Zawaski: Carcillo Injury Opens Door For Morin
By Jay Zawaski-
(CBS) When the Blackhawks announced the signing of Daniel Carcillo on Oct. 4, I was pretty unhappy. The summer of 2014 seemed to indicate a move in the direction of skill over grit and analysis over old school. Before the signing, it seemed that Jeremy Morin would finally get his opportunity to play every night and contribute offensively, as he had at every other level of his hockey career. Instead, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville opted for the fire and passion over the scoring and possession (see what I did there?) and dressed Carcillo. Morin was again banished to the press box.
Now, to be totally fair, Carcillo had been pretty effective up until he was injured by a T.J. Oshie hit last Saturday. He had stayed away from the silliness that had plagued his career and seemed to commit to responsible hockey at both ends of the ice.
Well, now Carcillo is injured, and Morin gets his shot.
In five games this season, Morin hasn't registered a point. Obviously, that's not good, but let's look deeper into the numbers, shall we?
Morin is averaging only 6:45 of ice time and zero power-play time. In that admittedly small sample size, he finds himself near the top of the Hawks' leaderboard in Fenwick relative (11.79 percent) and Corsi relative (9.16 percent). What does this mean? Well, when he's on the ice, good things are happening.
(Note: Fenwick relative indicates a player's respective Fenwick percentage compared to the team's Fenwick percentage average, and Corsi relative likewise. In this Fenwick relative case, Morin is 11.79 percent better than Chicago's team average. Read more about Fenwick and Corsi here.)
More often than not, the Hawks are controlling the puck and creating chances when Morin is on the ice. Playing almost exclusively on the fourth line, he begins nearly 80 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone. Those numbers indicate that his line is winning the puck in the defensive zone, carrying it into the offensive zone and creating chances. This is nothing new for the Hawks' fourth line, but every analytic has shown that Morin has been an effective player.
Too small of a sample size, you say? OK. Let's take a look at last season. In 24 games, Morin scored six goals and had 11 points. He led the team in Fenwick relative (9.20 percent) and Corsi relative (10.56 percent). He also led the team in goals per 60 minutes (1.37) and was second in points per 60 minutes (3.02), behind only Patrick Kane (3.06).
Morin has proved he can play and score at the NHL level. Now he has four weeks to convince Quenneville that he's a top-12 forward. He's certainly convinced me.
Jay Zawaski is the executive producer of the Spiegel and Mannelly Show on 670 The Score and the Blackhawks columnist for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayZawaski670.