3 players likely to regress in sophomore season
Last season's race for the Calder Trophy had everything.
A battle between "The Next One," a player many deemed too old to be a rookie, and a college defenseman that seemingly jumped onto the scene out of nowhere.
Connor McDavid, Artemi Panarin, and Shayne Gostisbehere all made seamless transitions into the league, and appear on their way to sustainable NHL careers.
However, as the NHL has been subject to time and time again, at least a handful of rookie sensations are likely to fall victim to the ever-daunting sophomore slump.
Of course, a statistical regression in one season is not the be-all, end-all of one's career. Players can be the victims of their own demise simply for having such incredible first seasons.
With that in mind, here are three players who could see a regression next season, and the plausible reasons why:
Shayne Gostisbehere
Gostisbehere came, saw, and conquered last season.
After beginning the season with a strong 10 points in 14 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, Gostisbehere was called up by the Philadelphia Flyers in mid-November and never went back.
Gostisbehere put up 17 goals and 46 points in 64 games, which would give him 58 points when averaged over a full 82-game season and would have placed him tied for fifth among all defensemen in scoring.
The 23-year-old's play was nothing short of spectacular, and the biggest knock and likely reason for a drop in production is simply because he was so outstanding during his first taste of NHL action, it may be hard for him to uphold that.
Gostisbehere had the second-highest shooting percentage of all defensemen - New York Rangers' Kevin Klein ranked first - with an incredible 11.2 percent success rate this past season, which is likely unsustainable.
He is an extreme talent, but if his numbers even-out or teams start to zero-in on him, Gostisbehere can expect to see at least a slight decline in production next season.
John Gibson
The Anaheim Ducks brain trust clearly has confidence in John Gibson.
The club dealt Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs, in turn handing the reigns over to Gibson.
The 22-year-old is coming off his first full-season in the league boasting incredible numbers, with a .920 save percentage and a 2.07 goals-against average in 40 games.
However, as he gets ready to take the ice as a No. 1 for the first time in his career, he will be dealt a different set of cards. He will likely see a lot more games this time around, even with former Maple Leafs No. 1 Jonathan Bernier as his second-in-command.
With a lot more action faced, and with increased pressure, we can expect his numbers to falter - even if slightly. Gibson struggled this postseason before giving way for Andersen. This time around, he might not have such a luxury.
Artemi Panarin
The reigning Calder Trophy-winner needed no feeling-out period shifting from the KHL to the NHL.
Panarin set the league ablaze, becoming the first rookie to hit the 70-point plateau since his linemate Patrick Kane did so in 2008. He tallied the most points by a rookie since Evgeni Malkin put up 85 points in 2007.
Alongside Kane and Artem Anisimov, the 24-year-old helped complete arguably the league's most lethal trio this season - one that combined for 96 goals and 225 points.
All things are looking up for Panarin, but his numbers could slip if one constant doesn't remain - that constant being Kane. The 27-year-old had by far his best season in the league, becoming the first American-born player to lead the league in scoring en route to capturing the Hart Trophy with 46 goals and 106 points.
Kane had a large stake in Panarin's production, factoring in on 72.7 percent of his points. So suffice it to say, if Kane's numbers slip a bit next season, so too will Panarin's.