Brett Connolly had an up and down year for the Washington Capitals, but showed a lot of potential.
Last offseason, the Washington Capitals signed former sixth overall pick Brett Connolly after he wasn’t tendered an offer by the Boston Bruins. It was thought of at the time as a depth signing. Connolly wound up having one of the best seasons of his career while playing on the Capitals’ third forward line.
He set a career high in goals and was a huge part of a line that was the Caps’ best for an extended period of time. Connolly is a restricted free agent once again, so his future is up in the air. But he’s rebuilt his career and perhaps saved it. At the very least, Connolly has done enough to earn a chance somewhere.
All stats, unless otherwise mentioned, are from Corsica. Possession and goals for stats are at even strength and adjusted for venue, score and zone.
2016-17 Stats
| Stat | Regular season | Postseason |
| Games Played | 66 | 7 |
| Goals | 15 | 0 |
| Assists | 8 | 0 |
| Points | 23 | 0 |
| 5v5 goals/60 | 1.28 | 0 |
| 5v5 assists/60 | 0.73 | 0 |
| 5v5 points/60 | 2.01 | 0 |
| 5v5 primary points/60 | 1.92 | 0 |
| Plus-minus rating | +20 | -2 |
| Time on ice per game | 10:41 | 8:34 |
| Penalty minutes | 40 | 0 |
| Hits | 89 | 8 |
| Blocked shots | 12 | 2 |
| 5v5 CorsiFor percentage | 54.57 | 51.36 |
| 5v5 GF percentage | 68.36 | 0 |
| 5v5 xGF percentage | 54.41 | 42.84 |
| 5v5 CorsiFor relative | +1.43 percent | -0.96 percent |
| 5v5 GF relative | +7.53 percent | -53.12 percent |
| 5v5 xGF relative | +0.47 percent | -7.93 percent |
The Good
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Connolly was extremely productive with the limited playing time he got. He set a career high with 15 goals despite averaging 10:41 of ice time per game, the second lowest of his career. A lot of this had to do with incredible puck luck, as evidenced by his xGF percentage and his 18.5 shooting percentage, but still, Connolly got results.
His 1.28 even strength goals per 60 minutes ranked second on the team, trailing only T.J. Oshie. As far as possession, the third line of Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller and Connolly ranked first, second and third among Caps forwards in relative CorsiFor percentage. He also had the highest goals for percentage at even strength among all Washington forwards.
The Bad
Connolly had terrible discipline this season. He had 40 penalty minutes during the regular season despite playing in just 706 minutes. That’s an average of a minor penalty every 35 minutes he played, which isn’t good. Connolly was also very streaky, getting just six points in his first 26 games.
He went invisible during the postseason, largely due to some untimely turnovers against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the emergence of Tom Wilson. Connolly isn’t much of a playmaker, as his assist rates show.
Future
Connolly is a guy the Capitals should try to keep. He will most likely be cheap and he showed enough in the 2017 calendar year to warrant another chance. If the salary cap ceiling goes up to $77 million (which it could if the players use their inflator clause), keeping Connolly is extremely realistic. But if it’s not, he might be one of the first salary cuts if the Capitals can’t work something out with him.
Player Grade
Discussion
Is Connolly worth keeping around? Are you concerned about his lack of production during the postseason? Should Connolly get more playing time? Discuss these questions and more in the comments.