Beauchemin vs Finger, Beauchemin Ain't All That
Posted 8:55 PM ET | Comments 0
click to enlarge and zoom
this is so simple that it can be found on nhl.com.
finger hardly played last year, but i'll use it as a comparison anyways.
as you can see finger played in 39 games and beauchemin played in all 82.
Finger
in just 39 games having averaged 13 minutes 47 seconds worth of ice time and only 22 seconds of pp time and a 1 minute 41 seconds of pk time, jeff finger amassed 10 points, 0 pp points, 77 hits(1.9 per game), 84 blocked shots(2.2 per game), 19 give aways, 8 take aways, he was on the ice for 39 goals against, 9 of them on the pk.
Beauchemin
in 82 games having averaged 25 minutes 27 seconds of ice time, averaging 3 minutes 6 seconds of pp time and 2 minutes 56 seconds of pk time, beauchemin amassed 26 points, 10 were pp points, 88 hits(1.1 per game), 155 blocked shots(1.9 per game), 72 give aways, 44 take aways, he was on the ice for 115 goals against, 45 of them on the pk.
Stat Analysis
now i realize that beauchemin played almost 12 minutes per game more than finger but in finger's ice time and half the games played he is only 11 hits shy of beauchemin's total and averages more blocked shots per game which is a trend from finger for each of his last 3 seasons as an nhl player. he is a guy who averages 2-3 hits and 2-3 blocked shots per game every nhl season.
also it's logical to suggest that if finger had as much or even half the amount of pp time that beauchemin has had he would easily match if not surpass beauchemin's point totals. it's also important to note that beauchemin had fired off 254 shots last season as opposed to finger's 47. of beauchemin's 254 shots he missed the net 84 times that's more than 1/3 of his shots. 170 shots, 26 points. 47 shots from finger missing 18 times and achieving 10 points. what this means is finger hit the net only 29 times last season and got 10 points while beauchemin hit the net 170 times of 254 shots and counted 26 points.
the stats show that beauchemin is much more proficient at turning the puck over than finger. beauchemin averages just under 1 give away per game where as finger is about .5 give aways per game. if you eliminate 1 give away for every take away each player has you're left with beauchemin at 28 give aways and finger 11 give aways.
the pk was the worst in the league last season and beauchemin led the charge aside from phaneuf's 26 games. beauchemin played 2:56 average of pk time and was on the ice for 45 goals. finger playing in half the games remember, averaged 1:41 pk ice time and was on the ice for 9 goals. even if you double finger's stats to look like 3:22 of pk time and being on the ice for 18 goals, it's still not as terrible as beauchemin's 45 pk goals against.
of the defenseman who started last season with the leafs beauchemin averaged the most ice time, he was also the defenseman who was scored on the most having been on the ice for 115 goals against and this doesn't include shorthanded goals given up to the opposition while beauchemin was on the pp.
so you have a team who finished 29th in the league and dead last in every defensive category known to man, but somehow we are supposed to think beauchemin is our team's saviour and leaps and bounds better than a guy like jeff finger which is clearly not the case. if this were a 2 person race there would be a 1A and 1B not a 1 and 2 placement.
i'll give you that beauchemin is the tougher player, but finger hits more. oh, did i mention finger makes less money at 3.5 on the cap compared to beauchemin who makes 3.8 on the cap?
an argument was made that if finger averaged 20 minutes a game his stats in terms of time on ice during goals against would look like a disaster. i disproved this theory by pointing to finger's 72 game rookie season with the avalanche which saw him play 20 minutes per game average and only be on the ice for 88 goals total, 19 on the pk and 50 even strength. during the 07-08 season finger averaged 2 minutes on the pk and a minute on the pp and was a +12 with 19 points, 121 hits and 117 blocked shots.
how much of the numbers for both finger and beauchemin is their fault and how much of it is the fault of overall team defense including the commitment to playing defense by the forwards and the ability to stop the puck by players like toskala and gustavsson last season?
imo since beauchemin is viewed around the league to be a strong defenseman i would trade him to acquire something we need up front because imo the team doesn't lose much going from beauchemin to finger and the return would be higher on beauchemin based on reputation and leaching off the back of niedermayer and pronger to get a cup ring.
leafs have a lot of depth at d, they can afford to move pieces to get stronger up front and.....
finger ≥ beauchemin