Players At Risk of Playing Themselves out of the NHL – Updated March 9th, 2022 – PGR

After looking at the player ratings for a few years now and fine-tuning the equation every now and again, I'm pretty comfortable in speculating on what players need to improve to keep their jobs in the NHL.

Young players who haven't played that much are bound to be inconsistent in their play night in night out, but veterans should bring consistent effort at least 90% of the time, barring injury of course. One could argue that if a player is injured and playing and not playing well, then they shouldn't be in the lineup.

Without further ado, here is my list of players that are at risk after about 25 games this season of at the very least being traded or being sent to the AHL or back overseas. All stats are courtesy of Dobber's Frozen Tools and are as of January 30th, 2022.

New Additions as of January 30th, 2022

Jacob Bryson 36-0-8-8 and minus 11. PGR 6.21. 13-1-0-1 plus 1 PGR to 6.21

Steven Lorentz 38-6-3-9, 44 SOG, 41 hits. PGR 6.24. 13-0-1-1 PGR to 6.216

Yegor Chinakhov 33-5-3-8, 56 SOG. PGR 6.228. 13-1-2-3 20 SOG, PGR to 6.223

Brett Ritchie 19-0-0-0, 33 SOG, 25 hits. PGR 6.196. 9-0-0-0 PGR to 6.166

Mike Hardman 21-0-2-2, 12 SOG, 60 hits. PGR 6.188. No games played.

Jayson Megna 20-0-3-3, 19 SOG, 27 hits, PGR 6.2241. No games played.

Kurtis MacDermid 31-1-2-3, 27 SOG, 45 hits, PGR 6.206. 11-0-0-0 20 hits, PGR to 6.178

Mikhail Maltsev 17-0-0-0, 22 SOG, 30 hits, PGR 6.167. 1-0-0-0

Tanner Kero 19-0-2-2, 10 SOG, 12 hits, PGR 6.1223. 4-0-1-1 PGR to 6.128

Givani Smith 36-3-2-5, 37 SOG, 59 hits, PGR 6.22. Waived and picked up by Detroit. 6-1-0-1 PGR to 6.205

Carter Rowney 22-2-2-4, 11 SOG, 31 hits, PGR 6.217. 4-2-0-2 PGR to 6.236

Nick Leddy 43-1-11-12, minus 25, 42 SOG, PGR 6.212. 9-0-0-0 PGR to 6.194

Brendan Perlini 21-4-1-5, 22 SOG, 27 hits, PGR 6.212. 2-0-0-0 PGR to 6.204

Joe Thornton 23-4-2-6, 19 SOG, 15 hits, PGR 6.19. 1-0-0-0

Rasmus Kupari 37-3-6-9, 32 SOG, 30 hits, PGR 6.225. No games played.

Tobias Bjornfot 46-0-6-6, 37 SOG, 34 hits, PGR 6.21. 12-0-2-2 PGR to 6.208

Brett Kulak 38-1-7-8, 34 SOG, 45 hits, PGR 6.22. 13-1-3-4 PGR to 6.25

Michael Pezzetta 30-4-2-6, 31 SOG, 83 hits, 6.217. 6-0-0-0 PGR to 6.207

Kale Clague 23-1-5-6, 16 SOG, PGR 6.18. 11-0-1-1 PGR to 6.166

Jesper Boqvist 17-1-4-5, 19 SOG, 9 hits, PGR 6.207. 14-4-3-7 PGR to 6.307. Found his game

Janne Kuokkanen 40-5-5-10, 42 SOG, 25 hits, PGR 6.19. 3-0-1-1 PGR to 6.20

Thomas Novak 27-1-6-7, 25 SOG, 4 hits, PGR 6.196. No games played.

Dryden Hunt 41-3-4-7, 47 SOG, 87 hits, PGR 6.228. 11-1-2-3 PGR to 6.25

Greg Mckegg 26-1-3-4, 11 SOG, 33 hits, PGR 6.176. 8-0-0-0 PGR to 6.164

Kevin Connauton 23-0-0-0, 19 SOG, 42 hits, PGR 6.209. 4-0-0-0 PGR to 6.229

Max Willman 25-2-1-3, 34 SOG, 30 hits, PGR 6.194. 9-0-1-1 PGR to 6.198

Marc-Edouard Vlasic 38-0-8-8, 32 SOG, 18 hits, PGR 6.223. 11-1-1-2 PGR to 6.215

Radim Simek 28-1-1-2, 20 SOG, 70 hits, PGR 6.219. 6-0-0-0 PGR to 6.217

Jasper Weatherby 40-3-4-7, 41 SOG 42 hits, PGR 6.215. 5-1-2-3 PGR to 6.2246

Karson Kuhlman 24-1-1-2, 27 SOG, 46 hits, PGR 6.2233. No games played.

Klim Kostin 30-2-4-6, 25 SOG, 79 hits, PGR 6.232. 10-2-1-3 PGR to 6.224

Tyler Bozak 37-3-6-9, 33 SOG, 15 hits, PGR 6.213. 8-0-1-1 PGR to 6.201

Travis Dermott 29-1-3-4, 22 SOG, 34 hits, 6.203. 12-0-1-1 PGR to 6.219

Alex Chiasson 35-4-4-8, 38 SOG, 34 hits, PGR 6.208. 10-2-1-3 PGR to 6.243

Justin Dowling 20-2-1-3, 15 SOG, 10 hits, PGR 6.1543. 2-0-1-1 PGR to 6.169

Justin Bailey 14-0-0-0, 16 SOG, 12 hits, PGR 6.127. No games played

Dominic Toninato 36-3-3-6, 22 SOG, 49 hits, PGR 6.187. 16-2-2-4 PGR to 6.207

Jansen Harkins 40-4-3-7, 36 SOG, 24 hits, PGR 6.174. 16-1-0-1 PGR to 6.155

Kristian Vesalainen 37-2-1-3, 33 SOG, 46 hits, PGR 6.158. 11-0-0-0 PGR to 6.15

Nathan Beaulieu 19-0-1-1, 20 SOG, 10 hits, PGR 6.15. 5-0-3-3 PGR to 6.206

Brett Leason 32-3-3-6, 42 SOG, 13 hits, PGR 6.226. 3-0-0-0 PGR to 6.221

Carl Hagelin 43-2-5-7, 59 SOG, 26 hits, PGR 6.219. 10-1-6-7 PGR to 6.267

Steel has now played 150 games in the NHL and is not progressing. At 23 years of age, one would think his time in Anaheim is almost done.

Steel has been better in the 19 games since with one goal and eight assists. His PGR has gone from 6.19 to 6.29 which puts him above the replaceable line. For now.

Steel played 11 games from the beginning of February and had 1 goal and 2 assists. His PGR dipped a little back to 6.28.

O'Brien provides some grit to a lineup, but he doesn't kill penalties, provide much offence or play that well without the puck.

Liam played 11 games since and has one goal and 36 hits. His PGR went from 6.21 to 6.23. He is improving his play slightly.

O'Brien only dressed for 7 games and no points but did have 35 hits. His PGR inched up to almost 6.24.

All four of these guys will struggle to get another contract in the league next season.

Ladd went 18-3-2-5 with 17 SOG. His PGR went from 6.19 to 6.22

7-0-0-0 PGR to 6.24

Roussel went 14-0-2-2 with 13 SOG and 19 hits. His PGR went from 6.18 to 6.187

12-0-1-1 PGR to 6.197

Beagle played two games and had one goal before being injured and more than likely out for the season. His PGR went from 6.142 to 6.16

Eriksson went 12-1-5-6 with 17 SOG and his PGR went from 6.13 to 6.19.

Eriksson 12-1-6-7 was a fairly productive stretch for him. PGR at 6.23 now.

All four are still below replacement level in my opinion.

Frederic is a big body at 6'3 and 205lb, who has now played 74 NHL games with four goals and two assists. He is 23-years old and will need to start filling out a defensive specialist role and start to kill some penalties if the offence is not there.

Frederic improved and went 10-2-2-4 with 12 SOG and 14 hits. His PGR went from 6.20 to 6.27.

13-2-3-5, PGR to 6.32. I think he's found his game and should stay with Boston now.

Hayden provides a physical element with little offence, while Bjork provides very little to the team. Butcher has had some success in the past on the offensive side of things with 44 points in his rookie season with New Jersey in 2017-18.

Hayden went 18-0-1-1 with 25 SOG and 30 hits. His PGR went from 6.19 to 6.20. 14-2-0-2, PGR to 6.21

Butcher went 13-1-2-3 with 14 SOG. His PGR went from 6.15 to 6.19. No games played

Bjork went 15-1-1-2 with 12 SOG. His PGR went from 6.14 to 6.14. I'm not sure how he is still in the lineup. 12-0-0-0. PGR to 6.11.

Pitlick is the type of player that is on most teams as a player that kind of treads water and can chip in now and again while throwing the odd hit and playing decently well away from the puck. He won't hurt you.

Pitlick went 4-0-0-0 and his PGR went from 6.21 to 6.19. He will struggle to get into the lineup a little. Was put on waivers and claimed by Montreal. No games played

Borgstrom's second kick at the can in the NHL is not going well and he could find himself on waivers or back in Europe before the end of the season.

Borgstrom went 14-3-2-5 with 16 SOG. His PGR went from 6.18 to 6.21. 10-0-0-0. PGR to 6.18

Kiviranta has 58 games under his belt now but has regressed a little this season, to the point of making himself replaceable. Sekera is 35-years old and is probably at the end of the line.

Kiviranta went 15-1-1-2 with 21 SOG. His PGR went from 6.19 to 6.20. 11-0-1-1 PGR to 6.197

Sekera went 8-0-1-1 with 6 SOG and 3 hits. His PGR went from 6.16 to 6.17. No games played

All three of these guys will need to improve to stay with Edmonton as the Oilers will want to make inroads into the playoffs this season and can't afford to have passengers. Ryan is the best of the bunch as he takes faceoffs and penalty kills, but Koekkoek and Turris are holding on by their fingernails.

Koekkoek went 8-0-3-3 with 7 SOG and 9 hits. His PGR went from 6.16 to 6.24. No games played.

Turris went 7-0-2-2 with 9 SOG. His PGR went from 6.12 to 6.17. 1-0-0-0. Can't get back in the lineup.

Ryan went 15-2-2-4 with 12 SOG. His PGR went from 6.11 to 6.17. 18-5-6-11 PGR to 6.256. Ryan has found his game.

Paquette played a specific role in Tampa Bay by being physical, killing penalties, taking faceoffs and chipping in the odd goal. In Montreal, he kills penalties and is physical sometimes.

Paquette went 12-0-2-2 with 4 SOG and 29 hits. His PGR went from 6.18 to 6.19. No games played.

Mete has hit the wall a little in the NHL after 215 games. Admittedly he is on a below-average team and his OZ starts are extremely low. He has struggled to stay in the lineup and when in the lineup has struggled. He's only 23 and can and should get better.

Mete went 9-0-1-1 with 5 SOG. His PGR went from 6.20 to 6.19. 6-0-1-1 PGR to 6.177

All four of these guys could be in the AHL next season or in the case of Nate Thompson retired. Lindblom is the best of the bunch and it is great to see him healthy and playing, but he needs to improve.

Seeler went 6-0-0-0 with 5 SOG and 12 hits. His PGR went from 6.19 to 6.22. 10-1-2-3 PGR to 6.25. He's improved.

Lindblom went 21-4-7-11 with 47 SOG and 18 hits. His PGR went from 6.17 to 6.32 and his season has turned around. 12-5-3-8 PGR to 6.37. He just had a slow start.

MacEwen went 21-0-2-2 with 20 SOG and 46 hits. His PGR went from 6.17 to 6.19. 12-0-2-2 with 29 hits. PGR to 6.19.

Thompson did not play as he was injured.

Both players probably still need some more time in the AHL as they appear to be a little over-matched this season in the NHL.

Gadjovich went 10-0-1-1 with 8 SOG and 25 hits. His PGR went from 6.10 to 6.14. 8-1-0-1 with 19 hits PGR to 6.16.

Pederson went 7-0-2-2 with 10 SOG and 19 hits. His PGR went from 6.06 to 6.15. 4-0-0-0 PGR to 6.14. In the AHL.

Perhaps he was battling injury for most of the season, but Jarnkrok (now on IR) needs to be better than this for the Kraken when he comes back.

Jarnkrok went 18-6-7-13 with 37 SOG. His PGR went from 6.14 to 6.33. He has come around. 15-5-6-11 PGR to 6.37. Just a slow start.

Nash was waived by Winnipeg and claimed by Tampa Bay recently, but don't be surprised if he is on waivers again sometime this year. He is responsible defensively and can take faceoffs well and kill penalties. Tampa Bay is looking for a short-term safe player and that is what Nash is.

Nash was waived and picked up by Arizona. He went 19-0-2-2 with 18 SOG and 20 hits. His PGR went from 6.09 to 6.16. 9-0-0-0 PGR to 6.15. He might be on his last NHL stop.

I'd like to say Lammikko kills penalties well, but he is part of the Canucks penalty-killing team that is at around 64%. Other than that, he has almost zero offensive upsides, loses more faceoffs than he wins and the jury is out on his play away from the puck.

Lammikko has been a little better. He went 16-2-2-4 with 17 SOG and 12 hits. His PGR went from 6.18 to 6.23. 14-3-3-6 PGR to 6.28. He's improved and become part of a solid 4th line.

I will do a follow-up in a month and see how these players have done and see who is still with the same team, or in the NHL.

PGR - NHL Player Game Ratings

Players At Risk of Playing Themselves out of the NHL – Updated March 9th, 2022

ByGRANT CAMPBELL

By GRANT CAMPBELL

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