Top Surprises, Disappointments Of 2023-24 NHL Season

With the 2023-24 NHL season in the books, there were lots of players and teams that none of us thought would be where they are today when training camp opened in September. NoVa Caps looks at the surprises and disappointments from the past campaign:

Surprises

• Philadelphia Flyers — After parting with James Van Riemsdyk, Kevin Hayes, and Ivan Provorov last offseason, losing starting goaltender Carter Hart midseason, and the team still in a rebuild, Philadelphia was expected to be a bottom dweller. While they ultimately did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 2-7-2 finish to the regular season, the Flyers were ultimately just four points back of the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the NHL with a .834 penalty-killing rate under head coach John Tortorella.
• Washington Capitals — In the first season a rebuild, Washington finished the season 18-11-4 to secure the second wild-card in the Eastern Conference despite Darcy Kuemper losing the starting job in net, Alex Ovechkin’s goal total dropping to 30, and the team selling off Anthony Mantha, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Joel Edmundson at the NHL Trade Deadline. The team did not have a 70-point scorer and Tom Wilson was held to just 35 points in 74 games. Connor McMichael (18-15-33 in 80), Hendrix Lapierre (8-14-22 in 51), Beck Malenstyn (6-15-21 in 81), and Ivan Miroschnichenko (2-4-6 in 21) all established themselves as NHL players.

• G Charlie Lindgren, Washington — The 30-year-old went 25-16-7 with a .911 save percentage (tied for 13th in the NHL), 2.67 goals-against average (16th), and six shutouts (tied for league lead) in a breakout season and established himself as Washington’s starting goaltender. Lindgren flamed out in the first round of the postseason but was not necessarily the problem either. Washington gave “Charles In Charge” a strong vote of confidence when they traded Kuemper to the Los Angeles Kings last week.

• Boston Bruins — After losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement and despite an aging core, Boston once again defied the odds, finishing just one point behind the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers. David Pastrnak had at least 43 points more than anyone else on the roster. Boston also beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, which may have been a surprise due to their lack of center depth and top-heavy forward lineup.
• Vancouver Canucks — Similar to the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver has always had the talent but could not break out until this season. After missing the postseason for the past three years, Vancouver had at least five more points than any other team in the Pacific Division team and took the Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 of the second round despite having to go to their third string goaltender, Arturs Silovs, in the first round. The Canucks finished seventh in the NHL with an average of 3.40 goals-per-game, in a tie for 10th with a .227 power-play efficiency, and with three players averaging over a point-per-game during the regular season (J.T. Miller: 37-66-103, Elias Pettersson: 34-55-89 points, Quinn Hughes: 17-75-92 points).
• New York Rangers — Despite losing Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane in free agency, New York won the Presidents’ Trophy and had more wins (55) than any other team during the regular season. The team had five players who eclipsed 70 points (Artemi Panarin: 49-71-120, Vincent Trocheck: 25-52-77, Chris Kreider: 39-36-75, Adam Fox: 17-56-73, C Mika Zibanejad: 26-46-72). The Rangers finished seventh league-wide with averages of 3.39 goals-per-game and 2.76 goals-against per game in addition to third with both a .264 power-play efficiency and .845 penalty-killing rate.
• RW Sam Reinhart, Florida – Going into the campaign having never scored 35 goals or 83 points in a single season, the 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent popped off for 57 goals (second in the NHL) and 94 points (tied for 12th) in 82 games. Reinhart added 10 goals and 16 points in 24 postseason games for the Stanley Cup Champions.
• LW Gustav Nyquist, Nashville Predators – The 34-year-old shattered his personal bests with 52 assists (16 more than his previous career-high) and 75 points (21) in 81 games during his first season in Music City after signing a two-year contract that carries a $3.185 million cap hit on July 1. Though, Nyquist came down to earth with a goal and four points in six postseason games.
• RW Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks — The 30-year-old never eclipsed the 25-goal nor the 45-point marks entering 2023-24 before scoring 37 goals (tied for 19th) and 60 points in 82 games on a team that finished 30th with an average of 2.48 goals-per-game and tied for 25th with a .179 power-play efficiency. 13 of Vatrano’s goals came on the power play.
• LW Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers — While playing with Connor McDavid would inflate everyone’s statistics, the 32-year-old finished third league-wide with 54 goals and tied for 30th with 77 points in 80 regular-season contests before before leading the NHL with 16 goals and ending in a tie for fourth with 22 points in 25 postseason outings. Hyman has set career-highs in goals in each of his first three seasons in Edmonton after never scoring more than 21 in a single campaign during his six seasons with Toronto.

Disappointments

• C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Los Angeles — After the Kings traded the 37th overall pick in 2024, Rasmus Kupari, Alex Iafallo, and Gabriel Vilardi to the Winnipeg Jets for the 26-year-old and signed him to a massive eight-year contract that comes with an $8.5 million cap the Dubois had a very disappointing season with 16 goals and 40 points in 82 regular-season games and just one goal in Los Angeles’ five-game first-round exit. Dubois, who was traded to Washington for Kuemper, had scored at least 27 goals and 60 points, respectively, three times in his first six NHL seasons prior to landing in SoCal.

• New Jersey Devils — After finishing the 2022-23 season third overall with a 52-22-8 record and advancing to the second round of the postseason with a young, talented core of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton, and Jesper Bratt, New Jersey fell off of a cliff and posted a record under .500 this past season (.494). Despite acquiring Tyler Toffoli last summer and integrating former second overall pick Simon Nemec into their lineup, the Devils finished 10 points out of a postseason spot. They tallied a 3.43 goals against-per-game average (tied for fifth-worst) and .9038 five-on-five save percentage (fifth-worst).
• LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames – In the first season of his eight-year contract extension that carries a $10.5 million cap hit, the 31-year-old had his worst season in 10 years with 40 assists (second on Calgary) and 52 points (tied for fourth) in 81 games. Huberdeau tallied three fewer goals but the same number of helpers as he did in his first season in Alberta in two more games. The Flames sold off a lot of top players over the season but more is expected of Huberdeau.
• C John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs – The 33-year-old finished with his fewest assist (36) and point (65) totals (in a full campaign) in 80 regular-season games since his rookie season in 2009-10 despite his team scoring the second-most goals-per-game (3.63) and ranking seventh on the power play (.24 efficiency). Tavares also had the worst postseason of his career with just a goal and an assist.
• C Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues – The 32-year-old turned in his worst season in 10 years as he finished with his lowest assist (26) and point (46) totals, excluding the shortened 2020-21 campaign, in 82 games over that span. Schenn hit at least 30 assists and 54 points, respectively, in each of his prior seven full seasons. Though, St. Louis finished in a tie with the Columbus Blue Jackets for 24th in goals-per-game (2.85) and Ottawa Senators for 23rd on the power play (.18 efficiency).
• C Elias Lindholm, Calgary/Vancouver – After hitting the 19-goal and 45-point plateaus, respectively, in each of his first five seasons in Calgary, the 29-year-old’s production fell off to 15 and 44 (6-6-12 in 26 games with Vancouver) in 73 contests. But, Lindholm bounced back with five goals and 10 points in 13 postseason games. He is expected to hit unrestricted free agency on Monday and his value took a hit this past year.
• C Sean Couturier, Philadelphia – While the Flyers enjoyed a surprising season, the same cannot be said for their captain as he had his lowest goal (11) and point (38) totals (in 74 games) in a full season since 2016-17. Couturier was healthy scratched numerous times coming off of herniated disk that forced him to miss the entire 2022-23 season and limited the 31-year-old to 29 games the one before.
• Kuznetsov, Washington/Carolina Hurricanes – The 32-year-old had the worst season of his 10-year NHL career with a personal-low nine goals and 24 points in 63 games (6-11-17 in 43 with Washington). Kuznetsov, who was a healthy scratch once in the regular season with the Capitals and again in Game 2 of Carolina’s second-round series, spent a month in the NHL’s Player Assistance Program and cleared waivers just before the trade deadline. Kuznetsov had a nice postseason with four goals and six points in 10 games but did not perform to the level he is capable of.

• G Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild – Following a season where he finished second in the NHL with both a .931 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average in 39 games, the 26-year-old’s numbers slipped to .899 and 3.06, respectively, in 45 during his second season in Minnesota. Gustavsson also had 10 goals-saved below expected at five-on-five, the seventh-worst in the NHL, after signing a three-year contract that comes with a $3.75 million cap hit last summer.
• C Matty Berniers, Seattle Kraken – The Calder Trophy winner suffered through a sophomore slump, recording just 15 goals and 37 points in 77 contests, nine fewer goals and 20 fewer points in three fewer games from his rookie season.

By Harrison Brown