SEKERA SECOND SEASON
By Lowetide
7 years ago
When Peter Chiarelli signed Andrej Sekera to a free-agent contract in the summer of 2015, Oilers fans were hopeful, but history taught the Nation that these ‘just money’ additions can be a sticky wicket. Coming up on two years later, how do things look?
Andrej Sekera solved a major problem for the Edmonton Oilers summer 2015. The team missed on signing their own two-way defenseman (Jeff
Petry) but grabbed a damned good one just a few months later. How has he looked since he arrived?
Petry) but grabbed a damned good one just a few months later. How has he looked since he arrived?
One way to look at it is through a variety of numbers, including time-on-ice (coaching staffs run with their best defensemen), scoring numbers (less important for defensemen, but it has value) and possession numbers.
ANDREJ SEKERA IN A BOX
Sekera spent time with the Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angles Kings in 2014-15, and in Edmonton the past two seasons. In three seasons, Sekera’s playing time (per game) has remained the same, although his time in each game discipline has changed by season. Notice the blip in 5×5/60 production in his first Edmonton year, and then a nice spike in his second Edmonton season. Power play production in Edmonton has been consistent for Sekera over two seasons.
In his 2014-15 season (Carolina and Los Angeles) and year one with Edmonton, his primary points (goals plus first assists) at 5×5 suggested mid-level production:
- 2014-15: 2-4-6 in 73 games
- 2015-16: 1-3-4 in 81 games
- 2016-17: 4-6-10 in 55 games
- Source
Sekera’s total (4-6-10) in 2016-17 has spiked in a good way. He ranks behind Oscar Klefbom, who has seven goals and six primary assists (13 points). Where does that number rank these men in terms of the entire NHL?
PRIMARY POINTS BY DEFENSEMAN 2016-17 (5×5)
- Brent Burns 28
- Erik Karlsson 16
- Dougie Hamilton 15
- John Carlson 14
- Dustin Byfuglien 14
- Dmitri Orlov 13
- Oscar Klefbom 13
- Ivan Provorov 13
- Victor Hedman 13
- Nick Leddy 13
- Mike Green 13
- Tyson Barrie 12
- Jeff Petry 12
- Seth Jones 12
- Brady Skjei 11
- Jared Spurgeron 11
- Jacob Trouba 11
- Alex Pietrangelo 11
- Ryan Ellis 11
- Matt Niskanen 10
- Colton Parayko 10
- Andrej Sekera 10
- Morgan Rielly 10
- Andrew MacDonald 10
- Justin Faulk 10
- Nick Holden 10
- Cam Fowler 10
- Kevin Shattenkirk 10
- Duncan Keith 10
- Johnny Boychuk 10
- Andrei Markov 10
- Source
Klefbom is an emerging talent, this is a nice number to follow and see if it can be repeated. For Sekera, this might be a career season in this regard. Even in 2013-14 with Carolina, when he posted 34 points, only 11 were primary points.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Lately, whenever I see something that involves good production in Edmonton 5×5, I am tempted to credit Connor McDavid. That could be the case, but even with that, it is important to place defensemen with 97 who can help with the offense.
- Oscar Klefbom with Connor McDavid 2-3-5 in 314 minutes
- Andrej Sekera with Connor McDavid 4-4-8 in 316 minutes
Yesterday, when Peter Chiarelli talked about the deadline, he didn’t spend much time on the power-play quarterback. Part of that is the available talent pool, but there is some evidence that the solution might—at least in part—be available on the current roster.
It has been a nice progression for Andrej Sekera in Edmonton.
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