Locked On Sharks
Is Kevin Labanc a First-Line Forward?

Kyle, Erik, and JD try and decide what Kevin Labanc actually is. We look at his stats and debate if he’s actually a first-line forward as his underlying stats suggest or if his counting stats tell a different story for the San Jose Sharks. We compare Labanc to other first-line forwards around the league (11:30) and if his contract is actually good or bad (17:00). We finish by trying to figure out what his role actually is and what we expect from Labanc going forward for the San Jose Sharks (26:00).
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Couture (1.6) and Meier (1.67) make more money and their TP/60 at 5v5 was well under Labanc’s 1.99. Labanc hasn’t been a top 6 PP points contributor since 2018-19, when he was #1 (6.37 p/60) among Sharks F’s. is this a usage problem? it seems the team’s overall PP success has declined as Labanc’s personal success has declined the last couple of seasons. seems like this could be a coaching/system problem. conversely, Meier took over the #1 spot this season (5.85 p/60) on the PP despite being out of the top 3 in PP TOI (92.25 mins). Hertl’s the only… Read more »
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