Get to Know the Carolina Hurricanes: Viktor Stalberg
The Carolina Hurricanes made a couple of moves this off season that brought some change to the roster. Now that players are arriving in Raleigh, its time to get to know the unfamiliar faces. Today we look at Viktor Stalberg.
Viktor Stalberg has spent most of his years in the NHL as a journeyman spending time with multiple teams. Most recently he was a member of the New York Rangers as a bottom six forward. He signed with the Carolina Hurricanes as a replacement for Riley Nash.
Viktor Stalberg, RW
Shoots: Left
Born: January 17, 1986 (age 30) Gothenberg, Sweeden
Drafted: 161st Overall 2006, Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Experience: 7 Years
Viktor Stalberg signed with the Carolina Hurricanes this offseason for one year $1.5Mil. Stalberg was brought on as a replacement for Riley Nash. Nash primarily served as a bottom six forward with the Hurricanes over the last four years, but Ron Francis decided to go another direction.
Stalberg has previously spent time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, and New York Rangers. His most recent season with the Rangers he served as a bottom six forward, but possesses great high end speed.
His best season came in 2011-2012 when he scored 43 points in 79 games played with the Blackhawks. Though it shouldn’t be expected that he will perform at this level, he still brings good skating and scoring ability to the bottom six.
Last season Stalberg had his best season since 2012-2013 scoring 20 points (9g,11a). These numbers are still very comparable to Riley Nash who had the same amount of goals but two more assists than Stalberg.
Stalberg Brings top Penalty Kill Experience to Carolina Hurricanes
Where Stalberg brings the most experience is with the penalty kill unit. The Swede proved to be one of the top penalty killers on the Rangers. Over last season he had the fourth most penalty kill minutes of any forward on the team.
Over the 93 minutes he played, Stalberg proved to be one of the most effective players on the team. He posted the teams third best Corsi for percentage on the penalty kill with a 14.2%. This means that when he was on the ice for the penalty kill, his team possessed the puck 14.2% of the time.
To put that into perspective, last season on the Carolina Hurricanes the top penalty killer was Brad Malone with a 13.5% corsi for percentage. Not only would Stalberg have been the top penalty killer on the team last season, he would be replacing the teams worst penalty killer.
Over the 2015-2016 season, Riley Nash posted a team worst 4.7% corsi for percentage. This means that through his time on the ice, the opponents were able to control possession and direction of play 95.3% of the time.
While Stalberg is older and does not present the same immediate scoring threat to the opposition, the singing was still a good move by Ron Francis. Francis addressed scoring with the signing of Lee Stempniak and by acquiring Teuvo Teravainin.
This move was to solidify the bottom six and the penalty kill unit. Stalberg’s speed and ability to score is a huge benefit but is not essential to his role with the team. Though he will not blow fans away with his scoring his responsible play will be exactly what the Carolina Hurricanes need.
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