Welcome to RANKED. Every week during the NHL season, we will be ranking players, moments, and anything else we can think of throughout hockey history.
The first week of every NHL season doesn’t tell us a lot about how it finishes, especially when it comes to individual performances. Some players aren’t getting the right looks or are just unlucky, while others are getting all the good fortune.
Unfortunately for those who want to be patient to decide what they think of a player’s season, we have chosen to do no such thing in this exercise.
Let’s look at how the first impressions of players that changed teams this past summer have gone, and rank them:
1. Alex DeBrincat: Red Wings
Red Wings fans are likely overjoyed with the start DeBrincat has had. Three goals and five points in three games is close to the best-case scenario for the start of the hometown boy’s career in Detroit.
2. Mackenzie Blackwood: Sharks
Being a goaltender is hard. Playing in front of a completely new set of defensemen on a team that is projected to be the worst in the NHL is even harder. Blackwood has made just one start for the Sharks, but he allowed just one goal on 52 shots.
His 51 saves were the most by any goaltender making their debut for a new team since the 1955-56 season. The only reason why Blackwood isn’t at the top is that it was one single game.
3. Alex Newhook: Canadiens
Trading for a once-hyped first-round pick does not always turn out to be the best decision. Not every top pick can reach their ceiling, but Newhook’s fresh start in Montreal is going swimmingly. Three games and three goals for the 22-year-old center might be one of the best ways for him to show that he isn’t going anywhere.
4. J.T. Compher: Red Wings
Compher was one of the top players available in free agency (it was not the best class) and Detroit scooped him up like it was nothing. He has scored a goal and earned four points through his first three games in Michigan.
5. Michael Bunting: Hurricanes
With a mix of physicality and a unique journey to the NHL, Bunting is a quintessential Hurricanes player. After signing one of the largest contracts in free agency, he’s off to a solid start with one goal and three assists in three games.
6. Vladimir Tarasenko: Senators
There was concern that Tarasenko might not be able to score as much on his new team, but he has certainly not slowed down for the first week. One goal and four points is nothing to scoff at.
7. Reilly Smith: Penguins
Smith’s move from Vegas to Pittsburgh wasn’t discussed as much as it should have been, but he is lighting it up on his new team. Two goals and 12 shots on goal(!) in just three games is a heck of a way to play on a Penguins team in desperate need of secondary scoring.
8. James van Riemsdyk: Bruins
While other players might be producing more or playing more meaningful minutes on their new teams, no one expected van Riemsdyk to be rediscovering his form in Boston. Philadelphia wasn’t the best place for his late career and now he’s getting more than enough support with two goals in two games.
9. Sam Lafferty: Canucks
No, really. Lafferty moved to Vancouver at the last minute, right before the season started. Scoring a goal almost immediately — and looking pretty good while doing it — does a lot for some initial impressions.
10. Ryan O’Reilly: Predators
O’Reilly has been as advertised since taking the role as the Predators’ top center. He’s still making smart plays and has earned two points in three games.
11. Ryan Reaves: Maple Leafs
The Leafs made a whole lot of changes to their team this past summer but none of them have been discussed more within the first three games than Reaves. The fourth-line fighter that brings a new levity to the locker room has been hotly debated amongst fans, and has generated an incredible amount of content. That is why his first impression is above any other Leafs acquisition.
Getting into two fights already isn’t necessary a bad thing, either.
12. Tanner Pearson: Canadiens
Pearson was tossed aside by the Canucks as a cap dump and the Canadiens lovingly embraced him. It sure looks like his time on the other side of the country is starting out well, with two goals in three games.
13. Tyler Toffoli: Devils
Toffoli made his way to the Devils (don’t worry, we forgot about that trade as well) during the summer and has already put up two assists in three games in their high-powered offense. He’s been a very solid player, just like he always has been.
14. Ivan Provorov: Blue Jackets
Provorov might have played poorly in his first game as a Blue Jacket – against his former team, to make it even worse – but he has quickly turned it around in the absence of Damon Severson and Zach Werenski. His underlying numbers are not great, but he is still producing, notching two assists.
15. Matt Dumba: Coyotes
Dumba’s first experience playing professional hockey outside of Minnesota is off to a pretty solid start. Aside from making the Coyotes slightly more competitive, Dumba scored his new team’s first goal of the season. He hasn’t earned any points after that, but it’s a good start.
16. Tyler Bertuzzi: Maple Leafs
The Leafs’ biggest signing this summer hasn’t hit the ground running quite yet, but it sure feels like we’re on the cusp of a Bertuzzi scoring streak. He has one goal and is looking fine on the top line so far.
17. Pierre-Luc Dubois: Kings
If Dubois didn’t score in his return to Winnipeg (and get booed), he would be much lower on this list. His only point earned this season is that single goal, so there is at least some sign of him actually playing for the Kings.
18. Erik Karlsson: Penguins
Given the expectations we all had for Karlsson in Pittsburgh, he has not earned a whole lot of goodwill among Penguins fans. It is still so early, but to have one single assist so far after winning the Norris Trophy on a much worse team is a little bit wild.
19. Oliver Ekman-Larsson: Panthers
On the other side of the blue-line coin, no one really expected anything from Ekman-Larsson. He made his way to Florida after being bought out by Vancouver and has looked just fine, which is a massive improvement from his time as a Canuck.
20. Taylor Hall: Blackhawks
Hall was supposed to be the offensive support for Connor Bedard but hasn’t got there quite yet with some injury trouble and just one assist.
21. John Klingberg: Maple Leafs
Klingberg has three assists, but still deserves to be at this spot on the list. If we’re just looking at the stat sheet, the Swedish blueliner has done a very good job in Toronto. Unfortunately, if you have watched any Leafs game this season, he has been possibly the worst player defensively that we have seen in a very long time.
22. Max Domi: Maple Leafs
The kid returned home and has looked just fine, putting up one assist. It’s nothing special yet, but he might get on a streak later.
23. Gabriel Vilardi: Jets
Vilardi’s career year in Los Angeles made him an enticing trade target for the Jets and he has not really been able to replicate his production just yet. Unfortunately, it might take him a little bit longer as he left Tuesday’s game against his former club with a lower-body injury.
24. Dmitry Orlov: Hurricanes
Sometimes you just have to pity the player. Orlov was projected to secure Carolina’s blue line even further and make it an impenetrable wall. Unfortunately it doesn’t work out that well when you have Tony DeAngelo and his lack of defensive awareness next to you. Orlov has started the season with one assist but an incredible minus-7 rating. Ouch.
25. Anthony Duclair (Sharks), Patrick Maroon (Wild), Kevin Hayes (Blues), Yegor Sharangovich (Flames)
We’re lumping all of these players together because they have not earned a point yet and were cast aside by their former team for financial or other reasons during the summer. They weren’t expected to be blockbuster acquisitions but rather some tidy pieces of business that could pan out. It just hasn’t happened yet.
26. Connor Brown: Oilers
Connor McDavid was reunited with his old junior linemate and we were all thinking Brown could be a solid piece for this Oilers team. Well, Brown has not earned a single point yet and the Oilers have some embarrassing losses. Not the best start.
27. Ryan Johansen: Avalanche
This was celebrated as a potentially shrewd move for the Avalanche during the summer. They got some help down the middle for absolutely nothing and got the Predators to retain some salary on Johansen as well. Colorado might want to rethink that move right about now, though.
Through three games, Johansen hasn’t earned a point and the guy they proceeded to trade away (Newhook) is way higher on this list and lighting it up in Montreal. It’s the Avalanche, so they will end up making it work, but if you think of it as a straight swap, they have lost it so far.
