Capitals: Season Review of Michal Kempny. On-Ice and Indvidual Statistics

Let’s take a look at Washington Capitals defensemen Michal Kempny.

Michal Kempny has played 940 minutes over 58 GP, primarily with John Carlson. He ranks fourth in ice time among Capitals defenseman. Over 71 games last year, he played 1201 minutes. He is averaging less ice time this year, 16.2 min per game, compared to 16.9 in 18-19. He has a PDO rating of 1.031.

Kempnys’ corsi rating is down, but barely. He has a 50.35 CF%, down from 50.73 CF% in 18-19. His career average, including his split year between Chicago and Washington, has been 52.15 CF%.

Kempny sits at 49.39 SF% this year, he ended with a 49.85 SF% over 71 GP last year. His 49.39 SF% is on par with his SF% over the past 3 seasons.

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He has a 57.29 GF% at the 58-game mark. This number has recently seen quite the jump in response to his improved play and the adjustment of his position in the rotation. At the 55-game mark, he had 54.4 GF%. The +2.9% rise in his past three games, is something to note.

He finished with 47.96 xGF last season, averaging .68 xGF per game. He has seen 36.26 xGF during his shifts this year. That averages out to .63 xGF per game. He has seen a slight downturn in xGF/gm.

He has 38.94 xGA, compared to 55.18 xGA last year. He is below his xGA per game rating from last year, .67 xGA/gm versus .77 xGA/gm last season.

Kempny is carrying a 48.93 xGF% rating. He finished with a 47.96 xGF% rating last year. It is slightly odd to have such a high GF% (57.29), but below 50 xGF%.

Kempny sits at the break with a 48.95 SCF%, down from 49.46 SCF%. He has seen a decline in his SCF% each year with the Capitals. Yet, both of his High Danger Chances metrics have seen an uptick. He has a 49.29 HDCF% and a 51.79 HDGF% this season. Increasing from 45.69 HDCF% and 47.06 HDGF% last year.

Let’s look now at his individual statistics. He has 3 goals, 14 assists, and 17 points. His 17 points has him tied for 51st in the NHL for defenseman with 5 v 5 points. He ranks 112th in time on ice. There are only nine defensemen in the NHL with more points over less minutes. His production may not be staggering, but it is efficient.

He ranks third amongst Capitals defensemen with a 4.29 SH%. His 4.29 rating is down from the 5.71 SH% that Kempny finished with last season. He has a career average of 4.29 SH%.

Kempny has 32 giveaways, good for fourth-most on the Capitals back end. However, he ranks 2nd in giveaways per minute, with .034 giveaways per min. He is only behind Siegenthaler at .032. Something to note with this stat is who Kempny has been playing with, and who he is playing against. His primary partner has been John Carlson, who leads with .049 giveaways per minute. Kempny is well below his regular partner in giveaways per minute; playing against many of the same players Carlson plays against. Next, Siegenthaler may be in first, but it is in most cases against the other teams’ 3rd or 4th lines.

His takeaway stats are not as impressive. He ranks sixth among the Capitals defense with only seven takeaways. For context, Dillon has 3, 4 less with 48 less games played. That is shocking to me. This could have something to do with how below average his hit totals are. He only has 38 hits this year. That is sixth among Capitals defensemen. Kempny has basically averaged one hit per game in his career. He is not doing that this year.

Last stat to mention is his Penalties in Minutes. Kempny finished with 48 PIMs last season, he only has 16 PIMs this season. This is a massive improvement.

Kempny is a good defenseman, capable of regularly playing in the NHL on the right team, in the right spot in the lineup. However, he is not a 3rd or 4th defenseman in the NHL. He came to the Capitals as a 6th or 7th defenseman on the Chicago Blackhawks.

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He has played well for the Capitals, but his usage has caught up to his ceiling in the NHL. None of what I have said here is a criticism of him. Playing him consistently as though he is a 1st or 2nd pairing D man, has put the spotlight on his play, leading to the questions regarding his play. The acquisition of Dillon, the subsequent moving of Kempny to the 3rd pairing, and then the recent improvement in some of his on-ice stats; most notably his GF%, I think is evidence of this. All stats are adjusted to 5 v 5 play and can be found at naturalstattrick.com.

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