SilverSeven
Registered User
Ignoring useful performance metrics just because of some hatred for advanced stats is pointless. I'm not claiming that corsi is the end-all of player evaluation. But you can't deny that "shots attempted minus shots attempted against" while a player is on the ice is a useful metric for judging a) puck possession, and b) when combined with other stats, offensive/defensive impact.
And in this case, despite Da Costa starting in the offensive zone nearly twice as much as Smith, and facing much weaker opposition, they both register almost identical shots for minus shots against. When you look at Da Costa's ozone start % and quality of competition, and consider that he SHOULD have way more shots for than shots against, the fact that he's barely outperforming Smith and Zibanejad tells you that you're wasting those golden offensive opportunities by putting him out there instead of one of the other centers. In fact, by spoonfeeding him all of those soft ozone starts, you're actually hurting Smith/Turris/Zibanejad's ability, since those opportunities are being concentrated for Da Costa, instead of being spread out among the other centers. Simply put, Da Costa isn't a good puck possession player right now, while Zibanejad and Smith are. In a Paul Maclean system, where your primary concern with centers is puck possession ability and ability to control the play, SDC doesn't help the team nearly as much as the other centers, and it's no surprise why he got sent down.
You'll see the same thing with Condra and Zibanejad if you look at their underlying stats too, and the 3 of them are a big reason that we're having the success that we are.
Not all shots are created equal. DaCosta creates high quality scoring chances.
