Anaheim Ducks: Comparing Contributions of 2020 and 2021 Defensemen

Josh Manson

It may be a little unfair to include Josh Manson in this group given that he has spent most of the season on the injury list. However, for completeness, he’s here. Manson has yet to score in his 6 games this season, thus we look to other statistics to see what he’s been able to do when healthy.

Like a few of the Anaheim Ducks, Manson has increased his share of shot attempts (~31%) but is getting few shots through to the net (Fenwick ~41.4%, Shots on net ~29.3%). It fits with the theory that the Ducks blueliners are getting the green light to shoot at will, or rather that they’re being tasked to shoot from suboptimal positions on the ice.

Subsequently, Manson has seen declines in scoring chances (~9.9%), high-danger chances (~100%, he has none this season), rebound creation (~100%, he has none this season), and individual expected goals (~75%).

However, Manson is one of the safer players the Ducks have on their blue line with regards to puck retention, and he has improved his turnover rate by ~40.1%. It’s not hard to imagine that the Ducks will welcome him back into the team as soon as he’s healthy. After all, simply having the puck more is likely to ease pressure on the Ducks’ netminders and help to contribute to strong offensive forays.