Minnesota Wild 2012 Season Grades: Devin Setoguchi

Grading players after the season isn't always easy. Setting aside the fact that Devin Setoguchi is a go to quote, and is one of the funnier guys in the locker room, the grades come down to production. Did the player do what was expected of them, and did they give their team a better chance to win?

Setoguchi was a hero at times, a goat at others. The top line right wing position has traditionally been held by streaky players. Setoguchi looks to be no different. At the very least, at least he hits the net when he attempts a shot. Wild fans were promised a shooter, and for the most part, he delivered on that promise.

The goals and points? Not so much.

So, did Setoguchi do enough to stay in the black, or is his final exam coated in red ink?

Nathan- People gave Doug Risebrough endless amounts of shit for his "manage expectations" line, but this is a case where the team would have been better served by disclosing everything that went on with Setoguchi in the offseason. There is no way we would've expected a ppg performance from Seto had we known he WAS HIT BY A CAR this summer. I blame the entire franchise for this. Everyone screwed this up. I'm giving the dude a pass this year, but he needs to get his shit together and come back mature and professional and ready to go. We need 75+ points next season.

Final Grade: C

Bryan - Another case of heightened expectations? Perhaps. Better than Antti Mietinen? Everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. Setoguchi spent some time injured, spent some time trying to find himself and his game after being traded and being involved in a freak accident. His -17 is deplorable. His 19 goals is disappointing. His 36 points overall is depressing. Is it a case of not getting the chances because he is one of few threats, or is it actually what his game offers? He'll get another chance to prove himself next season, but this one was sorely disappointing.

His last month was pretty good. If next season looks like the final weeks of the season, he'll be just fine.

Grade: D+

Jesse - While the expectations were high, Setoguchi did what he does. He was a streaky scorer that put up 30+ points. This might be who Setoguchi really is. I don't believe that Seto will be a consistent 30-goal, 60-point player in his career, but 36 points is still a really low number given the fact that he saw Top-6 minutes and a bunch of powerplay time. The low shot count is also a little disturbing considering that he said in his introduction interview that he was a shooter that would put the puck on net.

Grade: C+

JS - I find it difficult to grade him. On one hand, Seto has been greatly inconsistent this year, but he's battled various injuries and was juggled between the first and second line a few times. He was never really able to develop any chemistry with anyone but Koivu. On the other hand, It may not be fair to expect him to score 30 goals like in his rookie year and his production almost identical to what it was in San Jose, so it's not like he had a bad year. If he can find chemistry with some players and form a constant line with them, there's still hope for a 25 goal player. Besides, he might have reached that mark had he not missed games due to injury. He does need some serious work in the defensive part of the game though. He shouldn't be -17 when his more frequent linemates are + players. Grade: C+

Cumulative GPA: