NHL Surprises: Players Who Shine and Others Who Disappoint
The first month of the 2025-26 NHL season has brought with it a host of surprises. From unexpected teams competing for the playoffs to others that have failed to meet the high expectations prior to the start of the season.
The situation is also reflected in the performance of NHL players. Some have started the season at a dizzying pace, while others have experienced a statistically disappointing start.
Here’s a look at 10 surprisingly good performances at the start of the season and 5 that, unfortunately, haven’t met expectations and we hope won’t last long.
Surprisingly Good Performances
Leo Carlsson
Center, Anaheim Ducks
Statistics 2025-26: 16 matches played, 11 goals, 15 assistsThis season has been the result of two years of preparation for Carlsson. After being selected in the second overall position in 2023, Anaheim managed his playing time in his rookie season, where he participated in 55 games. In his second year, he began to realize his potential with 20 goals and 25 assists in 76 games. Now, we are witnessing Carlsson’s offensive explosion: 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 16 games with the Ducks, propelling them to the top of the Pacific Division in the first month of the season.
What has changed? The coach, for one. Joel Quenneville has helped turn the Ducks into a dominant puck possession team, and Carlsson’s offensive explosion is a direct result of it. So far this season, the Ducks generate 58.7% of shot attempts and 59.6% of scoring chances with Carlsson on the ice. This represents a significant increase compared to Carlsson’s average over the last two seasons in shot attempts (48.7%) and scoring chances (48%). He has also scored nine points on the Ducks’ power play, which has resurfaced after being the worst in the league last season.
“Leo has really taken off,” Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek commented this week. “I think with the younger players, Joel preaches every day: puck possession, holding onto it, and if we lose it, we have to get it back quickly. I think that has resonated well and the guys have bought into it. They’ve been executing and are being rewarded for it.”
Pat Verbeek, General Manager of Anaheim
Josh Doan
Right Wing, Buffalo Sabres
Statistics 2025-26: 16 matches played, 4 goals, 5 assistsUnfortunately for a franchise seeking its first playoff berth since “Fast Five” was in theaters, there haven’t been many bright spots for the Buffalo Sabres early this season. Josh Doan is a notable exception, with four goals and five assists in 16 games.
The son of former NHL player Shane Doan was acquired from Utah in the trade for JJ Peterka in June. Doan scored seven goals and 12 assists in 51 games as a rookie for the Hockey Club last season, with limited ice time (13:31 per game). He is receiving more ice time (15:28) with the Sabres and taking more shots on goal (9.6 per 60 minutes) than last season (7.3) in 5-on-5 play. He is also getting much more time on the power play than in Utah.
Doan is a solid player at both ends of the ice who is building his case for a more important role this season.
Spencer Knight
Goaltender, Chicago Blackhawks
2025-26 Stats: 12 games played, 2.46 GAA, .923 SV%For years, Knight was the goalie of the future for the Florida Panthers. But inconsistency, health problems, and the firm refusal of playoff hero Sergei Bobrovsky to abdicate the throne led the Panthers to trade him to Chicago in the deal for Seth Jones.
He was good last season in 15 starts for Chicago, with a 5-8-1 record. He has been a revelation in 12 games this season for the improved Blackhawks, with a .923 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average. Before Wednesday night, Knight led the NHL with 13.3 goals saved above expected.
While new coach Jeff Blashill is trying to improve his young team with an aggressive system in the defensive zone, the results are still not entirely visible. But Knight has been present whenever they have needed him, drastically decreasing the average number of high-danger goals the Blackhawks have conceded compared to last season.
Brad Marchand
Left Wing, Florida Panthers
Statistics 2025-26: 15 matches played, 11 goals, 7 assistsWhen the Panthers needed a hero in the Stanley Cup Final, Brad Marchand responded with the best playoff series of his life, with six goals in six games. When the Panthers needed a hero to start this season, with superstars Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk out with injury, Marchand responded with one of the best starting months of his NHL career.
The 37-year-old winger has 11 goals in 15 games with the Panthers, including a five-game goal streak that continued in a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. He has 18 points in that span with seven assists, having played with his usual linemates Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, as well as Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett.
“His hands are very fast,” said Florida coach Paul Maurice after the game against Vegas. “He’s a good player when you coached him for years, but when you’re on the ice in practice and you see those goals, it’s just exceptional.”
Paul Maurice, Florida Coach
With two key players out, Marchand’s efforts are keeping the Panthers afloat until at least Tkachuk can return in December or January. He has been their MVP. It’s no surprise that general manager Bill Zito signed Marchand through the 2030-31 season.
Dawson Mercer
Left Wing, New Jersey Devils
Statistics 2025-26: 17 matches played, 9 goals, 7 assistsWe remember the glory days of the 2022-23 season. The Devils eliminated the New York Rangers to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Jack Hughes played 78 games. And Dawson Mercer had a successful season with 56 points in 82 games, including 27 goals.
Mercer couldn’t build on that offensive explosion in the following two seasons, declining to 33 points in 2023-24 and then to 36 points last season with 19 goals. He was inconsistent and ineffective, unable to hold a spot in the team’s top six alongside center Nico Hischier. But he worked during the offseason and now it’s hard to imagine Mercer not playing in the top six after a stellar start.
Skating most of the time with Hischier and Timo Meier, Mercer had nine goals and seven assists in his first 17 games, skating to a +9 rating, the best on the team. He has earned his minutes in the top six with strong efforts in all zones.
Yes, Mercer worked during the offseason to improve his game. But as coach Sheldon Keefe has pointed out, it also helps that Mercer didn’t miss a portion of the camp like he did last season during restricted free agent contract negotiations.
Matthew Schaefer
Defense, New York Islanders
Statistics 2025-26: 16 matches played, 5 goals, 7 assistsIslanders fans knew they were going to get a charisma bomb in Schaefer. The 18-year-old defenseman had shown infectious enthusiasm since being selected first overall in June, providing a vital change of atmosphere for a franchise desperately trying to find a personality after years of Lou Lamoriello’s homogeneity.
What those fanatics perhaps didn’t anticipate: that Schaefer could jump directly to the NHL and be one of their most effective defensemen during the first month of the season. Schaefer has 12 points in 16 games for the Islanders, skating 22:13 per game. Six of those points have come on the power play, which has gone from being the second worst in the NHL last season to 22nd overall. New York scores 57.8% of the goals when Schaefer is on the ice.
Nothing has been protected for the Islanders, starting only 53% of their shifts in the offensive zone. With a touch of the stick to Bo Horvat’s incredible goal-scoring start (12 goals in 16 games), Schaefer’s instant impact has been one of the most pleasant surprises for the Islanders and the NHL.
Kiefer Sherwood
Right Wing, Vancouver Canucks
Statistics 2025-26: 18 matches played, 11 goals, 1 assistWill Kiefer Sherwood finish the season with 57 goals, based on his current scoring pace, despite having previously reached a career high of 19 goals last season? Will he continue shooting at 29.7% for the Canucks? Will he continue to compete against players like Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby for the Rocket Richard Trophy, as is his current status?
The answer to all these questions is probably “no”, followed by a funny giggle, but that these questions can even be asked at this moment is the reason why Kiefer Sherwood’s season is so amazing. The Canucks winger has started the season with 11 goals in 18 games for a total of 12 points. Yes, that’s right: every point Kiefer Sherwood has scored this season has been a goal, except for an assist on a Brock Boeser goal on November 8th. And it was a primary assist, no less!
This video game glitch for Sherwood has endeared him to Vancouver fans, building on his cult hero status. (Witness @DailyWoody, who combines on- and off-ice coverage with Kiefer Sherwood memes). It’s probably important to mention that Sherwood is in a contract year before unrestricted free agency. Cha-ching.
Shea Theodore
Defenseman, Vegas Golden Knights
Statistics 2025-26: 15 games played, 0 goals, 6 assistsWhen Alex Pietrangelo announced he was retiring from the NHL due to rehabilitation from a prolonged hip injury, the Golden Knights knew they would need more from Shea Theodore. That he answered the call is not surprising, as Theodore has been the second-best defenseman on the Knights since Pietrangelo arrived in 2020. It’s how incredibly well he has played in that expanded role.
Theodore, 30, has six points in his first 15 games, and his ice time has increased from 22 minutes per game last season to an average of 24:16 this season. But his underlying numbers are incredible, despite taking on more difficult tasks: Vegas is averaging 0.89 goals against per 60 minutes in 5-on-5 play with Theodore on the ice. Only two other defensemen in the league average less than one goal per 60 minutes (minimum 200 minutes): Matt Roy of the Washington Capitals and Will Borgen of the New York Rangers.
Theodore and his partner Brayden McNabb aren’t setting the world on fire offensively, but they’ve been as good as you can get as a shutdown pair.
Scott Wedgewood
Goaltender, Colorado Avalanche
2025-26 Stats: 14 games played, 2.26 GAA, .913 SV%The Avalanche have started the season 11-1-5 for 27 points, the best mark in the NHL. However, starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood has only played in two of these games, as he was still recovering from surgery in May to correct a lower body issue. When the starter falters, it’s up to the backup to step in and defend the fort. Wedgewood has gone far beyond that duty.
The 33-year-old traveler, the Avs are his fifth NHL team since 2021, has a record of 10-1-2 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.26 goals-against average. Of course, when a team is scoring four goals per game on average, a goalie can breathe a little easier. But Wedgewood has also saved 6.0 goals above expected this season for the Colorado defense.
Blackwood returned to the Avs this week, which means Wedgewood could see his action decrease. But when Colorado thinks about the season with a points percentage of .794 that propelled them at the start, the work Wedgewood has done is a key reason for it.
(A stick tap to defenseman Sam Malinski, another surprise from the Avalanche at the start of the season).
Dan Vladar
Goaltender, Philadelphia Flyers
2025-26 Stats: 10 games played, 2.15 GAA, .919 SV%The Flyers’ search for stability in goal is an ongoing story. After three goalies combined for a team save percentage of .872 last season, the worst in the NHL, general manager Daniel Briere signed one of the few decent free agent options on the market, Vladar, to a two-year contract. The 28-year-old goalie had spent four seasons in Calgary as a teammate of Jacob Markstrom and then rookie Dustin Wolf. His stats weren’t always stellar, .895 save percentage in 100 games with the Flames, but he was a player.
Now, he is possibly the Flyers’ MVP at the start of the season.
Philadelphia has an 8-5-3 record in 16 games under Rick Tocchet, sitting in a wildcard spot entering Wednesday night. Vladar won six of those games against three losses, with a .919 save percentage and six goals saved above expected.
Surprisingly Bad Performances
Marco Kasper
Forward, Detroit Red Wings
Statistics 2025-26: 16 matches played, 3 goals, 0 assistsKasper, the eighth overall pick in 2022, showed great potential as a rookie last season with 19 goals and 18 assists in 77 games for the Red Wings. Enough for Detroit to place him with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane on their second scoring line. But that trio didn’t work, generating only 1.82 goals per 60 minutes together. Kasper’s lack of production was a major factor there, with only three goals and no assists in 16 games so far this season, skating to a -6.
Coach Todd McLellan recently demoted him to the third-line wing.
“His game hasn’t matched what we expected of him,” said the coach, who said Kasper hasn’t shown the same level of battle as last season and is now in his own head. “It happens to many second or third year players. Marco is going through that right now.”
Todd McLellan, Coach
Sam Montembeault
Goaltender, Montreal Canadiens
2025-26 Stats: 9 games played, 3.52 GAA, .861 SV%To be clear, there are other contenders for the most disappointing goaltender so far this season. Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues has received more attention for the puck he tried to steal than for the ones he has stopped. Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark is last in the NHL in goals saved above expected, with minus 7.9 in 14 games.
The difference between those two and Montembeault, however, is that a good part of his pain is team-related. Ullmark’s save percentage is not far off that of his goaltending partner Leevi Merilainen. The same goes for Binnington with Joel Hofer, who arguably has had a worse season so far. But as good as rookie Jakub Dobes has been for Montreal (.920 save percentage in seven games), that’s how bad Montembeault has been for them.
The 29-year-old goalie has a 4-4-1 record in nine games with a .861 save percentage. He is second after Ullmark in terms of worst goals saved above expected (minus 7.1). Analytically, he has been the worst 5-on-5 play goalie in the league so far this season for goalies with his workload, and has the second-worst amount of wins above replacement in the NHL.
(Note that the three goalies on Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster (Binnington, Montembeault, and Vegas’ Adin Hill) have had poor starts this season as they try to defend their spots on the Olympic goalie roster as Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper, who have been outstanding at the start of the season. Curious, isn’t it?)
Brayden Point
Center, Tampa Bay Lightning
Statistics 2025-26: 16 matches played, 3 goals, 6 assistsPoint was named to Canada’s preliminary Olympic roster in June. His start has been so mediocre, by his standards, that at least one Canadian columnist lamented that Point has a spot on the roster that could otherwise have been given to Connor Bedard or another player who has had a better season.
That is, of course, absurd. Point is one of the NHL’s elite players, who has scored more goals in the last three seasons (139) than Nathan MacKinnon (125). That being said, it’s been a disappointing first 16 games for Point: three goals, six assists, and skating to a minus-11 rating for a player who was a plus-17 last season.
A problem is the generation of his shots. Point’s shot attempts (8.5 per 60 minutes) have decreased compared to his two-season average (12.8) in 5-on-5 play, which has led to his shots on goal (5.6) also decreasing compared to that average (6.8).
Once again, it should be fine. Skating with Nikita Kucherov, those numbers will go up soon. But it hasn’t been the strongest start.
Steven StamkosCenter, Nashville Predators
Statistics 2025-26: 18 matches played, 3 goals, 1 assistFor most of his career, goals were never really difficult to come by for Stamkos. That’s one of the reasons why the first 18 games of his season with the Predators have been a nightmare for the 35-year-old. He has three goals so far this season. That’s a pace of 14 goals in an 82-game season for a player who has scored 585 goals in his career.
He is trying to maintain his optimism.
“Something you learn as you get older or go through certain experiences is that negative things never help,” he said on Monday. “And we all do it, no matter what aspect of life when things aren’t going well. It’s negative self-criticism. It’s the ‘poor me’ card, but it never works. You sink deeper.”
Steven Stamkos
But this start for Stamkos (three goals, one assist in 18 games) has already sparked speculation that Nashville will approach him with the idea of trading him, assuming someone else believes that all Stamkos needs is a change of scenery.
MacKenzie Weegar
Defense, Calgary Flames
Statistics 2025-26: 18 matches played, 0 goals, 4 assistsWeegar has been a solid offensive contributor over the last five seasons, including 52 and 47 points for the Flames in the last two campaigns. Therefore, it’s a bit jarring to see him start with just four assists in 18 games for Calgary, two of them at even strength and two of them at 5-on-5. The Flames are averaging 1.32 goals per 60 minutes with Weegar on the ice at even strength so far this season.
While offense has been a primary issue for the Flames, as they rank last in the NHL in goals per game, it has been a total system collapse in Calgary. That’s clear by Weegar’s minus-17 this season, for a player who has only finished in the negative once during his 10-season NHL career. He has played at least 10 minutes with seven defensive partners this season as the Flames try to find a winning combination.
Whether players are struggling or emerging at the start, the key phrase here is “at the start.” There’s still plenty of season left to erase these bad vibes, or to experience a change of fortune for the early-season stars.
