While the Carolina Hurricanes‘ season ended in disappointment, the team had a lot to be proud of. Now in the offseason, tough decisions will be made, and management will work to put the team in a place to succeed next season. In the meantime, we will take a look back at individual players’ seasons and see how they did. For the Carolina Hurricanes offseason grades, today we look at Jesper Fast.
Carolina Hurricanes Offseason Grade: Jesper Fast
Carolina signed Jesper Fast to a three-year contract in 2020 after being drafted by and playing for the New York Rangers. Fast is a speedy bottom-six winger who can also contribute higher in the lineup in limited showings when needed. While not exactly known for his offensive output, he is another hard-working, heavy-forechecking Hurricanes player who has consistently been considered one of the most liked guys in the locker room. In fact, Fast won the Rangers Players’ Player of the Year Award five years in a row and has won similar awards for the Hurricanes. Over his time in Carolina, he has proven to be a great piece to their forward lineup.
Jesper Fast’s Regular Season
This season saw Fast contribute to the Hurricanes much the same as he has the previous two seasons. He spent the majority of the season on the third line with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook. As mentioned in Martinook’s Carolina Hurricanes offseason grade article, that line played the most minutes and games of any Hurricanes line combination and the most games together of any forward line in the league. They were the perfect picture of a heavy forecheck and puck possession line. This paid dividends for their line while also wearing down other teams to allow Carolina’s other lines more room to work. They not only led the Hurricanes, but the entire league in expected goals for forward lines playing 100 minutes with 41.5.
Fast is a big reason that line was able to do what it did with his speed and play. The Hurricanes’ style requires players to be on the puck in the forecheck relentlessly. If a team makes a breakout pass to the half wall, a guy is there. If the defenceman tries to walk the puck out from behind his net, a guy is there. Many times, that guy is Fast with his speed and tenacity. While also being a big contributor on the penalty kill, he finished the season with 104 hits and a 55% expected goals percentage. Offensively, he finished with ten goals and 19 assists. While not an offensive powerhouse, he was certainly an effective player for Carolina.
Jesper Fast’s Playoffs
Fast’s playoffs saw him take a big jump forward offensively while still maintaining his solid defensive/forechecking style. He was third on the team in expected goals with 5.4 and second in hits with 46. You could see him on the ice exhibiting his playing style throughout the playoffs too. Fast was constantly engaged and spent time helping out on the penalty kill and the powerplay. While the Martinook/Staal/Fast line played together a fair amount in the postseason, Fast saw himself moving around with different linemates. Every line Fast played on for 30 minutes of ice time or more saw those lines get expected goal percentages over 58%, with the Staal/Fast/Martinook line having a 70% expected goal percentage.
What is more impressive for Fast, is his offensive explosion and clutch performance in the playoffs. He scored game-winning overtime goals in Game 2 of the First Round and in the series-clinching Game 5 of the Second Round. His Second Round series-clinching goal was especially great for Fast considering he missed what seemed like an easy chance earlier in that game. Statistically, Fast led the team in goals with six and game-winning goals with two. He was fourth in points with nine. Fast’s goals and points were both career bests for Fast. He had a mix of even strength, powerplay and shorthanded goals. Overall, Fast was as consistent as ever in the playoffs with a big jump in production.
The Verdict
Once again, Jesper Fast was a “players’ player” for the Carolina Hurricanes this year. This offseason could be interesting for Fast. He somewhat silently is a very important player for Carolina. His consistency every year and every shift mixed with his great playoff performance this season shows the value he brings to this team. As an unrestricted free agent this offseason, it would be hard to see Carolina wanting to let him walk. However, due to his play and the weak free agent class, Fast might have priced himself out of Carolina much like Nino Niederreiter last year. Sure, bottom six players are a dime a dozen, but Fast already has a fit with the team and seems to bring much more than an able body. This might be a tricky one for Carolina.
Grade: B+
