Next up on our Washington Capitals player report cards is defenseman Martin Fehervary. In his first full season in the NHL he played in 79 games and had eight goals and nine assists for 17 points. He additionally had a plus minus of plus 15 while averaging 19:39 minutes of ice time.
The only bump in the road was when he entered COVID protocol in December resulting in missing three games. Otherwise that the kid had a solid season and the future looks bright for him as he’s only 22 years old.
Fehervary was, however, held scoreless in the playoffs and had a plus minus of minus seven. He averaged 19:43 minutes of ice time in those six games against the Florida Panthers.
Fehervary was most effective on the top defensive pairing alongside John Carlson in the beginning of the season but not so much towards the end. The two together had a Corsi For percentage of 49.28 percent, an Expected Goals For percentage of 48.06 percent and a 49.51 percent High Danger Chances For percentage, per Natural Stat Trick.
Fehervary also had pretty good individual advanced stats. His Corsi For percentage was 49.10 percent, his Expected Goals For percentage was at 47.57 percent, while his High Danger Chances For percentage came out to 48.75 percent.
Fehervary got off to a good start but then had a drop off after his battle with COVID 19. Even though there was that drop off, head coach Peter Laviolette continued to play him alongside Carlson for top pairing minutes. As a result, this mistake hurt Carlson’s regular season and postseason to the point where I even suggested the team move him.
Carlson was much better when he was paired with someone else. But even that was rare. In the playoffs the Fehervary-Carlson pairing continued and they were outscored 10 goals to two. So that was one misstep of many that ended the season early.
Grade B-: Although Fehervary did drop off, he provided good offense and still had an overall solid rookie season so Marty gets a B-. Eight goals and nine assists is still pretty good for a rookie defenseman.