If any Canuck is going into this off-season staring a serious payday square in the eyes, it’s unrestricted free agent, Shawn Matthias. For this toolsy forward, the switch to the wing couldn’t have come at a better time. Having long possessed the requisite tools to be a force from the middle-six, it wasn’t until this season that it all came together. 

As a center, Matthias struggled greatly with consistency and his defensive game lagged behind anything one might expect from a reliable middle-six pivot. When playing on the wing, Matthias has the abilities to capitalize on his strengths and provide efficient goal scoring and strong board play on a nightly basis. When put on the right side this showcases itself with nightly bull-rushes down the wing that regularly end with a puck on goal – picturesque power forwarding, really. 

It was reminiscent of David Booth, save for the finishing ability and a frame that comparatively could have been made of adamantium. 

Matthias’ season didn’t necessarily start well, though. The second year Canuck going so far as to admit that his first eight games were ‘pretty crappy’. If anything, a generous assessment given Matthias’ set of doughnuts on the score sheet and a Corsi For of 37.5% in that stretch. 

From about that ninth game forward though the pace of Matthias’ play gradually picked up, to the point where he was generally one of the more noticeable Canucks forwards on an almost nightly basis – in a good way to boot. On the fore-check, Matthias showed the Canucks brass and faithful the tireless effort and tenacity that they so desperately pleaded for from Zack Kassian on a nightly basis. As a penalty killer he was tenacious, often lunging into shots and applying constant pressure to the puck carrier. The effort was there consistently, even when the results were not. 

By that same token, these same traits that we continually praise Matthias for are all indicative of a player who was chasing play or using athleticism to make up for poor reads on a regular basis. Were Matthias more cerebral in his approach to defense, one can’t help but wonder if we’d notice him less.

Matthias presents us with the second side of the shot-block coin. Looked at in a vacuum, sure, the tracking and pursuit are admirable, but they are indicative of a big picture problem – Matthias’ team chasing play with him on the ice. Optics aside, if this style of play presented any value defensively over a sizable sample, Matthias’ underlying numbers would indicate as much, but as has generally been the case, they did not.

The one state of play in which these tools were remarkably valuable for Vancouver this season was on the penalty kill, where Matthias was arguably their best forward. 

If nothing else, this season reaffirmed many long-held beliefs about what Matthias has to offer and the limitations on his game. As a pure goal scorer, Matthias provides remarkable value and efficiency. His physical tools make him a great compliment to any middle-six forwards unit. Where the problem lies is in his lack of two-way acumen and spotty positioning. By no stretch of the imagination can Matthias carry any one line. When paired with the right linemates, though, he can cook offensively. 

The 14-15 campaign was ripe with personal bests for Matthias. New career highs were set in goals (18), assists (nine) and points (27). On a completely related note, Matthias also set a career high in Sh% this season hitting the 14.3% mark at evens; by that same token, he didn’t necessarily experience a spike in on-ice Sh%, as evidenced by the low assist numbers. 

Matthias has traditionally been a poor possession player and as you can see that trend wasn’t bucked last season. The only real positive to be found here is that Matthias’ Rel. Corsi improved 2% this season. I was surprised to find that Matthias didn’t play over high event hockey relative to his teammates, given his fast, rough and tumble style of hockey.

I was very surprised that only two Canucks forwards fared worse in Goals For% than Matthias. While Matthias has always been somewhat of a defensive disaster, I figured his offensive prowess would be enough to buoy himself to respectability in this category. In all likelihood, this number is reflective of Matthias’ lackluster ability to facilitate offense from any stick other than his own.

As a pure goal scorer, though, they don’t come much more efficient than Matthias. His 1.08 GF/60 is about what you might expect from a solid first liner. Matthias has always been a high volume goal scorer, though.

It should come as no surprise that Matthias set a career high in iSC this season with a whopping 134, 10 more than his previous career high set in 2011-12. Similarly, it shouldn’t be overly enlighting to find out that the Canucks fared much better without Matthias on the ice in this regard as well.

The High-Danger Scoring Chance data is a little more flattering of Matthias. While he failed to break even this season, he was considerably less harmful in this regard than by “ordinary” scoring chances. That more than half of his iSC were comprised of High-Danger chances is interesting, though.

Interestingly enough, Matthias took a significant step backwards last season in shot volume – more than two less shots per 60 minutes. While less significant, Matthias’ shot suppression also took a step in the wrong direction. 

Matthias was a bit of a passenger this season. His presence was rarely, if ever a boon to the possession of his teammates. Hell, even Linden Vey appeared to be carrying most of the water when paired with Matthias. Matthias’ dCorsi paints an equally bleak picutre, with the lumbering winger posting the worst numbers of his career in that regard – a staggering -59.08 dCorsi impact.

I’d say there’s almost no chance the Canucks can re-sign Matthias, who is set to enter unrestricted free agency. Looking at the centers currently available in free agency, I have a hard time seeing Matthias getting any less than $3.75-million a season on a long term deal. Whether that’s where his future team envisions him playing or not, it’s an added wrinkle to his game that can provide value down the stretch as injuries mount. 

With the ability to slot just about anywhere in the middle-six, Matthias could provide great value as an efficient penalty killer and prolific rate scorer. It’s highly unlikely he’ll do it with the Canucks anymore, though.