While the Carolina Hurricanes season ended in disappointment, the team had a lot to be proud of. Now in the offseason, tough decisions will be made, and management will work to put the team in a place to succeed next season. In the meantime, we will take a look back at individual players’ seasons and see how they did. For the Carolina Hurricanes offseason grades, today we look at Jalen Chatfield.
Carolina Hurricanes Offseason Grade: Jalen Chatfield
Jalen Chatfield is somewhat of a journeyman who has beaten the odds and made his way as a very capable bottom-pairing defenceman for the Carolina Hurricanes. In fact, on a lot of teams in the NHL, Chatfield very well could see top-four minutes. Chatfield is a very fast defenceman who is not afraid to join the rush or play physically. The Michigan native signed as an undrafted free agent with the Vancouver Canucks after playing with the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League.
After a few seasons in the Canucks organization, he signed a one-year deal with Carolina in 2021. Chatfield was a big part of the Calder Cup winning Chicago Wolves team in the AHL but also saw some call-up time with Carolina. At times he was taking ice time away from then-bottom pairing defencemen Brendan Smith and Ian Cole. His play and the potential he showed resulted in Carolina rewarding him with a two-year deal in 2022.
Jalen Chatfield‘s Regular Season
While many thought he might be a good 6/7 defenceman to provide some depth, he stepped up this year and really anchored that bottom pairing. Chatfield suited up for 78 regular season games. Over that span he scored six goals and eight assists. This also included two game-winning goals and a shorthanded goal. For reference, Chatfield’s points and goals were in line with other defencemen such as Alec Martinez and Matt Dumba. He spent most of the season playing with Calvin de Haan until Carolina acquired Shayne Gostisbehere. However, many times Chatfield was the guy slid up the lineup whenever other defencemen were missing and he did not look drastically out of place.
As a pair, de Haan and Chatfield had a 58.7% expected goals percentage, but the Chatfield/Gostisbehere pair were second in the entire league for pairs playing over 150 minutes at 67.5%. While Gostisbehere’s offensive style drove a lot of that, Chatfield complimented Gostisbehere very well. That pair stayed together for the rest of the season after Gostisbehere arrived. One difference this year versus last that showed Chatfield’s maturity as a player is he retained his high-flying style of play and speed but seemed to also reign it in and control it better. Chatfield was not only a plug-in guy for Carolina this season, he was an asset. At an AAV of $762,500, Carolina got excellent value out of Chatfield.
Jalen Chatfield’s Playoffs
Chatfield played in all 15 games for the Hurricanes in the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Again, playing on a pairing with Gostisbehere for every game. For his first-ever Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance, Chatfield had one goal and three assists. Points wise, and mostly for his advanced analytics, he fell right in line as a 5/6 defencemen compared to the rest of the lineup. He did have 27 hits which was second for all Hurricanes defencemen.
Again, the pairing of Chatfield and Gostisbehere were fourth for all pairs playing 150 minutes in the playoffs in expected goal percentage with 55.7%. They also limited shot attempts against per 60 minutes to 48.31 which was a playoffs best for all pairs playing 150 minutes. They only had six goals against but also only five goals for. Overall, this pairing played well for a third pairing and was a big part of Carolina’s deep defensive core. Chatfield individually continued his good regular season and fit right in to do what was needed in his role for Carolina in the playoffs.
The Verdict
Like mentioned above, Chatfield came into this season as a depth option on defence and more than held his own. For a team built on strong defence where the defencemen are encouraged to engage offensively, Chatfield was a perfect fit. His journey to the NHL is a story that you see from time to time but is not the norm. It’s hard not to root for a guy like Chatfield. His playing style and character made him a stable presence on that third pairing. This was true even when others were rotated in and out. Carolina will have one more year of Chatfield at a low price and, depending on next season, may look to retain him for depth. That is unless he progresses to the point of pricing himself out of Carolina.
Grade: B+
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