5 biggest surprises of the NHL season
Every NHL season has its own unique storylines we never saw coming.
The unexpected breakout performances, trades, and storylines are what make for the most interesting aspects of any given year. Whether it's a team setting records, a player we had written off finding his past form, or plenty of other scenarios, the unforeseen elements of a season are why we love sports.
Here are five of the biggest surprises from the 2022-23 NHL campaign.
Bruins' historic dominance
Remember when there were concerns over the Boston Bruins entering the season thanks to various injuries? That was adorable.
An NHL-record 65 wins. An NHL-record 135 points. The fastest team ever to 50 wins and 100 points. The Bruins were as close to unbeatable as we've ever seen from a regular season squad.
Coming in, the Bruins were on a path of regression. They exited in the first round last season for the first time since 2017 and subsequently fired Bruce Cassidy. Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Matt Grzelcyk were all slated to miss significant time. Boston was supposed to be closer to a bubble team than a President Trophy winner.
How did the Bruins exceed expectations by such a massive margin? David Pastrnak's spectacular 61-goal, 113-point campaign is a good place to start. Leading the team in scoring by 47 points, Pastrnak's offensive prowess was vital to Boston's success.
Jim Montgomery took over behind the bench and made the Bruins the league's best defensive team, led by Mr. Selke Trophy, Patrice Bergeron. Couple it with Linus Ullmark's Vezina-caliber campaign, and that's a recipe for lots of wins.
Hampus Lindholm shouldn't be overlooked, either. The 29-year-old was a massive part of the Bruins' early season success while McAvoy was out of the lineup. He doesn't have the eye-catching power-play production of other Norris Trophy candidates, but Lindholm's dominant five-on-five play is worthy of votes for the award.
Nobody saw a historic season of this magnitude coming from the Bruins.
Karlsson turns back the clock
Not long ago, Erik Karlsson's massive $11.5-million cap hit was viewed as one of the biggest anchor contracts in the league. Now, he's the favorite to capture the Norris Trophy.
There simply isn't enough you can say about Karlsson's remarkable season. If tallying over 100 points as a defenseman isn't crazy enough, how about finishing second in the entire league in five-on-five scoring?
Many had resigned themselves to appreciating Karlsson's heyday with Ottawa as he played out his monster contract in San Jose. Nobody imagined he could turn back the clock the way he did this season considering his significant injury history.
It's important to remember the context of Karlsson's tenure with the Sharks coming into 2022-23. He'd never played more than 56 games in a season with San Jose over his four years there. In 211 games with the Sharks, he'd tallied 27 goals and 142 points - a 10-goal, 55-point pace over 82 games.
Karlsson scored 25 goals this season alone and totaled 101 points. His totals in 2022-23 exceed both his goal output and point production from the previous three seasons combined.
As unexpected as the Bruins' historical season was, Karlsson's resurgence is the biggest shock of the year.
Devils go bottom-five to top-five
The New Jersey Devils were an intriguing team coming into the campaign. Sunk by abysmal goaltending in 2021-22, the Devils had a new starting goaltender and an exciting blend of talent ready to take the next step.
In a competitive Metropolitan Division, some anticipated New Jersey to be in the hunt for a wild-card spot. Instead, the team went bottom five to top five league-wide and made a significant push for the division title.
Everything came together for the Devils. Jack Hughes stayed healthy for the vast majority of the season and emerged as one of the premier dual threats in the league. Nico Hischier found another level offensively to put himself in the conversation for the Selke Trophy. Vitek Vanecek proved he could be a quality starting goaltender.
Dougie Hamilton didn't just return to form, he set career highs. Jesper Bratt proved his breakout in 2021-22 wasn't a fluke, while Dawson Mercer continued on his exciting upward trajectory.
We knew the Devils' future was incredibly bright with their young talent and prospects on the way. Realizing that potential this quickly - going from 63 points a year ago to 112 - makes for an easy pick as one of the biggest surprises of the season.
Flames miss playoffs after blockbuster summer
No team featured in as many major headlines last summer as the Calgary Flames.
Whether it was Johnny Gaudreau leaving town, the Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster, the free-agent signing of Nazem Kadri, or the massive extension handed out to Jonathan Huberdeau, the Flames were constantly in the news heading into the 2022-23 campaign.
Even with two-thirds of the dominant top-line departing, expectations were high for Calgary. Many considered the team to be better thanks to its improved depth, elite defense group, and potential Vezina goaltending.
It simply never materialized. Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar struggled mightily. Huberdeau's production cratered and the rest of the team was unable to make up for the high-end scoring lost in the offseason.
Despite being among the league's best possession teams, the Flames frustratingly couldn't break through when it mattered most. Calgary led the league in one-goal losses and set the all-time mark for losses when outshooting the opponent by 10 or more shots.
Of the 16 teams to miss the postseason, none are as big of a surprise as the Flames.
Chychrun yields only one 1st-round pick
After a seemingly never-ending saga of rumors and reports, the hype for an eventual Jakob Chychrun trade was significant. Whether it was the destination or the acquisition cost, every aspect of the inevitable deal was tantalizing.
The Ottawa Senators were always a dark horse in the Chychrun sweepstakes, so Pierre Dorion being the general manager to land the perceived top defenseman on the market wasn't a massive surprise. What was, however, is the price he had to pay.
The Arizona Coyotes received a package of three draft selections for Chychrun: a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick.
Considering the massive haul the Coyotes were anticipated to receive for Chychrun's services, it was a stunning outcome to see Arizona land just one first-round pick for the 25-year-old.
In the end, Bill Armstrong coveted a quality first-round pick over multiple first-round selections in choosing the Senators' package. No contending team that was in the market for Chychrun could match Ottawa's ability to offer a top-15 pick in the anticipated 2023 NHL draft.
Even so, the shock of the Senators needing to give up only one first-round pick for the most talked-about trade chip over a year's span makes for among the most surprising transactions of the campaign.