Be sure to check out the previous eval of Drew Doughty
Marian Gaborik #12
Age: 32
Contract Status: $4.875M AAV through 2020-21
Stats:
Other Stats
Corsi for: 54.2%
Even Strength point percentage: 76.7%
Regular season/playoff shooting percentage: 10.7/17.9
Corsi shooting percentage: 11%
His season
We skipped over a few juggernaut names in the evals, leaving Colin Fraser and Matt Frattin behind. We may get to them later on but for now let's pick up with the Kings big deadline acquisition, Marian Gaborik.
It normally would be hard to gauge the season a player had when he logs just 45 games total in a Kings uniform (19 regular season, 26 playoff). However, Gaborik was phenomenal when he was brought on board thus making this a bit easier. Acquired from Columbus for essentially spare parts, Gaborik had an immediate impact to the Kings offense. He was used forthwith on the first line with Anze Kopitar and the team never looked back. He had 16 points in the final 19 games of the season, and in that time period it was evident from Kopitar's game log that he benefitted as well.
In the stretch from March 6th to the end of the regular season, Kopitar had 10 goals and 8 assists in 19 games. He had 19 goals in the other 63 games played without Gaborik. That's right, with Gaborik on his line,
Kopitar went from scoring every third game he played to scoring every other game. Safe to say this is EXACTLY what Dean Lombardi wanted when he picked up the veteran winger. It was stated after the Kings won the cup that Lombardi had looked at video of every goal that Gaborik had scored prior to making the deal just to be sure he was the right fit. The solid play continued into the playoffs, and Gaborik was a scoring machine. His 14 goals led the team in scoring for the postseason and his 22 points was good enough for 4th. Surprisingly though, the importance of Gaborik wasn't just about his scoring. It was ultimately about increasing the top line capabilities of the Kings. With Gaborik the Kings became much more than a one line team. Prior to the arrival of No. 12, teams were perfectly content locking down the Kopitar line and taking chances with the Kings scoring depth. The same scoring depth that had a pretty rough year up until the playoffs and the inclusion of Pearson, Toffoli, and Gaborik. When you look at the even strength point percentage of Gaborik (76.7%), it really speaks to how much of a threat he is and how much he helped the team increase out 5-on-5 scoring output (Jeff Carter - 70%, Kopitar - 67%).
It was clear from day one that Kopitar and Gaborik had a natural chemistry in play style, and the deck shuffling helped the Kings across the board. In a post back in March
I asked if Kopitar and Gaborik could be the next big thing for the Kings due to their stylistic cohesiveness, and it really played out just as well as anyone could have imagined. Gaborik was one of the highest scoring Kings from the day of his trade to the end of the year when he hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup. His addition to the offense was, without question, one of the major things that pushed the Kings over the edge. Without him it's hard to say the Kings get out of the San Jose series or pull off the massive series win against the Chicago Blackhawks. When you make a trade for a player you only wish that it goes as well as this one did. That Dean Lombardi guy, he's not bad. That's two for two on big deadline acquisitions.
(Good thing Hiller won't ever have to hear those cheers again amirite folks??)
Moving Forward
Dean Lombardi reportedly acquired Gaborik ahead of any other candidate out there because he was interested in re-signing. Shortly after the off-season commenced, Lombardi inked Gaborik to a deal that would essentially have him retire a Los Angeles King. At a reasonable $4.875M cap hit through 2020-21, the Slovakian sensation could be in black and silver until he is 39 years of age. The nice thing about the contract outside of its cap hit, is that the last few years are low enough that if Gaborik ever did want to be moved it is certainly doable. He will be making just over $6MM a season over the first three years, and just over $3MM in the final two. That is a fairly movable contract in today's NHL.
There is also the ever questionable health of Gaborik that comes into play. He did in fact stay healthy for the entirety of the regular season and playoffs with the Kings, however that doesn't mean he hasn't had his injury problems in the past. I always found this photo to be a helpful little reminder of his struggles:
The contract that Lombardi signed the veteran winger to seems great, but it will seem awful if he ends up being injured through 30-40% of it. Given his age and the rough Western Conference it could be a definite possibility that he picks up a few more dingers before his career is le fin. These are all hypotheticals though and Gaborik could remain healthy for a long period of time in L.A. time will definitely tell on that one.
Moving forward in a more productive sense, Gaborik just has to do what he has always done. We already talked about how his style naturally meshes with Kopitar, and hopefully that partnership continues to bear fruit. The nice thing about a successful duo is that you can slot in pretty much anyone on the opposite side to help get them going. Again, this will have to prove to be a successful long term partnership that stands up over the course of an entire season where the inevitable ups and downs occur.
There are only two things in my mind when it comes to Gaborik moving forward. Gaborik is what he is. He is an already established player with a track record of success and scoring ability. Now, as a Kings fan, you just cross your fingers he stays healthy and stays productive.
Gaborik was everything you could have asked for and more. Without him it's debatable whether or not the Kings win the Cup. Like Doughty, this was another easy one. Maybe it's not fair to grade him considering his sample size was fairly small, but I challenge you to find another player who had as much an impact in as short amount of time.
Final Grade: A
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