Anaheim Ducks News: Adam Henrique gets five-year extension

The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed center Adam Henrique to a five-year deal worth $29.25 M

It looks like Adam Henrique is going to be a member of the Anaheim Ducks for the half-decade. On Monday, the 28-year-old center agreed to a five-year, $29.25 million deal. That makes his deal worth $5.85 million each season. Henrique finished with a combined 50 points in 81 games this season.

He had played the entirety of his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils until this season. In November, he was traded to the Ducks, along with prospect Joseph Blandisi and a 2018 third-round pick. In exchange, Anaheim gave the Devils Sami Vatanen and a conditional pick.

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Henrique has scored 40 points in every season but one since 2011-12. This includes three 50 point seasons. With this sort of record, he certainly brings a lot to the table for the Ducks.

In addition to his impressive offensive ability, Henrique is often regarded as one of the better defensive centers in the league. Despite his age, he’s a very strong skater. This allows him to easily transfer between attacking and defending, often mid-rush.

He was selected in the third round (82nd overall) at the 2008 NHL Draft. He stands at 6’0″ and weighs 195 pounds.

Possible criticisms of the Henrique signing

If we just look at Henrique’s basic stats, then this looks like a pretty great signing. However, it is not always that simple. Some statistical analysis suggests that Henrique definitely has some holes in his game.

His Corsi for percentage on the Devils was not quite abysmal, but still not encouraging. In an admittedly small sample size of 24 games, he finished at 45.3 percent. His relative corsi of -1.1 percent means his team controlled the puck more when he was off the ice.

To his credit, his Corsi improved in Anaheim, but it still ended up under 50. Henrique finished at 49.3 percent and had a relative Corsi of -0.3 percent. To further prove my point, as seen in this graph, he hasn’t finished with a Corsi for above 50 percent since the 2013-14 season.

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Graph via National Center For Education Statistics

I can hear the people screaming already. Yes, he gets lots of points. Even so, his possession totals are well below 50, and there has been minimal variation since he dipped into the 40’s. Henrique is a good two-player, but he has some holes in his game that result in these sorts of numbers.

Henrique signing conclusion

Alright, so what are the plus sides? Well, Henrique is a good point scorer. He’s a solid two-way center, he’s fast, and he can be fun to watch. Additionally, it’s not like the Ducks are locked into some sort of terrible contract either. $5.82 M a year is certainly not a little, but it’s not bankrupting them either.

The downsides? Well, his advanced stats are not great. This is quite easy to push aside for some, but I think it is important to take into account. Stats like Corsi and Fenwick do not always have a perfect correlation with success, but they are indicators. Also, the Ducks seem to be investing a lot of money into aging players, which is a bit of a risk.

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To summarize the entire signing, I am still of the opinion that it is good that Henrique is on the Ducks. However, they may have overpaid, considering some of his advanced statistics.