Which NHL player has the most to prove this season?
The NHL season is fully underway. All 32 teams have played at least one game. But when we’re looking at big-picture discussions, we still pretty much have an entire season’s worth of runway to consider.
With that mentality in mind, Daily Faceoff Roundtable members, I ask you: which NHL player has the most to prove in 2022-23, and why?
MATT LARKIN: For me, it’s Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers. He made the active decision to ask out of a division-winning Stanley Cup contender and insisted he was set on the idea regardless of Johnny Gaudreau’s status in Calgary. When I asked Tkachuk last month about choosing Florida, he said the team’s commitment to winning was the main reason he signed. But the Cats gave up so much to get him that I worry they damaged their championship hopes in the process. That puts a lot of pressure on Tkachuk to remain a 100-point player on a team coming off a Presidents’ Trophy. Can he duplicate that effort without Gaudreau?
STEVEN ELLIS: There was once a time when we were talking about Alexandar Georgiev being a potential NHL star goaltender. Then came Igor Shesterkin, who made Georgiev’s numbers look rough before he was eventually dealt to Colorado. There’s always pressure on the defending champs to remain relevant, and the Avs can certainly do that if the goaltending holds up. Can Georgiev channel his early career energy and take his game up a step? The Avs better hope so.
FRANK SERAVALLI: For me, it’s Jack Campbell from the Edmonton Oilers. He signed a longer-term deal with the Oilers and they are craving consistency in net, a netminder they can hang their hat on for the next five years. The only problem with that is Campbell has not been the model of consistency. His last season was erratic, and in some ways, actually mirrored the Oilers’ own campaign on the other side of the country. He looked like a world beater and surefire Vezina winner into December with a 13-4-2 record and .942 save percentage. Then the wheels fell off and he had an .885 save percentage for the next 20 games, a terrible run that was masked mostly by the Leafs’ winning record (11-5-2) during that stretch. Then he took some time off due to injury, came back and was solid in the postseason, shutting out Tampa Bay in Game 1. Which Campbell will we see? The Oilers’ hopes as true Stanley Cup contenders may rest upon that answer.
NICK ALBERGA: For me, it’s Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights. He wanted a trade out of Buffalo, he got it. Now’s the time to prove all his doubters wrong and rid himself of the notion that he can’t get the job done when it matters most. Unbelievably, the 25-year-old has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his first seven NHL seasons – including year No. 1 in Sin City. Vegas, who missed the postseason for the first time in its existence last season, went 15-14-5 with Eichel in the lineup. Simply put, that’s not good enough, especially for a player carrying the contract he does.
MIKE MCKENNA: Steven has a great pick with Georgiev: I agree he has a ton to prove. No more excuses. But I don’t think anyone has more to prove this season than Matt Murray of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The two-time Stanley Cup champion is only 28 years old, yet finds his game at a crossroads. He made progress in the second half of last season with the Ottawa Senators. Whether he can carry that into Toronto is a big question mark. Murray was the best goaltender I have ever seen at the AHL level, and he found immediate success in the NHL. But it’s now been three seasons since he was a feared opponent in the crease. It’s make it or break it with the Leafs for Murray. This is probably his last chance to be a No. 1 NHL goaltender.
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