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David Legwand led the Nashville Predators in goals this season, and finished second on the team in scoring behind Shea Weber. This came after a horribly slow start, however, and a 15-points-in-15-games stretch running from early March to early April wasn't enough to keep the Preds in playoff contention.
As the case has been for several years now, Legwand remains a player who at times looks like a game-breaker, but can disappear for weeks at a time as well. For that very reason, he is one of the most polarizing of players to Nashville fans. Is he the foundation of a usually-competitive franchise, or an underachiever who hasn't lived up to his draft position & salary?
Fancy Stats
| 5-on-5 Usage | ||||
| EV TOI/Gm | OZ % | QoT | QoC | |
| 15:23 | 41.2 | +1.65 | +0.74 | |
| Individual | Team Metrics | |||
| 5-5 Shots/60 | 5-5 Pts/60 | Corsi On | Corsi Rel | |
| 4.63 | 1.69 | -5.70 | -0.70 | |
| Power Play | Penalty Kill | |||
| PP TOI/Gm | 5-4 GF On/60 | 5-4 Pts/60 | PK TOI/Gm | 4-5 GA On/60 |
| 1:58 | 5.41 | 2.71 | 1:04 | 9.37 |
| Penalty Plus/Minus | Favor of the Hockey Gods | |||
| Taken | Drawn | On-Ice Sht% | On-Ice Sv% | PDO |
| 0.7 | 0.5 | 9.18 | 915 | 1007 |
Explanation of table can be found at the end of Gabby Bourque's review.
After a pair of seasons which saw him rank among the team's best puck-possession drivers, Leggy fell back into the Nashville pack in 2013, which isn't exactly great company. He didn't fire many shots on net, wasn't particularly effective on either side of the special teams battle and took more penalties than he drew from his opponents.
My Grade: C-
Outlook
Leggy is entering the final year of his contract, at a $3.5 million salary which is $1 million less than his cap hit. Beginning in July, he becomes eligible to sign a contract extension with the Preds, leading to the obvious question of whether The Original Predator will finish his career here, or move on. Legwand does enjoy the luxury of a No Trade Clause, but as we saw with Martin Erat at the Trade Deadline, the possibility for change still hangs in the air.
It's pretty clear that Legwand has topped out as a player, as hopes for another 60-point season have faded away, but he remains an effective secondary player who should be able to contribute for several years to come. Does the 2-5 year vision for this team include a trio of Fisher/Legwand/Gaustad down the middle, with Leggy mentoring one of the younger forwards into NHL readiness, or will the youth movement push him out of the way?
2013 Highlight
Leggy's hottest stretch came between March 28 & April 4, as he racked up 3 goals and 4 assists in five games. Along the way, he scored this industrious goal during a 3-1 April 2 win over Colorado:
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