2015-16 Report Card: Johnny Gaudreau

Johnny Gaudreau

A

BizzleJ: A

I may be a bit biased because I am a Calgary Flames fan, but, I think Johnny Gaudreau is one of the best players in the league. I have seen him score some goals and make some plays that I have only seen a handful of players make. Pavel Datsyuk, Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid…that’s the company Johnny is in, in my opinion.

Johnny scored more goals this season (up from 24 to 30) and had more assists this season (up from 40 to 48), in one less game than last season. His points per game last season was 0.80 and this season was 0.99. Johnny also scored more 3-on-3 overtime goals than anyone else in the league this season with like 100, or so it seemed. He also scored the 2nd fastest two goals in franchise history on March 9th vs the Nashville Predators when he scored 2 goals in just 10 seconds. He also scored a career high 4 points in a game, including a hat trick vs the Boston Bruins on December 4th.

Gaudreau played in the 2015 NHL All-Star game alongside Flames D-man and Captain Mark Giordano, has been named to Team North America in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in March, and has more awards and accolades than McDavid has collarbone jokes.

Perhaps most impressive to me is that he is a small guy and he takes a licking and keeps on ticking. The unfortunate thing is right now he is on a list of players that need new contracts and with the way he has been playing, he will come with a big price tag meaning the Flames will likely only sign him to a short-term contract. This means if they don't make some moves in the next couple years to free up cap space, we may lose him in the next few years. He scores, he assists, he's fast, he's shifty, hell, he may be a ninja. He is worth the price of admission alone, so I give him an A grade.

MattyFranchise: A

No sophomore slump for Johnny Hockey as he tore up a storm from the word "go" managing to finish with (30-48-78) 78 points in 79 games this season, beating his already impressive rookie totals. What's even more impressive to think about is that a large percentage of those points came without the benefit of the power play, where he scored "only" 21 points (6-15-21). There are many many players in this league that can't score without the benefit of a massive amount of PP time and thankfully Gaudreau is not one of them. Nearly every time he touches the puck it's magic. He came just shy of 50% CF (49.57) but managed to push the puck in the right direction relative to his team (+2.25% CFRel), he generated goals, obviously, better than most of the team with a GF of 50.88% and a GFRel of +6.15%. Granted, he did get some pretty tilted zone starts in his favor but that's what happens when you are one of the best scorers on the Flames, if not in the League (19th in goals, 12th in assists, and 7th in points). The point is, he was put in a position to score. And boy did he ever score.

MarkParkinson14- A

I honestly don't know how you could give Gaudreau anything less than an A. His second full season with the Flames was nothing short of fantastic and he continues to trend upward. He upped his point total by 14 (64 to 78), had 6 game winning goals and had 21 total points on the PP. For a while he also led the league in Overtime goals as well. Adding to his list of accomplishments was his selection to his second All Star Game in as many seasons. While he doesn't throw the body around or block many shots, Gaudreau keeps himself out of the penalty box and is positioning himself to be the face of the franchise. It's scary to think about what #13 is doing right now and where his game could be in 2-3 seasons. Calgary has found their next star and his stock is only beginning to rise.

FlamesMM- A

On a team where almost every player experienced a slump in 2015-16, Johnny Gaudreau was the one constant. Often you here of the sophomore slump when rookies struggle in their 2nd season, often being shut down because of the extra attention placed on them by other teams. Not Johnny Hockey. Johnny truly showed that he has the potential to be a huge star in this league by finishing this season with 78 pts up from 64 last season. Not bad for a player once deemed "too small for the NHL". Gaudreau continues to redefine and amaze the hockey world, and whatever contract the Flames give him this offseason, he thoroughly deserves it. He's a star that will hopefully be wearing the Flaming C for many years to come. A

Samwell9 – A+

What more could you possibly ask of Johnny, than what he gave this season? He is an absolutely unreal player, being able to literally control games while being just 22 and less than 160 pounds. He consistently makes something out of nothing, he improves his teammates and he always rises up to the big moments. Finishing sixth in league scoring is incredibly impressive for a second year player who was drafted in the fourth round just five years ago. The only area that could have gone better for Gaudreau was his ability to score on the road, but some of that is due to random variance and the rest of it will be dealt with as Gaudreau continues his rise to the elite scorers of the NHL. He is really already there. He is going to get paid and it is going to be worth every penny. Johnny gets an A+, cannot wait to see what he does next.

HockeyGoalieEh – A+

Fantastic scoring presence, great on special teams, draws penalties at a massive clip – the possession numbers could stand to improve, but this is the Flames so that holds true for everyone. I'm not certain how this isn't an A+ overall. He's clearly the Flames best player and one of the top forwards in the league.

by BizzleJ