Kate Frese/Flyerdelphia
The 2015-16 NHL season was hardly kind to Matt Read.
The veteran forward for the Philadelphia Flyers had his worst season as a professional in terms of production, beating out last year which was previously considered his worst.
This begs the question, is Matt Read trending down and should the Flyers pursue dealing him while his value isn’t completely shot?
Any potential trading partner would have to absorb Read’s two remaining years and, presumably, his $3.625 cap hit. The term or the money shouldn’t be much of an obstacle, but that’s jumping too far ahead.
Let’s weigh both sides and see if Read is still worth keeping around.
Read’s production has steadily declined since his rookie campaign which ended with him finishing fourth in the Calder Trophy voting. His points per game totals marginally dropped from .59 to .57 to .53 in his first three years. Then last season it crashed to a .38 total and fell to .33 this year. His goals created decreased by only .01 in each of his first three seasons before plunging to .12 last year and remaining there for this past campaign.
The dive in productivity can be attributed to the largely defensive role Read was thrust into by former coach Craig Berube. In his first two years as a pro, the Ilderton, Ontario native had relatively balanced zone starts with former head coach Peter Laviolette. He went from starting 49 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone during his rookie campaign to 52 percent the next season.
For the next two years, Berube would command the Flyers bench and Read would live in his own end. He saw 57 and 58.6 percent zone starts in the defensive zone.
Under Dave Hakstol, Read shot back up to beginning only 52 percent of his shifts in the Flyers zone. Read also saw second unit power play time.
The more balanced shift starts did wonders for his Corsi and Fenwick, but little for his production.
Speaking of advanced stats, those are Read’s saving grace. Remember, the utility winger was placed alongside rookie centers Scott Laughton and Nick Cousins for practically the entire season. Read’s presence with those two young players was a boon. His Corsi percentage with Cousins was 54.8 and when the two were split apart Read’s percentage dropped by almost two points while Cousins fell by four. This is despite Read seeing more defensive work when the two were separated.
In the case of Laughton, Read’s Corsi percentage went up by nearly a percentage without the rookie. Meanwhile, Laughton’s percentage plummeted by 11 points.
Yet, does that indicate his worth to Hakstol as a veteran player who can help stabilize the young kids? If it does, that means Read will be sharing their ice time.
This past regular season, Read played 15 minutes a night on average. That total is the lowest in his career by far. The rookie coach also made him a healthy scratch a few times. The lack of ice time and handful of scratches may indicate Hakstol doesn’t see Read as an important piece to the team moving forward.
That presumption became more substantive come the playoffs. Read averaged just 12:19 per contest in the six-game series against the Capitals. Only Laughton, Cousins, Colin McDonald and an injured Sean Couturier played less.
Read himself has stated that he needs to get in front of the net more which should help him score more goals, but with his ice time diminishing will the Flyers just want to move on with young players moving up the ranks?
Consider that Cousins, Laughton, maybe Jordan Weal (if he receives a qualifying offer), Travis Konecny, Taylor Leier and a few other prospects will be vying for roster spots with potentially only Sam Gagner and R.J. Umberger departing. And if the Flyers want to add any forwards come free agency, they’ll have even less openings available.
The Flyers may not want to deal Read as he is their best defensive winger. However, if Hakstol is going to continue using him as a fourth-line winger, it may be best for both parties if they try to move him.
Dan Heaning is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Dan_Heaning.
