What you see above is Brian Rolston’s calling card. It is that beauty of a slapshot that when it finds the net, is pure gold. However, most of the time Rolston is way wide and at his age now just is not the same player he was even a few seasons ago. Some of that can be pinned on the Devils but some of the blame has to go to Rolston.
First off here is the trade in its context thanks to the Devils PR staff.
“The New Jersey Devils today acquired forward Trent Hunter from the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Brian Rolston. The announcement was made by Devils’ President/CEO/General Manager Lou Lamoriello. Also a 2012 conditional draft pick is included in the deal as well.”
What you need to know here is that Brian Rolston’s days were numbered no matter what. We also wanted to thank DobberHockey for their quick impact hit. Remember Rolston was placed on waivers on December 14th as he, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Jason Arnott were almost going to go no matter what. They just had not produced and nevermind fantasy wise for people but on the ice as well and in some cases off. Rolston’s play improved dramatically when Coach Jacques Lemaire was brought back. It is not surprising as to why. Look at Rolston’s success in Minnesota as it is a harbinger of a pattern to his fantasy success.
He is the key piece of this trade. Trent Hunter is going to be nothing more than a 4th liner who may wind up being bought out if he does not heal 100% or play well anyway. Face it, this was a move for cap space. No “business decision” can be more called a cap casualty than Rolston. He did not produce to his salary so he had to go. Is he a top six forward anymore? Wait. We are getting way ahead of ourselves here so maybe it is time to look at the career numbers a bit.
Thanks again to Hockey Reference as always.
Brian Rolston’s Career Numbers:
| Yr | TM | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PM | PP | SH | GW | S | ATI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94-95 | NJD | 40 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 92 | |
| 95-96 | NJD | 58 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 139 | |
| 96-97 | NJD | 81 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 6 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 237 | |
| 97-98 | NJD | 76 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 185 | |
| 98-99 | NJD | 82 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 210 | 18:49 |
| 99-00 | TOT | 77 | 16 | 15 | 31 | -12 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 206 | 17:56 |
| 99-00 | NJD | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 19:09 |
| 99-00 | COL | 50 | 8 | 10 | 18 | -6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 107 | 16:18 |
| 99-00 | BOS | 16 | 5 | 4 | 9 | -4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 66 | 22:13 |
| 00-01 | BOS | 77 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 6 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 286 | 19:19 |
| 01-02 | BOS | 82 | 31 | 31 | 62 | 11 | 30 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 331 | 20:24 |
| 02-03 | BOS | 81 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 1 | 32 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 281 | 20:28 |
| 03-04 | BOS | 82 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 9 | 40 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 257 | 19:38 |
| 05-06 | MIN | 82 | 34 | 45 | 79 | 14 | 50 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 293 | 20:21 |
| 06-07 | MIN | 78 | 31 | 33 | 64 | 6 | 46 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 305 | 21:16 |
| 07-08 | MIN | 81 | 31 | 28 | 59 | -1 | 53 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 289 | 20:04 |
| 08-09 | NJD | 64 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 2 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 174 | 15:06 |
| 09-10 | NJD | 80 | 20 | 17 | 37 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 232 | 16:56 |
| 10-11 | NJD | 65 | 14 | 20 | 34 | -6 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 168 | 17:36 |
Well some interesting numbers pop out for Rolston and they are not that encouraging on the surface. His ice time began to dwindle as his production began to wane and it did in New Jersey. He had 103 points in New Jersey in 209 games. That is less than half a point a game where he was well over that every year in Minnesota previous. Mostly we are going by post lockout numbers. Some will say yes he got the time in Minnesota but by Year 3 in Jersey, Rolston clearly was not quite the same. He did have a nice second half when all hope was lost but where was he in the first half when everything went south? Clearly from the early high ankle sprain in the second tenure to now, it really has not gone as planned for Rolston.
By the way, Rolston had 5 points in his first 24 games and only 4 points up to Dec. 14th when he was put on waivers. Yes there were many problems more than just Brian Rolston but New Jersey did not get the same player that came from Minnesota. Or did they?
In the second half, Rolston was paired with Patrik Elias and not surprisingly the numbers started to come back. He did tally 29 points in 41 games which was pretty close to his average. That comes out over 3/4 of a point per game over the last half but really those numbers are skewed because he was seeing 19-20 minutes a night with a player who clearly raised Rolston’s talent level. Rolston did kind of ride the coattails a bit and may not have had that time had several Devils players, most notably Zach Parise.
The question begs itself. Which Rolston are you going to see on Long Island? He is 38 now and honestly it probably in the last year of his career. Unless of course, he really does try to hold on. That is not cold. That is just honest. The slapper is clearly there but some of the speed is defintely gone. Rolston thrived on playing 20 minutes a night but he cannot play that much at this juncture either. He was a guy predicated on getting his ice time and shots and hopefully enough of those would go in. His shot percentage plummeted as a Devil. Even when he got hot in the second half it was still only 8.1%. Rolston’s best years for the most part was when his number was over 9% as far as shooting percentage.
Right now the Islanders seem content to put him in a Top Nine role as a checking center with PP1 attributes. So he will see lots of power play time but not as much even strength time which should suit him well. However it is going to help and hurt some people. We will dish it to you.
Players it helps:
1. Zach Parise
2. Adan Henrique
3. Jacob Josefson
Players it hurts:
1. Blake Comeau
2. PA Parenteau
3. David Clarkson (at first)
Yes we put some odd choices in perhaps but its explanation time. Zach Parise should be signed next week to a long term deal or that is the belief because of the room made by this deal. Trent Hunter is a fourth liner and could be buried in Albany if it is really necessary. Hunter has to also pass a physical by the way but that should be a formality. Clearly, Parise benefits quite a bit.
It was time to make room to see what guys like Jacob Josefson and Adam Henrique can do with increased roles. Josefson was ineffective and hampered by injuries last year but Henrique seemed ready to jump up to the big club and prosper. Henrique will make the team out of camp after paying his dues in Albany and may have a surprise impact because of this deal. Josefson will also improve because more is expected of him.
Blake Comeau is an RFA and his PP time will be negatively impacted (PP1 to PP2 or maybe little time at all). Also PA Parenteau may see little or no PP time while I think a guy like Nino Niederriter could use a little time in Bridgeport to get ready for the NHL. Even David Clarkson might be hurt initially. He was close to Rolston and sometimes that does affect a player from time to time.
All in all this trade benefits both teams. The Islanders get what I feel is still a 40-50 point player when healthy and the Devils free up space to ensure a cornerstone will be a career Devil and be able to produce fantasy wise.
What say you hockey public. Can Brian Rolston still get 40-50 points with 20 goals? That is the question fantasy hockey fans.
