Winnipeg Jets: How Mark Scheifele would impact each NHL Division
By Andrew R
The Pacific Division
The Pacific Division is a case study in extremes:
- Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers): 80.2% – First Overall
- Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers): 79.6% – 2nd Overall
- Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks): 59.9% – 8th Overall
- Bo Horvat (Vancouver Canucks): 50.2% – 17th Overall
- Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles Kings): 41.8% – 24th Overall
- William Karlsson (Vegas Golden Knights): 37.5% – 25th Overall
- Sean Monahan (Calgary Flames): 33.54% – 30th Overall
- Logan Couture (San Jose Sharks): 28.6% – 32nd Overall
- Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks): 27.1% – 34th Overall
- Derek Stepan (Arizona Coyotes): 21.2% – 35th Overall
Speaking in terms of Overall Score, the Oilers are the only team where Scheifele would definitely be the third Line Center. In reality, Scheifele would likely still be deployed in the top 6. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a natural center who plays on McDavid’s wing. Before McDavid and Draisaitl came into the league, the Nuge was indeed the Oilers’ First Line Center.
Derek Stepan of the Arizona Coyotes finds himself at the bottom of the Division. He scored below the 30th percentile for both TOI and TOI vs. elite. And he scored the lowest of all players tested for Even Strength Points, netting him a 0.0% in that category.
On the other hand, McDavid and Draisaitl played huge minutes while scoring the most points of anyone. At 29.5%, the Oilers’ Power Play was among the NHL’s all-time best. And typically, McDavid and Draisaitl were double-shifted on the PP. This means they were usually out there for nearly the entire 2 minutes of the Power Play.
Elias Pettersson, the third-highest scoring center on the list, scored a good amount of points, but his utilization was low. Pettersson was only in the 33rd percentile for TOI and the 25th percentile for TOI vs. elite comp. Bo Horvat, who scored in the 47th percentile for TOI and the 73rd percentile for TOI vs. elite, is clearly sheltering him from tougher minutes. They are kind of acting like a tandem of two 1B Centers in Vancouver.
Even still, as I mentioned previously, Pettersson had the highest CDiff of all players tested – which, compared to Scheifele’s 4%, made a huge difference. Of course, that’s the difference being sheltered makes. If it came down to it, Scheifele would still be the First Line Center in Vancouver since he would effectively assume Horvat’s role and play higher overall minutes than Pettersson.
Verdict: Scheifele would be the First Line Center on every team in the Pacific Division, except the Edmonton Oilers.