2008 Final Grade: A-
2007 Grade: B
Links:
Jeff Finger (hockey-reference page)
2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Finger game log
Season Stats: 72gp 8g 11a 19pt +12
Minutes: 1,438.6 (3rd), 16:38 EV, 1:03 PP, 2:18 PK, 19:59 ATOI
1st Half: 37gp 2g 7a 9pt +9
2nd Half: 35gp 6g 4a 10pt +3
Playoffs: 5gp 0g 2a 2pt -2
Best Month: March (13gp 2g 2a 4pt +4)
Linemates: Liles (43), Cumiskey (11), Salei (8), Sauer (7), Skrastins (1) plus two games as a 7th defenseman
Season: After a 22-game stint in 2006-2007, this year was Finger’s first full season in the NHL. Not surprisingly, he set career highs in game (72), goals (8), assists (11), points (19), +/- (+12).
Report: Honestly, I wasn’t thinking Finger’s grade would be as high as an A-, but I had a difficult time finding faults in his game. Finger had a solid season in 2007-2008 and ranked highly in almost every category. He was 2nd in +/- to Kurt Sauer and had the 3rd most minutes (behind Hannan and Liles). His 121 hits were tops on the team and 51 more than the next defensemen (Clark) tallied - until the arrival of Salei and Foote, Finger was the one banger we had back there. He’s a solid shot blocker (1.6 per game) and, like Clark, can be used in any situation. I, of course, would have liked to see him used on the powerplay more; as Dario is fond of saying, he does a great job making sure his shot gets on net. Since making it to the NHL, he’s been paired with Liles in about 68% of his games; I’m fond of postulating that he’s a major factor in Liles’ improved defensive play. He isn’t the most mobile of guys, but thanks to that hard, accurate, right-handed shot, Finger had 8 goals (tops among Avalanche blueliners) and was 2nd on the team in EV points (16, 3 behind Scott Hannan). Finger was getting loads of ice time towards the end of the season, but he quickly fell out of favor with Joel Quenneville in the playoffs. His (arguable) miscue in OT against the Wild in game 3 led to Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s winning goal, and he sat for the remainder of the series. Then, when an injury to Hannan forced Finger back into the lineup in the Detroit series, he received some lovely words of encouragement from Quenneville after taking a bad penalty. Those two incidents aside, Finger had a great season.
Fast Fact: Finger has played in just 5 NHL games as a minus player for the season.
2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $475,000 ($475,000)
2008-2009 Status: UFA
Outlook: Finger is one of several free agent defensemen the Avalanche will have to make a decision on this summer. There’s a lot of guys I’d like to see return, and Finger is certainly one of them. I think with more PP time he could put up even bigger offensive numbers, but his real strength is as a tough, physical player in his own end. Finger should get a nice raise this offseason, and hopefully the Avalanche will be the team writing the check.
i’ll give you a flaw: on a team with some really slow guys (Sauer, Bruno, Skrastins, etc), he stood out as the slowest of the group. Finger is also not a super smart player positionally, which doesn’t mix well with being slow.
that said he did have a good year, and his (right handed!!!) shot was very valuable. He gets a B+ from me. I hope the Avs re-sign him, for 1 - 1.5 million, and that he won’t be pushed into top pairing minutes.
I think for his first full NHL season he did a fantastic job. The toughness we expected from Hannan never materialized and I think Finger filled a role that was sorely needed. No one else on the team played that kind of game, even Sauer with his bigger size plays a Hannan type of game is less about hits and more about sealing guys off the puck.
Doc, I disagree on Finger’s positional game being poor. I think he was better than most which contributed to his numbers this year. I can agree that his skating is not the swiftest on the team and in fact, next to Liles he probably looked even slower than perhaps he was. I see Finger as a Kronwall type of player who is a great fit as a 5-6 defenseman. I think there’s even more potential there for him to be better.
One thing I love about Finger is his attitude about the game. I talked to him during the 2003-04 rookie camp and he just loves playing hockey. I asked him if he regretted leaving college early and he laughed. He said he didn’t miss the school-work at all and just wants to play hockey. Things change of course but I got the feeling that he’s a pure rink rat and work ethic will never be missing from his game. The way that guy laughs when he got smoked on a few forechecks this year reminded me of that attitude. I think he really does enjoy the contact and could very well be a bit looney.
I find it easy to root for Finger and love that he’s part of the team. I sure hope he stays, I think his upside is higher than Sauer.
I completely agree on this one DD. Finger is solid. He is prone to some miscues, but overall I think he’s a solid defender.
Everyone knows that already though.
“I think his upside is higher than Sauer.”
I’m a big Sauer fan, but I’d certainly take Finger over Sauer if I had to choose…
I think we should resign him just for the pure joy I get out of screaming, “Give em the Finga!”
Jeff kicks ass!!!!
je
jeff has all the tools to be a solid defencemen for any team. sorry avs. see at the rail!