Pensburgh wrapup: Jay McKee
by GoPens! on Jun 23, 2010 6:00 AM EDT
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Print"It takes brains. It's not like a forward, where you can get away with scoring and not play defense. On defense you have to be thinking." ~ Chris Chelios
Season Stats: 62gp, 1g, 9a, 10p, +6, 54 PIMs
Playoff Stats: 5gp, 0g, 0a, 0p, +2, 2 PIMs
Month-by-month Pensburgh grades:
October: A
November: B
December: B
January: B+
February: C-
March: C
Playoffs: C+
Contract Status: Becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer; previous cap hit of $800,000.
Interesting Stat: McKee led the Penguins with 137 blocked shots this year. That's really impressive for a guy who missed 20 games during the regular season.
The Good: Jay McKee was brought to Pittsburgh to do the dirty work that no one likes doing. He blocked shots like a beast this year, racking up 7.3 blocks/60. The next closest defenseman? Mark Eaton at 4.8 blocks/60. That's a 52% difference between 1st and 2nd.
The Bad: Outside of blocking shots at an insane rate, McKee had a pretty bad year. Among all Penguins' defensemen, McKee faced the easiest competition while skating with the best linemates. Yet he was last in pts/60 and average in terms of relative +/-. He also didn't play super tough minutes, as his OPCT indicates that he spent an equal number of zone starts in the o-zone and d-zone. And McKee also had one of the worst penalty differentials among d-men, as he took 0.6 more penalties per 60 than he drew.
McKee also dropped the ball while on the penalty kill unit. Among all regulars, McKee's adjusted +/- of -1.38 was near the bottom, even though he was playing against some of the easiest competition. And while he was on the ice for the pk, the Penguins were giving up about 43.5 shots/60, which was the third highest total among all regular penalty killers.
Final Verdict: Jay McKee had an average year at best, and the fact that he only started 5 playoff games this past spring is indicative of the coaches' unhappiness with his performance. Though he fulfilled his role as a shot blocker extraordinaire, he offered the team little else. I'd be very surprised if the Penguins re-signed McKee, as he'll probably be able to get more money from another team that's not close to the cap ceiling.
Question and Discussion: Do you think the Penguins will re-sign McKee? What was the reason for his drop in performance during the latter part of the season?
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Just seeing those ratings, made me remember the start of the season when we all thought he was going to be much better. Looking at his previous season’s stats (not a true indication I know) maybe it was unfortunately a return to true form in the latter half of the season.
I don’t know a lot about this offseason stuff (only seriously followed hockey since October) but can’t see the Penguins resigning him unless they are so too close to the cap
he seems like such a nice, down to earth guy.
STAAL FOR SELKE. SIDNEY FOR EVERY OTHER ONE OR JUST THE HART AND THE MESSIER LEADERSHIP AWARD. THAT IS ACCEPTABLE.
by katielynn906 on Jun 23, 2010 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
McKee got the short end of the stick this year.
"Half the game is mental, the other half is being mental." - Jim McKenny
I personally don’t think McKee was one of Bylsma’s favorites nor did he fit into Bylsma’s “style” of play………but we NEED guys that can block shots, fill that type of role. Orpik cannot do everything and Gogo and Letang are not shot blockers….
Too slow? I think Hal Gill was “big and slow” and look how he and the Habs stuffed it to us….a guy like Mckee fills a role, for sure.
Who do you suggest we replace him with?
One Who Lives And Breathes All Things Penguins
by PensFanInDenver on Jun 23, 2010 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Zbynek Michalek is a guy that’s been on my radar for some time. He’d be a great addition to our defense corps, though he might be over-valued because of how thin the UFA market is this year.
Author at Pensburgh.com
He was amazing in the beginning of the year, and he actually, dare I say, made GoGo good. When those two were together, something was working. Everyone here was thinking how awesome it was that Shero got him for a year. But then he got hurt, and he ya, he is slow, and that injury made him slower, and whatever may or may not have happened in the locker room to put him in bad favor with Bylsma led to him not playing, which led to us not caring for him anymore. I just think he got the shaft because he went from playing great, to getting hurt, which happens, and then not getting a chance to fully redeem himself.
"Half the game is mental, the other half is being mental." - Jim McKenny
I think he got a chance to redeem himself; it’s just that he didn’t have 4 months to get back to his old self because the season is only so long.
Author at Pensburgh.com
McKee’s not exactly fleet of foot, but ever since he came back from injury his skating was terrible. All other teams would have to do is chip the puck by him on a rush to make him turn around and go chase it. By the time he did that there was more pressure on him.
McKee’s not exactly the best puck mover and a lot of the time he just looked very uncomfortable when the puck came to him and usually made poor passes.
It was a good expirment to take him on the cheap, but his skills just weren’t up to level. Hopefully that was injury related and not that McKee “lost it”, be a shame if his career was finished. It’ll be interesting to see if another team picks him up.
I suspect Lovejoy will be the #6/7 defenseman next season. He’s definitely not the same style of player as McKee though.
There are plenty of decent defensive defensemen on the market: Volchenkov, Michalek, Willie Mitchell, Tallinder, Lydman, Jurinca. Don’t forget Mark Eaton too.
I’d bet the Pens try to target a name or two off that list. 29 other teams as potential bidders to drive the price up, so you can’t really count on anything, but I’m sure the Pens will have interest in a few of the above, if the price is right.
I like Jurinca…….what about Souray? —he is 33 so he is a little older then Shero likes…
but he is probably way to expensive.
I think Michalek would be great……….but it’s all about price and money. And # of years for a contract.
One Who Lives And Breathes All Things Penguins
by PensFanInDenver on Jun 23, 2010 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Souray’s way too expensive, and slowing down too. He’s basically like Gonchar, only worse defense and not nearly as good of a playmaker. I wouldn’t want him at $3 million, let alone the $5.4 he’s owed for years.
Jurinca’s limited in some areas (I’ve seen a lot of him), but he’s got good size and is a decent big defensemen.
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