Wow, who would have thought that fans would complain about a player that hasn’t played well this year?
Strange concept really.
I think there is a lot of merit to the idea that the criticism of Scandella is over the top. If you just read fan opinions about the team, you would assume that Scandella was among the league's worst players and is single-handedly costing the team tons of points in the standings. The reality is that he is a +3 despite playing arguably the most defensive-oriented role in the league (1st among D league-wide in defensive zone faceoff percentage and 4th in defensive zone starts). He's also the team leader in PK minutes for a group that sits 11th in the NHL. He's been on the ice for fewer high danger goals against than Parayko, Faulk, and Krug. His high danger goals against per 60 is 2nd best on the blue line, behind only Perunovich who is getting extremely sheltered minutes. His high danger chances against per 60 is 3rd best on the team (
just behind Parayko).
He's bad with the puck. He makes poor decisions with it and he whiffs on too many passes when he's rushed. He's also not any good at skating the puck out of trouble. The transition game takes a hit when he is on the ice and he needs to be out there with either a partner that can move the puck or forwards who can get low enough to offer him an easy/quick safety valve outlet. But all in all, he has been doing a great job at breaking up scoring plays and preventing chances against. I want to see Berube lean on him less heavily and his salary is a touch high for what he does on ice. But he's absolutely one of the 6 best D men on this roster.
Edit: speaking broadly, he plays a style that is prone to going unnoticed when it is going right. He'll have a 45 second shift where he does a great job blocking passing lanes, forcing guys into the corner and tying up sticks in front of the net. Then he gets the puck and botches the breakout pass in some horrific manner. More often than not, he gets re-engaged in the play immediately and makes a decent stick play to prevent the other team from getting a chance. The goalie never has to make a tough save during his shift, but everyone in the building is thinking "Jesus Christ Scandella" as their heart rate goes back to normal.
