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Max Comtois is coming off an underwhelming season with the Anaheim Ducks, just one year after leading the team in both goals and points.
Comtois managed just six goals and 16 points in 52 games, a pace of nine goals and 25 points per 82 games. The forward is still just 23 years old but the down year is a concern nonetheless, with questions as to what role he'll play with the Ducks long-term.
Comtois had a terrible start to the season, going without a goal and registering just one assist in his first 13 games of the season, up to the point in which he was injured. He was a healthy scratch through points of the season too and while he did perform better as the year went on, he was still far from impactful.
Taking a look at a player’s shooting percentage after a down year can often tell a bit of a story as well. Comtois’ shooting percentage was by far the lowest of his career so far, scoring about half as often as he was on shots during the 2020-21 season. His shooting percentage dropped from 17 per cent in 2020-21 (which was unsustainably high) down to 8.3 per cent (which is much lower than could be expected). However, his shots per game also took a dip, down from 1.71 to 1.38 shots per game, though he was also averaging about 1:20 less per game in ice time.
So will Comtois bounce back?
Likely, to an extent. It’s possible that he’s able to get back to his 2020-21 pace of nearly 25 goals and 50 points per 82 games, but may not be the most likely scenario.
If you discount his brutal start to the year, Comtois had six goals and 15 points in 38 games in 2022, which is a pace of 13 goals and 32 points per 82 games. While that’s on the low end for the forward, he’s also probably not going to be shooting at 17 per cent for a sustainable amount of time like he was the season prior.
As a result, I think it’s probably more likely we see him around 40 points next season. He’s not a player who shoots a lot and his numbers will be dependent, in part, by his role and who he’s playing with.
As more talent starts to enter the lineup though, Comtois will have to step up. He’s still young and has a great opportunity within the team’s forward group but needs to work to take advantage of it.
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