So as news broke yesterday, Martin Pospisil was signed to a three-year contract with an AAV $2.5 million. That's an upgrade from the $1 million he has on his current contract of 150%.
But it seems a bit mysterious. While it is a great deal for the 25-year-old, Flames fans may be scratching their heads as Pospisil scored just four goals and 25 points in 81 games last season after putting up eight goals and 24 points in 63 games in his 2023-24 rookie season. On paper, it looks like there was a regression.
There was also the case where Pospisil recorded the highest penalty minutes on the team in his rookie season and the second-highest last season.
But that is not the full story. Pospisil's penalties WAR for last season amongst forwards was 58% which means he drew more penalties than he committed. In fact he drew the second-highest penalty minutes on the team after Nazem Kadri.
While his goals and scoring opportunities don't speak loudly, he is in the 70th percentile in the league for shots taken off the rush. He is also in the 66th percentile in entries into the offensive zone, either by carrying or dumping the puck in.
He is in the 75th percentile for chance assists, meaning his passes led directly to a scoring chance.
He had the 68th percentile in Rush Shot Assists, which are passes leading directly to shot attempts off the rush and 69th percentile in High-Danger Passes, which are passes to the slot from behind the net or across the slot.
The fact that he had the sixth-highest number of assists on the team makes sense now.
Playing physical will also put you in the 91st percentile in landing hits.
The most unexpected thing about him is his speed. Who knew a bottom-six player like him would be one of the fastest players in the league. A look on NHL EDGE shows that Pospisil has had max speed bursts, speed bursts of 20-22 mph and 22+ mph well above the league average.
So Pospisil may not be an elite goal-scorer, BUT he is a playmaker, he's got speed, he plays physical. And he's young which seems to be the running theme for Calgary.
With this contract situation behind him, maybe we'll see a better version than the one described here this upcoming season. Who knows.