2021-22 Rink Wrap: Johan Larsson

From Backstrom to Wilson, we’re taking a look at and grading the 2021-22 season for the players who played a significant role for the Caps during the campaign, with an eye towards 2022-23. Next up, Johan Larsson.

The Stats:

Regular Season

Playoffs

The Charts:

via The Athletic

via @JFreshHockey

via Evolving-Hockey

via HockeyViz

via HockeyViz

The Key Stat: Larsson wasn’t necessarily known for his offense, but he did post a career-high 1.8 points/60 last season (which jumped up to 2.2 during his time with the Caps).

The Good: That points/60 rate translated to an all-around career year offensively, with Larsson putting up his best mark of 21 points despite playing in just 43 games due to sports hernia surgery back in February. During his 14-game stint with the Caps, he put up six points (and added another two in his first-ever postseason appearance) and had his second-best FF% rel rate of 2.2.

Larsson arrived in DC with a reputation as a strong defensive forward, and that reputation seemed to be well deserved as he posted the team’s second-best FF% at even strength (min. 10 games played) and the best HDCF%, limiting opponents to just 17 high-danger shot attempts in 14 games played.

The Bad: Larsson had a much tougher time of things when the playoffs rolled around, and struggled to keep Florida’s high-powered offense in check – a job which arguably he’d been brought in to do, although it was his first postseason. When Larsson was on the ice, the Panthers out-shot and out-attempted the Caps at a rate of almost 2-to-1 (although that ratio did diminish when it came to scoring chances and high-danger chances).

The Video:

Larsson’s first as a Cap is the ninth of the game:

The Discussion: How well do you think Larsson adjusted to the lineup after being acquired from Arizona at the deadline? Larsson is set to become a UFA on July 17 – should the Caps attempt to re-sign him, and if so, what kind of contract would you give him? And finally, what would it take for you to give Larsson a 10 next season?

The Vote: Rate Johan Larsson below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.