Is Patrick Sharp about to take a press box sojourn for the first time in his tenure as a Blackhawk? And was it ever right to expect much from him this year?
The numbers tell the story:
Storied Blackhawk veteran Patrick Sharp has 3 goals and 6 assists in 33 games and is -6. And, if rumors are to be believed, the 35 year-old Sharp is about to be relegated to the press box. By contrast, the guy who will likely replace him in the lineup, Richard Panik, has 5 goals and 9 assists and is +3 in 30 games. Just to flesh it out further, in 2017-18, Panik has 57% even strength Corsi For, balanced by 59.4% offensive zone starts. Sharp has 52.4% Corsi For, with over 65% of his starts in the offensive zone.
I was a little shocked, honestly, at the relative hoopla over signing Sharp this past summer. This was a guy, when last seen in a Hawk sweater, who was basically a third line forward (albeit on a great team). He then spent 2 kind of “meh” seasons in Dallas, the last of which was marred by a couple of severe injuries.
What I heard from a good source over the summer was that Sharp might be re-signed if the Hawks failed “to get some bigger things done.” And it was implied in that dialogue that Sharp would be seen as a depth piece—not the top 6 forward he once was. My personal take was Sharp (if healthy) would make sense as basically a 13th forward, a “nice to have” that you could slot for a few games here or there in a variety of roles. It appears, in spite of the assurances from his Twitter fan club that Sharp was in “tip top shape and ready to go,” that’s what’s about to happen.
Never say never
But at the same time, is it possible Sharp could re-assert himself and become a regular contributor, as he was in the Hawks’ recent glory years, at some point of the regular season or playoffs? Certainly, stranger things have happened.
I will fully admit, I was “late” to get on the DeBrincat Train—while in fairness, it took him more than a handful of games to show he was remotely NHL ready. But what all this has taught me, or at least reinforced for me, are two things. First, water eventually—always—finds its level. And that NHL hockey is increasingly a young man’s game.
It’s Panik’s time
We all want forwards to score, and we fixate on the notion that it’s the only metric of a player’s value. In fact, players like Sharp and Panik add value over 200 feet of ice. And neither has “hurt” the Hawks this year. But when I think about things like that essentially being an equal trade-off between the two players, I also think I prefer Panik’s potential to get really hot over Sharp, not to mention he makes more of a difference physically at this point.
In the end, the notion of Panik replacing Sharp in the lineup is probably not huge news. But it likely will be what’s best for the team, on the ice and in the minds of players. Sharp’s contributions to this team as a regular player will not soon be forgotten. He’s made a lot of money. But the reality is, time marches on and the Hawks are slowly, quietly transitioning to a new era.
We’ll have a Dallas preview tomorrow AM.
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