Four NHL Players Who Made Strong First Impressions With Their New Team

Most, if not all, of the NHL players traded by Friday’s trade deadline have had a chance to join their new team and try to make a great first impression. Some have been better at it than others. 

With that in mind, let’s look at four NHLers who’ve made strong first impressions. In alphabetical order:

Foegele was having his worst NHL season as a member of the Los Angeles Kings this year, with only seven goals and nine points in 47 games. But the 29-year-old looked great in his first game with Ottawa, as he produced one goal against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.

The Senators didn’t acquire Foegele to lead the team in goal-scoring. He was acquired to give Ottawa speed and physicality, and after that, a few goals would be greatly appreciated from him.

Considering that Foegele played only 11:49 against the Kraken, he’s immediately earned more playing time from Senators coach Travis Green. Foegele is a safe bet to improve the Sens’ bottom-six forward group, and he’s already done that in his first game.

Laughton saw limited minutes with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, averaging only 13:40 of ice time in 43 games while posting eight goals and 12 points.

But interim Kings coach D.J. Smith gave Laughton more rope in his first game with the Kings, putting him on the ice for 15:08 against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday, including 6-on-5 time while the Kings chased a tying goal. Laughton rewarded Smith with a goal in his first game, although it wasn’t the late third-period game-tying goal the Kings needed.

The Kings’ lack of quality depth down the middle is the reason why Laughton was acquired – and don’t forget that Laughton is a rental player for Los Angeles. He’s auditioning to either receive a new contract from the Kings this summer or to showcase himself for other teams when he becomes a UFA at the end of the season. If he continues his strong start with L.A., Laughton is going to be handsomely compensated.

The Lightning brought back Perry for his second tour of duty with the team by acquiring him from the Kings on Friday, and on Saturday against the Maple Leafs, Perry once again showed he’s got a lot of game left, even at age 40, posting his 12th goal of the season in his 51st game of the year. 

Perry played nearly 15 minutes against Toronto, which is 39 seconds more than he averaged with the Kings this season. He’s now on a Lightning squad that has plenty of depth, so Perry is going to be challenged for ice time in closer scoring games. But showing his scoring knack right off the bat will assure Perry that Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper gives him about 20 shifts per game until further notice.

Strome was struggling mightily with the Anaheim Ducks before he was picked up by the Flames, posting only three goals and nine points in 33 games with Anaheim this year.

But the Flames acquired Strome ostensibly to replace some of the minutes they lost by trading veteran center Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche. In limited minutes on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Strome was solid for Calgary, posting a goal and an assist. 

Strome was averaging only 12:10 with the Ducks. So he’ll receive more opportunities with the Flames, and if Calgary can rehabilitate Strome’s game anywhere close to the point he was at when he put up 21 goals and 54 points for the New York Rangers in 2021-22, the Flames will be thrilled (and probably move Strome by or before next year’s trade deadline).

He won’t be playing Stanley Cup playoff games with Calgary, but Strome can still be a decent contributor. And Saturday’s game was a great first step for him with the Flames. 

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.