NHL Slow Starts: Is It Time to Worry About Zegras, Mercer, Beniers and Others?

We are reaching a point in the NHL season when “it’s still early” is wearing out, and trends are settling in. 

That said, some younger NHL players established themselves as effective producers in recent years but have had poor starts through the first 10 games of this season. Some of them have played well but haven’t been able to find the scoresheet, while others have been flat-out terrible. In both of those scenarios, the same thing has to be asked.

To worry or not to worry, that is the question.

Not to worry

Trevor Zegras has been one of the most exciting players in the league since he entered the NHL. His penchant for flashy plays and flair put him on the cover of the EA NHL video game. The 22-year-old has eclipsed the 60-point mark in both of his full NHL seasons to this point in his career. From all-star shootout contests to lacrosse goals to the over-the-net flip assist, Zegras has quickly built up his profile around the NHL.

The budding star is off to a rough start from the outside looking in. He has just two points through 10 games and saw himself benched against the Columbus Blue Jackets for his offensive effort. 

Zegras missed a few weeks of training camp while awaiting a new contract, which put him behind the eight ball, as coach Greg Cronin acknowledged recently. Zegras didn’t have the same chance to learn the new systems and learn the way Cronin wanted the team to play the way everyone else did.

Zegras is an uber-talented forward, and although he's had a tough start, it hasn’t hampered his work away from the puck and his attitude with the team. Cronin credited him for being the first guy to congratulate the team on the win after the game he was benched for the final 25 minutes. His defensive play notably improved, and he remains a factor in transition. He’s just not finding the scoresheet at the moment. 

With virtually everything aside from the offense going right for him now, Zegras is bound to rebound. Not to worry, Ducks fans, Zegras will be alright.

Worry

After solidifying himself as a high-end two-way contributor who piled up his points at 5-on-5, Mercer made a name for himself in the NHL through two seasons. 

Mercer had excellent defensive habits and wore opponents down with his tenacity and non-stop motor. His 27 goals and 56 points last year were a bit under the radar because of the team surrounding him, including Jack Hughes becoming a superstar and players such as Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt having incredible seasons.

Mercer quietly became an impact player at both ends of the ice. This season, however, Mercer hasn’t found the scoresheet once, and his ability to seemingly find new ways to squander away his scoring chances has become a hot topic in New Jersey. It’s been nothing like the last two years of Mercer’s career.

Mercer hit the ground running during his first two NHL seasons. He is praised for being a player who makes the most out of his tools and elevates his game, but thus far in the 2023-24 season, Mercer has been incapable of driving any positive results. His underlying numbers are all rough and sits near the bottom of the team despite getting all of the opportunity he could ask for. 

The answer for what’s going on is unknown, but whether a game off or something to light a fire under his butt happens, Mercer must get back to basics and play the game he’s always found success with.

Not to worry

Matty Beniers was the NHL’s rookie of the year last season with 57 points and a 200-foot game lauded for its maturity and instant impact. 

The Kraken’s first-ever draft choice looked like the cornerstone an expansion franchise needs. Beniers played well beyond his years last season, using his elite speed and intelligence to pressure opponents with and without the puck. He helped Seattle make the playoffs in just its second year and upset the defending champions in the first round, giving everyone what we all thought was a preview of what this team could be as it rounds into form over the next few years.

This season, Beniers and the Kraken have regressed a bit. The team has four wins and needed overtime for two of them despite playing a league-high 11 games to this point. Beniers notched his three points in just two games this season and is still searching for his first goal of the year despite playing top six minutes throughout the season.

He's gripped his stick a bit offensively, but the good news is he still does so many of the little things well. He understands the defensive side of the game and uses his speed in the neutral zone offensively and defensively. He is the foil to Mercer at this stage of the season. While Mercer isn’t creating enough chances in all strengths, Beniers just isn’t getting the bounces on the plays that he does create. Beniers will get it all figured out.

Worry

There is only one forward who's played at least one game for the Arizona Coyotes this season and has yet to get a point. Unfortunately, that player is their top-line center, Barrett Hayton. 

It’s not because of their top line struggling – Clayton Keller has nine points, and Nick Schmaltz has 10. It’s not because he hasn’t been getting power-play time because he has. Arizona’s No. 1 center remaining pointless is incredibly unlucky, especially because Hayton is always around the net. How does a puck not bounce off of him and in or to a teammate with an open cage? Hayton had 19 goals and 43 points last year, with most of them coming when he was put on the line with Keller and Schmaltz.

The crazy thing about Hayton is that last year, he was in even more dire straits. Through Dec. 27 – 33 games – last season, Hayton had five points. He was looking more and more like a bust after being selected fifth overall in 2018. From then on, Hayton had 38 points in 50 games for the Yotes. Hayton began to tear it up at a 0.76 points-per-game clip.

That second half was elevated in a big way by playing with the top line. A big reason why he got that opportunity was that he was a former fifth overall pick on a team devoid of talent, especially down the middle. That isn’t the case this year. Logan Cooley is an absolute stud who already has eight points in 10 games, good for third in team scoring. 

The footsteps are getting louder for Hayton, and Cooley is coming. If Hayton moves down the lineup, he likely won’t get the chance to play with offensively gifted players again. That’s a reason to worry.

Not to Worry

What on earth is going on with Kent Johnson? After an excellent rookie season in which he finished fifth in rookie scoring with 40 points in 79 games, the start of this season has been disastrous. 

His skill was mystifying in the same way that Zegras mystified the league the year before as a rookie. Johnson brought a skill level to the Blue Jackets unmatched by anyone on a team that included Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine. He established himself as a budding star in the league on one of the worst teams in the NHL.

This season, Johnson was a healthy scratch for the season opener as well as another. He hasn’t eclipsed the 15-minute mark in a single game, including an eight-minute outing in his last game. 

He just hasn’t looked the same at all this year. The creativity and skill are non-existent. His confidence seems shot. He has three points in eight games, which doesn’t seem incredibly bad on the surface, but he just hasn’t been himself.

The Blue Jackets haven’t liked what they’ve seen from the 2021 fifth overall pick, so they decided to send Johnson down to the AHL. Johnson will look to get his game back on track with the Cleveland Monsters and get back into the NHL lineup. 

There has been some baseless speculation about whether Johnson may want a trade if he doesn’t get the opportunity many feel he deserves, but the most important thing is he gets his game back on track. He’s getting some tough love now, but Johnson will be better for this.