Washington Capitals: Michal Kempny 2020 Report Card

Michal Kempny is up next on our Washington Capitals report card series.

The defense was a weakness of the Washington Capitals all season. Sadly part of that reasoning is we didn’t get a 100% Michal Kempny. Since the hamstring injury, he hadn’t played like himself and will be out all of next season. But we have to grade everybody and he’s up next.

Kempny played in 58 games last season, scored three goals and added 15 assists for 18 points. Not too shabby. He was a +19, had 22 penalty minutes and averaged 18:38 of ice time. He also had 72 blocks and 42 hits.

It is safe to say his numbers dipped partly because of the injury he suffered back on March 20, 2019 in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was an injury to his hamstring that required surgery and sidelined him for the playoffs. It was evident his absence hurt the Caps as they were upset in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes.

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When Kempny struggled on the top pair next to John Carlson, he was rotated around as Todd Reirden just simply didn’t know what to do. That’s part of the reason he had a drop in ice time. But things went from bad to worse when he was paired with Radko Gudas. The expiriment just did not work.

Kempny’s five on five shot attempt percentage was 50.7 percent, 49.9 percent expected goal percentage, and 57.7 goal percentage in the regular season. It was a regular season that was paused due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and one would think the extra rest would benefit Kempny.

Kempny had one assist in five playoff games. During five on five play, the Caps controlled 40 percent of expected goals and 42 percent of shot attempts when Kempny was involved on the ice. His Corsi For percentage was 50.35 percent in the regular season but was the lowest on the team in the playoffs at 41.91 percent.

Grade C-: I can’t really say how Kempny can improve for next season because he will not be playing. After training in the offseason, he hurt his Achilles tendon and will require surgery. He is out six to eight months.

Kempny’s grade is still at least an average. His advanced stats and regular stats were okay at best but he’ll need to improve once he’s back on the ice. He’ll suit up for the Caps in the 2021-22 season before becoming an unrestriced free agent. We would like to wish Kempny a speedy recovery.