Travis Sanheim has easily been the best defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2023-24.
He has also quietly been one of the best defensemen in the National Hockey League, and it’s time for him to start gaining national recognition.
We are almost a quarter of the way through the 2023-24 season, and so far Sanheim is in the upper echelon of blueliners in multiple categories.
The Elkhorn, Manitoba native is tied for 6th in assists (14) and tied for 9th in points (16) among the league’s defensemen, respectively. Among the names behind Sanheim in defensive scoring include stars such as Ottawa’s Jakob Chychrun, Toronto’s Morgan Rielly, the Rangers’ Adam Fox – the 2021 Norris winner, New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton, Nashville’s Roman Josi – the 2020 Norris winner, Boston’s Charlie McAvoy, Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, and Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen, among others.
Vancouver captain Quinn Hughes currently sits as the favorite to win the award, boasting the league lead among defensemen with 8 goals and 22 assists for 30 points and a gaudy +16 rating in just 19 games. Sanheim may not catch potentially the most offensively-gifted defenseman in the league in those categories, but he is holding his own very well so far.
“That’s who he is now. He’s a different person,” said head coach John Tortorella after the Flyers’ win in Anaheim on November 10th after Sanheim scored a highlight reel goal and recorded 3 points. “That’s who he is. I didn’t get a sniff of that last year, and that’s who he’s become. I think he feels that good about himself to make plays like that. Right on through here, he’s eaten up a ton of minutes for us and has tried to make a difference every time he steps on the ice.”
But it’s not just the offensive side of Sanheim’s game that’s shone, as his defensive game has taken a major leap forward as well, which is really impressive given his increased role.
Sanheim already has 12 takeaways on the season after he had just 22 all of last year, a total that so far is good for a tie for 5th among defensemen with Hughes and Washington’s John Carlson. Analytically, Sanheim has taken a step forward as well. At 5-on-5 play, he ranks in the top 20 among defensemen with at least 250 minutes played in xGF% (expected goals for percentage) at 55.80%, and his xGA (expected goals against) on the season is just 12.30, or 0.68 per game.
As Philadelphia’s de facto number one defenseman in the aftermath of the Ivan Provorov trade, Travis Sanheim has taken on the added responsibility in stride and has looked extremely comfortable.
“I’ve always wanted that (opportunity) to a degree,” said Sanheim in an interview with The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco. “I always seemed to be the guy on the second pair, behind Provy, and credit to him he’s a hell of a player and did a lot for this team. Once he got moved I thought there were going to be some more opportunities available and I wanted to be a guy to take some of those minutes – so far I have.”
Of course, a caveat of taking on the added responsibility and playing more minutes is being more susceptible to goals against and scoring chances against. The 25:58 a game Sanheim skates per game is a drastic increase compared to seasons prior – his career average time on ice total is 20:29 as well – but he has seemed unfazed by the added minutes. While at 5-on-5, Sanheim’s CF% (Corsi for percentage) is at 49.6%, 3.6% better than last season, and his FF% (Fenwick for percentage) is at 52.8%, a 5.1% improvement.
At 5-on-5, Sanheim has also been on the ice for 147 scoring chances against, 63 high-danger chances against, 18 goals against, and has an on-ice save percentage of .885%. If you look at the blueliners ahead of or tied with Sanheim in scoring, here’s how they stack up in those 5-on-5 categories.
Sanheim ranks ahead of five of those players in 5v5 SCA and four of them in 5v5 HDCA. His overall defensive game is just as good, if not better, than his counterparts that make up the highest scoring defensemen in the NHL. While the Norris Trophy is usually awarded to defensemen who can rack up points, Sanheim’s defense has taken a step forward in larger minutes and he is playing better than other defensemen in a two-way role than some of the names above.
One thing that may not fall in Sanheim’s favor compared to those other defenders in his goals against at 5-on-5, as he has been out there for 18 5v5 goals – the most of the group. However, the Flyers’ save percentage with Sanheim on the ice at 5-on-5 is .885, in which only Evan Bouchard’s 5v5 on-ice SV% is worse at an .864 clip. 6 of the 18 5v5 goals – 33 percent – that Sanheim has been on the ice for have also come with Samuel Ersson in goal, who has recorded an .863 SV% and 3.22 GAA in seven contests this season, though he has played better as of late.
Defensively, Sanheim has still performed well, but of course, offense is where Norris Trophy winners usually shine. Sanheim is on pace for roughly 73 points – 9 goals and 64 assists – at his current scoring rate, but that could fluctuate a bit throughout the season. Sanheim is also one of just six defensemen to lead their team in scoring this season. Overall, he has been dynamic with the puck and has positioned himself well away from it, and with the Flyers’ power play starting to heat up over the last couple games, he should continue to produce pretty regularly this season.
If he can stay consistent on offense as well as keep up his solid defensive play all season long, Travis Sanheim will be a name to watch when it comes time to vote for the 2024 Norris Trophy.
All advanced statistics mentioned are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
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