Dallas Stars: Last Year’s Grade, Next Year’s Guess: Devin Shore
By Summer LeBel
Today, the Dallas Stars player grade series moves into the five players who played in all 82 games last season, starting with Devin Shore.
Of those five Dallas Stars players, Shore had the worst season, and the articles will be in order of worst to best grades.
Last Season
Devin Shore’s 2017-18 Grade: D+
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The big talking point of Shore’s 2017-18 season was his plus/minus, which was the worst on the team at -30. The next closest was Martin Hanzal’s -14. Plus/minus may be an outdated stat in many ways which has been replaced by a collection of other possession statistics, but when someone is extremely high or extremely low, it still means something.
When looking at those advanced stats, Shore still comes away with terrible possession numbers. It was clearly a problem last year, and his numbers weren’t great in 2016-17 either (though certainly better).
His 1.4 point share barely beat out Gemel Smith’s 1.3, despite playing almost twice as many games. Marc Methot even managed a 1.9 in only 36 games.
Shore’s offensive numbers were disappointing, but the one redeeming factor there is that he at least made it to double-digit goals, something only seven players did. However, he was getting the fifth most ice time of the forwards, including more than Tyler Pitlick and Radek Faksa, both of whom were more productive offensively while actually being responsible defensively.
He also had the opportunity to play both sides of the special teams, but he didn’t do much to help in that regard either. All around, Shore’s year was a bit of a dud.
Next Season
Despite a not-so-stellar season, Shore managed to get a two-year extension at $2.4M AAV. Fans had high expectations for Shore going into last season and he didn’t live up to them. If he wants to earn back any love from the fanbase, he’ll need to have a better year next season.
Since he already has an extension for two years, it’s possible he doesn’t put in as much effort as he might if he was facing an expiring contract next summer because he doesn’t feel the same pressure. However, he could still end up as a potential trading piece if he struggles and another team wants to take a chance on him.
The only sure thing about next year is that, with Antoine Roussel and Kari Lehtonen gone, Shore’s Drivin’ with Devin segments will still provide fans a source of strange amusement during games. The guys over at P.M. Standley Motorcars should still look for another replacement though, to mix things up and just in case Shore ends up on the trading block before the season’s over.
All joking aside, next year may not be make it or break it for Shore, but he still has to step it up if he wants a long-term place with the Stars.
Shore’s year was the only disappointment out of the five players who never missed a game, but that doesn’t mean everyone earned an A. Check back next week to see where the other four ended up.