Pittsburgh Penguins: Recapping Brandon Tanev’s first season
Brandon Tanev surprised a lot of people in his first season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
When it was first reported that the Pittsburgh Penguins were signing Brandon Tanev to a six year, $21 million contract last summer, my initial reaction was too much term and too much money. That may still end up being the case. However, Tanev’s first season as a Penguin went better than I had expected.
As his on-ice usage indicates, Mike Sullivan and the Penguins coaching staff trusted Tanev right out of the gates in Pittsburgh. This past season, Tanev was an essential member of the Penguins’ most consistent forward trio.
He was consistently relied upon on the penalty kill and according to Natural Stat Trick, was on the ice for the second-highest amount of defensive zone faceoffs of any Penguins skater with 306.
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Tanev’s 172 defensive zone starts also ranked second on the team. The key takeaway here is that Tanev started a large portion of his shifts in unfavorable and difficult situations. Despite that, he still performed at a respectable level.
One of the strongest aspects of Tanev’s game was his ability to bait opponents into taking penalties. He ranked fourth on the Penguins in penalties drawn (18). That mark was also tied for the 19th highest total in the league.
If the Penguins would have had their high-end talent healthy for the majority of this past season, they would have likely reaped greater rewards on the man advantage opportunities that Tanev created.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Tanev has drawn a total of 66 penalties during all strengths over the last three seasons. Since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, only 42 NHL skaters have put their team on the power play on a more frequent basis than Tanev.
Over that same time span, that is a higher total than Mikko Rantanen, Artemi Panarin, and Patrick Kane. Now, we all know the judgment of NHL officials is questionable. Tanev is clearly not a better player than these three. However, it is evident that Tanev’s speed and puck pressure gave defenders fits. He is a difficult player to play against and is the Penguins version of a pest.
Based on the location and quantity of Tanev’s shots, he was expected to score 9 goals. He ended scoring 11. He also outscored his expected goals total in his final season as a member of the Winnipeg Jets.
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Bill Comeau is an under-followed member of hockey Twitter. As his Skatr show shows, Tanev’s penalty differential, expected goals against, and his ability to help suppress shots were three of his greatest strengths. Note that he was nearly in the 75th percentile in terms of the percentage of his ice time that he spent playing against the opposing team’s elite players.
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On the downside, Tanev was not much of a playmaker from a puck distribution standpoint. During even-strength play, he produced only 2 primary assists. During all situations, he had a season total of 4 primary helpers. When the media or fans wonder why he has not been given a look alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, the lack of consistent and/or high-end playmaking ability from Tanev is likely a factor there.
The trio of Tanev, Teddy Blueger, and Zach Aston-Reese was the Penguins’ most steady and consistent forward line this past season. Despite starting the large majority of their shifts at the opposite end of the rink, this line generated 56% of the scoring chances had an expected goals share of 54%. That is very impressive. They are dependable at both ends of the rink. It is a win/win at both ends of the ice for the Penguins. All three are signed through next season at a combined salary-cap hit of $5,250,000.
If you recall, the 2016 fourth line of Tom Kuhnachkl, Matt Cullen, and Eric Fehr were utilized in a similar fashion (in terms of heavy defensive zone starts and faceoffs) to the fourth line that the Penguins rolled out this past season. If and when the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, expect Brandon Tanev and his line to be utilized the same way they were during the regular season.
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The bottom line is this. Tanev does not set the world on fire. He does actively not make his teammates worse. He is not a possession anchor. Basing on these results, he is a slightly overpaid, yet productive depth forward. With Tanev one year into his current contract, the Penguins are hoping to see similar & improved performance over the next 5 years. Thanks for reading!