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Toronto Maple Leafs: Frederik Gauthier’s 7 Game Review

By Tim Chiasson

Mar 21, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Frederik Gauthier (54) and Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan (18) battle for position during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Calgary 5-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Frederik Gauthier (54) and Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan (18) battle for position during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Calgary 5-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2015-2016 season saw the NHL debut of Toronto Maple Leafs first round (2013) draft pick Frederik Gauthier.

*all numbers from war-on-ice.com

Gauthier’s selection was an interesting one when it happened for the Toronto Maple Leafs but, then again, that was the Dave Nonis era, so everything was sarcastically interesting.

The theory for the longest while is that Gauthier had an NHL ceiling of third line center, but a pretty good one. For the Marlies this year, Gauthier had 18 points in 56 games – a total lower than many expected. His adjustment to professional hockey wasn’t as smooth of a transition overall and that became more apparent when he finally got his chance with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Bear in mind that Gauthier’s sample size is a measly seven games, but that’s all we have to work with.

Frederik Gauthier At 5v5

There’s not really a nice way to put it – Gauthier was horrendous at even strength. It’s not the fact that he had zero even strength points at 5v5 that bothers me, it’s everything else.

Even though Gauthier was dealt really tough zone starts by Mike Babcock (-10.66% relative) his play at 5v5 just didn’t translate well to the NHL as a 20 year old.

Gauthier had relative percentages of -11.46 (CF%rel), -16.45 (SCF%rel) and -41.06 (GF%rel) over his seven games. Even for a small sample these are ugly, really ugly. His CF%rel total was good enough for 3rd worst – ahead of only Sam Carrick and Stuart Percy (three games each). His SCF%rel number was second worst and his GF%rel was dead last.

Expectations for a 20 year old rookie professional with a zone start like Gauthier had would be low to begin with, but Gauthier’s bar ended up lying on the ground. The only way he doesn’t improve on his numbers next year – if he gets in any action next year – is if that bar remains on the ground and he passes out in front of it.

I can only imagine how worse it would have been if he gave the puck away more than the once he did at evens. If you’re into faceoff percentage, Gauthier was 39.66% on 79 draws at 5v5. Would he have sustained this poor play over, say, a 60 game campaign? No one can say for sure, but there’s only one way to go with Gauthier’s play – up.

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Frederik Gauthier Shorthanded

Much to my surprise, Gauthier’s disastrous 5v5 play didn’t carry over into 4v5 situations. In fact, Gauthier was one of, if not the, best Toronto Maple Leafs penalty killers during his time with the big club.

The shift is pretty incredible. Gauthier goes from being completely dysfunctional at even strength to being a very valuable player at 4v5. The problem for Gauthier is most of the game is played at 5v5 and he won’t get a chance to dazzle the coaching staff shorthanded if his 5v5 play continues to be so poor.

He ended up averaging 3.14 TOI/gm shorthanded, which is third highest for a Toronto Maple Leafs player (highest among forwards) for the 2015-2016 season. Babcock was clearly deploying Gauthier in a checking/penalty killing role like his future is bound for.

He recorded his only NHL point shorthanded, being one of only eight Toronto Maple Leafs players to record a shorthanded point all year.

His fenwick against per 60 at 4v5 was an excellent 65.48 – a number that is comparable to some of the top defensive forwards in the NHL. Again, it’s only a small sample but that’s all we have to work with. Would he sustain this number over time? Who knows.

Gauthier spent 0.31 TOI on the powerplay for the Toronto Maple Leafs this year so that’s not even worth getting into.

Overall, Gauthier’s seven game look didn’t go very well for the kid. He’s got a lot more work to do in the American Hockey League to get ready for the NHL.

Next: Leafs Setting Themselves Up For Success

Being a penalty kill specialist is only valuable if you aren’t a complete train-wreck at even strength. Teams want to be able to roll four lines at 5v5 without disaster and, this year, Gauthier didn’t give them that option. Does this mean he’s a bust? Absolutely not, he’s only 20 years old, but his youth and inexperience shouldn’t cloak a poor showing.

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