When Dmitrij Jaskin was claimed by the Washington Capitals in early October, it appeared it could’ve been a shrewd move for a team with some lingering questions on the fourth line.
Dmitrij Jaskin was a defensive dynamo, capable of preventing scoring chances for a Washington Capitals fourth line that was in desperate need of defense.
As it turned out, Jaskin didn’t do a whole lot to answer those questions. Or at least, he wasn’t on the ice long enough to answer those questions.
In his first and almost assuredly only season in Washington, Jaskin played in 37 games where he registered two goals, eight assists and averaged 10:05 minutes of time on ice per game. His average time on ice was more than just two players (Travis Boyd at 9:55 and Nathan Walker at 8:09) per game.
His games played was the lowest total since the 2013-14 season, when he was a member of the St. Louis Blues. His average time on ice was the lowest of his career, excluding the 2012-13 season where he played just two games for the Blues.
Coach Todd Reirden, who never seemed to be in Jaskin’s camp, took a few shots at Jaskin to reporters throughout the season.
Todd Reirden, laughing when asked if Dmitrij Jaskin is a viable option at D: "No, he's not a viable option."
— Adam Zielonka (@Adam_Zielonka) April 3, 2019
Jaskin didn’t play the entire month of March and played in just one game, the season finale, from Feb. 17 to April 6.
He never seemed to gain foothold on the fourth line, and as a defensive forward with next-to no offensive skill, that was problematic for Reirden and Co.
I asked Reirden about Jaskin getting scratched again: "I use him at the end of a penalty kill and then it ends up in the back of our net. Those are situations where we have to find people that can be used in all different areas of the game, especially back-to-backs."
— JJ Regan (@JJRegan41) February 11, 2019
It’s never come out as to what the discrepancy was with the Capitals front office near the trade deadline, but it was originally reported that Jaskin, not Devante Smith-Pelly would be sent down to the AHL and play in Hershey. For Jaskin’s sake, he might have wanted to play in Hershey instead of sitting in the press box.
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It’s safe to say that Jaskin will likely be happy to buy his plane ticket out of Washington.
But how Jaskin was used is an interesting case study on its own, too. Jaskin, never billed as a real offensive threat, came in to play defense well. He did that, at least minimally. His Corsi For percentage was third-best on the team at 51.5 percent. It should be noted, too, that his numbers were exclusively before the trade deadline — and the Capitals boost in possession and play on the ice.
His High-Danger Chances was second-best on the team (52.45) in players with more than 50 minutes of time on ice, trailing just Jonas Siegenthaler (61.54 percent).
Grade C: Dmitrij Jaskin was never going to come to Washington and become an All-Star from the jump. His offensive ability isn’t there and his ceiling on this year’s team was likely the fourth line.
But, in his limited time on the ice he essentially did what general manager Brian MacLellan brought him in to do. Can he be faulted for that? Not particularly.
It would’ve been interesting to see the Capitals possession metrics for the fourth line all season if Jaskin was given a longer look, specifically if he was played with Carl Hagelin on the fourth line. That line would’ve likely been one of the better fourth lines, in terms of possession, in the National Hockey League.
Yet, that looks like it’ll be it for Jaskin in D.C. A missed opportunity, for both he and the organization.