Fourth Player Trending Down
Brodziak’s season has been indicative of one of the big problems with the construct of the roster: not enough depth scoring.
Brodziak is having a lousy season personally although for a 4th line center his offensive production is tolerable – it gets magnified since so many other players are having trouble scoring.
Brodziak currently sports 3-2-5 in 38 and has produced 100% of his offense in only three games all season – and nothing since Dec. 11 at that with a -11 to boot (he was +13 in St. Louis last year).
This after putting up ten goals and 33 points in 81 games with the Blues last year. Brodziak has not really impressed in his 2nd go around with the team.
His 2 saving graces are he’s been solid on faceoffs this year: he currently sports a 52.63% on faceoffs, a new career high and tops on the team (I don’t count the 61.6% Jesse Puljujarvi sports in just 3 faceoff attempts) as well as being a secondary option on the PK (he spends an average of 1:38 per game on the PK, 7th on the team).
If I were a betting man I would bet this is why he hasn’t been healthy scratched from the lineup like other struggling vets, tend to do – especially because of the faceoffs.
Brodziak won’t be counted on to score the Oilers out of their slump in-depth scoring, but even for a 4th line center that’s pretty brutal for a guy to only score in 3 games all season, never mind for a guy who put up 33 points just last season.
At least for Brodziak, the price is pretty good: he carries a $1.15 million cap hit for this year and next. Unless a clear win of a trade comes for him, chances are he’ll be here next year and get a chance to redeem himself.
Unless of course, he goes on a tear in the 2nd half of the season, then forget I said that.