Forward Eric Fehr has decided where he’ll take his talents to, inking a three year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, worth $2 million AAV.
#Pens sign former #Caps forward Eric Fehr to 3-year, $6-million contract. Cap hit of $2 million.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) July 28, 2015
In his final two seasons in junior, Fehr put up consecutive 50-goal runs and while that production hasn’t translated (and nobody really expected it to), he has been capable of adding secondary scoring while playing good, defensive hockey at the NHL level. Injuries have not been kind to him, but when he is healthy he adds a dimension to a team that is craved in today’s NHL.
Excelling in shorthanded situations, Fehr averaged a career-high 14:51, won 52% of his face-offs and scored on 13.4% of his shots. While he shouldn’t be expected to stay at that pace, it was a nice indication of Fehr’s ability to play a solid two-way game. His five-on-five play has received tons of praise, from analyst Pierre McGuire to Capitals fans everywhere. Of his 19 goals, all but two came at even strength. Unfortunately, for himself and for the Capitals, Fehr could only play in four games during the post-season, suffering a shoulder injury and being forced out of the line-up. His absence crushed the team, and although they put up a valiant fight, they couldn’t overcome the Rangers.
What’s interesting to note is that despite being praised for his ability to shut down opponents, his advanced stats are quite average, compared to some of the other free agent forwards in this year’s crop. His Corsi% of 50.2 was up from last season’s 48.8, but still registered as his second-worst rating. The same can be said for Fehr’s Fenwick% of 50.3, which was up from last year’s 47.8. His deployment in defensive-zone starts has also decreased over the course of the last three seasons, going from 55.9% in 2012-13 to 50.9% this past season.
