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The Avs scored 165 goals last season. As with most stats that puts them squarely in last place in the league. With a team shooting percentage of 7.16% they fell nearly a full two percentage points below the league average of 9.02%. Without a doubt poor shooting was one of the bigger factors in the impotent offense last season, but shooting percentage only scratches the surface.
The two tables below include the following statistics for all Avalanche players that played at least 40 games this season: total shots attempted (TSAT), percentage of shot attempts that were on net (net%), percentage of unblocked shot attempts that missed the net (miss%), percentage of shot attempts that were blocked (block%), and the average number of shot attempts per goal (SAPG).
Forward Shooting Statistics
| Name | TSAT | net% | miss% | block% | SAPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | TSAT | net% | miss% | block% | SAPG |
| MacKinnnon | 435 | 57.80% | 18.60% | 23.70% | 27.2 |
| Duchene | 275 | 58.20% | 24.40% | 17.50% | 15.3 |
| Landeskog | 265 | 63.40% | 19.60% | 17.00% | 14.7 |
| Rantanen | 241 | 54.80% | 23.70% | 21.60% | 12.1 |
| Soderberg | 210 | 60.00% | 21.00% | 19.00% | 35 |
| Comeau | 197 | 52.30% | 20.80% | 26.90% | 24.6 |
| Bourque | 194 | 57.70% | 23.20% | 19.10% | 16.2 |
| Grigorenko | 147 | 57.80% | 17.70% | 24.50% | 14.7 |
| Andrighetto* | 130 | 52.30% | 17.70% | 30.00% | 18.6 |
| Nieto* | 128 | 65.60% | 18.80% | 15.60% | 18.3 |
| Mitchell | 127 | 44.90% | 22.00% | 33.10% | 42.3 |
| Colborne | 76 | 63.20% | 21.10% | 15.80% | 19 |
| Averages | 202.1 | 57.33% | 20.72% | 21.98% | 21.5 |
Defender Shooting Statistics
| Name | TSAT | net% | miss% | block% | SAPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | TSAT | net% | miss% | block% | SAPG |
| Barrie | 408 | 44.40% | 23.80% | 32.90% | 58.3 |
| Beauchemin | 279 | 47.30% | 20.40% | 32.30% | 55.8 |
| Johnson | 204 | 47.10% | 16.70% | 36.30% | 102 |
| Barberio* | 198 | 40.40% | 24.70% | 34.80% | 99 |
| Zadorov | 157 | 38.90% | 26.80% | 34.40% | - |
| Wiercioch | 137 | 46.00% | 16.80% | 37.20% | 34.3 |
| Tyutin | 100 | 46.00% | 18.00% | 36.00% | 100 |
| Averages | 211.9 | 44.30% | 21.03% | 34.84% | 74.9 |
Defensemen were separated into their own group since in general their stats should trend lower than forwards. In a standard offensive setup, defensemen will be taking shots from further away and with more traffic in front causing a lower net% and higher block%. For reference, here are the numbers for Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns:
| Name | TSAT | net% | miss% | block% | SAPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | TSAT | net% | miss% | block% | SAPG |
| Burns | 776 | 41.40% | 20.70% | 37.90% | 26.8 |
When you sift through all these numbers a few shooter archetypes start to become apparent:
- The Sniper (Mikko Rantanen, Matt Duchene)
An extremely efficient goal scorer, he has a strong shot that can beat any goaltender in the league from all over the ice. Has an elevated miss% from always trying to make the perfect shot.
- The Machine Gun (Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie)
When this guy gets the puck everyone in the building knows he is going to shoot it. His shot is good enough to score, especially when given space and time. The biggest benefit he provides is the chaos created by his rebounds. At times will have poor shot selection leading to an elevated block%.
- The Tyler Arnason (Carl Soderberg)
Watching him shoot the puck makes it seem like it’s magnetically attracted to the goalie’s chest. He can often put himself into good situations where he can get the puck on net, he is just incapable of finishing.
- Mr. All Around Shooter (Gabe Landeskog)
Above team average in all categories he can be relied upon to take quality shots and score a solid amount of goals.
- The Shin Guard Checker (Patrick Wiercioch)
Generally a defenseman, when this guy loads up from the point, no one actually expects it to make it all the way to the net.
- The Disaster (John Mitchell)
The team would probably be better off in the offensive zone if this guy refrained from shooting entirely.
There is plenty more that can be gleaned from these statistics. Zadorov’s numbers are concerning, Comeau makes some interesting shot selection choices, Andrighetto needs to work on his shot selection, Barberio’s underlying numbers are quite poor and the list goes on.
There are of course a large number of other factors that come into play here but this at least looks a little bit deeper than simply how many goals a player has scored. With how abysmal the Avs were at putting the puck in the net during the 2016-17 season one would hope to see a trend of improvement for the majority of players in the coming season.