8 Overhyped Players at the Start of the 2022-23 NHL Season

The NHL's 2022-23 season is fast approaching as the puck drops on regular-season play in North America on Oct. 11.

Fans will eagerly look forward to their favorite teams taking the ice to begin another quest to win the Stanley Cup. Their best players will be expected to step up and lead the way.

Several stars, however, could encounter difficulty playing up to expectations compared to previous years.

Some, such as the Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel, are hoping for a fresh start after being hampered by injury last season. Others, such as the Anaheim Ducks' Trevor Zegras, are young players facing the challenge of building upon a promising rookie campaign.

They're part of our list of eight overhyped players entering this NHL season. We're not suggesting they're not good players, but there are factors they'll have to address to become worthy of their fanfare.

Feel free to agree or disagree with our assessment in the comments section below.

As the 2022-23 season approaches, Jakob Chychrun is the hot topic for media trade gossip. A fixture in the rumor mill for months, the 24-year-old Arizona Coyotes defenseman confirmed on Sept. 21 that he'd requested a trade to a contender.

Despite being sidelined with an ankle injury, Chychrun's skills as a puck-moving defenseman and his affordable $4.6 million salary-cap hit are drawing interest from several clubs. On Sept. 29, TSN's Darren Dreger listed the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets as possible suitors.

Chychrun's best season was his 18-goal, 41-point performance in 56 games during the COVID-compressed 2020-21 season, finishing second among Coyotes scorers. However, that was also the only season in which the mobile rearguard was injury-free.

When healthy, Chychrun's a talented blueliner with solid offensive abilities. Over the course of his six NHL seasons, he's only finished with less than 20 points once. He's also managed those stats despite playing for the low-scoring Coyotes throughout that period.

Nevertheless, the hype over Chychrun's trade status and the high asking price the Coyotes have set for him account for the media attention he's received for the past year. Until his injury woes are finally behind him, he's still a gifted rearguard with an injury history that could prevent him from achieving true stardom.

Pierre-Luc Dubois became the subject of trade speculation this summer linking him to the Montreal Canadiens. The chatter died away after the 24-year-old center signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets on July 22.

At 6'2” and 205 pounds, Dubois is a big, physical two-way center who tallied 60 points and a career-best 28 goals last season with the Jets. On Sept. 9, Sportsnet ranked him at No. 80 among its top 250 fantasy hockey players for 2022-23.

Dubois' contract negotiations and questions about his future tend to garner more headlines than his on-ice performance. His unhappiness with the Columbus Blue Jackets led to his trade to the Jets in January 2021. In June, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Dubois informed the Jets he intended to test the unrestricted free-agent market in two years' time.

Dubois downplayed that rumor after re-signing with the Jets in July. He insisted he never asked to be traded and will see what unfolds next summer when he again becomes a restricted free agent.

This will be a critical season for the Jets as they hope to rebound from a disappointing 2021-22. On Sept. 8, Sportsnet's Ken Wiebe stated Dubois must back up his words with actions and build on last season's solid performance.

The second overall pick behind Connor McDavid in the 2015 NHL draft, Jack Eichel wasn't going to become a generational talent like the Edmonton Oilers superstar. Nevertheless, he had a bright future ahead of him as he entered the league with the Buffalo Sabres.

Eichel played well during his tenure with the Sabres despite being hampered at times by injuries. He was named team captain in 2018 and reached a career-best 82 points during the '18-'19 season. However, the Sabres missed the playoffs in every season during his tenure in Buffalo because of management's inability to build around him.

A herniated disk in his neck limited Eichel to just 21 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Disagreement with Sabres management over treatment for his injury led to his trade last November to the Vegas Golden Knights after which he underwent disk replacement surgery.

Eichel had just 25 points in 34 games with the Golden Knights last season in part because of a hand injury suffered on March 18. The 25-year-old center is expected to rejuvenate his career this season. However, the years of missed playoffs in Buffalo, his messy divorce from the Sabres and last season's struggles in Vegas have dulled the luster of his once-bright star.

This season could be the most consequential of his career. Now playing in one of hockey's most hyped markets with a more talented roster than those he had in Buffalo, Eichel needs a healthy, productive campaign to finally prove that he can lead a team into the postseason.

A career-best 85-point performance last season with the Minnesota Wild earned Kevin Fiala a lucrative new seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings. Entering this season, the 26-year-old winger must prove he's worth the $7.9 million annual cap hit of his new deal with his new team.

Fiala put up good numbers in his previous two seasons with the Wild, netting 54 points in 64 games and 40 in 50 games during two COVID-shortened seasons. The burst in his production last season was due in part to his solid chemistry with rookie winger Matt Boldy during the second half of the schedule.

It's expected Fiala will be reunited with former Nashville Predators teammate Viktor Arvidsson skating on the second line along with center Phillip Danault. He's also seen time during preseason play on the top line alongside Anže Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.

Fiala was acquired to bolster the Kings' offensive attack. The Score's John Matisz anticipates Fiala will build on last season's performance. However, he faces the challenge of adjusting to new teammates and a different system.

Despite his 2021-22 production, Fiala must demonstrate that he's finally put his previous offensive inconsistency behind him and established himself as a reliable scorer. He'll also have to prove it in the postseason where he's managed just 15 points in 35 games.

Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine were the top two prospects entering the 2016 NHL draft. Matthews was chosen first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Laine went second to the Winnipeg Jets. The two were practically tied in total goals during their first three NHL campaigns, with Matthews tallying 111 to Laine's 110.

Since then, however, Matthews has gone on to become the game's top goal scorer, winning the Richard Trophy in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Laine, meanwhile, saw his production decline as he saw mostly second-line duty during his final two seasons with the Jets.

Traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in January 2021, Laine struggled to adjust to his new city and teammates during that COVID-shortened schedule. He improved to 56 points in as many games last season but was hampered by an oblique strain.

Only 24, Laine is in the prime of his playing career. However, he has yet to return to the heights of his 44-goal sophomore performance in 2017-18 when he seemed poised to become a perennial Richard Trophy candidate. He drew more attention on social media last season for his fashion sense than his on-ice exploits.

Laine enters this season with a new four-year contract. He's also slimmed down from last season and has a new potential linemate in elite playmaker Johnny Gaudreau. Everything seems in place for him to regain his place among the league's top goal scorers. Now, he just has to prove that he still belongs there.

Chosen first overall by the New York Rangers in the 2020 draft, Alexis Lafrenière is entering the third season of his NHL career. The 20-year-old left winger earned renown during his junior hockey career for his offensive skills. However, he's still adjusting to the NHL pace, seeing action mostly as a middle-six forward.

Lafrenière managed just 21 points in 56 games during his 2020-21 NHL debut but showed some improvement last season with 19 goals and 31 points. Skating with Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil on the Rangers' “Kid Line,” they were contributing factors in the club's march to last season's Eastern Conference Final.

This season will be a significant one for Lafrenière. He's entering the final year of his entry-level contract and needs a big breakthrough performance to secure a lucrative new deal next summer from the Rangers.

On Sept. 9, the Hockey News' Stan Fischler included Lafrenière among his five players on the brink of NHL stardom. ESPN.com's Greg Wyshynski wrote on Sept. 21 that he might be given an opportunity to skate alongside first-liners Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

Lafrenière has proved he can earn regular minutes as an NHL forward. While he's not a bust, he's yet to play up to the hype of a first overall draft pick. With the preseason coming to a close and the regular season starting soon, there's no indication yet that he's going to be moving up the Rangers' depth chart.

Elias Pettersson enjoyed a healthy 2021-22 season with a career-best performance of 32 goals and 68 points in 80 games. However, those stats were only marginally better than his previous best of 28 goals and 66 points.

Chosen fifth overall by the Canucks in the 2017 NHL draft, Pettersson took home the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2018-19. The young Swede followed up with another 66-point effort in 68 games as a sophomore during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season. He seemed destined for superstardom as Vancouver's franchise player and first-line center.

A wrist injury, however, limited him to just 21 games in the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 schedule. Despite last season's numbers, he got off to a slow start as contract talks dragged through training camp. It wasn't until midseason that he found his stride. He's now behind J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat on the Canucks' depth chart at center.

Last summer, Pettersson claimed he was “hungry for revenge” to make up for his difficult 2020-21 performance. Entering training camp last month, he claimed he'd learned from last season's slow start and has coped with how mentally taxing things were for him at that time.

Now 23, Pettersson is entering his fifth NHL season. He has the skills to become a superstar. After the past two seasons, he needs to do more than just talking about his intention to improve. It's time for him to show it on the ice.

A gifted young center entering his third NHL season, Trevor Zegras is a key part of the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks. His 61 points last season were second among Ducks scorers and all NHL rookies, making him a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Zegras' hype, however, was based on his penchant for lacrosse-style goals known as the "Michigan." He scored two last season, with the first against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 27 and the second on April 1 against the Arizona Coyotes. He also had a Michigan-style assist against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 7, 2021.

Those moves wound up among the NHL's top 10 goals for 2021-22. As a result, Zegras was invited to the 2022 NHL All-Star Game to participate in the shootout contest, where he scored a goal blindfolded in an ode to the movie Dodgeball. Those goals also helped him make the cover of the NHL 23 video game.

Zegras is an entertaining young player with undeniable offensive skills, but he must improve other aspects of his game. Despite his 61 points, his plus-minus (minus-21) was the second-worst on the Ducks. He took the third-most faceoffs (544) among his teammates, but his faceoff win percentage (39.9) was among the worst on the team.

Given his age and upside, Zegras has plenty of time to develop into one of the NHL's elite stars and become a true foundation player for the rebuilding Ducks. That's where his focus should be this season.

Stats via NHL.com, with salary info and line combinations (as of Oct. 7, 2022) via Cap Friendly.