Philadelphia Flyers Final Player Grades: Robert Hagg

Since the 2019-20 NHL regular season is almost definitely over, we can grade out the performances of each Philadelphia Flyers player. This time we look at Robert Hagg.

No player currently on the Philadelphia Flyers speaks more to the club’s long-time identity than defenseman Robert Hagg. And that isn’t really a good thing, because the knock on the Flyers has always been that, despite their toughness, they lacked the speed and skill necessary to succeed in a league that has seemingly passed them by.

More from Philadelphia Flyers

• How to Claim $3,000+ In Pennsylvania Sportsbook Bonuses Today! 
• DraftKings Pennsylvania Promo Will Give You $200 Bonus GUARANTEED for Betting Just $5
• Flyers/Avalanche: What a difference three years makes
• Surprise, the Philadelphia Flyers are struggling again
• Philadelphia Flyers: The organization must embrace the tank this season

Hagg is who he is, warts and all. But despite the possibility of disaster, he has largely exhibited a level of play that has made him effective enough for three seasons running.

Hagg wasn’t even supposed to factor into things very much for the Flyers this year, not after they brought in Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun over the offseason while also making it known that they finally expecting Samuel Morin to challenge for a regular spot on the blueline. As such, Hagg was ticketed for a role as either the 7th or 8th defenseman.

But Morin was taken out of play early after he suffered yet another devastating injury, and the Flyers’ defense corps had just enough issues to allow Hagg to squeak into the lineup. Once he got there, he was surprisingly adequate.

I know, high praise, right?

Still, Hagg chipped in 13 points in 49 games while playing well enough to garner an extremely surprising +14 rating on the year. But hang on a second. Did he play that well? Because those pesky advanced metrics (Corsi, Fenwick) say that he did not. In fact, a look at these numbers indicates that the Flyers really should have been eviscerated while he was on the ice, and that his plus/minus was incredibly lucky.

Another relevant category to look at here is PDO, which is basically your team’s combined shooting percentage plus save percentage while you are on the ice. 100 is considered average, as in, you were neither lucky or unlucky. Most players will be just a shade off of 100 over the course of a year, typically between 98 and 102. And then there’s Hagg, whose PDO this season was 106.3. That’s insane, as it indicates extreme fortune on his part. With Hagg on the ice this year, Flyers’ goaltenders stopped 93.2% of shots, and the team shot 13.1% against the opposition. For the season as a whole, those numbers were 90.7% and 10.5%

If that’s not lucky, I don’t know what it is. I’ll have what he’s having.

Maybe if he had played another 20 or 30 games this year, Hagg’s value would have sagged, but we can only grade him on what we did see. And I saw a steady player who, even though the numbers say should he should have been a liability, was not. Let’s just be glad that he was there to pick up the slack when the Flyers needed it. Asking anything more from him would have been a disservice.