When philadelphia flyers General manager Chuck Fletcher signed Martin Jones to back up Carter Hart last offseason, confident the veteran would bounce back after being bought by the San Jose Sharks.
Assuming Hart would dominate the crease, Jones would provide stable and experienced options to take the load off, even if he was at the top end of the $2 million endorsement goal market, it seemed logical enough.
But the problem for Fletcher was that Jones at the time was coming off worsening seasons with the Sharks, posting three consecutive seasons of negative double-digit above-average (GSAA) goals saved dating back to 2018-19.
Unfortunately, that trend would continue during Jones’ only season in Philly, as he posted a -7.9 GSAA in 35 games, though he did at least help the Flyers bottom out for the fifth overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft. from 2022 (Cutter Gauthier selected).
Jones wasn’t good enough in long stretches before the Flyers were officially sidelined to warrant protecting the frail Hart from rebounding from multiple clunkers as Fletcher hoped, and interim coach Mike Yeo ended up having to continue testing the 23-year-old. years. -the temper of the old man as a result.
In fact, Jones’ one-year streak backfired so much that Fletcher, squeezed against the salary cap, was willing to forgo the veteran backup goalie market this offseason entirely and roll with a combination of AHL veteran Felix Sandstrom. Troy Grosenick, Samuel Ersson and potentially KHL standout Ivan Fedotov if he ever gets out of the Russian military prison camp to which he was reportedly taken against his will.
Despite a body of work now spanning four seasons of data showing Jones just isn’t very good anymore, the 32-year-old somehow landed another one-year, $2 million deal with the seattle krakenthat they already employ the NHL’s worst goalie for a year in Philipp Grubauer (-26.36 GSAA).
NHL general managers, man.
by the numbers
While we were tough on Jones at the top in terms of his average ranking among his teammates, he was slightly worse than Hart, who posted a -3.0 GSAA in a tough year for Flyers goalies.
The main reason Jones and Hart had lackluster seasons was that the Flyers were one of the worst defensive teams in hockey, employing an all-team defense that lacked commitment and frequently left their goaltenders offside on runs. strange and tall men. -Probabilities of danger.
But even given the Flyers’ defensive shortcomings, Jones provided a lack of resistance against high-danger opportunities: sporting a rank in the NHL’s bottom 10 in high-danger save percentage (.801%) and saving on average fewer than five high-danger opportunities. occasions of danger between the goalkeepers playing at least 1,800 minutes in all situations.
Even by traditional stats like save percentage (.900) and goals-against-average (3.42), Jones left a lot to be desired, perhaps further justifying Fletcher considering buying the backup goalie cheap to save the salary cap again. after seeing a modest investment. stop paying dividends.
In the end, Fletcher’s bet that Jones would capture the past magic met with Flyers goalkeeping coach Kim Dillabaugh, who worked with Jones when he broke out with the Los Angeles Kings – was unpaid and left the GM with limited options this offseason to replace Hart.
Three thoughts on Marty’s one-year wonder in Philly
To start off, we’d like to thank Marty for his excellent work in January and February, where he went 0-6-2 with a .873 save percentage and a 3.91 goals-against average to help propel the Flyers further south in Qualifying: It was a good job, really.
It’s easy to look back at the move Fletcher made for Jones and see that the thought was a major flaw in not moving the veteran at the deadline for value that would have been double. Even a third- or fourth-round pick would have provided a lottery ticket the Flyers could use more of, or potentially use on commercial sweeteners. Would have given the Flyers a look at Sandstrom in extended NHL action to better gauge whether or not he could hold his own as a future backup option in say…2022-23…where he is by default and by foul of salary cap space. That was a mistake by Fletcher, especially given how far the Flyers were from the trade deadline.
Finally, there’s really the impact on Hart in terms of Jones leaving. Jones was clearly targeted by the Flyers in terms of the hope that pairing him with his former goalkeeping coach would remedy his game and potentially open him up for future seasons in Philly, but that clearly didn’t happen. Now, in terms of roster construction and the Flyers just above, and likely above, the NHL salary cap, Hart will have backups somewhere in the range of experience he can count on one hand. Since Hart hasn’t been very good in recent years and has been bumped along the way, he creates a very precarious situation in Philly.
I never heard that before.
All stats via Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference, and Evolving-Hockey unless otherwise noted.