In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on some players who are playing over their heads and likely to regress moving forward.
Todd Cordell
Brian Gibbons is the easy choice.
Heading into the season, he had scored five NHL goals through 66 NHL games and his career high in goals as a professional was 16 (he scored 11 in the AHL, five in the NHL in 2013-14). He is currently scoring at a ridiculous clip of 35 goals per 82 games, shooting 32.35%, and converting on one of every three chances he generates.
The NHL's most efficient goal scorer thus far: Brian Gibbons. Scoring a goal for every three chances he generates, which I'm thinking is not going to last. pic.twitter.com/SwBQg3mflP
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) December 5, 2017
Gibbons is a good story, and has been a very useful depth player, but his goal scoring prowess is not going to last.
Jared Crozier
Scrolling down the league leaders, there are really no surprises until you get around 30th, and much like his team, the name William Karlsson stands out.
Karlsson had 15 goals and 45 points in his last 2 full seasons in Columbus, but has 14 goals and 25 points in 26 games with the expansion Golden Knights.
Whether it is a case of having a breakout season given more time and responsibility, or a case of overachieving much like his team, I wouldn't expect this Karlsson to be among the league leaders when the season comes to an end.
Peter Tessier
The obvious choice is Phil Kessel, right? Hardly, Phil is doing what he never seems to get credit for so I'm not concerned with him but I would say most people are waiting for Vegas players to regress a bit so I'm assuming William Karlsson.
Karlsson has already matched his point totals from all of last season in just 26 games. Is he buoyed by the team, perhaps and probably but is he exceeding expectations too- most definitely. While Vegas seems to be exceeding all expectations as a team it's due because key players are as well and I'm not ready to bet against the law of averages.
Karlsson has been amazing but I'm of the belief this level of production does not stay and he falls back a bit.
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