Grading the 2009 Flyers: Randy Jones

I finally got around to Randy Jones, and the delay was definitely intentional.  Since I haven't actually watched Jones play in four months, maybe my Jones-bashing would be less severe.  Mission Accomplished.  As one who heavily relies on stats, Randy Jones' stats on their face are not nearly as bad as I condemn him to being.  Not to sound like a 70 year-old baseball scout but, I saw with my own two eyes numerous mental mistakes.  I digress...

The numbers on Jones tell a much different story.  Looking at his stats above, he looks like a solid player until you reach his giveaway numbers - which are rather awful.  Only Mike Richards and Nate Raduns averaged one per game (Raduns had 1 giveaway in 1 GP, Richards had a 94:83 giveaway-to-takeaway ratio in 79 games) for the year.  When you look deeper, Jones played against below average competition (-0.02 qualcomp) with below average teammates (-0.03 qualteam) and still managed to escape with a special teams +5 rating on the year.  When you factor in the giveaways, that really is quite a feat.  So my Jones-bashing is unwarranted?  Not quite.  See after the jump.

Looking deeper, Jones' numbers are rather Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I'm not a big fan of the CORSI rating, but it's worth noting that Jones was fourth-worst on the team in that category with a -11.1.  He also was the seventh-best in GAON/60 with a 2.38.  Some other stats show Randy Jones as average - 8th in GFON/60, 7th in +/-ON/60 - but two others really stand out.  First, he was third-worst in points per 60 minutes - ahead of Luca Sbisa and Jared Ross - with 0.46 and dead last in shots against per 60 with 32.7.  When Jones first came up, he was supposed to possess offensive skills.  He's always been known as a good skater, someone who can jump up in the play, as evidenced by his shooting percentage (I know, I know, what exactly does that tell us?), which led Flyer defensemen.  But for his offensive hype, he didn't register many points when he played, and he did not have a single primary assist all year.  And yet, he still was able to come out with a +8 rating.  He must have played solid defense then, right?

Not exactly, since his defensive statistics are misleading as well.  Not a single Flyer gave up more shots on goal per 60 minutes than Randy Jones - 32.7.  Not a single Flyer was on the ice for more missed shots against per 60 minutes than Randy Jones - 14.2.  In fact, the team gave up 4.8 fewer shots per 60 minutes when Jones was off the ice and 2.6 fewer missed shots against per 60 minutes.  Bottom line:  Opponents were granted over 7 extra opportunities on goal when Randy Jones was on the ice.  Seven!  And he still had a positive plus minus.  Incredible. 

Whether Jones was lucky last year, or if he is simply a contradiction skating, this year should be his last in a Flyers uniform.  He is getting paid far too much for the type of player he is, and the team has far cheaper options in the minor leagues - Danny Syvret, Oskars Bartulis, and to a lesser extent Marc-Andre Bourdon and Michael Ratchuk - that should be ready to step up next year.  With the team needing to resign Braydon Coburn and Ryan Parent after this year, Jones' $2.75 million will go a long way to off-setting that cost.