Maxim Tsyplakov

Last Season

Two goals and two assists in 49 games, minus-17, at 9:07 a night. His five-on-five work was done on Long Island.

The Finesse Game

Almost nothing arrived. Sixty-five unblocked attempts, two goals, though the location was sound — 43 per cent from inside twenty feet, median 25.

The year before he had 37 points in 77 games as an undrafted rookie out of Russia at 25, so the ability is on record. Four points in 49 games is a collapse rather than a level.

The Physical Game

Six foot three, 203, and he uses it on the forecheck without being punishing. Six penalty minutes in 49 games, which is a startlingly low number for a big winger.

The Intangibles

The one number in his favour, and it is a good one: 51.8 per cent of the expected goals, 70th percentile, in 437 minutes — the best mark of any forward Calgary added. The goals went 16-14 in his favour.

So the ice tilted his way in limited minutes while he produced nothing at all. That combination usually means a player who does the work and cannot finish, which is a bottom-six description rather than an insult.

He is 27, undrafted, two seasons in. The minus-17 is on a bad Islanders team and the four points are on him.