad.
That’s not because Hagelin is a good player, which of course he is, but because the ways in which he is good were the precise ways in which the Caps had been bad. The Caps didn’t need scoring, they needed reliable transition play. They didn’t need physicality, they needed speed. They got it, and for a few weeks they really were the best team in the National Hockey League. Then some stuff happened and they got eliminated, but that doesn’t lower my enthusiasm. While I’ve got low hopes that Hagelin will return — his next contract should earn him twice what his cap hit was to Washington this season — it’s evidence that close and smart evaluation of a team, when working in concert with decision-making, can result in success. It can happen again.
Hags on RMNB
- It was just a rumor for about a day, but then the Caps picked up Hagelin from the Kings.
- The Caps getting Hagelin was actually a bit controversial. Hagelin’s old team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, actually wanted him back, but GM Jim Rutherford I guess forgot that they were already retaining some of Hagelin’s salary and were therefore ineligible to reacquire him. That probably made things a bit awkward when it came time for Hagelin’s tribute video in Pittsburgh.
- The Hagelin trade was transformative for Washington, giving them speed, forechecking, and transition play they had been lacking in before.
- Even off the ice, we were very very happy to have the former Cap-killer on the team. He’s a cool dude.
- Hagelin’s first goal as a Cap came against his former team — not the Pens, the other one.
Hagelin's first goal as a Capital! And against his former team… 😏#CapsRangers pic.twitter.com/s9WDuHOwKf
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 3, 2019
- But it wasn’t all smiles. There was this tragic incident in March. You hate to see it.
- Hagelin’s mishap triggered a major viral trend: hagelining. Here’s one fan who caught the fever:
- Failure to get over the boards will not be Hagelin’s legacy. Dude was fast. Let that be it instead.
- Finally, here’s a legendary fan sign:
Your Turn
Is there any chance the Caps could make a new deal with Hagelin work? If they can’t ink him, who could offer a similar skill set that Washington needs?
Read more: Japers Rink
