With the 2020-21 NHL season well underway, the NHL’s underperforming players have been thrust under the microscope. While these players may have unknown injuries, contract disputes, or other potential reasons for not playing to the standards placed upon them, it is still interesting to take a look at some players who many thought would be playing better.

 

While Elias Pettersson has started to perform like his all-star self, His early slump has helped contribute to the Vancouver Canucks sluggish start. Recording only one assist in the first six games of the season will not help your team put up points, and with a shortened, condensed schedule, the early games matter even more. One has to wonder why Pettersson has been off to a slow start as he is still playing with premier linemates such as Brock Boeser. One potential reason is that this is the last year of his contract. Contract negotiations, or lack thereof, may be distracting Pettersson this season as he is trying to find his groove. While he will get a large contract, the mystery and speculation surrounding contracts are never enjoyable. Pettersson should perform as normal for the rest of the season, but his slow start is something to note.

Max Domi’s tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets has just begun. Coming over from Montreal in the Josh Anderson trade, expectations of Domi returning to his former self was expected. However, Domi has found himself in an early-season slump. Domi tends to play well when changing scenery. Whether it was his rookie season in Arizona or his first season in Montreal, Domi likes to impress. Unfortunately, that cannot be said with his time in Columbus so far. While he is not playing well, one contributing factor to this may be his astronomically low shot percentage. Domi is only shooting 5%, which is low even for his standards. Once the pucks start bouncing in his favor, perhaps Domi will return to his normal self. On the bright side, his faceoff percentage is above 50% for the first time in his career.

The Nashville Predators are a team that lacks offense. That statement is nothing new; however, when Nashville signed Duchene, the Predators envisioned him becoming the first-line scoring center this organization has been craving. Duchene is one of the easier players to list as underperforming in the NHL, as he has yet to score a goal this season, and the Predators are off to a slow start in a relatively strong division. Tampa Bay and Florida are off to hot starts, and its central division foes are not an easy matchup for this team. Fortunately for the Predators, Mikael Granlund has seemingly returned to his near point per game self, so while Duchene may be struggling, Granlund is filling his offensive woes.