2022-23 Player Review: Andrew Peeke’s clock is ticking

Andrew Peeke had to work very hard to make it to the NHL. He was drafted in 2016 and just now completed his second season of full-time duty. Once a promising puck moving prospect, Peeke has evolved into a physical stay-at-home defenseman. His physicality has made him an important part of the last two seasons, but his lack of offensive production and bad defensive numbers should be raising questions about his future with the club.

2022-23 Stats

Games: 80
Goals: 6
Assists: 7
Points: 13
Plus/minus: -41
PIM: 22
5v5 CF%: 43.68%
5v5 FF%: 43.66%
oZS%: 36.04%
5v5 GF%: 32.59%**

**I added one extra stat here because I think it’s important for this particular review. At 5v5, Peeke was on the ice for 91 goals against, good for second to last in the league behind only Erik Karlsson. His 5v5 GF% was 32.59, which ranked 224th of 228 defensemen that played 300 or more minutes.

Contract Status

Last September, Peeke signed a three-year extension that will take affect next season. The AAV will be $2.75m.

This extension was baffling at the time and looks even more so now. Peeke was set to be an RFA, so the extension itself wasn’t the issue, it’s the aav and the term that draws question. Between Peeke and Gudbranson, the Blue Jackets have $6.75m wrapped up in two bad right-handed defensemen for the next three seasons. Where does that put the more talented Boqvist, Jiricek, Ceulemans, and Blankenburg?

High Point

On October 23rd against the Rangers, he tallied the game winning goal and was +2.

Low Point

On April 1st, the Panthers smoked the Blue Jackets 7-0. Peeke was on the ice for all seven goals against.

Report Card

D

Peeke stayed healthy and significantly improved the penalty problem he had last season. He was also asked to play big minutes this season because of all the injuries. Beyond that, it’s hard to see many successes. We now have a 162 game sample size for Peeke as a full-time defenseman and it’s not looking good. Sure he’s been playing on a bad team with bad defensives structure, but you can’t ignore the fact that he was statistically one of the worst defensemen for the Blue Jackets this season. He’s also proven to not be much of an offense creator with only 34 career points in 195 total games.

I think Peeke is a prime candidate to move in a trade. He’s only 25 and still has room to grow. It’s possible that a change of scenery could ignite his career. In Columbus, he has several younger and more talented right-handed defensemen breathing down his neck for a roster spot. Specifically, one David Jiricek should be bumping someone out of the lineup next season.

How would you grade Andrew Peeke’s season?