Dublin, Ohio’s own Sean Kuraly had quite a year this past season.
Historically Kuraly has been a fourth line center, and rightfully so. That is not meant to be a slight towards Kuraly, as he plays his role very well. That is when he actually gets to play his designated role as a player who plays 12-13 hard, effective minutes a night while chipping in with the occasional offense.
Mostly due to injuries (as well as Brad Larsen’s infatuation with grinders), Kuraly was forced higher into the lineup with somewhat expected results. Among forwards who skated a regular shift, only his linemate, Eric Robinson, had a lower CF% on the team. That was a direct result of Larsen opting to play his fourth line like a second line many nights. Larsen thought he could use that line as an effective shutdown line, throwing them out to matchup against the opposition’s top talent.
By no real fault of their own, the line struggled as one could expect, and resulted in them consistently getting caved in, and an ugly -28 rating. According to Moneypuck, the Jackets’ fourth line was statistically one of the worst lines in the league considering how much ice time together they received. They ranked at or near the bottom in many categories such as xGF%, CF%, and shots attempts against per 60 minutes.
In the proper role with the correct usage, Kuraly can be a very effective player. Just last year he crushed pretty much all of his personal bests from Boston with a 30 point (14g, 16a) season, and was a +2 while playing a career high 15:52 a night. He did regress some this year, but there weren’t many that didn’t. He still averaged over 15 minutes of ice time, but there were many nights when he was approaching 20 minutes. That isn’t a recipe for success for the Jackets if they are forced to skate that many shifts.
I realize how negative this all sounds, but Kuraly is an important part of this team and when able, he plays his role perfectly. He’s definitely a respected voice in the room and is a great ambassador for Columbus. Hopefully this year he will have a coach that utilizes him appropriately.
2022-23 Stats
Games: 71
Goals: 11
Assists: 9
Plus/Minus: -28
PIM: 68
5v5 CF%: 41.72
5v5 FF%: 41.40
oZS%: 23.58
Contract Status
Kuraly is entering year three of the four-year, $10 million deal he signed as a free agent a few years back. He carries a $2.5M AAV, and will make $3.25M in real dollars this year. Not too shabby at all for a fourth line center.
High Point
Kuraly wore an A on his hometown sweater for a stretch while Johnny Gaudreau was on the shelf. It had to be such an honor for him to have that letter on the jersey he wore growing up, while playing in front of his friends and family.
In mid-November Kuraly was a big part of a brief two-game winning streak (they didn’t have a single three game streak), scoring 3 goals, and notching a pair of assists in wins against Montreal and Philadelphia. He scored this highlight-reel game winning goal against the Canadiens:
Low Point
In early March, Kuraly suffered an oblique injury that was expected to sideline him for up to six weeks, effectively ending his season. To his credit, he healed up quick and returned to action just a bit over three weeks later, knowing how thin the depth was down the middle.
In his final stretch of games after returning from an oblique injury, he only put up 3 points and was a -10 in 12 games played while skating about 16 minutes a game.
Report Card
B-
Sean Kuraly took on a lot this season due to the injury situation. Even when the team was fairly healthy, former coach Brad Larsen’s insistence to play them like a second line, put them in bad situations more often than not. The coaching staff clearly trusted that line (for better or worse) and they added some veteran presence as well as grit to the lineup.
When able to play their actual role, they played it well. Hopefully whoever ends up being the next coach will play Kuraly as intended, where he can make the most positive impact for the team.