Why the Devils should bet long-term on Arseny Gritsyuk
The underlying numbers suggest Gritsyuk has even more to give.
Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess
Arseny Gritsyuk is coming off a sneaky good rookie campaign with the New Jersey Devils.
He produced 31 points over 66 games while playing primarily on the 3rd line and seeing modest power play time.
Gritsyuk was a dual threat offensively while also proving to be quite good without the puck, whether it was creating pressure on the forecheck or picking up defensive assignments.
JP Gambatese recently highlighted Gritsyuk’s contributions and what the cost of business on an extension might look like.
In short, Gambatese concluded a longer-term deal (in the five or six-year range) worth ~$5 million per season would be in the team’s best interest.
I very much agree.
Yes, committing long-term after just 66 NHL games carries risk. But there are some strong indicators Gritsyuk is a player worth betting on.
We’ll start with the offense.
Roughly 85% of Gritsyuk’s points at 5v5 were primary, a strong sign he was driving results rather than a passenger along for the ride.
For context, he performed better than Jack Hughes (80%), Jesper Bratt (80%), and Nico Hischier (77%) in that category.
