These are the numbers of a Norris Trophy winner:
Subban's 2012-13 data-generated scouting report can be found here.
Tracking every puck-possession play over the course of an entire season allows us to track how well a player is playing during each and every game. Taking those numbers and trending them over the entire season gives us a clear and objective view of how consistent (or inconsistent) a player has played. This also allows us to visualize any upward or downward trends in a player's performance.
OVERALL RATIO
Overall ratio shows how many successful plays a player makes for every 1 unsuccessful play.
Subban's overall ratio remained consistent throughout the season. For comparison's sake, Subban produced an overall ratio of 3.67 during the 2013 playoffs.
OVERALL RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Overall risk/reward rating includes events that occur at even-strength, short-handed, and while on the powerplay. For this reason, a player who plays more often short-handed than on the powerplay will see an immediate negative impact on their overall risk/reward rating. Through no fault of their own, player's killing penalties engage in substantially fewer events per-minute than occur at even-strength or on the powerplay.
Subban's overall risk/reward rating dropped slightly over the course of the season. That said, it is important to note that no other Canadiens' defenseman produced an overall risk/reward rating north of 2.20, while Subban's overall risk/reward rating dropped below 2.20 only 6 times all season. It is also important to note that Subban's short-handed ice-time increased over the course of the season.
For comparison's sake, Subban's overall risk/reward rating during the 2013 playoffs was 2.56; no other Habs player had an overall rating above 2.03.
EVEN-STRENGTH RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Subban produced an incredibly consistent even-strength risk/reward rating. How good was Subban? No other Montreal defenseman had an even-strength risk/reward rating above 1.86, while Subban's risk/reward dropped below 2.00 in only 8 games all season.
For comparison's sake, his even-strength risk/reward rating in the 2013 playoffs was 2.31.
OFFENSIVE-ZONE RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Due to an increase in offensive-zone events as the season wore on, Subban's offensive-zone risk/reward rating improved. This was not as much a result of better play, as it was a result of being more involved in the offensive-zone as the season wore on.
Subban had the top o-zone risk/reward rating (0.39) among his defensive teammates. For comparison's sake, Subban produced an o-zone rating of 0.34 during the 2013 playoffs.
SUCCESS-RATE MAINTAINING POSSESSION IN THE OFFENSIVE-ZONE
This graph displays how successful a player is at completing passes, dekes and shot attempts while in possession of the puck in the offensive-zone.
Subban's success-rate maintaining puck-possession in the offensive-zone dropped as the season progressed. Partly the result of adjustments made by other teams, and partly due the the normal impact of an increase in events.
Subban's defense-leading offensive-zone puck-possession success-rate was 64.3% on the season. The second-best success-rate among Habs d-men was 59.4%. For comparison's sake, Subban's o-zone puck-possession success-rate was 62.5% during the 2013 playoffs.
SUCCESS-RATE GETTING SHOTS THROUGH TO THE NET
Subban was able to get fewer of his attempted shots through to the net as the season progressed. This is the likely result of an adjustment in other teams' d-zone strategies.
DEFENSIVE SUCCESS-RATE IN THE OFFENSIVE-ZONE
Defensive success-rate for defensemen hinges on their ability to hold pucks in at the blueline, as this is where the bulk of their defensive-events in the offensive-zone take place. This is also an important metric, as it has a direct link to the number of odd-man rushes defensemen are giving up.
Subban's defensive success-rate in the offensive-zone remained incredibly consistent throughout the season. For comparison's sake, his defensive success-rate in the o-zone was 80.8% during the 2013 playoffs.
DEFENSIVE-ZONE RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Defensemen`s defensive-zone risk/reward ratings are impacted mostly by their ability to successfully pass the puck, their ability to recover loose-pucks, and their ability to win puck-battles.
Subban's defensive-zone risk/reward rating was consistent throughout the season. Subban's rating of 1.58 was tops among Montreal defensemen, while his d-zone risk/reward in the playoffs was a slightly-lower 1.38.
SUCCESS-RATE MAINTAINING POSSESSION IN THE DEFENSIVE-ZONE
Puck-possession (offensive) success-rate shows a player's success-rate when attempting to maintain puck-possession for his team. A defenseman's puck-possession success-rate in the defensive-zone is impacted mostly by their ability to successfully pass the puck while in the d-zone.
Subban's defensive-zone puck-possession success-rate was consistent all season, and was the best success-rate among Montreal d-men. For comparison's sake, Subban's defensive-zone puck-possession success-rate in the 2013 playoffs was a much-lower 68.7%.
PASSING SUCCESS-RATE WHILE IN THE DEFENSIVE-ZONE
As reflected in his d-zone puck-possession success-rate, Subban's success-rate when attempting passes from the defensive-zone was incredibly consistent. For comparison's sake, his passing success-rate was a much-lower 71.8% in the 2013 playoffs.
DEFENSIVE SUCCESS-RATE IN THE DEFENSIVE-ZONE
Defensive success-rate shows a player's success-rate when attempting to acquire or remove puck-possession from the opposition. Defensive success-rates in the defensive-zone are generally the direct result of a defenseman's ability to recover loose-pucks and win puck-battles.
Subban's defensive-play improved as the season progressed. Among his teammates, Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, and Raphael Diaz all produced higher defensive success-rates.
For comparison's sake, Subban's defensive success-rate in the d-zone was 83.9% in the 2013 playoffs.
NEUTRAL-ZONE RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Neutral-zone risk/reward rating is generally less stable when looked at on a game-by-game basis. This is due to the limited number of neutral-zone events most players engage-in over the course of 1 game. Subban's neutral-zone risk/reward rating dropped slightly as the season progressed. That said, only Markov had a higher neutral-zone risk/reward rating than Subban.
For comparison's sake, Subban's neutral-zone risk/reward rating during the 2013 playoffs was 0.58.
SUCCESS-RATE MAINTAINING POSSESSION IN THE NEUTRAL-ZONE
Puck-possession (offensive) success-rate shows a player's success-rate when attempting to maintain puck-possession for his team. A defenseman's puck-possession success-rate in the neutral-zone is impacted mostly by their ability to successfully dump the puck deep into the offensive-zone.
Subban's neutral-zone puck-possession success-rate dropped as the season progressed. That said, only Diaz produced a higher neutral-zone possession success-rate. For comparison's sake, Subban's puck-possession success-rate in the neutral-zone was a much-improved 86.4% in the playoffs.
POWERPLAY RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Powerplay risk/reward rating is difficult to trend on a game-by-game basis because the number of powerplays can vary each game. Each player's PP risk/reward rating depends on different facets of their game; depending on position and role.
For his part, Eller's PP risk/reward rating is directly related to his ability to recover loose-pucks, and complete passes in the offensive-zone. Pacioretty's for example, would be contingent on his ability to recover loose-pucks, and get shots through to the net, while Subban's would be contingent on his ability to complete passes, and get shots through to the net.
Subban's powerplay risk/reward rating dropped over the course of the season. As shown below, this was the direct result of a lower success-rate getting attempted shots through to the net.
SUCCESS-RATE GETTING ATTEMPTED SHOTS THROUGH TO THE NET WHILE ON THE PP
As expressed in his even-strength numbers, Subban's ability to get his shots through to the net suffered over the course of the season. This was the likely result of pre-scouting by opposing teams.
SHORT-HANDED RISK/REWARD RATING
Risk/reward rating shows how many more successful plays a player makes than unsuccessful plays per-minute of ice-time.
Like PP risk/reward, Short-handed risk/reward rating is difficult to trend on a game-by-game basis because the number of powerplays can vary each game.
A defensemen's short-handed risk/reward rating is impacted mostly by their ability to win puck-battles, recover loose-pucks, and successfully dump the puck out of the defensive-zone. Subban's SH risk/reward improved dramatically over the course of the season. This was the direct result in an increase in short-handed ice-time. Brought on by the injuries to Diaz and Alexei Emelin.
Subban has produced the best success-rate when attempting to clear the puck out of the defensive-zone while short-handed 2-years running. In fact, his success-rate is 5 percentage-points better than any other d-man.
