Anaheim Ducks 2018-2019 Player Grades: Chad Johnson and Kevin Boyle
Here are the player grades for both Chad Johnson and Kevin Boyle of the Anaheim Ducks based on last season. The best ability is availability when it comes to these goaltenders.
For the first time in a while for the Anaheim Ducks, both the starting and the back-up goaltenders both had issues this season that left both of them out. In such a tough situation, general manager Bob Murray tested out two different methods of replacement. Both were very interesting, to say the least.
In his first attempt, Murray acquired Chad Johnson to play with John Gibson while Ryan Miller was out due to an injury. Johnson was usually an AHL call-up for the teams that he was on, and he only played in 183 games through eight and a half seasons. 2018-2019 was already a horrible year for Johnson before joining the Ducks, only winning two games out of the ten he appeared in for the St. Louis Blues. But, he was still looking to turn things around for the Ducks. Let’s see why he couldn’t.
Another Goalie Burned By Bad Defense
Unlike Gibson and Miller, Johnson was thrust into the middle of a pretty decent situation. The Ducks hadn’t started their worst skid yet, and they were just coming off a season-best five-game win streak, complemented by another four-game win streak afterward. Johnson’s first start was against the New York Rangers on December 12th, and nothing about it was memorable.
Johnson let in three goals in the third, and the Ducks couldn’t back him up with any offense. It wasn’t the team’s worst offensive game considering that they put up a decent amount of shots on goal, but it wasn’t a decent game by any means. But after that game, the season went bad, and the defense allowed many more goals than the offense scored, which didn’t help Johnson at all.
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Chad Johnson’s Not-So-Great Reputation
Besides from the fact that all the 2018-2019 Anaheim Ducks goalies got burned by a terrible defense, Chad Johnson is a special case. In his entire career, he hasn’t been the most stellar goalie. His best record was 22-16-4 back in 2015-2016, and he never even got close to that again.
He didn’t show any promise coming to the team with a 2-6-0 record on the Blues, he didn’t show the wish to perform to keep the team in contention, and he didn’t even care enough to repaint his helmet until he knew he was around for the rest of the season.
He kept the same St. Louis helmet for most of the games he saw because he had that little interest in staying with the team. In the situations that the Ducks needed him to step up in relief for John Gibson, he absolutely screwed things up and didn’t get a single win for the team, finishing with an 0-5-0 record in Anaheim.
In all but one game, starting or off the bench, Johnson ended up giving away at least one goal. Most of his tenure with the Ducks saw him giving up more than two goals every night he played. Even if the Ducks produced offense, Johnson’s incompetence as a goalie wouldn’t held them back further. Simply put, an F grading is almost too nice for Johnson.
Final Grade: F
After Chad Johnson failed to produce any wins, Bob Murray tried his hand at a second method to replace the then injured John Gibson. He called up one of the most reliable farm hands the San Diego Gulls had to offer in Kevin Boyle. At only twenty-seven years of age, Boyle was already making a name for himself down in San Diego. He sported save percentages no lower than .921 through his first two years with the Gulls, and he was the main goalie that kept the Gulls competitive.
He was still incredibly young and inexperienced, but the ship was sinking really fast, and it was Murray’s only option. What happened next was a bit of both decent and not-so-great.
Kevin Boyle’s Ups And Downs
Unexpectedly, Boyle’s first game with the Ducks was a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks at home. He was the first Ducks goalie since John Gibson to win their first game in net that also was a shutout. It was a sign of great things to come, as he showed the promise to keep the team going with Miller. But, even the best rookies are prone to rookie mistakes, and the next four games Boyle played in were all losses.
A Distinctive Lack Of Goals
The team only scored four goals in the five games that Boyle saw, which didn’t help at all. Still, he played well and kept games relatively close despite the Ducks and their general lack of offense. His heart and play alone deserve recognition.
Even though he only had one win in his five games played, the important part was that for someone his age, he kept the team in games they had no business being in.