I’ve always been on the record in saying that I believe reunions in sports are never a good idea. Whether it be because of past success, continued expectations, or the potential of a player ruining his legacy with the respective club, there are many reasons that reunions can go sour. However, just like with anything in life, there are certain situations where you can make it work, and I believe Shayne Gostisbehere fits that mold. He was initially a trade deadline acquisition by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023, and played 38 games for the team combined between the regular season and the playoffs.
In his first stint, he showed flashes of being a player that could help the team in areas they struggled. The Hurricanes had just traded Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers the previous summer, and replaced him with an aging Brent Burns in a deal with the San Jose Sharks. While still effective in his day, Burns was not the answer to the team’s powerplay, so Gostisbehere was brought in to try and aid in that regard. While his play was fine overall, his overall impact was limited by the fact he wasn’t really given an opportunity on the PP1 unit and was mostly given third-pair minutes.
When Gostisbehere became a free agent in the summer of 2023, the Hurricanes opted to go in another direction and decided a reunion with DeAngelo would be better than re-signing Ghost. Remember what I said about reunions? DeAngelo was never able to recapture the 51-point form he demonstrated in the 2021-22 season, and played just 31 games for the team last season despite being their best powerplay quarterback. The Hurricanes pivoted this past summer and re-kindled their relationship with Gostisbehere, signing him to a three-year deal with a $3.2 million average annual value (AAV) — quite the bargain for a guy who scored 56 points with the Detroit Red Wings last season.
The key to success for a player like Gostisbehere is undoubtedly deploying him in situations that benefit his skill set. At 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, he’s an undersized defender that isn’t much of a physical presence. He uses his smarts to defend the rush by keeping tight gaps and an active stick, but the value he brings to any team is on the offensive side of things. He’s alarmingly calm with the puck and sees the ice as good as anybody. He’s a great outlet passer, and as he’s matured he’s learned to wait for plays to develop rather than force the matter. His best weapon, though, is his cannon of a shot from the point. He generates serious velocity and most importantly — he’s accurate. And you can see how it’s benefitted the team already.
The Powerplay Is Flourishing
The biggest area of obvious improvement so far? The powerplay. Gostisbehere has taken over for Burns on the top unit, and the results have been tremendous. Of course, there’s only a six-game sample size so far but the Hurricanes’ unit is operating at a 26.1% rate, which as of this point has them seventh in the NHL. Historically, it’s been a unit that always struggles when it’s most needed to be effective, and that’s the area I feel has benefitted the most from the Gostisbehere addition. His calm demeanor with the puck and ability to not rush decisions will be vital when the pressure is on later in the season, and most importantly in the playoffs. Look at his poise and positioning here:
stuart skinner makes a highlight reel save, but shayne gostisbehere is able to beat him right after to make it a one goal game. pic.twitter.com/EvLUosycVO
— zach (@zjlaing) October 23, 2024
Of course, I won’t give Gostisbehere all of the credit for the initial PP success but he’s been a massive part of it. Martin Nečas was also promoted back to the PP1 over the summer and so far they’ve shown great chemistry working off of one another. My guess is that they will improve even further as the unit adapts and continues to learn how to play with each other. Overall, I feel that the PP1 unit of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, Nečas, and Gostisbehere is arguably the deepest and most dynamic group that the Hurricanes have deployed in any recent years.
Chemistry with Sean Walker
We’ve all heard the saying “Big people beat up little people”, so it’s hard to imagine how successful a pairing of two well-undersized defensemen can function in the modern-day NHL. Both standing at under 6-feet, Ghost’s pairing with Sean Walker makes up one of the smallest defensive duos in the sport today. But what they lack in size, they make up for with a combination of smarts, smooth skating and puck movement to be effective.
In 85 minutes together at 5-on-5 through seven games, the Gostisbehere-Walker pairing, fondly known as “Ghostwalker” is rocking a 70.06 Corsi For percentage (CF%), which ranks first amongst all qualified defensive pairings (minimum 50 minutes played). Their expected goals percentage (xG%) is at an incredible 79.3% — a testament to how effective they’ve been on the ice. The Hurricanes are generating a ton of offense with them out there (7.13 expected goals for – xGF) while conceding very little against them (1.86 expected goals against – xGA). The deeper you go into the stats, the more impressive they get. These guys have been absolutely dominant.
The fact that they’ve played relatively sheltered minutes is beneficial to them as well, as their opposition can be matchup-based to deploy them to the best effect. They start nearly 60% of their shifts on the offensive side of the ice, which is crucial because it allows their attacking qualities to shine while not putting them at risk defensively. The Hurricanes have Jaccob Slavin, Dmitry Orlov and Jalen Chatfield who are more than capable of handling the tougher defensive assignments, which in turn allows Gostisbehere and Walker a little more freedom to do what they do best. So far, the strategy has worked incredibly.
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Of course, the season is still very young and anything can happen as we move along — but it’s hard not to be impressed with how Gostisbehere has re-settled into the team. The experience he gained in the Hurricanes’ system in his first stint has clearly aided his transition back into the group, and it’ll be interesting to see how he continues to grow as he gets even more comfortable in the system. It’s notoriously taken defensemen a long time to really grasp the team’s defensive concepts and assignments — so it’s incredible to think that Ghost could still just be scratching the surface in terms of what he has to offer to the team moving forward.
