Who will be the RNH or Chris Kreider of this season?

[PlayMakers]

Zacha and Bertuzzi are good choices... Zacha with a full year of Pasta. Bertuzzi with a full year of Marner.

Maybe Reilly Smith if he gets to play with Crosby?

 

[PROUD PAPA]

Teravainen in a contract year

Contact year players are often a good choice.

 

[Connor McConnor]

Whoever is on a line with Hughes or Stutzle would be a good bet. They are ridiculously talented offensive play drivers. In some ways they remind of me McDavid and Drai-lite versions

 

[johnnybbadd]

I was thinking that Laine is way too talented to not have a 55 goal season but that ship might have sailed with Babcock around Columbus now.

 

[Regal]

Pettersson had 24 points in 68 games last season on a significantly less exciting roster and with a significantly less talented partner

Just seeing more ice time and continuing to improve at both ends this year probably puts him closer to 35-40 if he's healthy

If Karlsson works then yes I think there's a chance he can become a 50+ point player, happy to revisit in 3-4 months

If anything Karlsson will likely take points away from Pettersson, because Pettersson will likely defer to him more. You don’t see a lot of goals with two defensemen getting points these days.

 

[Regal]

Whoever is on a line with Hughes or Stutzle would be a good bet. They are ridiculously talented offensive play drivers. In some ways they remind of me McDavid and Drai-lite versions

If Meier can click with Hughes he might have 50-50 potential.

 

[CraigBillington]

Krejci

 

[26Mats]

Kreider 2 seasons ago pulled 52 goals directly out of his ass after having a previous career high of 28.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pulled 104 points out of nowhere this past year after having a previous career high of 69

These players before their immaculate seasons were viewed highly as good top 6 players but then had an explosion out of nowhere well into their 20s or early 30s. having numbers similar to some of the superstars of the league. Which player will have a random explosion this season in any of points or goals?

Note: I'm not talking about players with potential of breaking out or younger players developing. I mean players that are well developed at this point.

I call dibs on going first: Ivan Barbashev

Easy: Josh Anderson.

Totally unbiased answer from a Canadiens fan.

 

[nucksflailtogether]

If he ever meshed with a top centre on the Canucks, Conor Garland could break out with a huge season. He has skills and vision, but he just doesn't always have the ability to create chemistry with his linemates.

 

[Joey Moss]

I think Bouchard will surprise a lot of people this year with the PP1 spot full-time now.

I'd bet on him getting around 70 points.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Maybe Reilly Smith if he gets to play with Crosby?

At even-strength he could be great for sure, but Sullivan/Reirden won't give him PP1. People respond to final point totals, and he won't be in a situation to pump out that much.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

If he ever meshed with a top centre on the Canucks, Conor Garland could break out with a huge season. He has skills and vision, but he just doesn't always have the ability to create chemistry with his linemates.

He's one of the Canucks best even-strength producers since coming onboard. This rate isn't an outlier either, since his career rate is 2.13, which is just fantastic.
Last year he even played a large chunk with Dries, on L3. So he started the year playing behind Boeser, even though he thoroughly outplayed him in 2021-22. That's on the coach, not him. Some significant lost points there.

For Garland's point totals to go up he needs to consistently be in the top 6 (where he belongs), get EN situations/OT for stat padding and most of all be on PP1. That's what's really missing. You're not gonna squeeze out much more at even-strength.
So he either needs to prove to Tocchet he can do the PP well and they put him on the main unit, or he's f***ed from reaching plateaus like 60-70 points. Injuries to others can enable him too I guess.

This is what he did with optimal usage at even-strength in 2021-22.
Boeser was a 1.17 that year. So Garland doubled him, but lost his spot when Kuzmenko arrived? Figure that one out.

 

[Reality Czech]

From Dobber Hockey a couple months ago:

Nugent-Hopkins led the league with 39 secondary assists, with the next-highest total being 34. His secondary assist rate had jumped from about 45% over the last few seasons to 58% in 2022-23. That's a fairly high normal rate for secondary assists, which might be indicative of a player riding the coattails of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers power play. In fact, Nugent-Hopkins also led all players with 25 secondary power-play assists, with the next-highest total being 20.

Overall, the Nuge had recorded 67 assists total for his first 100-point season, a total that was rather unexpected considering that he never previously even had a 70-point season. A point decline, and maybe even a sharp one, seems to be in the cards here. Even a small decline on the Edmonton power play could have an adverse impact on his numbers, as over half of RNH's assists were on the power play (38 PPA). Just over half of his overall points (53 of 104) were on the power play. A McDavid or Draisaitl injury could also cut into Nugent-Hopkins' scoring.

That's why RNH just had the least impressive 100 pt season in recent memory. Plus the fact that over half the points came with the man advantage.

 

[StIvany4Norris]

Why would you think that having Karlsson on his pair would get him to double his point totals? I can’t think of a single example of something like that happening.

If anything, having Karlsson on his pair would mean Pettersson having the puck LESS in the offensive zone. Unless you think the Penguins are going to run a strategy where Pettersson continually shuffles the puck over for Karlsson and racks up secondary assists?

Correct, secondary assists

See Karlsson driving OZ entries more than anyone else on the team at this point

Just offering some hypotheticals to the OP, I would be shocked if Pettersson has a huge jump, just think there's some factors that make it a possibility

If anything Karlsson will likely take points away from Pettersson, because Pettersson will likely defer to him more. You don’t see a lot of goals with two defensemen getting points these days.

Yes but Karlsson is a unique player and Pens system could have him potentially leading OZ entries

It's just a hypothetical to the OP, not expecting it to happen nor would I be disappointed if it didn't

 

[StIvany4Norris]

I meant in a single season, thought that could be reasonably inferred.

So he has hit 60+ primary points, a portion of which were on the PP of course, and no other DMan on his team had more than 24 points.

Pretty sure the only partner he's ever had who hit 25+ points is Filip Kuba, back in 2012, who hit 32.

Karlsson is not going to cause Pettersson to double his pt total, maybe unless Pettersson plays next to him on the PP (he won't).

Pettersson has the opportunity to be significantly better than Karlsson's previous partners

I'm just throwing a hypothetical at the wall

Not sure anyone saw RNH or Kreider happening either but they were put in a position to succeed... and Pettersson is also in a strong position this season

We don't have to agree on the size of the jump but I'd be shocked if you don't see at least a small bump coming

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Pettersson has the opportunity to be significantly better than Karlsson's previous partners

I'm just throwing a hypothetical at the wall

Not sure anyone saw RNH or Kreider happening either but they were put in a position to succeed... and Pettersson is also in a strong position this season

We don't have to agree on the size of the jump but I'd be shocked if you don't see at least a small bump coming

Pettersson definitely isn't significantly better than Methot, nor is he significantly better offensively than Kuba was.

I can absolutely see a modest bump. You had him almost tripling his career high in points. Big difference between the two, and one that has no basis if you look at the history of Karlsson's impacts on his defensive partners. This also assumes that Pettersson will be glued to Karlsson... for all we know, he could play 5 games with him.

I like Pettersson a lot, but Karlsson has literally never had that type of impact on any one of his teammates.

 

[PensandCaps]

Man is RNH the worst offensive 100 point player ever lol.

The offense has opened up so much in this league that I think you see alot of veteran guys put up career highs in the next few years.

Aho potting 50 wouldn't shock me.

Matheson having a 2022 Montour lite year wouldn't shock me either.

 

[PensandCaps]

Pettersson has the opportunity to be significantly better than Karlsson's previous partners

I'm just throwing a hypothetical at the wall

Not sure anyone saw RNH or Kreider happening either but they were put in a position to succeed... and Pettersson is also in a strong position this season

We don't have to agree on the size of the jump but I'd be shocked if you don't see at least a small bump coming

Love Pettersson, but you are forgetting about prime Marc Methot. Petts has better offensive intangibles though.

Pettersson's offense took off in the 2nd half, He will be more productive, not because of EK though, but because of Pettersson just getting better, he's in that prime age for Dmen to have their best years.

 

[hangman005]

Logan Thompson going to have a 100 point season, at some stage I'll wake up, but it'll have been such a nice dream

 

[Gruyeriev]

RyJo playing next to Rantanen all year. Likely have Lehkonen or Nuke on the other wing.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Michael Bunting. Wouldn't be surprised if he scores 40 goals in Caroline especially if he plays on Oha's wing.

 

[StIvany4Norris]

Pettersson definitely isn't significantly better than Methot, nor is he significantly better offensively than Kuba was.

I can absolutely see a modest bump. You had him almost tripling his career high in points. Big difference between the two, and one that has no basis if you look at the history of Karlsson's impacts on his defensive partners. This also assumes that Pettersson will be glued to Karlsson... for all we know, he could play 5 games with him.

I like Pettersson a lot, but Karlsson has literally never had that type of impact on any one of his teammates.

“opportunity to be significantly better”

(i.e. not guaranteed)

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Man is RNH the worst offensive 100 point player ever lol.

RNH is a vanilla player, soft as marshmallows.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Tyler Seguin. I've always been extremely bullish on him, and think he still has the capability to explode back to a PPG player just as much as he can continue to flake out.

I'll also toss Sam Bennett's name out there as someone who may just bust out with a huge season.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Tyler Seguin. I've always been extremely bullish on him, and think he still has the capability to explode back to a PPG player just as much as he can continue to flake out.

I'll also toss Sam Bennett's name out there as someone who may just bust out with a huge season.

It's hard to imagine Seguin or anyone else putting up big numbers without PP1 time though