Underperforming Players to Start the 2021-22 NHL Season
The 2021-22 NHL season is underway and many star players are underperforming to start the year. This is due to a variety of factors such as being on a new team, a lengthy postseason run or father-time catching up. Regardless of the reason, these players are underperforming on their high expectations.
Marc-Andre Fleury
The Chicago Blackhawks’ acquisition of Marc-Andre Fleury is a steal regardless of play. Trading essentially nothing for a potential Vezina-caliber player is criminal; however, even with this said, Fleury is still playing poorly. This is partly because of the difference in defense between the Vegas Golden Knights and Blackhawks. Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo’s talent levels are nowhere to be found on the Blackhawks blue-line. The blockbuster trade for Seth Jones is looking worse by the day, as the former Columbus Blue Jacket is an analytical disaster.
Fleury has a 0.839 save percentage and 5.74 goals-against average through seven games and has yet to record a win. If the Blackhawks manage to string together a few wins, Fleury’s save percentage will likely reside below 0.900 even with a few good games. The Vezina winner does have the talent and mentality to turn his play around, but the supporting pieces around the aging goaltender make it impossible to imagine Fleury will be backstopping the Blackhawks to a championship, let alone the playoffs this season.
Alex Pietrangelo
Placing blame on a single player for the Vegas Golden Knights’ early-season woes is unfair. Mark Stone’s injury and Max Pacioretty missing the first few games play a factor in the overall team record; yet, Alex Pietrangelo’s lack of offense and struggles on defense is one of the biggest flaws for the team. Pietrangelo has no points through seven games with the Golden Knights while playing on the top pair of the blueline. Offense is not everything when judging a defensemen’s performance, but Pietrangelo is a dominant two-way player who is usually relied on for his offense at times. Even worse, Pietrangelo’s struggles have leaked into the defensive side of the game. Expect Pietrangelo to turn things around as the season continues.
The Toronto Maple Leafs
The entire Maple Leaf roster deserves a spot. Exiting the 2021 playoffs in humiliating fashion and following it up with a horrible start to the 2021-22 season is on-brand for the organization. Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and John Tavares are not living up to their gargantuan contracts this season, while Justin Holl and Jake Muzzin are looking abysmal on the second pair. William Nylander, Jason Spezza and Jack Campbell give hope to the floundering team being the players whose play has kept the Leafs afloat. The big guns for the Maple Leafs not showing up will sink this supposed to be soaring team.
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It is early, and many fans are quick to say so, but these team trends will eliminate them from the playoffs if they even get there. The Atlantic Division has become one of the toughest in the league, with Florida, Boston and Tampa Bay looking like locks for the 2022 NHL playoffs. Time is ticking for Toronto to fix their woes, but for right now, jerseys have the potential to be thrown onto the ice if the team continues to play as poorly as it has.
