Brandon Duhaime, W/Colorado Avalanche
Brandon Duhaime won’t help the Blue Jackets score, but the gritty winger wouldn’t be in town to put up points. Instead, he would add a dose of much-needed physicality to a team that averaged just 19.2 hits per game.
Duhaime has 555 hits over his three full seasons, giving him an average of 185 per year. Add the latter number to the Blue Jackets meager 1,578, and that 19.2 average sails north to 21.5. That may not be a huge increase to some, but do the math, and it’s an increase of nearly 11 percent.
And no, I’m not endorsing signing a player like Duhaime just for the sake that he can hit, as the Blue Jackets need more than that if they want to be even somewhat relevant next season. I’m also looking at Duhaime’s advanced numbers from his short stint in Colorado: 53.5 percent Corsi For, 48.7 offensive zone starting percentage at even strength - this indicates someone who can constantly help move the puck between the three zones.
Although that number was a meager 44.1 through his 62 games with the Minnesota Wild, Duhaime’s offensive zone starting percentage was just 36.0, or 8.1 percent lower than his Corsi For. Once again, he was doing a sensational job helping to move the puck and to create scoring chances, maximizing his 10:52 of average total ice time.
Columbus has a brewing core group of scorers; they just need more chances. This is evident when you look at their sub-50 percent Corsi For, Scoring Chances For, and High-Danger Chances for at 5-on-5. Maybe they still wouldn’t reach 50 percent with Duhaime, but those numbers would nonetheless rise.