About Last Season: Phil Di Giuseppe Performance Review and Grade

Phil Di Giuseppe: 2017-18 By The Numbers

• Age: 24
• NHL seasons: 3
• Scoring: 5 goals - 8 assists - 13 points
• Ice Time: 10:30 all situations, 10:22 ES, 0:08 PP, 0:00 PK
• 5-on-5 stats: 54.8% CF, 48.8% GF
• Contract Status: Arbitration-eligible RFA; completed one-year, $725,000 contract

Making the Grade

We know, we know: what in the world was Phil Di Giuseppe doing with Jeff Skinner more often than not in the second half of the season? Well...what if I told you that the combination was...actually...surprisingly not terrible?

Di Giuseppe’s numbers give the impression of a player that is just sort of “there.” He’s not a possession monster, he’s not particularly good or bad defensively, he doesn’t have much of a scoring touch. He basically exists to reliably eat up ten minutes of ice time per game and little more.

And yet, Skinner’s offensive pace without Di Giuseppe - 31 points in 52 games, or .596 points per game - was essentially identical to his pace when the two played together - 18 points in 30 games, or .6 PPG. Di Giuseppe essentially existed on a line with Skinner and either Victor Rask or, after Rask was shut down, Elias Lindholm to clear space for his linemates, and while he wasn’t otherworldly at it, he at least held his own.

Back to the defensive play for a minute: Di Giuseppe was least effective when paired with the (altogether ineffective) defensively-oriented Marcus Kruger and Joakim Nordstrom, and the fact that he was never used on the penalty kill pretty much tells the story. He’s not a defensive player, and he doesn’t really contribute in any meaningful way at the offensive end, so what’s the point?

Warren Foegele is a better defensive player than Di Giuseppe has ever been, and you’d have to think that Foegele has a better-than-even shot at that roster spot next season. He led the AHL in shorthanded goals this season, something Di Giuseppe will likely never do, and the Hurricanes don’t need to fill out their roster the way they did last offseason, all of which seems to indicate that Di Giuseppe’s time with the Hurricanes will soon come to an end.

An arbitration-eligible RFA, Di Giuseppe may well be back, but it’s just as likely he’s non-tendered and turned loose on the UFA market. Either way, he leaves this season as more of a factor than his critics would have you believe, but not enough of one to truly make a difference.

Exit Interview