San Jose Sharks re-sign or decline: All unrestricted free agent forwards
By Matt Hawkins
Lukas Radil, Left wing
Next on the list is left wing Lukas Radil. Radil is 29-years-old and only played 14 games for the Sharks this season. In those 14 games, Radil had no points, a plus/minus of -3, and an ATOI of 9:24.
Prior to this season, Radil only played in the NHL one other season — last season for the Sharks. However, last season he played in 36 games and scored 11 points (seven goals, four assists). He also had over a minute more of ATOI.
Additionally, his possession metrics declined drastically, going from a very good 56.9 Corsi for percentage (CF%) and 57 Fenwick for percentage (FF%) to a terrible 46.4 CF%, 2.0 lower than the team when he’s off the ice, and 42.5 FF%, 4.1 lower than the team when he’s off the ice.
This means that the Sharks control play more when Radil is off the ice rather than when he’s on the ice.
Turning 30 in August and unable to break into the lineup consistently on a team that was struggling doesn’t bode well for the 6-foot-4 winger.
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Radil doesn’t produce much at the AHL level either. In 43 games in the AHL over the last two seasons, he has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists).
On the larger side, Radil isn’t the greatest skater and relies on positioning when playing defense, which he’s alright at. Radil is simply nothing more than a depth winger with a big body.
Radil hasn’t seemed to be able to adapt to the smaller rinks of the AHL and NHL since coming over from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This seems to be the main reason he isn’t having success.
With Radil’s inability to adapt to the smaller rinks and his style of play to be that of nothing more than a depth winger in today’s NHL, my decision is to decline Radil.
Decision: Decline