2008 Final Grade: B-
2007 Grade: B
Links:
Milan Hejduk (hockey-reference page)
2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Hejduk game log
Season Stats: 77gp 29g 25a 54pt +8
Minutes: 1,489.8 total (1st), EV 13:60, PP 3:41, PK 1:41, ATOI 19:21
1st Half: 36gp 15g 15a 30pt -1
2nd Half: 41gp 14g 10a 24pt +9
Playoffs: 10gp 3g 3a 6pt -6
Best Month: December (15gp 7g 7a 14pt -2)
Positions: RW (77)
Lines: 1st (53), 2nd (19), 3rd (4), 4th (1)
Linemates: Hejduk season log
LW: Smyth (33), Brunette (17), Wolski (12), Hlinka (8), Forsberg (6), McLeod (1)
C: Stastny (51), Hlinka (12), Hensick (5), Sakic (5), Arnason (3), Guite (1)
Season: Hejduk’s 54 points represented his 3rd worst season in the NHL (he had 48 points in his rookie season and 44 points in 62 games in 2001-2002). The .7 points per game is his lowest season average since his rookie year (.59 points per game).
Report: After seeing a bit of a career resurgence last year (especially in the 2nd half), Hejduk seemed to take a step back again in 2007-08. He dropped from 70 points to 54 points even though his minutes were almost identical (in fact, no Avalanche forward played more minutes this year). Why? Well, not having Stastny around for a healthy chunk of the season didn’t help. Of Hejduk’s 38 EV points, 32 (16g 16a) came with Stastny. That’s a pretty healthy clip - an EV point ever 1.5 games. When Stastny wasn’t around, though, Hejduk disappeared - just 6 EV points in 26 games, or a point every 4.3 games. Hey, I like having Stastny around too, but that’s just an unacceptable drop. Hejduk, of course, has a terrific wrist shot, is great at finding an opening in the slot, is a good passer and is a very good defender. Unfortunately, he also has the ability to turn invisible (23 games with 1 shot or 0 shots) and he had too many of those nights this year. What stands out for me is that stretch in early February when the Avs were without Sakic, Smyth, Stastny. Instead of kicking it into a higher gear to carry the depleted team, Hejduk disappeared, scoring just 4 points (less than guys like Hensick, Guite and Hlinka). In the first 12 games that month, Hejduk was scoreless in 11 of them (and, oh yeah, the Avalanche lost 8 of them). I don’t expect 50 goals, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a little bit better consistency. His powerplay production has been dropping drastically - he had 24 PP points in 2006-2007 and just 15 this year. That’s just dismal - 4 players (Kovalev, Gonchar, Malkin, Datsyuk) had more PP points this year than Hejduk has in the last 2.
Fast Fact: Hejduk and Sakic had no evens strength points in the 5 games they skated together.
2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $4,000,000 ($3,900,000)
2008-2009 Status: Hejduk is under contract for two more seasons.
Outlook: That Rocket Richard season of 2002-2003 (50goals, 98 points) is looking more and more like a fluke. Take out that season, and Hejduk’s season averages are 31g and 35a. 66 points is certainly nothing to sneeze about, of course, but that one huge season really stands out in comparison. Barring injury, I’d expect Hejduk to be in mid-60 range for points next year. Even though I’m disappointed a bit with his performance, $4 million for Hejduk is a great deal.
I think three seasons of ‘defense-first’ preaching by Coach Q have hindered him more than anybody else. There were tons of times this season where he’d be the first man to the puckcarrier on the forecheck, but he’d look back, see everybody else assuming the position in the neutral zone, and he’d back off. Those weren’t nearly as frustrating as when he’d lose a battle of miss a pinch opportunity in one of the corners, and while still only a foot or two away from the opponent with the puck, he’d immediately start skating back on defense. Clearly, Q was instructing that to not apply pressure on the forecheck, and I think it robbed Milan of opportunities. He’s got great hands, is difficult to knock of the puck along the boards, and passes exceptionally well, but if he’s the only one forechecking and everybody else has been indoctrinated to straddle the redline, he’s wasting those skills.
Q seemed content to let Milan’s line be a counterpunch, wait-for-your-opportunities line instead of an uptempo, pressure, scoring line. Another case of square peg/round hole, IMO. His disappearing acts are become the stuff of legend. One of the Czech’s on my team theorizes that he hasn’t been the same since his kids were born, and he’s more worried about collecting a paycheck than pushing himself. I don’t know if I buy that, but he seems to have a problem bringing his A game night after night.
Long story short, B- is about right. Hard to knock a 50-point guy with defensive skills.
He seems to be content to be that second line guy that performs well when he has the right guys skating with him (IE. Forsberg during that 50g season and Stastny this season). This is most apparent from that stretch in February when he was the top man and he folded like a deck of cards. He disappeared when he had the best opportunity to shine.
B- is pretty applicable, he is a good second line guy but will never be the leader a team needs.
He was one of the most dissapointing players on the Avalanche last year. He played on the outside, avoided contact and generally performed well only when Stastny set him up. Rarely did Hejduk make anyone ELSE better. He played a Svatos-type game except he tried to do it from outside the scoring areas. I don’t think he shied from the forecheck because of Q’s system. I think he just doesn’t like contact and avoided forechecking. In my opinion he was the second softest player on the team next to Arnason. The other skilled guys on the team like Stastny, Sakic, Wolski and even Svatos took and gave contact to make plays. Hejduk didn’t do that all year. He’s still got a long stretch on his current contract so I don’t why he’s avoiding possible injuries. When he was brilliant in his early career he did not avoid contact. True he had injuries like a broken collar bone but he was a better player.
the duke did have a rough year, and he got exposed a touch as being dependent on his center. it’s been a pretty charmed career playing next to joey, pete, and paul.
that said, Hejduk has a rare ability to elevate his game to a similar level when playing next to a great player — someone like, say, Svatos, hasn’t shown as much ability in that regard. Stick Hejduk on a line with Forsberg or Sakic, and you have 2 PPG+ players. Put him on a line with Hlinka and you have 2 half a PPG players, if that. By comparison, beyond his rookie year with Forsberg, Svatos has struggled a little when paired with Sakic and Stastny — he still gets his, but he doesn’t help them get theirs at all. Hejduk really plays nice with his linemates in general — a sniper that can pass too is very rare.
So his limitation don’t really bother me, I’m very happy to have all the positives he brings, and I think everyone realizes he’s not going to carry a team. A player that can play at such a high level at all is a bargain at 4 million as you say. Even with essentially no center for most of the year, he nearly scored 30 goals, and he was as always a defensive force. There’s lots of 50-60 point players in the league, but not many that score 30 goals a year as a part of that total. On behalf of Hejduk, here’s hoping for an injury-free year for Stastny!