10 Best NHL Headlines So Far

The NHL season is more than half over and there have been many surprises so far. If I Told you that the Vancouver Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets would be atop the Pacific and Central divisions you probably would have called me delirious, but here we are. This campaign has been nothing short of electric and we haven’t even reached the all-star break yet. 

Here are the 10 best storylines of the NHL season so far.

10. Connor Bedard’s Eventful First Season

• The 2023 first overall pick has had quite the start to his first season, between leading all rookies in points, scoring unreal Michigan goals, and being named to the All-Star team. Bedard has lived up to the hype, averaging almost a point per game while not having a whole lot of help around him. The 18-year-old is currently injured after taking a big hit from Brendan Smith a few weeks ago, which will cause him to miss the all-star game in Toronto, but man this kid looks legit through 39 games played.

9. The Great Eight’s Scoring Struggles

• If you were to think of one word when you hear the name, Alex Ovechkin, that word would most likely be “Goal”. The man has been an automatic 30-plus goal scorer since he entered the league back in 2005 he has had 13 seasons of 40 or more goals compared to his 1 season of less than 30 (24 goals in a shortened season due to COVID). Things have been different this year for Ovi, with only 8 goals through 43 games in the 23-24 campaign he is on pace for his first season under 20 goals in his career. Time will inevitably catch up with anyone, but after scoring 42 last year in 73 games it seemed as if it would never happen to the 2018 Stanley Cup champion. With all of that being said the Capitals have been a very competent team, even with their captain regressing.

8. A Wild Deal Between The Flyers and Ducks

• Earlier this month a trade between Philadelphia and Anaheim shook up the hockey world in an unexpected way. The IIHF world championships leading scorer Cutter Gauthier, the fifth overall pick of the 2022 draft, made his point clear that he had no interest in playing for the Flyers. Reports say that Gauthier even refused to meet with Flyers representatives during the IIHF, and was shipped off to the west coast not long after. The Ducks acquired the talented prospect in exchange for young defenseman Jamie Drysdale who is a d-man who made his NHL debut back in 2021, and a second-round pick. So far Drysdale has not looked great, he has 45 points in 123 games and is a -45 in that span as well. The Flyers did a tremendous job at keeping the Gauthier situation under wraps because I am not sure if they would have been able to get the haul they did if reports had broken about him refusing to play for them.

7. The 2023-24 Lamp Lighting Festival

• There have been more than a handful of players who have been having career seasons in the goal-scoring department so far this season. Usual suspects such as David Pastrnak (30), Nikita Kucherov (31), and Mikko Rantanen (27) are up to their old shenanigans by finding the back of the net with ease. The players that I would like to mention are Auston Matthews, Sam Reinhart, and Artemi Panarin. Matthews is ridiculous, he is currently on pace for 70 goals and continues to get better in all facets (led all centers in blocked shots last year). Reinhart has 35 goals so far this year and is on pace for 60, for a guy who has never reached 40 in a season this has been an out-of-this-world showcase for the 28-year-old. Finally, we have Artemi Panarin, the breadman who has been one of the league’s best players for years now, but this year he has unlocked his goal-scoring by burying 29 of them this year. The Russian forward’s previous career high was 31 back in 2017, so it’s safe to say that he will surpass that number by the end of the regular season.

6. The Boston Bruins Are Doing It Again

• After a historic 2022-23 season, the Bruins season came to a much shorter end than most expected after being bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Florida Panthers (not to mention they were up 3-1). The offseason didn’t go how B’s fans wanted it to, with their Captain Patrice Bergeron retiring, losing Tyler Bertuzzi and Dimitri Orlov in free agency, and having to trade Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall away. Both of their goalies Linus Ullmark and Jake Sawyman had maybe the best season from a tender duo of all time as well, something that many did not think could be repeated. Despite all of the doubt, the Bruins have not lost steam this year as they have continued their elite play and are currently the best team in the Eastern Conference. The fact that both Swayman and Ullmark have practically repeated what they did last year has been astonishing enough.

5. Defensemen Dominating

• We have seen an eruption of points coming from blueliners this year, with nearly 6 of them averaging a point per game. I can’t recall a year where there are so many candidates to be a Norris trophy finalist, but the top three (as of right now) are quite obvious. Noah Dobson of the New York Islanders is having a breakout season offensively as he has rattled up 51 points in 48 games for a team that has lacked production from their blue line for over a decade. Next, we have Cale Makar, who most would say is the best D-man in the league, maybe even the best in the league. Makar has an absurd 57 points in 43 games played and continues to look like a key part of a potential dynasty that the Avs are cooking up. Last but certainly not least is Quinn Hughes, who is having an all-time year season as of right now. The oldest Hughe’s brother has 59 points in 48 games played, but that might not be the most impressive stat of them all because Hughes is a +35 on the year as well. Yeah, you heard that right, the guy is having an absurd season.

4. They Didn’t Write Back

• There have been many surprise teams this year, whether they are underperforming like the Pittsburgh Penguins, or overperforming like the Philadelphia Flyers. The two most surprising teams this year have been the Vancouver Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets, who both sit atop of their respective divisions in the Western Conference. The Jets were the subject of many trade rumors over the offseason and going into this year due to the lack of success and reports of bad locker room presence over the past few seasons. Players such as Conor Hellybuck and Mark Schieflle were at the center of those trade reports while shipping away forward Pierre-Luc Dubois to Los Angeles for Alex Iafollo and Gabe Vilardi. Despite all of the noise, the Jets have been one of the league’s best this year with help from Hellybuck and Schieflle with Vilardi and Iafollo turning into key contributors. Just two years ago it seemed as if there was an inevitable rebuild coming in Vancouver, with Brock Boeser having his name thrown around in trade talks, their captain Bo Horvat being sent to the East Coast, and discussions being had about moving Quinn Hughes to forward. Now fast forward to the present day as the Canucks not only hold first place in the Pacific division but they currently have the most points in the league. Vancouver looks like a legitimate cup contender with resurgence years from Elias Petterson and Boeser, Hughes and JT Miller making the rest of the league look silly, Filip Hronek breaking out, and Thatcher Demko being a potential Vezina winner. Both of these teams are showing why they shouldn’t have been written off so easily.

3. How Bout’ Them Oilers?

• The Oilers had hit rock bottom back on Nov. 6 when they lost to a San Jose Sharks team that had yet to win a game. Buried down in the depths of the NHL’s worst teams and top players Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl struggling, changes needed to be made in Edmonton. The team hired Chris Knoblauch after firing Jay Woodcroft and hasn’t looked back since. The boys in blue and orange have since gone 25-6 and have won 15 consecutive games. Both McDavid and Draisaitl have gotten back to normal and with the help of Zach Hyman (28 goals) and Evan Bouchard (42 points from the blue line), the Oil have somehow put themselves back in the contender considerations, as long as Stuart Skinner continues to play well between the pipes.

2. The Nate Dawg

• Everyone knows how good Nathan MacKinnon is and has been for his entire career, but this year has been a masterclass. The Dawg is currently 2nd in the league in points with 82 (1 behind Kucherov) and has been getting it done all over the ice. 30 goals and 52 assists through 48 games and has Colorado humming through their schedule so far. The 28-year-old is currently the favorite to win the Hart Trophy as of right now, but there are still plenty of seasons left for guys like Kucherov, Pastrnak, and McDavid to make things tighter.

1. The Current Playoff Picture

• As of right now, the playoff scenario looks like it could be one for the ages, with potentially a first round for the ages.

The East matchups would currently be:

Pacific Division

• 4 Red Wings vs 1 Bruins

• 3 Lightning vs 2 Panthers

Metro Division

• 4 Maple Leafs vs 1 Rangers

• 3 Devils vs 2 Hurricanes

The West matchups would currently be:

Central Division

• 4 Kings vs 1 Jets

• 3 Stars vs 2 Avalanche

Pacific Division

• 4 Predators vs 1 Canucks

• 3 Oilers vs 2 Golden Knights

Fun would be an understatement when describing these first-round series, and Apr. 22 couldn’t come quickly enough. Personally, my favorite matchups would be Dallas vs Colorado, Toronto vs New York, and Tampa Bay vs Florida.