Great write-up on Malinski’s growth and while I don’t agree he makes Girard expendable, he really does deserve to be extended.
Edit: typo
For those who don’t subscribe:
Sam Malinski, RHD, Colorado Avalanche
Initially signed as an undrafted college free agent in 2023, Malinski has established himself as an indispensable middle-of-the-lineup piece on Colorado’s blue line. It’s taken time for Jared Bednar to fully trust Malinski because of his undersized 5-foot-11 frame, but his play has been so strong that he’s emerging as one of the most underrated defensemen in the league.
Malinski is a dynamic, smooth-skating puck mover. He leads zone exits with ease and is a skilled enough puck carrier to also lead impressive plays through the neutral zone, which is a perfect fit for the speedy, high-octane way the Avs like to attack. He’s breaking out offensively, on pace for 42 points despite receiving no power-play time. Malinski is tied with Jakob Chychrun for the 10th-most five-on-five points among defensemen this season. His two-way metrics are elite, and his average Game Score, according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, rates him as one of this season’s top 20 defensemen.
It may be tempting for outsiders to downplay Malinski’s success as a product of playing with MacKinnon and on the best team in the NHL. However, only a small fraction of Malinski’s ice time overlaps with MacKinnon. And if you specifically dive into Malinski’s 539 five-on-five minutes away from MacKinnon, you’ll realize he’s crushing those assignments as he’s earned nearly 60 percent of scoring chances and outscored opponents 23-14 away from No. 29.
With Devon Toews sidelined with injury lately, Malinski has capably played his off side next to Cale Makar on the top pair. The 27-year-old pending UFA has performed so well that there’s a compelling argument for Colorado to extend Malinski in the summer and then trade Sam Girard, who is a bit redundant as an undersized puck-mover on a sizable $5 million cap hit, ahead of next season.
Pummelinho
Thanks for sharing!
I like to add a shout out to Bedsy. The plan was to play Malinski on hiss off side with Burns but he decided to play two RHD in Burns and Manson (I think after some poor games as LD by Malinski at the beginning of the season even). Now, that Tazer is out Bedsy took the opportunity to generate more learnings with Malinski as LD by giving him the benefit of playing with Makar. Learnings like these and gaining more flexibility can be crucial when facing injuries in the playoffs.
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Great write-up on Malinski’s growth and while I don’t agree he makes Girard expendable, he really does deserve to be extended.
Edit: typo
For those who don’t subscribe:
Sam Malinski, RHD, Colorado Avalanche
Initially signed as an undrafted college free agent in 2023, Malinski has established himself as an indispensable middle-of-the-lineup piece on Colorado’s blue line. It’s taken time for Jared Bednar to fully trust Malinski because of his undersized 5-foot-11 frame, but his play has been so strong that he’s emerging as one of the most underrated defensemen in the league.
Malinski is a dynamic, smooth-skating puck mover. He leads zone exits with ease and is a skilled enough puck carrier to also lead impressive plays through the neutral zone, which is a perfect fit for the speedy, high-octane way the Avs like to attack. He’s breaking out offensively, on pace for 42 points despite receiving no power-play time. Malinski is tied with Jakob Chychrun for the 10th-most five-on-five points among defensemen this season. His two-way metrics are elite, and his average Game Score, according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, rates him as one of this season’s top 20 defensemen.
It may be tempting for outsiders to downplay Malinski’s success as a product of playing with MacKinnon and on the best team in the NHL. However, only a small fraction of Malinski’s ice time overlaps with MacKinnon. And if you specifically dive into Malinski’s 539 five-on-five minutes away from MacKinnon, you’ll realize he’s crushing those assignments as he’s earned nearly 60 percent of scoring chances and outscored opponents 23-14 away from No. 29.
With Devon Toews sidelined with injury lately, Malinski has capably played his off side next to Cale Makar on the top pair. The 27-year-old pending UFA has performed so well that there’s a compelling argument for Colorado to extend Malinski in the summer and then trade Sam Girard, who is a bit redundant as an undersized puck-mover on a sizable $5 million cap hit, ahead of next season.
Thanks for sharing!
I like to add a shout out to Bedsy. The plan was to play Malinski on hiss off side with Burns but he decided to play two RHD in Burns and Manson (I think after some poor games as LD by Malinski at the beginning of the season even). Now, that Tazer is out Bedsy took the opportunity to generate more learnings with Malinski as LD by giving him the benefit of playing with Makar. Learnings like these and gaining more flexibility can be crucial when facing injuries in the playoffs.