Devils At The Break: The Curious Case of Brian Rolston
In the third installment of “Devils At The Break,” I’ll take a look at the Brian Rolston, the Devils’ left-winger. His second go-around with the Devils has been subpar at best, and I’ll take a look at his performance.
In the summer of 2008, Rolston was one of the big free agents on the market. The 33-year old winger came off three straight 30+ goal seasons with the Minnesota Wild, and his big shot ability allowed him to quarterback the powerplay. And his powerplay numbers were stellar, as he accumulated three straight seasons of 10+ goals.
The New Jersey Devils needed a goal scorer, but Rolston’s powerplay ability enticed the team. The Devils didn’t have a true point man, with Paul Martin still a few years away from becoming an above-average offensive defenseman. The Devils offered Rolston a four-year, $20.25 million dollar contract, which the left-winger accepted. Rolston was, once again, a New Jersey Devil.
In his first season as a Devil, Rolston underperformed. The winger lost an edge and crashed into the boards in Atlanta, and had to be helped off the ice. Rolston suffered a high-ankle sprain, and the winger missed considerable time. The winger played through the injury, and his numbers reflected it. He finished last season with 15 goals, 17 assists, and 32 points, his lowest offensive output in seven years. He didn't deliver on the powerplay either, finishing with eight goals and eight assists.
This year, Rolston continues to underperform. The winger has 17 goals and 13 assists on the season, which will place him above last year’s numbers. But Rolston’s major problem comes from with his lack of shot accuracy. Although there is no specific stat to track missed shot attempts, I can confidently say that many of Rolston’s shots miss the net. He fails to hit the net time and time again, especially on the power play. Those misses greatly diminish the impact of his shot. Rolston can make goalies duck in fear, as Jean-Sebastian Giguere all showed us. His shot leveled Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, leaving him laying on the ice for several minutes. But the winger hasn’t shown that same power with the Devils. As a result, Rolston hasn’t been as effecitve scorer worth almost five million dollars a year.
But the Devils should have seen this decline coming before offering him a contract. Rolston, who recently turned 37, began to decline while with the Wild. Here are his numbers from his three years in Minnesota:
Year Goals Assists Points Plus/Minus Powerplay Points
2005-2006 34 45 79 14 32
2006-2007 31 33 64 6 34
2007-2008 31 28 59 -1 28
As we can all see, Rolston’s production declined each of his three years in Minnesota. He was still productive, scoring over 50 points each season. However, his goals, assists, points and plus/minus all steadily declined. It should come as no surpise that, as Rolston ages, his production will decline. But with his offensive firepower, it shouldn’t fall off as steeply as it has. I cite his lack of shot accuracy as one of the main issues for his decline. But I’m sure that age accounts for part of the reason.
Almost halfway through his four year deal, Rolson hasn’t been the investment the Devils planned on. He hasn’t brought any significant upgrade to the powerplay, and his offensive skills look average at best. With the Devils in almost desperate need of some blue-line help, I would think Rolston would be the one dangled to other teams. It would be a tough sell for trades with his diminished production, but general manager Lou Lamoriello may be able to sell Rolston on his potential.
It’ll be interesting to see if Rolston stays for the length of the contract, but from what I’ve seen, Rolston already wore out his welcome. He’s become an older player whose skills have diminished. If he can find his offense, he can be a productive member of this team. But he continues to hurt the powerplay, and now skates on the third line (a checking line). Brian Rolston, a player who came with such high expectations, shouldn’t be expected to contribute as he did in Minnesota. He’s merely become an older player who will produce at a high level.
Photo Credit: Al Bello, Getty Images
Fraser received his call up this year on October 19, and set the tone in the Devils first matchup against Pittsburgh. Fraser scored on a shot from the point at 9:50 of the first period, and the Devils won the game, 4-1. Fraser added another goal against Pittsburgh on December 21. For the first part of the season, Fraser recorded two goals and three assists. He also finished +4 for the first half, an impressive number for a young player.
Bergfors broke camp with the Devils, and he was expected to contribute from the outset. He found success on the powerplay, where he scored tallied 13 total powerplay points - including eight goals. But his offensive success couldn't please his coach. Lemaire constantly berated Bergfors for not playing defensive hockey and taking too long with his shifts. The rookie only averaged 14:53 of ice time with the Devils, and his departure in the Kovalchuk trade came as no surprise.
The Devils right-winger made his NHL debut against the Islanders on November 28. Though he didn't get on the scoresheet, Zharkov put five shots on net and had several scoring chances. The rookie still hasn't scored his first NHL goal, but he's recorded eight assists while playing between the Devils third and fourth line. With some of the games he's played, I would think we'll see him light the lamp in the second part of the season.
The Devils all-time leading scorer has missed a combined 22 games this season. He missed the first 13 games of the season with a groin injury, and then missed nine games after a hit from Colorado's Ryan Wilson. The hit was clean, but the outcome looked scary. Elias laid, motionless, on the ice and was eventually carried out on a stretcher. While Elias returned from both injuries without visual side effects, it never helps to have one of the team leaders sidelined for almost a quarter of the season. Elias tallied 11 goals and 19 assists before the Olympic break, but I think we all saw what the offense and powerplay looked like without him. Without Elias, the Devils lack creativity in the offensive zone. His health will be a concern going forward, because without him the Devils lack a playmaker to play with Ilya Kovalchuk.
Before the injury, Martin began to settle into his role as the leader of the defense. Last season, he played more minutes than any other defenseman (24:22) and led defenseman in points (33). He also seemed to click with Johnny Oduya, and both of them formed a strong offensive pairing. Martin's original injury diagnosis was only four-to-six weeks, but after the bone didn't heal properly, he had to have screws inserted to help the healing process.
