Jags
Mildly Disturbed
I'd caution against reading too much into the data for a few reasons.
First off, some of the bottom six guys have pretty small samples. Winnik has a mere 20 shot attempts, so each shot represents a 5% swing in his stats. Missing just 2 shots would drop him 7 spots on the list. While I haven't done any studies to see where shot rates stabilize, my gut guess is that I wouldn't count on players with fewer than 60 or 70 attempts having stable shot numbers.
Secondly, usage can skew things a bit. While powerplay numbers are important, how a player is used on the powerplay can also impact their numbers.
There's plenty to be gleaned, but take it with a grain of salt for some of the players with lower quantities of attempts and specialized roles.
This, especially when it comes to our defenders.
Being down on Carlson's shot stats, for example, doesn't take into account what it takes to shoot accurately from the point.
First of all, sometimes you're trying to miss; you're looking for the deflection or the bounce back from the boards.
Secondly, you're almost always shooting at a very small target because of all the moving obstacles in front of you. So you're shooting at a sliver of a fraction of a glimpse, hoping to (luckily) thread that needle or, again, to get a little help from a deflection.
And third, there's also the "you could kill someone" factor when taking those crazy slaps from the perimeter. So it's not just that you're consciously pulling it to try to score or increase the likelihood of a deflection, you're also trying not to hit anyone. Not only because blocked shots are a bummer, but also because you can really hurt people, especially your own guys that are less likely to see it coming..
Lots of fans just see the cannon blasts from the point and think they're less accurate because of the power and distance, or because John Carlson "sucks," but it's WAY more complicated than that. These aren't the one-timers Ovi fires from his office with no one in front of him and the goalie lurching to cover. This is firing into crowded areas where you routinely need help or luck to score at all.