Top Five Bounce-Back NHL Players Midway Through 2023-24

After dips in performance or injuries before this season, these five players returned to their former glory and then some, says Jacob Stoller.

If there was one award this writer could implement into the NHL, it’d be the Bounce-Back Player Award.

No, not the Bill Masterton Trophy — which honors players who exemplify perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game — but an award that rewards players who have rebounded on the ice in a big way.

There’s no cookie-cutter formula to it. Some players missed significant time due to injury, others took a huge dip in production the previous year, and some had slowly been declining for a few years. But in all of the cases we’re about to mention in no particular order, these players are having the type of seasons that are the epitome of a bounce-back campaign that should be recognized league-wide.

Entering the 2023-24 season with no NHL games and two back surgeries in the previous 22 months, it was hard to predict what version of Sean Couturier the Philadelphia Flyers would get this year. But at the midway point of the season, Couturier’s play has surpassed even the most optimistic forecasts.

On top of recording 29 points in 40 games — putting him on pace for a 56-point campaign — Couturier has seamlessly returned to being a key cog in all situations for Philadelphia, leading all forwards with 20:03 of ice time per game. His 5-on-5 on-ice metrics have been pristine, boasting a 56.4 expected goals-for percentage, a 56.3 Corsi-for percentage and a 55.1 scoring chances-for percentage, according to naturalstattrick.com.

Sure, Couturier isn’t producing at the elite level he was between 2017-18 and 2020-21 when he recorded 0.91 points per game in 276 contests and won the Selke Trophy in 2020. What he’s done this year is still nothing short of extraordinary, given the circumstances.

While basic counting stats hadn’t wavered, Brock Boeser had lost his mojo over the last few years.

After averaging 1.01 full-strength goals per 60 minutes in his first three seasons — clocking in at the 95th percentile among all skaters with at least 1,000 minutes played, according to naturalstattrick.com — Boeser’s output dwindled, recording 0.63 5-on-5 goals (63rd percentile) in his last three years.

But Boeser has gotten his career back on track in 2023-24.

At the midway mark of the season, Boeser is sitting tied for the fourth-most goals (27) and 16th-most points (46) in the NHL. Boeser has regained his status as one of the NHL’s most lethal scorers — ranking tied for 10th in 5-on-5 goals (13) and tying for third in power-play goals (10).

After being one of 12 players fans voted into the NHL All-Star Game, Boeser is expected to rub shoulders with the league’s best for the first time since 2017-18, when he was named the All-Star Game MVP. 

Cam Talbot had lots to prove entering this season.

Talbot was coming off a 2022-23 campaign with the Ottawa Senators that saw him post a .898 save percentage in 36 games, a far cry from the .914 save percentage he recorded in the previous three seasons combined.

Last year's dip in production, coupled with the fact he was turning 36, is what led to Talbot signing a one-year, $1 million prove-it deal with the Los Angeles Kings. And to say he’s exceeded expectations would be a gross understatement.

In 29 games this year, Talbot has recorded a .918 save percentage and 9.6 goals saved above expected, which ranks him seventh among goaltenders who have played at least 20 games, according to moneypuck.com.

While it’s easy for some to discount Talbot’s season, given how good the Kings are defensively, seeing Talbot shoulder 70 percent of the workload in the crease is no small feat.

In the span of half a season, the perception of Talbot has shifted from being an aging 1B netminder to a perennial starter.

The Vancouver Canucks wouldn’t be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders this season if it weren’t for Thatcher Demko.

Long lauded as one of hockey’s most talented goaltenders, Demko entered this season on the heels of a tough 2022-23 campaign. Not only did he miss 35 games with a groin injury, but Demko recorded a .901 save percentage, the lowest of his seasons as a full-time NHLer. 

With the way he’s playing this year, all of that feels like a distant memory.

In 31 games this season, Demko posted a .919 save percentage and trails only Connor Hellebuyck for the most goals saved above expected (16.4) and wins above replacement (2.74), according to moneypuck.com. The 28-year-old also has the third-most shutouts, with four.

At this rate, Demko is a clear-cut favorite to be at least a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.

If you thought the Dallas Stars signing Mason Marchment to a four-year, $18-million deal ahead of the 2022-23 season was a whiff — you’ve been proven wrong.

Granted, from an outsider’s perspective, it was fair to question the move. Marchment recorded just 31 points in 68 games last year, and there was arguably a small sample size of 54 games in 2021-22 when he averaged 0.87 points per game that helped him secure the deal.

But the undrafted forward has rebounded in a big way in 2023-24.

Marchment, 28, has 33 points in 42 games and has been a key cog on Dallas’ most effective forward line alongside Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene. Marchment has the second most 5-on-5 points of any Dallas skater with 25, and his 2.7 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes rank 18th in the NHL among players who played at least 200 minutes, according to naturalstattrick.com.

Honorable mentions: Alex DeBrincat (DET), Trevor Moore (LA), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (FLA), Travis Sanheim (PHI)