Grading the Islanders: Richard Park, departing utility knife?
by Dominik on Aug 6, 2010 7:00 AM EDT
in New York Islanders Report Cards
Email
PrintJon Sim's re-signing -- heck, even ol' Dave Scatchard's signing with the Blues -- proves no UFA is officially gone or done until his agent gives up all hope. But it's looking like Richard Park, a tireless, durable and versatile center/winger under two different Islanders coaches, has been left off the Island.
People generally have a positive opinion of Park: He's likable, he's no-nonsense, his quiet interviews conceal what is a respected voice in the proverbial room. The Islanders' best faceoff man last year, he is that rare checking-line forward who has the hands and poise to fill in on higher lines in a pinch. A Park wrister into the top corner is a beautiful thing, but ultimately his game is suited to a more dedicated defensive role.
While the questions on your mind -- Have the Islanders really replaced him with Zenon Konopka? Might he be worth bringing back? Is there another signing coming? -- are worthy topics for discussion in comments, the first question and the topic of our poll today is: How do you grade Park's 2009-10?
Richard Park
#10 / Right Wing / New York Islanders
5-11
190
May 27, 1976
NHL Seasons: 12 (inc. 3 partial)
Contract: UFA, $800k salary/$750k cap hit in 2010
2008-09 Grade: 7.3
Preseason View: "Park is our Swiss Army knife. Keep him clean and sharp."
Seriously, where do they get these profile photos?
A Few Notes to Consider
Park's Durability: In four seasons with the Islanders, Park missed just 12 games -- 11 of them in 2008-09. He's probably less physical than your prototype "checking" forward, but his game appears to protect his health and in turn his speed -- that all-important but diminishing asset of the utility forward. It's reasonable to guess at age 34 he's nearing his decline, but he's not dealt with any nagging injuries or maladies that make you think his body is barking.
Park's Usage: As evidence of the Islanders' better roster, Park skated 1.5 fewer minutes per game in 2009-10 while getting the same amount of PK minutes. That drop came mainly through not being needed to fill in on the powerplay Despite not benefiting from four PP goals like he did in 2008-09, Park had the same number of points and a better plus-minus than the first season under Gordon. His faceoff win rate also went up from 49.0 to 51.5%, even though he took by far the most shorthanded faceoffs on the team.
But for a while there in the first 40 games, Park's plus-minus was epically bad. Had he finally lost a step? Was it due to the mean bounces of plus-minus? Was he weighed down by weaker linemates (Hello Nate, hi Tim)? Possibly a mix of all of the above.
When asked about the plus-minus figure, Scott Gordon defended Park multiple times and said he was the victim of circumstances beyond his control (example: In the first three games of the season, Park was minus-5). It hit a low of minus-21 in early January -- which is coincidentally when Nate Thompson was claimed on waivers by Tampa Bay. Hmm... By the end of the year Park's plus-minus was back "up" to minus-9. I remember looking at tape of a scattering of his goals against and concluding Gordon wasn't just blowing smoke when defending him.
So what was the deal? Here's a guess: A full 38% of Park's even-strength shifts were with either Nate Thompson or Tim Jackman or both. Another healthy chunk throws either Jon Sim or an injured Doug Weight into the equation. So not only was he in the jack-of-all-trades constant line-shuffling role, but also the majority of his 5-on-5 minutes were spent with the worst teammates. As for his PK time -- whose numbers don't look good overall -- 32% of those shifts were with Thompson as well.
Strange Triangle: Thompson, Park, Konopka
But that does feed the question: If the Islanders aren't bringing Park back, then why? It's possible the Isles see Konopka as replacing Park's most important asset -- faceoffs -- but if so they're doing it with a player who plays fewer minutes, is less versatile and is, ultimately, worse. Maybe with proper line matching this can be mitigated by a balancing of the scales in other areas -- and it's not like the Islanders were world-beaters under last year's status quo -- but Park's vacated role as speedy PK guy remains a concern.
In fact, a better question than "Can Konopka really replace enough of Park?" might be: "Is Konopka an upgrade over Thompson?" That's essentially the trade both the Lightning and Islanders have made, anyway.
The Poem
For near-minimum wage
You take all the tough draws
And you take them better
Than all other Isles
But the NHL is thankless
To the vet utility crew
Plumbers wait all summer
To hear offers renewed
If this is really goodbye
Good luck on the UFA mark
You're a beloved Islander
Good on ya Richard Park
The Grade
Now that we've put our violins back in the case, here is where you vote a grade for Park's 2009-10 season based on your preseason expectations. That means if you expected to see a big decline but didn't witness it, he exceeded your expectations and gets an above-average grade. If you expected more from him and didn't see it, you knock him down a peg.
Whatever your rationale and criteria, comments are a good place to flesh it out -- as well as muse what the Islanders' plans are at center (is Belanger interest legit?) and on the PK unit.
Travel notice: Note, I'm actually out of town, on the water and off the grid, so I won't be able to respond to any comments or corrections until after the weekend. (A blogger's gotta chill, you know.) Keep that in mind if, by chance, Park has a new contract by the time this post is published.
26 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
9 goals just not cutting it
I was looking for improvement over the 14. I know the points were the same each year but he just seemed to have more big moment goals in 08-09.
for me he has to net 15 goals a year to be worth having or be a + player if he is going to be a defensive forward
plus/minus
for me he has to net 15 goals a year to be worth having or be a + player if he is going to be a defensive forward
It is actually a lot harder for a defensive forward to have a high plus/minus than an offensive forward. You are on a line with other defensive specialists playing against a team’s top line. You are also taking a lot of defensive zone faceoffs. Its a misleading metric (see my post below) that is not a good gauge for defensive awareness.
Playing with Jackman-Sim doesn’t give you much chance to score
Get out of the sticks, Charles, move to Queens!! Come, Get some respect a Professional team deserves!!
Actually Park-Sim was a pretty good combo, they assisted on 5 of each other goals.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
4
I’m surprised to read those stats, Dominik, because by my naked eye, he looked tired and a step slower this year vs. last. I also thought he started slow but looked worse in the second half of the season. I actually thought it looked like he was playing with a nagging injury [I was hoping that was the explanation, anyway]. Maybe I need my eyes checked?
injury
I wondered about a nagging injury — you can’t play that many games year after year without playing through some kind of pain. But I might call his injury “Nate Jackman.”
Of course I thought his play improved in the 2nd half, but I don’t necessarily trust my eyes on that either.
Lighthouse Hockey: More defensemen than we know how to spell.
6
Wasn’t expecting anything great out of him, and he did alright as a shutdown guy. As I noted at some point during the month, Park did get a single vote for the Selke.
Thompson and Jackman would weigh down anyone.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
8
Anyone who has ever believed in a Role Player on our team, this is the guy. What line can Richard Park play on? All of them! Is he a first line center? No. Even he would laugh. But God forbid your first line guy goes down. Do you take from the second and third line? Or do you take a guy who is smart enough to think team first and not get caught doing something however chancy but not stupid.
On an Islander team where most of our players can be considered newbies, this is the one steady voice to be heard on the team. A lot of people didn’t like the team re-signing Sim. Richard Park is not Sim. Park can play ANY position. Richard Park Can play ANY line. Park plays offense and defense. Not many guys can say that with a straight face.
Letting an economical force like Richard Park go is a mistake. Pencil in some rookie that will be spinning his head and asking where’s the bus to Bridgeport after a week kind of guy.
Get out of the sticks, Charles, move to Queens!! Come, Get some respect a Professional team deserves!!
5
It is what it is… the PK sucked. No, I don’t think that’s his fault, but he was definitely less effective than in previous years.
He is the smallest of a very small foward corp… and that just may be “Korean” thing… but he doesn’t play big like other small forwards. That’s fine as well, but as he slowed down this year, slow and small wasn’t overly impressive.
History-wise, I expected more from Park this year. earlier in the year I thought he was going to be the only UFA retained because of his versatility and excellent veteran leadership qualities. I have to say this about Weight as well… they have both been very good Islanders, but if you can’t bring it on the ice anymore it’s time to be a man and admit it’s over.
Park probably has a few years left in the tank… I hope he does, but I hope it’s not here. This team needs to be bigger and stronger. My only fear is that the PK gets EVEN WORSE without him.
My cup is 3/4 empty, How 'bout yours?
With 158 votes thus far...
… we have a near-perfect Bell Curve. We’d just have to swap the 7’s with the 8’s.
Anyway, I’ve always liked Park. We have the bare minimum number of forwards signed at the moment (not couting those who may or may not make the jump from the AHL), and we’re still a few million under the salary floor. So, unless the Isles are looking to get someone else on the market or via trade, why not bring Park back for another year? He hasn’t slowed down, at least not yet.
Warning: This post may cause Yashin Rashes, Spano Spasms, and Dingle Milburys.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Aug 6, 2010 11:40 AM EDT reply actions
8; and Clarity: the Sim over (maybe) Park decision
I see it now- if hockey is poker, a penalty drawer trumps a short-handed goal scorer.
And all the other awesome game that Park brings, I say sadly, might be peppered throughout several younger players.
I will miss that motor scooter.
by IamJacksSplitSave on Aug 6, 2010 1:30 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
3 and I think that I might have been unfair
In the past few years I have loved Park and the role that he played with the team. However, similar to Witt, he has lost a step and it was almost as painfully obvious if you look at his +/- . Unfortunately most of Park’s game was his speed. After playing the Nolan perscribed role he was transitioned into GoGo’s parameters. Since it is now starting to appear that the 2 different styles are a pretty vivid contrast the flaws in Park’s game within GoGo’s system were starkly exposed. I believe that he could play a 4th line somewhere but not on a team that requires speed or a quick transition as a main component of their game. It is easy to see how he disrupted the flow on the forecheck but his speed kept him a half or full stride behind jumping the passing lanes in many of the games. This is especially true later in the season. Once again it appears that the differences in styles and the build up of wear and tear have managed to eliminate another warrior from the ranks of the Isles’ young group.
It is official, I am moving back to Long Island in about 2-3 weeks.
5
Can I believe the numbers or my own lieing eyes? Watching him play last season he just seemed less effective. The numbers would make it appear there was no drop off in play, but I still can’t shake the feeling he wasn’t as good. Seemed to provide less energy although he seems like the type of player that is willing to go all out every shift. I didn’t have inflated expectations either, but he certainly did not do any more than I expected of him. He just lost a step that I didn’t think I’d see him lose from one season to the next.
I won’t even get into who I would have preferred to keep since it may be a contractual thing and the summer isn’t over. However, I do hope that he can at least catch on with a team in the LA area so that he can enjoy his Redondo Beach residence during the season.
+/-
I’ve been meaning to do a fanshot about how +/- is one of the most misleading stats in hockey and tells us a lot less then we may think. I don’t think it is an accurate metric in measuring a players defensive awareness. So many other factors play into it outside of a players control. Don’t get me wrong, when a player is rocking a high plus-minus it is usually a sign that he is doing something right, but conversely I don’t believe that a low plus/minus necessarily is a sign that a player is a huge defensive liability.
I'd sign on for that
It’s a very dangerous stat, and I almost refuse to look at it when comparing players from different teams. Within the same team it can be a little indicator between players, but not necessarily of their value.
It’s so situational and luck-dependent (when you play with Thompson and Jackman, you are not hitting the ice with a full deck). I like it as a prompt to look a little deeper sometimes, which is why Park’s dip and recovery (along with Thompson leaving) in that department intrigued me.
Lighthouse Hockey: More defensemen than we know how to spell.
6
I too think it’s very difficult to assess Park’s season or the influence of “Nate Jackman” based on +/- or also Corsi. Even if you try to get into detail a bit and consider the competition faced, etc., the picture doesn’t get much clearer. The role, the line mates, particularly the D, the luck simply varied too much over the course of the season to be able to tell something substantial. But what we perhaps can tell is that Park’s biggest nemesis was called “Nate Witt”.
Park obviously spent his time with Thompson and Witt early in the season. He still was used in a defensive role of course later on, but I’d say the toughest time was early on. We can’t tell from numbers, but I remember that Gordon early on mostly relied on them to start the periods and play against the best competition indeed. Towards the end, also because Thompson left and Jackman was down with an injury, he shifted the tasks slightly and even JT might have faced as tough competition as Park in the last few games. However, we’d surely expect +/- and Corsi to be relatively bad early on and thus the trend of Park’s +/- is somehow not too surprising. But the numbers early on were certainly worse than we’d expect, as you can see here:
Park with Witt (-14, 85.23% PDO)
Park with Thompson (-16, 91.19% PDO)
Park with Jackman (-2, 100.60% PDO)
Now, luck obviously seems to be a pretty big factor here, too. The PDO with Witt (83.15 EVSV%, 2.08 SH%) is probably the worst I’ve ever seen. We don’t know too much about individual PDO, unfortunately. No idea how much bad performances lead to the fact that it simply isn’t possible to get to 100. From what was going on on the ice, I’d say it was very, very difficult for the goalies indeed to stop 90% of the pucks, as Witt lost his man almost every single time. And it probably isn’t possible to shoot at 7% with Thompson and Witt on your line, because they’re so incredibly bad shooters indeed. So, probably there was some bad luck involved, but a very big part was their poor play, I’d say.
But really, individual PDO is tough to examine. Witt’s overall EVSV% was a healthy 90.28% and Biron for example stopped 93.16% of the pucks, when Witt was on. They still were -7 together, though, because the shooting was awful and the play was mostly in their own zone anyway.
However, whether it was mostly bad luck or simply horrible line mates indeed, Park’s bad +/- early on was most likely beyond his control. For what Gordon asked him to do early on, he definitely didn’t give him enough support and was horribly wrong with the assessment that a line of Thompson-Park-Jackman with Witt on the D could take on the toughest for this team. Overall, it was remarkable what Park did under these circumstances, I think. And I would have wanted him back indeed.
Great stuff
Thanks again for that, Ben. Always look forward to what you dig up.
This is where I really wonder what’s going through a player’s mind when he has to carry linemates and defensemen like that. If it enters his mind at all — on some level you want to “believe in your teammates” to stay sane — it has to be like a siege mentality.
Lighthouse Hockey: More defensemen than we know how to spell.
Great detailed info
Park really was undervalued and appreciated last year. When it’s all broken down, park did more then his fair share of good work for the islanders. He’s no miracle worker when playing with thompson/jackman, but who is. I wouldn’t be surprised if we resigned him and he had another solid bottom 6 season. He is a legit nhler and hopefully gets a job with us or on another team because he is well deserving.
Go isles or Go home.
by OzzyFan on Aug 11, 2010 1:30 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I could have swore
That at one point someone quoted Park as talking about retirement after this season, but only in the event he wasn’t resigned by the Islanders.
I think he’s lost a step but has at least another season left in him and would be good to have around to help break in the youth a little more. With better line mates I bet he could at least get double-digit goals next season.
by ilopan on Aug 6, 2010 4:05 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
He was one of my favorites.
He will be missed.
Fiya Minaya.
Konopka had a FO% of 62.3 while avg. about 8:00 TOI. He was 3rd on TB last season in ESFO Won. Improvement already. With the Isles already top heavy with 3rd and 4th line centers, Park just became odd-man out. With the Atlantic division continuing to be physical, Zenon’s 109 hits in that limited ice time compared to Park’s 39 may have had something to do with it as well especially with some of the bigger hitters the team had last season now being gone. Just speculation at this point. Also, didn’t Sim accept a 2-way deal? Maybe Park wasn’t willing to do that. Again, just a guess. Park’s checking will be missed, but in the long run when you make your living on the PK and the PK is 29th in the league, something needs to change.
You know, its kinda funny to see you making an argument that Garth improved the team when your name is “FireGarthSnow” lol.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Aug 9, 2010 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions
HAHA….Just because he makes a couple of good moves besides drafting Tavares doesn’t mean I like him. Still mad at him for not taking Schenn, and then taking Bailey way too early.
by FireGarthSnow on Aug 10, 2010 3:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Konopka-Park-Thompson triangle
There’s no doubt Konopka has some qualities and should indeed deliver in the faceoff circle, as a physical presence as well as a good guy in the locker room. But there are certain things he can’t do or at least hasn’t been asked to do, yet. He played not even 10 minutes per game last season and didn’t kill penalties at all. And he played against a very mild competition. Despite the very tough zone start, -11 is not exactly impressive for what he was asked to do.
So, yeah, there are things he does better or differently than Park, but I’m not quite sure if he is a better fit for this team right now overall. Indeed, something needs to change on the PK, but it’s doubtful Konopka will be all that helpful there. To be honest, I don’t even know if they really plan to use him there. Given the lack of alternatives they probably do. And even strength, I still think the Islanders would right now need a versatile 4th line center, who can take on tough minutes to give JT and Schremp/Bailey some room to shine offensively or someone who could pinch in as a winger on a different line.
Maybe, as Dom writes, it’s not quite the best idea to compare Konopka with Park and we should instead ask the question whether Konopka is an upgrade over Thompson. I’d certainly say so and would be a bit concerned about this “trade” as a Lightning fan. But well, as an Islanders fan, I’m surely concerned about who will replace Park then. Not unlikely that Konopka is as much of an upgrade over Thompson to take over part of Park’s responsibilities, too, but they’d still sure miss something, wouldn’t they?
Scoring by the way wouldn’t be my main concern, as the top-6 guys should improve and do pretty well in terms of scoring, but let’s not forget that Park was behind only Comeau, Schremp and Moulson last season in terms of EV scoring/60.
And all this worries me because the forward corps overall doesn’t seem to be more complete/versatile this season. Bergenheim was of course another player you could use in all sorts of situations, whereas Parenteau, Gillies, (Sim) and perhaps a rookie or two could all struggle in certain situations. They seem to hope for Schremp/Bailey or also JT taking on more responsibilities, Weight staying healthy and filling in here and there or Matt Martin doing well in different roles. So, I don’t know, maybe it will pan out nicely, but right now I could feel better…
So, I don’t know, maybe it will pan out nicely, but right now I could feel better…
Likewise. I’m wondering if they’re counting on the better young players to handle the PK? I already worry about KO being taxed. But I prefer that to thinking an existing checker can replace Park.
Lighthouse Hockey: More defensemen than we know how to spell.
Exactly
Very good explanation of the topic. Konopka replaces thompson well, but doesn’t replace enough that the team is missing. Overall, aside from maturing youngsters, our offensive is lacking depth and specific role taking players. As I made the other thread, WE NEED another true 3rd liner that can produce points and either play 2-way hockey well(so we can have penalty kill help) or play a physical game to help wear down the other team more or maybe fill in for more spots. I am not happy how our bottom 6 is going into this season as is, and am really angry at the forward depth we have now. Sure we have toughness depth, and it was much needed. But we desperatley need forward depth. We really need 1 proven solid 3rd liner to fill-in that spot and maybe another solid ahler. Either that or I see a lot of role problems and a number of forwards being brought up and down to try and fill in those 2(or at least 1) open full-time bottom 6 spots(up and downers will mostly be martin, joensuu, sim, pareantu, and maybe more testing right now).
Go isles or Go home.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
Islanders Schedule
Next 5 Games
Los Angeles
|
Sat 02/11 | 1:00 PM EST |
|
Florida
|
Sun 02/12 | 3:00 PM EST |
|
@
Winnipeg
|
Tue 02/14 | 8:30 PM EST |
|
@
St. Louis
|
Thu 02/16 | 8:00 PM EST |
|
Carolina
|
Sat 02/18 | 7:00 PM EST |
Last 5 Games
|
Montreal
|
Thu 02/09 | L 2 - 4 |
|
@
Philadelphia
|
Tue 02/07 | SO - W 1 - 0 |
|
Buffalo
|
Sat 02/04 | SO - L 3 - 4 |
|
@
Ottawa
|
Fri 02/03 | OT - W 2 - 1 |
|
@
Carolina
|
Tue 01/31 | W 5 - 2 |
Atlantic Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New York Rangers
|
52 | 34 | 13 | 5 | 73 |
|
Philadelphia
|
54 | 31 | 16 | 7 | 69 |
|
New Jersey
|
54 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 66 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
54 | 30 | 19 | 5 | 65 |
|
New York Islanders
|
53 | 22 | 23 | 8 | 52 |
(updated 2.10.2012 at 9:27 AM EST)
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Puck Previews: Blackhawks reeling; Sabres streaking; Holmstrom’s 1000th game
- Will Teemu Selanne remain with the Anaheim Ducks through the trade deadline?
- Nikolai Zherdev takes stick to crotch, elbow drop in KHL game (Video)
- Puck Headlines: Accused coach Pravilov dead; more Tim Thomas heat; Junior team goes nuts post-shootout
- After Scott Gomez scored, other candidates for NHL goal drought obsessions
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
