Cody Ceci

Last Season

One goal and nine points in all 82 games, minus-10, on seventeen and a half minutes a night. Those are the numbers that get a defenceman criticised, and to a degree the criticism is fair.

The Finesse Game

Very limited offensively. Fifty-three goals in 953 games, no power-play role, and a first pass that is safe rather than good. He will make a clean exit under moderate pressure and struggle under a hard forecheck.

He is a right shot, which is the single most important fact about his career — right-handed defencemen who can play seventeen honest minutes are scarce enough that he has spent a decade being paid to do it.

The Physical Game

Six-three and 210, and he defends with his body and his reach. He is willing in front of the net and along the wall, and he blocks shots. He is not physically dominant and does not pretend to be.

The Intangibles

He has been an object of criticism in most of the markets he has played in, generally because he has been asked to do more than he can — a third-pairing defenceman playing second-pair minutes looks worse than the same player in the right role.

Here he plays the third pair with a stable partner, which is where he belongs. At thirty-two, that is a sensible place for him to finish.