Player Discussion Joel Eriksson Ek: The 2nd Act

[Alexandrov]

He's basically Danault now, right? Elite defensively and on 45-50 point pace with almost zero PP time/production. Production level looks sustainable, goals scored is where iXGF indicates it should, 10% OISH and actually sort of low IPP at 56%.

Would not mind adding another JEE in Danault and running Rossi, Danault and JEE as the center core.

 

[Aurinko]

This is to all the scoring worshippers.

2020-2021 season top 5 offensive lines in xGoals%: (so far)

2019-2020 season top 5 offensive lines in xGoals%:

Spot one consistent thing between this year and the last one!

 

[BagHead]

This is to all the scoring worshippers.

2020-2021 season top 5 offensive lines in xGoals%: (so far)
View attachment 406039


2019-2020 season top 5 offensive lines in xGoals%:
View attachment 406040


Spot one consistent thing between this year and the last one!

Huh. I knew the stats this year, and knew they were also good last year. I didn't know they were even better last year!

That is a heck of a line.

 

[ThatGuy22]

He produces better with Greenway and Foligno than anyone else. Why continue to try and force fits with players that he isn't going to fit with? It's not like you have to limit that lines minutes to certain situations. Ek's line right now is a line that can produce good offensive numbers while shutting down the other teams top lines. That's so much more valuable than trying to squeeze another 10 points out of Greenway or Ek by trying to play them with a Kaprizov or Fiala. Find a center to play with Zuccarello and Kaprizov and then you have 2 great lines. And, you still have Fiala and Boldy to build a 3rd line around.

That lines great. Not going to argue it's not. They also don't seem to miss a beat when seperated and re-united.

But JEE has been great with literally everyone. The only player he's seen the ice with that he hasn't been able to drag to a 55 + xGF% is Johansson.

In the 10 minutes Zuc-JEE- Kaprizov have been a line, they have a rediculious 86% xGF. I wouldn't hate spending a couple games see if thats a small sample size fluke, or JEE makes that line literally unstoppable. If it's a fluke, you can easily re-unite with Foligno and Greenway.

Added bonus, you could spend those same games seeing if there is more to Sturm between Foligno and Greenway.

 

[Bazeek]

Player	Team	Position	GP	TOI	CF%	FF%	GF%	xGF%	SCF%	HDCF%	HDGF%	PDO	Off. Zone Start %	Off. Zone Faceoff %
Joel Eriksson Ek	MIN	C	25	321.6333	52.66	54.31	71.43	64.72	60.67	68.47	77.78	1.053	44.44	45.73
Mystery Player	FLA	C	26	378.95	58.9	58.16	62.96	64.57	61.35	66.94	58.82	1.01	52.85	51.65

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Mystery Player: Aleksander Barkov. Not sayin', just sayin'.

 

[57special]

JEE + 2021 1st for Mystery player + Lundell, is what you are trying to say?

 

[Jesus comma Brodin]

Seems good.

 

[Bazeek]

View attachment 406928

Seems good.

**** yo Y-axis.

 

[MuckOG]

He probably doesn't yet have enough name recognition around the league to be considered a Selke finalist, but if he stays on the trajectory he has been on, he will be in future conversations for the award.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I think Kaprizov has grabbed us enough media attention that Ek is also getting noticed. I think he’s got a real chance to be a finalist. He’ll be an expensive extension if that’s right. We may be saying goodbye to the dreams of getting Ek at 4 million

 

[MK9]

He's been great. Would really like to see him improve his faceoff % though.

 

[nickschultzfan]

I would like to see Greenway-JEE-Kap get a long run together.

Frees up Zucc to play opposite Fiala on the 2nd line.

Then pair Foligno with Hartman on the 3rd line.

 

[AKL]

He's a smart player. The more offensive zone time you give him, with skilled players, telling him to try to generate offense as opposed to just shutting down other lines, killing time, grinding away, the more he'll adapt. We've already seen more creative offensive plays this season. He's never going to be a Kaprizov or Fiala, but he's not devoid of skill.

 

[MuckOG]

It seems as though the general consensus was that JEEK would be looking at about a $4-$4.5 million AAV for his new contract.....I'm wondering if his excellent play as of late warrants more than that? Maybe closer to $5 million?

 

[Bazeek]

It seems as though the general consensus was that JEEK would be looking at about a $4-$4.5 million AAV for his new contract.....I'm wondering if his excellent play as of late warrants more than that? Maybe closer to $5 million?

His stats are a little funny because he's got twice as many goals as assists but he could very well hit 20 goals this season, which would be "on pace" for about 30 in 82 games. He's currently 15th in goals among centers.

His shooting percentage is also way high relative to previous years, but I doubt it'll collapse back down to 6-7% either. It seems like most of his goals this year have come from cashing in on the havoc that line creates rather than total flukes.

Genuinely don't know how all that translates to a new contract at this point.

 

[57special]

I am noticing that he is starting to get more confident in his puck handling. Still has that simple, " See net, shoot puck", attitude, but is trying the odd, saucy toe drag a bit more. It seems that he and Greenway are joined at the hip, and that he is the shooter, Greenway more of a distributor.

 

[Wild11MN]

It seems as though the general consensus was that JEEK would be looking at about a $4-$4.5 million AAV for his new contract.....I'm wondering if his excellent play as of late warrants more than that? Maybe closer to $5 million?

I have a hard time seeing anything other than the $4.25-4.75M range as of now, but obviously that depends on contract length.

 

[57special]

Long term, JEE is going to want 5+. Short term, he might be willing to be ton himself for and @2@ 4.25-5. If I'm the Wild, I go with the longer contract, say [email protected].

 

[Wild11MN]

Article on the Athletic about Ek's next potential contract (not by Russo).
With Joel Eriksson Ek's contract talks looming, how much will his breakout season cost the Wild?

Suggests something like $4.4M x 4 would make sense for a shorter-term deal.

Then there was Luszczyszyn’s player value model, which is shown in the article, and it lists his value at something like $6.6M x 7, though that was if he was a UFA.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Article on the Athletic about Ek's next potential contract (not by Russo).
With Joel Eriksson Ek's contract talks looming, how much will his breakout season cost the Wild?

Suggests something like $4.4M x 4 would make sense for a shorter-term deal.

Then there was Luszczyszyn’s player value model, which is shown in the article, and it lists his value at something like $6.6M x 7, though that was if he was a UFA.

Way more comfortable with the 4 year.

 

[2Pair]

What happens when Guerin loses Greenway in the expansion draft and a whole lot of Eriksson Ek's tap-ins go away with him? We also need to understand that Ek's icetime will go down if Guerin ever manages to find an actual top 6 center or two.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

What happens when Guerin loses Greenway in the expansion draft and a whole lot of Eriksson Ek's tap-ins go away with him? We also need to understand that Ek's icetime will go down if Guerin ever manages to find an actual top 6 center or two.

He isn’t a 2c in your eyes yet?

 

[2Pair]

He isn’t a 2c in your eyes yet?

People get too caught up in the 1C-2C-3C bit. Eriksson Ek is the perfect center for the Greenway - Eriksson Ek - Foligno line. That's all that really matters to me. He's not a good fit at all with Kaprizov and/or Fiala . In the perfect lineup for the Wild, Kaprizov - ? - Zuccarello would play the most minutes with the Ek line and hopefully Boldy - ? - Fiala line playing similar amount of time. People want to talk about Eriksson Ek producing like a "2C" but don't seem to mention that he's getting the icetime of a "1C". Also have to understand that the chances of Ek shooting 16% and Foligno shooting 30% ever again probably aren't real good.

I think a 4 year deal around $4M is perfect for both sides. I don't understand the desire to sign a player like him for 8 years though, and even the idea of $6M per gives me anxiety.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

People get too caught up in the 1C-2C-3C bit. Eriksson Ek is the perfect center for the Greenway - Eriksson Ek - Foligno line. That's all that really matters to me. He's not a good fit at all with Kaprizov and/or Fiala . In the perfect lineup for the Wild, Kaprizov - ? - Zuccarello would play the most minutes with the Ek line and hopefully Boldy - ? - Fiala line playing similar amount of time. People want to talk about Eriksson Ek producing like a "2C" but don't seem to mention that he's getting the icetime of a "1C". Also have to understand that the chances of Ek shooting 16% and Foligno shooting 30% ever again probably aren't real good.

I think a 4 year deal around $4M is perfect for both sides. I don't understand the desire to sign a player like him for 8 years though, and even the idea of $6M per gives me anxiety.

I don’t disagree that 8 years at 6 mill is a bit much for me, don’t really wanna sign anyone to eight years. However I do see him as more than a 3c shutdown center so I don’t see the need to find two centers is why I asked about a 2c. The only thing I think we really need to find is an offensive center with speed and good puck skills. Ek Sturm and Rossi/Johnson/Hartmann can do fine with our current lineup. Just need that offensively gifted center to actually play with Kap and zucc or whatever combo we decide Kap gets next year

 

[2Pair]

I don’t disagree that 8 years at 6 mill is a bit much for me, don’t really wanna sign anyone to eight years. However I do see him as more than a 3c shutdown center so I don’t see the need to find two centers is why I asked about a 2c. The only thing I think we really need to find is an offensive center with speed and good puck skills. Ek Sturm and Rossi/Johnson/Hartmann can do fine with our current lineup. Just need that offensively gifted center to actually play with Kap and zucc or whatever combo we decide Kap gets next year

Which one of those guys plays with Zuccarello/Kaprizov? Which one plays with Fiala?