Five NHL Players Suffering the Sophomore Slump in 2023-24

Slumps happen, especially for second-year NHL players trying to prove their rookie season was no fluke. The Kraken, Blue Jackets and Canadiens are just some squads with struggling sophomores on Jacob Stoller's list.

There’s merit to the "sophomore slump" adage in the NHL.

You see it in a variety of different ways. Be it a rookie star failing to raise their game or a promising prospect failing to build off a strong small-sample size from the year prior, sophomores occasionally slump. Sometimes, it's because of how the team uses them, and other times, they get an increased role and just struggle.

That said, it’s not like a disappointing second NHL season is an indicator of a downward career trajectory. Take Nathan MacKinnon as an example. After scoring 63 points in 82 games and winning the Calder Trophy, MacKinnon took a tail-spin in year two and posted just 38 points in 64 games.

Let’s take a look at five sophomores who are slumping in 2023-24.

Matty Beniers is experiencing a fall from grace this season.

The 2021 second overall pick won the Calder Trophy in 2022-23 after leading all rookies in goals (24) and points (57). Forty of his points came at 5-on-5, and his 2.21 points per 60 minutes in those situations placed him in the 90th percentile leaguewide with a minimum of 200 minutes played, according to naturalstattrick.com.

The Beniers we’re seeing this year is almost unrecognizable.

His offensive production has fallen off a cliff, recording just six goals and 19 points in 42 games (which is a 36-point pace). After recording 0.91 individual expected goals per 60 minutes (iXG/60) and boasting a 16.2 shot percentage, Beniers is registering just 0.58 iXG/60, and his shooting percentage fell to 8.11 percent. His average ice time, meanwhile, increased to 17:58 per game from 17:05 last season.

While Beniers’ strong defensive play hasn’t faltered, his offensive decline is hard to ignore.

The table seemed set for Kent Johnson to have a breakout sophomore season.

The 2021 fifth overall pick recorded 16 goals and 40 points in 79 games as a rookie last year, and with the Columbus Blue Jackets expecting to take a step forward this year, ‘KJ’ appeared destined to flourish – until he didn’t.

Once Pascal Vincent stepped behind Columbus’ bench and preached accountability, Johnson’s usage plummeted. He recorded just three points in his first eight games and was made a healthy scratch twice before being re-assigned to the AHL.

Johnson has an elite skill package, but there are warts in his game — highlighted by a loosey-goosey, east-west style of play that doesn’t fly in meaningful NHL games — that needed correcting.

After spending most of November in the AHL — recording 15 points in 10 AHL games — Johnson was recalled to the big club and he’s recorded 11 points in his last 21 games.

It’d be shortsighted to view Philip Broberg’s sophomore slump as self-induced. There’s an argument to be made that the Edmonton Oilers fast-tracked his development.

It all started when the 2019 eighth overall pick was yo-yoed between the NHL and AHL during his first year pro (2021-22). While Broberg — a smooth skating mobile defenseman — was excellent in the AHL that year, he could’ve benefited from a full year in the minors.

Broberg went on to spend most of the 2022-23 season in Edmonton, averaging 12:36 minutes per night through 46 contests. While he was deployed primarily as a bottom-pairing defender as a rookie, the hope, of course, was that he’d take a step forward this season.

But in 10 games this year, Broberg averaged just 10:31 of ice time per night, recorded no points and, most alarmingly, had a lack of confidence with the puck.

Broberg was re-assigned to the AHL in early December, and he’s remained there ever since.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard was one of the few silver linings for the Montreal Canadiens last year.

Harvey-Pinard, a 2019 seventh-round pick whose stock had risen rapidly, flourished with Montreal during the second half of the 2022-23 season. In 34 games, Harvey Pinard recorded 14 goals and 20 points and drove 5-on-5 play in a big way while being deployed in Montreal’s top six.

Harvey-Pinard’s late-season surge earned him a two-year, $1.1-million-per-year deal.

At the time, it seemed like a team-friendly deal that could reap a lot of surplus value. But so far, Harvey-Pinard hasn’t come close to replicating last season's output. In 18 games this season, Harvey-Pinard has recorded just one goal and five points while averaging just 13:46 of ice time per night, down from 17:13 the year prior. As a result, Harvey-Pinard has been relegated to bottom-six duty. Perhaps this all shouldn’t be a massive surprise considering his 24.1 shooting percentage last year.

By the end of last season, Lukas Reichel appeared ready to be an effective player at the NHL level.

After combining for 108 points in 111 AHL games, Reichel was recalled by the Chicago Blackhawks at the tail-end of last season. The 2020 17th overall pick flourished in a 23-game stint, registering seven goals and 15 points and appeared poised to become a top-six piece this season.

But Reichel’s 2023-24 campaign has gone sideways. He’s recorded just three goals and nine points through 45 games. Adding salt to the wound is the fact that the Blackhawks have been outscored 31-10 at 5-on-5 when Reichel is on the ice.

“We definitely expected more, 100 percent,” Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson told The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus on Dec. 15. “We came into this year and felt he was NHL-ready — and I still do believe he’s NHL-ready — but there’s a bump in the road here.”

In that same interview, Davidson said that sending Reichel to the AHL wasn’t in the cards yet. However, with Reichel recording just three points in 16 games since Davidson’s comments, Chicago could change course. To their credit, the Blackhawks have tried to get Reichel going in a variety of ways, such as healthy scratching him and even playing him at center. But nothing’s clicked for Reichel thus far into his sophomore season.