NHL’s Biggest Disappointments to Start 2026-27

The NHL season is a week old which means it is the perfect time to overreact. After all, if you can’t tell everything you need to know about a team or player with 80-plus games remaining, what’s the point?

There are plenty of outstanding stories to talk about – looking at you, Paul Cotter – but that’s another story for another time. Instead, let’s take a look at the teams and players that are drawing attention for all the wrong reasons.

Detroit Red Wings

It’s hard to be a Red Wings fan right now. Being at the bottom of the Atlantic Division would be bad enough under normal circumstances, but that appears to be the tip of the iceberg. The Dylan Larkin saga has dominated offseason headlines, and it now seems that bright young defenseman Simon Edvinsson shares his sentiment.

Edvinsson informed the team that he would prefer to be traded rather than signing an extension. The “Yzerplan” has gone off the tracks in Detroit, and there is no telling what can be done to put things on the right path.

This team needs to start winning immediately because this kind of ugliness has a chance to snowball. For Larkin, things turned ugly as he was booed during home opener introductions, and it certainly won’t get better when – if – he does suit up.

Jason Robertson

The Dallas Stars are probably going to be fine, but scoring one goal combined in a pair of early losses certainly can’t feel good. Even worse is the fact that Robertson, facing a ton of pressure after a contentious contract situation in the summer, is off to a sluggish start.

Averaging 19:15 in ice time over the first two games, Robertson has yet to find the scoresheet. Worse than that, he is an ugly minus-3 and has just three shots on goal against six shots against while on the ice.

This is Robertson’s chance to earn the massive contract he has been asking the Stars for. Getting off to a slow start may be nothing but it could also be the beginning of him fighting it and struggling to find his game as a result. If he does, the Stars could be in a measure of trouble in a tough Central Division.

Gavin McKenna

Expectations were through the roof for both McKenna and the Toronto Maple Leafs the moment he was taken with the first-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. For both parties, it has been tough sledding early on.

The Maple Leafs are 1-2-0, struggling to find their offense, averaging just two goals per game. McKenna, meanwhile, was expected to be an instant impact kind of player. Instead, he has no points and is minus-3 while averaging just over 14:30 per game.

The game is tough for anyone, even a prodigal 18-year-old. The Maple Leafs do have a tough road ahead in what many consider to be the toughest division in the league, however. Starting slowly will only make things tougher as they have to battle their divisional counterparts throughout the season.

Edmonton Oilers Goaltending

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: the Edmonton Oilers have a goaltending issue. The problem is not easily solved, however, and the team continues to look for reinforcements elsewhere in an effort to bolster their chances at a Stanley Cup.

Tristan Jarry was abysmal in the opener, a loss to the lowly Vancouver Canucks, giving up six goals on 23 shots. Devon Levi succeeded him, giving up seven goals on 22 shots in another wild shootout with the Canucks, a 9-7 win. He was substantially better two nights later, turning aside 19 of 20 shots in a 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken.

The Oilers don’t necessarily need a top-of-the-league goaltender to get them to the top. But they need something far better than what they have become accustomed to over the last several seasons and the first three games of this one.

Simon Nemec and Zayne Parekh

The Calgary Flames invested a lot in their young duo, both financially and in terms of trade capital to land Nemec. Their early return is not promising, though it is tough to be extremely judgmental given the team’s status as doormats for this season.

Nemec has been awful while eating nearly 21 minutes of ice time per night. He hasn’t hit the score sheet and is an ugly minus-6 in that time, facing a 19-7 deficit in shots during his time on ice. Parekh, who talked the talk in the offseason, has been equally as bad. He has an assist to go with his minus-6 rating, but a horrific 23-7 shot deficit is hard to ignore.

Both are still very young, and defensemen generally take longer to develop. That said, the Flames have invested a lot in their young duo and would like to start seeing some growth sooner rather than later.

Still a Lot of Season To Be Played

For the most part, it is tough to really put stock in anything that has happened. A sample size of two or three games is nothing and streaks can be put together before long. Still, these are trends that bear watching. Which of these players or teams will get things figured out and which will dig themselves deeper? There’s still a lot of hockey left to find out.