Washington Capitals: Brenden Dillon 2020 Report Card

Grading Brenden Dillon’s first season with the Washington Capitals.

When the Washington Capitals traded for Brenden Dillon, they were looking for an experienced defenseman who could complement Norris Trophy candidate John Carlson. He became a fan favorite among Caps fans in just his third game.

In a home contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he dropped the mitts with Evgeni Malkin and absolutely pummeled him. The heavyweight bout happened right behind the net along the boards as Dilly went left hook, right hook, before the refs separated them. It all started on a scramble in front of the net with Malkin trying to take out Nic Dowd. Dillon then jumped right in.

Dillon had no points in his 10 games with the Caps but still was a force on the ice. He had a -2 and had 21 penalty minutes, averaged 20:02 of ice time, had seven blocked shots and 16 hits. His advanced stats were decent, he had a Corsi For percentage of 47.04 percent and a 46.67 Fenwick For percentage.

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Dillon also had a 51.9 adjusted five on five shot attempt percentage, a 54.9 five on five expected goal percentage, and a 44.0 five on five goal percentage.

We only got a small sample size of Dillon during his 10 games with the Caps but he seemed to gel well up top with John Carlson. He has a knack to slow the game down for offenses, and deliver the physicality necessary to help make things easier for the goalie.

If there’s anything Dillon needs to improve on this season it’s to learn how to transition from defense to offense. Dillon had a lower rate of shots for any Caps defender with the exception of Tyler Lewington. He also needs to stay out of the box.

In the playoffs Dillon had one assist in eight games along with eight penalty minutes, nine shots, 19 blocked shots, 26 hits, and an average ice time of 22:09. What stood out the most was his penalties. He took three minors in five games.

Dillon has become a fan favorite and many fans wanted the Caps to re-sign him when the offseason came. That’s exactly what they did prior to the NHL Draft, inking him to a four year deal with an average annual value of $3.9 million.

Grade B: Brenden Dillon proved himself worthy of an extension and we love having him here in D.C. His stats could improve but he’s still an above average defenseman. He gets a B from us.