Los Angeles Kings Player Profile: Marian Gaborik
After a knee injury sidelined him for a crucial stretch of last season, Marian Gaborik looks to bounce back and bring another Cup to Los Angeles.
After scoring more goals than anyone (14) in the 2014 Playoffs on the way to a Stanley Cup, Marian Gaborik was rewarded with a 7-year, $34 million contract extension through 2021.
Gaborik was coming off 4 great seasons with the New York Rangers and the Kings probably wouldn’t have won that Cup without him but since then, he’s clearly lost a step.
He’s always had a history of injuries; of his fifteen NHL seasons, Gaborik has played 75 or more games in just 5 of them. In fact, he played more games (47) in the lockout season of 2012-13 than he did in the full season after it (41), when he missed half the season with a broken collarbone.
The Los Angeles Kings cannot afford to have their fourth highest paid forward in the press box for such long amounts of time. Gaborik has five seasons left on his contract and at this rate, he may be in consideration for an early buyout.
Gaborik has played well in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but coach Darryl Sutter can only hope it will translate to a full NHL season.
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Even when he was on the ice, the production simply wasn’t there. Before the knee injury that sidelined him last year, he was scoring at a rate of .41 points per game – half his career average and by far the lowest of any single season.
So maybe there is a better way to use Gaborik.
Just looking at last year’s numbers, he was really able to control the offensive game against other team’s bottom lines. Gaborik had a 70% Corsi-percentage or higher against guys like: Matt Duchene, Kyle Chipchura, Mikkel Boedker, Matt Bartkowski and Brad Richardson.
Not only that, but he made the Kings’ bottom-liners SO much better. With Gaborik on the ice:
- Tyler Toffoli‘s corsi percentage raised 12%
- Kyle Clifford‘s corsi percentage raised 29%
- Jordan Nolan‘s corsi percentage raised 19%
Gaborik may not have the scoring touch to keep up with other team’s top forwards anymore. However, he can certainly change the game in the right mismatches.
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For the Kings to get the most out of him, Gaborik should be playing wing on the 3rd or 4th line where he can create offense against other team’s less skilled forwards.
This will also make it easier for Gaborik to keep up on the defensive end, where he has been putting in more effort. Gaborik blocked more shots (17) in 54 games last year than in his first 88 games for the Kings combined(11). As a result, coach Darryl Sutter began using Gaborik on defensive-zone starts (faceoffs in the defensive zone) at a higher rate than ever before.
Gaborik, like other veterans, will need to bounce back this season to help the Kings reach the ultimate goal of another Stanley Cup.