St. Louis Blues right wing Jimmy Snuggerud (21) is congratulated by left wing Dylan Holloway (81) after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Enterprise Center.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The NHL‘s 2026-27 season is closer than you think, thanks in part to just the second-ever September start in league history.
A new season means new opportunities for players, coaches and entire teams. For some, these new opportunities mean a fresh start, right?
Here are five surprising stats that NHL teams would, mostly, prefer aren’t repeated next year.
Chicago Blackhawks brutal expected goal numbers
This can’t possible happen for a sixth year in a row, right? The Blackhawks have finished 32nd in the NHL in five consecutive years in Natural Stat Trick’s expected goal model. That’s not percentage, that’s actual generation. For five straight years , Chicago has finished last in expected goals generated per 60 minutes at five-on-five. This has been true under five different coaches (Jeremy Colliton, interim Derek King, Luke Richardson, interim Anders Sorensen and Jeff Blashill).
Patrick Kane talking about convincing Jonathan Toews to return to Chicago:
“I said, ‘Hey, maybe you come back for a year?’ He was like, ‘I’m thinking about it.’” pic.twitter.com/RDK8k34TVR
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) July 28, 2026
Philadelphia Flyers need a candle
Speaking of futility, the Philadelphia Flyers have finished last in power play conversion rate in four of the past five seasons. In the lone season of this stretch not in last place in this stat, the Flyers finished in 30th place. The Flyers power play woes also transcend coaching, as Alain Vigneault, Mike Yeo (interim), John Tortorella, Brad Shaw (interim) and Rick Tocchet all led the team.
The New York Rangers and Nashville Predators struggled in the offensive zone
Nobody in the league spent their offensive zone time less effectively than the New York Rangers last season. Per NHL Edge, the Rangers finished ninth in offensive zone time, but they were 31st in all situations shots and 28th in high danger shots. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Rangers finished 30th in the NHL in shots per 60 minutes at five-on-five.
The Nashville Predators had similar issues, finishing sixth in the NHL in offensive zone time. They only were ranked one spot better than New York in goals-for per 60 minutes, finishing 23rd to New York’s 24th. Comparatively, the Predators generated chances at a higher rate.
In the last 23 games, the line of Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway had 88 points.
If these guys can stay healthy, this will be a Top 5 line in the #NHL #LetsGoBlues #STLBlues
— Dobber (@DobberHockey) July 18, 2026
St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars role reversal
The best line in the NHL (min. 250 minutes) played for a team that missed the playoffs. The St. Louis Blues won 80 percent of the goal share in 253 minutes with their late-season top line. Wingers Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud
performed exceptionally well with center Robert Thomas. That line outscored its opposition 24-6 and led the NHL in goals for per 60 minutes, according to MoneyPuck. They were solid defensively, finishing third among 52 lines in goals against per 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, the comparative worst line played for the Dallas Stars, who finished with the third most points in the NHL (112). Jason Robertson and Mavrik Bourque flanked center Wyatt Johnston. Opposition lines outscored the talented trio 12-7. Their goals-for rate of 36.8 percent was worst of the 52 lines. The line finished 50th of the 52 in goals for per 60 minutes.
NHL goalies crash out
The NHL’s median save percentage in all situations was just 88.96% last season. It’s the second straight year it declined.
Superstar goaltending was not as valuable. Three of the six best goalies in MoneyPuck’s Goals Saved Above Expected played at least 51 games for their teams. All three — Logan Thompson from Washington, Ilya Sorokin from the New York Islanders and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers — missed the playoffs. The two best goaltenders in this stat to actually make the playoffs saw their teams lose in the opening round (Jeremy Swayman of Boston, Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa).
The NHL opens its season on Sept. 29.
Alex Wiederspiel is a professional play-by-play broadcaster and co-host of Locked On NHL Game Night, recapping the full slate of NHL games in 30 minutes for fans three nights a week.
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