Owned in 48.8% of leagues
Average Draft Position: 190.7
When I was planning my draft strategy, waiting for the clock to strike zero on a random person too busy attending to his nachos than realizing that it was his pick, my mouse hovered over Jake Muzzin.
It can’t be. Can it? Why is he still available?!
I couldn’t fathom that Muzzin, who plays with Drew Doughty, arguably the league’s best defenseman, could still be scooped up.
Muzzin had the press buzzin’ after his stellar playoff performance, where he scored six goals and tallied 12 total points. While playing over 22 minutes per contest during the Stanley Cup run, Muzzin played an integral role in the Kings hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Muzzin is a gritty, defensively sound player. Boasting a career high 4.4 defensive point shares this past season, Muzzin can hold his own in Los Angeles’ defensive zone. He can play at any time during the game, providing lineup versatility. However, he is not given the chance to thrive.
Playing with Drew Doughty? On the first line? And this moron says he hasn’t had enough opportunities?
First of all, Muzzin plays in Daryl Sutter’s bland-as-vanilla-without-sprinkles defensive system, which takes away many of his offensive opportunities. Also, when playing alongside the likes of Doughty, Anze Kopitar, and Marian Gaborik, Muzzin isn’t asked to carry the weight offensively. However, if one looks closely, Muzzin can be fantasy threat and provide previously unexpected offensive punch.
Of defensemen with over 500 minutes of ice time during the 2013-2014 season, Muzzin ranked fourth in the league in individual Fenwick per 60 minutes. Behind Erik Karlsson, Dustin Byfuglien, and Alexander Edler, I’d say Muzzin finds himself in some pretty decent company. Muzzin also ranks third in individual Corsi per 60 minutes. Quietly, Muzzin’s stellar play has forced himself into the conversation of most underrated defenseman in the league.
Can Muzzin keep it up? I’d bet on it. Coming into a contract year, the 25 year old from Woodstock, Canada is only scratching the surface of his potential and could become a force in the NHL. As for my draft, Muzzin was gobbled up the pick before me. Just my luck.
Agree? Disagree? Comment your opinion in the comments section!
Note: Muzzin’s fantasy numbers are based off of 2014-2015 ESPN drafts.
First decent article I’ve seen from The Hockey Writers.
Thank you, I appreciate taking some time out of your day to read it
My biggest frustration with Muzzin is that he makes a lot of defensive mistakes while looking for offense. I think he will continue to mature into a really great D-man with a nice offensive upside over time, but he’s not there yet. I did draft him on all three of my teams because I know he can put points on the board and luckily he has stayed on the plus side of the +/- last year. I think he’s pretty good now but I know there’s more potential and growth possibilities as he enters his 3rd year in the NHL.
I’d rather have Muzzin that Voynov.. That guy makes a TON more mistakes.
Don’t even get me started on Voynov. The first time I saw him was at Frozen Fury at the beginning of the Stanley Cup 2011/2012 season. He looked TERRIFIC! Fast forward to the 2012/2013 when he was rewarded with a $4.1+ million contract and he now spends a majority of his time flat footed and puck watching. This summer, while most reports were on whether or not Richards would be a compliance buyout, I was sitting back wondering why no one was considering using the buyout on Voynov to free up money to sign Toffoli and Pearson when they become RFA’s this summer. If Voynov returns to 2011/20112 form I will be stoked but the last two seasons he’s done nothing but take large steps the opposite direction.
I believe that Voynov can return to his 2011/2012 form. He just needs a spark. He’s not too far away from returning to form, in my opinion. He just needs an edge and some confidence.
He’s had two sparkless seasons after a big contract and a pathetic playoff showing in both years. If he hasn’t made the best of his situation ( a very enviable situation at that) thus far I don’t see the incentive to work harder than he is. He’s making $4,166,667 through the 2018/19 season and he’s on a team that is in the upper echelon in the league. He has had every opportunity to step up playing on a line with a rather slow Robyn Regehr and instead he skates like he doesn’t want to be there. He’s loaded with potential but he really needs to start playing like he wants to be there. Hopefully he did what Richards did and trained hard and worked out in the off season. If he didn’t, he will continue to be the expensive letdown he’s become.