Filppula will be a free agent at the end of the season. Last year, he had the best season of his career. The hope was that he build on that his year. His 23 goals were seven better than his previous high and his 43 assists were 15 above his best. This gave him 66 points, well above his career-high of 40.
Beyond the offensive output, he also played better defense. He looked like he was taking the next step and joining Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk as the scoring leaders of the team.
However, this season has been very different. Instead of improving or at least continuing last season’s success, he has fallen off the pace.
In 19 games, he only has four goals and six assists. Perhaps more telling is that when he has a good game, he had a very good game. For example, his six assists have come in only four games. He has had a tendency to disappear for lo ...
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Article written by PJ Sapienza