NIKLAS KRONWALL - Defenseman - 38 - $4.75MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2019-2020
LAST UPDATED 8/5/19
Since his NHL debut in the 2003-2004 season, Niklas Kronwall has always been in Detroit's long-term defensive plans. Kronwall has always brought incredible experience, poise, and leadership to a defense. He made his professional debut in 1999 with Djurgardens of the SHL and has not looked out of place since. At 38 years old, though, Kronwall simply is not the defenseman he once was. Kronwall's nagging knee issues have gotten the best of him, as he no longer has even average foot speed or agility. The evaporation of all of Kronwall's skating abilities has caused him to be an absolute liability with the puck on his stick, and his isolated impact metrics bear out this point. Kronwall is measured as an absolutely dreadful play driver on 5v5 offense and measures as one of the worst defensive play drivers on the power play, a massive hindrance to his team's ability to structure and conduct an efficient and successful man-advantage offense. Defensively, Kronwall is still just as intelligent as he always has been, but unfortunately the game moves more quickly than the game did for most of his career, and as a result he can sometimes can get caught by faster skaters. He's still a positive on defense thanks to his intelligence, strength, and positioning abilities, and he can still kill penalties, but his defensive value is severely damaged by how much of a liability he is to his team's offensive game and how little value he provides with zone exits in the transition game, a fundamental and important part of defense. At this point, he needs to be a sheltered, defense-only bottom-pairing defenseman, but the off-ice value he can provide to a young, growing team like Detroit is invaluable. He may retire, though, but if he does he should leave the NHL with zero regrets.
Since his NHL debut in the 2003-2004 season, Niklas Kronwall has always been in Detroit's long-term defensive plans. Kronwall has always brought incredible experience, poise, and leadership to a defense. He made his professional debut in 1999 with Djurgardens of the SHL and has not looked out of place since. At 38 years old, though, Kronwall simply is not the defenseman he once was. Kronwall's nagging knee issues have gotten the best of him, as he no longer has even average foot speed or agility. The evaporation of all of Kronwall's skating abilities has caused him to be an absolute liability with the puck on his stick, and his isolated impact metrics bear out this point. Kronwall is measured as an absolutely dreadful play driver on 5v5 offense and measures as one of the worst defensive play drivers on the power play, a massive hindrance to his team's ability to structure and conduct an efficient and successful man-advantage offense. Defensively, Kronwall is still just as intelligent as he always has been, but unfortunately the game moves more quickly than the game did for most of his career, and as a result he can sometimes can get caught by faster skaters. He's still a positive on defense thanks to his intelligence, strength, and positioning abilities, and he can still kill penalties, but his defensive value is severely damaged by how much of a liability he is to his team's offensive game and how little value he provides with zone exits in the transition game, a fundamental and important part of defense. At this point, he needs to be a sheltered, defense-only bottom-pairing defenseman, but the off-ice value he can provide to a young, growing team like Detroit is invaluable. He may retire, though, but if he does he should leave the NHL with zero regrets.
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