Canucks Army Free Agent Profiles: Roman Polak

In the above picture, we’ve got upcoming UFA defenceman Roman Polak, a step or two behind Sidney Crosby. 

A fitting image? Probably. Whatever Polak had that was appealing to NHL teams, he’s falling fast as a legitimate option with his declining play as of late. And while he did earn playing time with a Stanley Cup finalist, it was clear to most he wasn’t particularly excelling in that role.   

Yeah, this isn’t exactly a pretty representation of Polak either. Not great at driving offense, not great at possession hockey, not great at shot suppression. Polak picks up some points here and there, but he’s not exactly a standout in any particular category. For me at least, the composite WOWYs really show his ability to drag a teammate’s play down.  

The most impressive stat here is 559 games played. Which, when you think about it, probably isn’t the best stat to have as your most impressive. 303 hits this past season is quite a bit- and quite a bit of time to be without the puck. One goal in 91 shots this past season. Where are you even shooting the puck to have it saved 90/91 times?

From my own experience watching Polak over the last two seasons almost every game in Toronto, he’s about what you’d expect from that statline – rugged, and physical, but not overly skilled offensively. Polak will hit your best players five times a game and rough them up a bit, but he’s also going to have his fair share of defensive lapses and a general inability to keep up with the rest of the NHL in nearly every facet of his game.

From SBNation’s Jake Sundstrom, over at Fear the Fin on his play with Brendan Dillon during the playoffs:

And here’s hockey Twitter, watching Roman Polak play in the Stanley Cup Final:

While it may have been somewhat reactionary to a bad series of plays from Polak… it’s not like he’s had a history of being a standout defenceman either and deserves the benefit of the doubt of a rough playoffs. He’s just never been all that exceptional as an NHL-level defenceman. 

No thanks, Roman. Despite having started in the league, what’s uh, ten years ago now, Polak’s skills just don’t quite match up to the talent level of a lot of those around him these days- backed up by the numbers, the eye test, and, of course, what hockey Twitter thinks about him. 

The combination of being a good teammate, a good veteran, and a good, physical player, still don’t add up to being a good signing. Maybe -MAYBE- if a team wanted to sign him on a short term deal for cheap they’d be doing okay, but I can’t imagine the thought process where signing Polak was a better option than an upcoming prospect. 

Roman Polak is a defenceman with experience at the playoff level and now in the Stanley Cup Final. But he’s never really been a key part of any team he’s been a part of, and nothing in particular points to him being a key part of any team in the future. While he can fit into a role as a bottom-pairing defenceman, he hasn’t done a particularly great job there over the past few years. 

It wouldn’t overly surprise me if Polak finds himself out of work at the NHL level for the next little while- because although he can fill in the gaps on the bottom pairing, he’s far from the best option available and not getting any younger. Most teams don’t really have a use for a guy like Polak- but to be fair, the Canucks aren’t most teams.