2024 Report Card: Mason Marchment bounces back

But from what?

Original artwork by Ryan Konzelman.

Slow season is upon us; just not here. I’ll have a report card for every Dallas player going through August. As always, consider upgrading to paid subscriber since some of these will be behind a paywall.

One-sentence summary

A mystery box unravels new mysteries as it resolves old ones.

A few good stats

• Cap: $4.5 million (Year 3 of 4)

• GP: 81

• Goals: 22

• Assists: 31

• Points: 53

• Postseason: 13 GP — 3 goals, 2 assists — 5 points

• xSPAR: 4.2 extra points in the standings (Rank on the team: 5th)

Don’t know what you’re looking at and need a filthy casual explainer? Click here to learn more about Evolving-Hockey’s Goals Above Replacement (GAR).

I can’t tell if Mason Marchment’s fancy stats reflect or subvert our memories of his play. He’s a player we demanded answers from this year compared to Year One, and Year Two gave us something that was half in-between, and half…kind of great? I honestly don’t know.

Thematically-appropriate highlight

Whatever you think of Marchment, or fighting in general, it’s hard to do anything but applaud him for coming to Matt Duchene’s aid after getting trucked by Ian Cole. That’s the Marchment way; scrappy to the last shift.

Grade: (An even) B

I decided to go back to our film room analysis of Marchment back in September. If you’re not a paid subscriber, I recommend becoming one (I try to make sure that paid posts are ‘evergreen’ in nature), and if you are, then it’s worth revisiting.

Essentially, the prophecy was fulfilled: armed with a better trio, Marchment became more of the player he was in Florida than the one he was in his first year with Dallas. Sort of.

I think Marchment had a good season by, really, any standard. The worry early on was that his numbers in Florida were completely gassed by a free-wheeling system ala so many other forwards that have come and gone during the Bill Zito years. Because of that, last season may have been a sign of things to come. Instead he became what felt like an essential piece of a trio that really set the standard with Dallas’ depth next to Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene. Within that, Marchment played his unique brand of hockey: something of a power forward but not quite, something of a facilitator but not quite, and something of a shooter — no asterisk. If your middle six left winger gives you 20 goals, you take it and run. If Marchment is a 50-point player through the remainder of his contract, his contract becomes a sweetheart deal rather than the baby albatross it was feeling like last year.

But what does that say about his future? Even the fanciest of stats are confused.

Not sure what this chart means and need a filthy casual guide? Click here to learn more about Micah Blake McCurdy’s synthetic goal model (sG).

Where Marchment really gets dinged here is — and this has and will be true of most forwards — for his postseason performance. Marchment only had five points in the playoffs, tied with Sam Steel and Esa Lindell. Yea that Lindell. As good as Marchment was as a middle six forward in the regular season, the playoffs displayed his more volatile side.

As with Tyler Seguin, this brings us back to how much of that line was dependent — to a potential fault — on Duchene. And as with Seguin, Marchment’s production fell off as Duchene’s did.

Even though he’s still something of a mystery overall, Marchment himself is not. He plays a hardnosed game with a short king’s hands and a shutdown defenseman’s feet. Unfortunately that dual nature always feels at odds with one another, which is why I think he struggles to be consistent. He’s a layered forward, able to transition with wits rather than speed, and the power in his shot ensures that he’ll likely be good for another 20 goals. Strong defensive impacts add value to his bottom line, but how much of that is sustainable? And how much of that is real? (His defensive impact wasn’t bad the year before, but it wasn’t great either.)

I think the real test will be how Pete DeBoer tinkers with the forward lines. Marchment and Seguin have been tied at the hip for reasons that have always been superficial:

• Well Robertson and Hintz work…

• Benn and Johnston also work…

• So Marchment and Seguin HAVE TO work…

I have no problem with Dallas prioritizing their best chemistries. Maybe that’s their birthright. But if they had chemistry that could have developed and leveled one another up with, they would have. Take Duchene away, and it’s easy to see why they don’t work: neither player has elite tools to interlink with, and they play drastically different games. They’re above average shooters, and that’s the extent of their chemistry. Lacking in so many other traits hurts their bottom line.

That’s ultimately where I’m at with Marchment. I like his game a lot. He deserves full marks for what he’s been able to accomplish in spite of all the things holding him back (like his lace bite). He does the best with what he has, and to his credit, he makes it work. But his game is obviously capped out. On a faster squad with more dynamic forwards, Marchment is probably a 60-point player, and Duchene’s presence attests to that, but Seguin is the opposite of dynamic at this point in his career, which cancels out a little bit of Duchene’s presence.

And so Marchment is like the team’s remora fish.

Is a remora fish the most charitable comparison? Probably not. But it’s not an insult either. Remora fish protect sharks from parasites, which makes the highlight of him attacking Cole for that Duchene hit all the more appropriate. Expectations are low for Marchment, but not his role. A middle six forward with a B on the test seems quite above average. Hopefully he can maintain that impact moving forward.

With Dallas’ blueline taking a hit, the spotlight on their depth will never be greater.