2008 Final Grade: David Jones

2008 Final Grade: C

2007 Grade: N/A

Links:

{{jones}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Jones game log

Season Stats: 27gp 2g 4a 6pt -5

Minutes: 306.7 (15^th), EV 10:34, PP :46 PK :01 ATOI 11:22

1^st Half: 2gp 0g 0a 0pt E

2^nd Half: 25gp 2g 4a 6pt -5

Playoffs: 10gp 0g 1a 1pt E

Best Month: March (15gp 2g 3a 5pt -4)

Positions: RW (27)

Lines: 3^rd (13), 4^th (6), 2^nd (5), 1^st (3)

Linemates: Jones season log

C: Arnason (10), Sakic (9), Hensick (4), Guite (2), Hlinka (1), Wolski (1)

LW: Brunette (9), McLeod (5), Smyth (5), Forsberg (3), Laperriere (2), Parker (2), Wolski (1)

Season: This was Jones' first NHL season, so all his numbers represented career highs.

Report: This one's kind of a tough one to break down. On one hand, Jones looked like a future power forward, registering 40 hits in 27 games (extended to an 82 game season, that would be 121 hits, more than any other Avalanche forward). And Jones seemed to have a ton of scoring chances, especially when he was paired briefly with Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette. However, he seems to have the tight-gripped scoring touch of Dan Hinote. Actually, Hinote was one of 273 forwards with a better shooting percentage than Jones. Jones was excellent from center ice to the faceoff circles as well as behind the net, but really struggled in the money pit. His shots just weren't fooling anyone, and he also seemed to take himself out of position too often. The line of Sakic, Brunette and Jones was a good illustration of the conundrum of Jones' play. The trio combined for 13 EV points in 7 games together. But, Jones scored just 3 of those points and was -5 over in those 7 games. So we have the interesting situation where Jones was both the catalyst and the weakest link on the line. If he can stop squeezing that stick so hard and get over that scoring hump, I think he can be a heck of a player. That's not a sure thing, though, and I think some people think he's already proven that he's ready.

Fast Fact: 4 of Jones' 6 points came in a 2-game stretch in mid-March.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $550,000 ($550,000)

2008-2009 Status: Jones is signed through the end of the year at that $550,000 figure. Next summer, he'll be a restricted free agent.

Outlook: Jones' physical play and hard work all but assured him a spot in the lineup under former coach Joel Quenneville (for more on this subject, tune in tomorrow when I discuss Cody McLeod). With a new coach and a ton of new (albeit smaller) bangers in the mix, Jones is going to have pressure to produce. Hopefully, the chemistry he showed with TJ Hensick in the playoffs will be something both players can build on next year; the team would look a whole lot better if the two of them were able to turn the corner.