Next up on our Washington Capitals player preview series is Carl Hagelin. Hagelin will enter his third full season with the Capitals after he was traded to them from the Los Angeles Kings at the 2019 trade deadline. Last season, while his offensive numbers took a dip, Hagelin was still an important piece of a killer fourth line alongside Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway.
Hagelin appeared in 20 games for the Capitals in 2019 scoring three goals and eight assists for 11 points. He followed that up in the pandemic shortened 2019-20 season with eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 58 games. Last season, Hagelin played in all 56 games scoring six goals and 10 assists for 16 points.
In fact, the trio fourth line of Hagelin, Dowd, and Hathway were the only forwards last season to appear in every game. They skated a total of 517:43 together, the most of any Capitals line combination.
Hagelin was amazing on the penalty kill. His 144:02 minutes on the PK was the second highest among forwards in the NHL (Connor Brown of the Ottawa Senators had 163:40). His 40.18 shots against per 60 minutes of penalty kill time was the lowest rate among forwards with at least 100 penalty kill minutes last season.
Hagelin is up there in age as he recently turned 33 but make no mistake about it, he still brings the speed that the team needs so desperately to keep up with an improving Metropolitan Division. His offensive production has fallen off since coming into the league but his defense will also be something the Caps will need help with this season.
Hagelin’s advanced stats last season weren’t too shabby. He had a 49.19 percent Corsi For percentage, a 52.53 percent Expected Goals For percentage, and a 56.56 percent High Danger Chances For percentage.
The trio of Hagelin, Dowd, and Hathaway together on the fourth line had a combined Corsi For percentage of 49.89 percent, a 52.08 percent Expected Goals For percentage and a 56.67 percent High Danger Chances for percentage (numbers courtesy of Natural Stat Trick).
In all, look for Hagelin to contribute to a fourth line that only looks to pick up where they left off from last season. It is one of the few positives from last year carrying over into this year.