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John Mitchell was that guy on the Avalanche that added a dimension you just didn't realize was needed until it was gone. He was also that guy who frustrated the hell out of you because he could dangle like a top-sixer but could not pass the puck to save his life. Still, he was so versatile, being a solid presence on the third line and able to jump up to the second line when needed. He PKd, he PPd, he did it all.
Regular Season
Stats
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| 75 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 13 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 107 | 10.3 |
Advanced Stats 5 v. 5
| CF% | CF% Rel | GF% | GF% Rel | Sh% | Sv% | PDO |
| 45.90% | -1.50% | 57.80% | 5.50% | 8.90% | 94.60% | 103.6 |
Grade
B+
Staff Comments
Steve: It was fun to see the fanbase this season sour on Johnny Malkin until he was gone, then come to appreciate his forechecking. He's great at that role. If he's struggling in a top two line role then that's on the team, not him.
c6hor8: He played great in a 3rd line role and was good when asked to be a top-6 center, which he isn't.
Sandie: Yup, of course I'm going to be the one to give him an insanely high mark. No one will be surprised by this. He is never going to be the offensive backbone of any team, but he does help his linemates out . He was rarely massively out of positition and that forecheck. Yup, Malkin is still my guy.
mfured20: Johnny Mitchel plays his game well. He doesn't do much that's flashy, but he found ways to keep pace when we needed an upper-line fill-in, and he was very good as a 3rd line center. Keep it up, boss!
Mike: Mr. Possession. Mr. Fucking-Pass-Already! I'm of two minds on him. He makes the bottom lines better but didn't fit higher up. Good PK, but not great.
Cheryl: Chalk me up for bashing on Mitchell only to realize how important he really was once playoffs hit and he wasn't around. I respected his role as a third-liner who could do fill-in duty, but his frustrating tendency to try to be more than he was got the better of me. I will eat some crow on this one and add that, had he been healthy, the playoff series would have looked quite different.
Preseason Thoughts
Not much said about Mitchell, which pretty much means he was going to be neither really good nor really bad. Only one person had something to say about him, and that was Mike: "Mitchell will lead the team in lack of points."