Dylan Samberg has provided stability to the Winnipeg Jets bottom pairing for nearly two seasons, yet despite that has been recently benched. Samberg seems to be the heir to the left side once grizzled veteran Brenden Dillon likely leaves in free agency this off-season. Dillon is a very good player, but the Jets don’t have the cap space to pay all of their pending unrestricted free agents and give pending restricted free agent Cole Perfetti a raise on his rookie deal.
Dylan Samberg has Been Solid All Year
Samberg is making a bargain $1.4 million annual average value (AAV) and has proven time and time again he can handle a larger role. Yet the Winnipeg Jets are putting him through the wringer right now. The six-foot-four defenceman is not a coveted right-handed defenceman but he is still a very solid player who uses his defensive stick well and who should not break the bank to keep inside the top four for the foreseeable future.
I could maybe understand the decision if Dylan Samberg was a pending restricted free agent for the Jets. As maybe Winnipeg wanted to lower his potential asking price. This has sort of happened to Cole Perfetti recently. Winnipeg would not have been able to pay the young forward upwards of $5 million AAV. Now that Cole Perfetti has hit a major cold streak the Jets can likely afford to bridge him. This allows them to sign some of their unrestricted free agents and trade deadline acquisitions. But a team hoping their player does not smash expectations seems illogical and it’s more a cap space silver lining in a bad situation than an actual strategy.
From a special teams standpoint, Dylan Samberg plays on the second-unit penalty kill for the Jets. He does not play on the power play. Therefore it is not like Ville Heinola where he was unable to get into the lineup because he couldn’t kill penalties. Although if I am being honest that decision was weird. As Heinola kills penalties in the American Hockey League (AHL). Samberg seems to be the perfect Rick Bowness player too. He keeps games low-event. He does not wow you with offensive outbursts. Yet, he is incredible at suppressing scoring chances and keeping opposing players in the perimeter of the offensive zone. If the opposition can’t get into the slot it is very hard for them to get quality chances. Besides even if they do the Winnipeg Jets have elite goalies who will likely make the save.
Passing the Eye and Analytics Test
Analytically Dylan Samberg has been solid but not spectacular. But playing a depth role, there likely isn’t much room for anything else. For the longest time, the Samberg-Nate Schmidt pairing was the best pairing in their entire league at preventing scoring chances. However. That pairing has recently shifted to fifth among pairings with 200-plus minutes played together according to MoneyPuck. Schmidt complements Samberg well but it seems like Samberg is the driver/catalyst for that pairing. This is because Schmidt no longer has the foot speed that made his game so effective in his prime.
Samberg has the Makings of a Key Defensive Piece
Dylan Samberg has all the making of a long-term mainstay in the Winnipeg Jets defensive core. He does not play overly physically. But his tall frame makes him more viable in his own end when it comes to board and puck battles. Samberg unfortunately seems to be prone to one big mistake instead of multiple smaller ones. As a result, when he messes up it is a lot more noticeable. But the thing is that is exactly how a modern-day National Hockey League defenceman plays today. Samberg is agile for his size, has good gap control, has a crafty defensive stick and keeps players to the outside. In a game that is built on speed and skill, Samberg’s defensive acumen won’t go unnoticed if the Jets give him a chance to show it.
Main Photo Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
