Canadiens Final Report Card: Tomas Plekanec

The Canadiens most reliable forward continued with his consistent play at both ends of the ice.

Tomas Plekanec has been one of the most consistent Montreal Canadiens’ players for over a decade. In fact, Plekanec has been so consistent in his career, he has missed just 12 games in the last 10 seasons while going under the 40 point mark just once over that same time frame. Just finishing his 11th NHL season, Plekanec continued to be relied on as the Canadiens best all around forward.

Tomas Plekanec – Center

Games Played: 82

Goals-Assists-Points: 14-40-54

Plekanec has always been known for his defensive work, so much so, that his offensive game often times goes unnoticed. 2015-16 was not much different. Despite being 33 years old, Plekanec continued playing at a high level. That high level of play led to the Canadiens and Plekanec agreeing on a new two-year contract extension in October.

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On the defensive side, Plekanec’s game did slip a bit according to the numbers. Despite the small slip up, Plekanec still continued to be the Canadiens most capable defensive forward. Using Defensive Point Shares, Plekanec posted a solid 1.9 DPS rating. By comparison, two of the three Selke Trophy candidates, Patrice Bergeron and Ryan Kesler, posted 2.1 and 2.3 DPS ratings respective. All three lagged behind Anze Kopitar‘s 3.3 DPS though.

One of Plekanec’s biggest weaknesses as a defensive forward came in the faceoff circle, where he posted a 49.8% faceoff rating. This weakness has been the biggest barrier to Plekanec’s bid to be recognized as an elite defensive forward as opposed to being known as very good. It’s also been a contributing factor to why he has never been seriously considered as a Selke candidate.

Looking at possession metrics, Plekanec isn’t known as a high-possession player but as he’s entered his 30’s, he’s gotten considerably better at driving possession. He posted his 2nd consecutive positive Corsi Relative rating(1.4), marking the first time he has done so in his career.

One of Plekanec’s main assets defensively has always been his ability to generate offensive opportunities when shorthanded. However, 2015-16 was the first time since 2012-13 and only the 2nd time in his career in which he failed to record a shorthanded point. As such, Plekanec continues to sit 3rd on the Canadiens all time shorthanded goal list at 18, trailing Guy Carbonneau(20) and Bob Gainey(27).

On the offensive side of the agenda, Plekanec posted the 6th 50 point season of his career. Despite the overall offensive success, Plekanec did suffer through some inconsistencies.

His 14 goals were his lowest full-season total since he scored 9 as a rookie in 2005-06. His lone power play goal was also his lowest since his rookie season. This low goal total was largely affected by a pair of prolonged scoring droughts from mid-November to late-December(21 games) and from mid-February to late-March(19 games).

Plekanec’s 189 shots were his lowest total since 2007-08 and his 7.4% shooting percentage was a career low. That shooting percentage ended up being 3% lower than his career average which suggests Plekanec may have suffered through some bad luck this season.

Despite some inconsistencies, Plekanec still had many positives to his season. His 40 assists were the first time he cracked 40 assists since 2007-08. He also posted a career-high in even strength assists at 28. Plekanec’s 12 power play assists were his most since 2011-12 and ranked 3rd on the Canadiens.

Next: Canadiens Final Report Card: Defenceman Jeff Petry

What’s surprising about Plekanec’s effectiveness on offense is the fact he averaged his lowest amount of ice time since 2008-09. At 33, the Canadiens may be monitoring the veteran’s TOI in order to help preserve him.

With the emergence of Alex Galchenyuk and the defensive support cast with players like Paul Byron and Torrey Mitchell, Plekanec no longer needs to be the top guy. Instead, he can now move down into a more natural role as a 2nd line center.

Plekanec’s 2015-16 grade remains as consistent as the player himself. Their really isn’t much more that needs to be said. Plekanec did suffer through some goal droughts however he was always a factor on offense.

Final Grade: B+