It’s part three of our August series grading each player’s 2017-18 season with the Dallas Stars. The spotlight today is on Marc Methot.
Methot joined the Dallas Stars in the off-season last year after the expansion draft in a trade with Vegas.
Last Season
Marc Methot’s 2017-18 Grade: C
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Methot spent a lot of the season hurt, playing only 36 games. That’s not necessarily his fault, but it was a big drain on the team. Sure, they got cap relief during his IR stints, but they were expecting him to play and that took away the option of them having signed someone else in the off-season.
It’s hard to fault him for his injury and the time it caused him to miss, but his play wasn’t anything amazing when he was on the ice. Part of that is likely due to lingering issues related to his injury, but the fact remains that he didn’t play up to his expectations.
Methot’s offensive numbers were abysmal, but that’s to be expected because he’s a defensive defenseman. He may have been partnered up with Erik Karlsson in Ottawa, but they have very different playing styles. His defensive numbers were better, with a 2.3 defensive point share and a +11 plus/minus.
The place Methot had the best impact was on the penalty kill. At even strength, his relative Corsi was at -4.7, but in 2:08 average ice time on the penalty kill, his relative Corsi was at 0.6. The Stars’ penalty kill numbers overall weren’t great last season, though they were certainly better than 2016-17, but Methot was a helpful addition to them when he was playing.
Overall, Methot didn’t play a lot of games and was mediocre in the games he did play. That’s fine for depth guys, but the fans are going to expect more from a guy making $4.9M AAV.
Next Season
Last year, Methot was injured and that defined his season. Next year, hopefully he can stay healthy. If he does, he has the potential to make a serious positive impact on the penalty kill. Methot’s spent a lot of time playing the penalty kill over his career and the Stars can use all the help they can get when short-handed.
Realistically, Methot’s probably going to still come out looking like he’s missed a step, at least to start the season. The long off-season will help in his recovery, but he missed a lot of time. He also hasn’t exactly looked the same without Karlsson across the ice, but that doesn’t mean he can’t find his footing again with a new partner.
Keep an eye out for the next installment to see what grade we gave the other injury-plagued pick-up, Martin Hanzal.