Damon Severson

Last Season

Eight goals and 24 assists in 71 games — 32 points, plus-18, at 21:04 a night.

The Finesse Game

A capable puck-mover who has spent a career being slightly underrated and occasionally overpaid. The first pass is quick and he can carry when the outlet is not there.

A hundred and forty-seven unblocked attempts from a median of 42 feet, eight goals. He gets it through and he looks for the pass across the blue line rather than the shot, which is the right instinct on a club with Werenski.

The Physical Game

Six foot two, 204, and he defends soundly without imposing. Forty-five penalty minutes. He is not clearing a crease against a heavy winger and the club’s thirtieth-ranked penalty kill is partly a story about that.

The Intangibles

Fifty-six per cent of the expected goals — 91st percentile — the best mark on this roster, with 54.1 per cent of the shot attempts, 86th, across 1,344 minutes.

The plus-18 agrees with it, which after a section full of numbers that contradict each other is worth noting.

Eight points in his last ten, four of them goals. He is 32, in his twelfth season, and he has quietly been the most effective defenceman on this team by the underlying measures while Werenski took the minutes and the points.