What’s Trending in 2023: Scoring is at a rate of 6.3 goals-per-game in consecutive calendar years for the first time in three decades (6.3 so far in 2023; 6.4 in 2022, including playoffs), while 527 comeback wins – including 206 third-period rallies – have made 2023 one of the most edge-of-your-seat years in the NHL to date.
Jaw-Dropping Rallies in 2023: So far there have been four-goal comeback wins by the Penguins (March 7) and Sharks (Dec. 7) – with the latter coming off a three-goal, third-period rally two nights prior; the Hurricanes (Jan. 27) and Ducks (Oct. 26) stormed back from multi-goal deficits in the final two minutes of regulation to win; the Panthers eliminated the record-setting, Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins by rallying from a 3-1 series deficit in the First Round; March 18 was perhaps the most unpredictable day of 2023 thanks to seven third-period comeback victories (the most in one day in NHL history), though Dec. 14 made a late charge for that distinction when Columbus became the first team in League history to win despite surrendering a five-goal, third-period lead.
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Keeping Up with Connor: Oilers captain Connor McDavid paces the NHL with 121 regular-season points in 2023 – and with 141, including playoffs – in a year in which he became the fifth player in League history to finish as the outright leader in goals, assists and points during a single season and matched the NHL record by claiming four individual awards in one campaign. McDavid can become the first player since Wayne Gretzky to finish with the most regular season points in three straight calendar years if he fends off Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (118 points), 2023-24 leading scorer Nikita Kucherov (110 points) and teammate Leon Draisaitl (104 points).
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Welcome to The “Connor” Roll: The highlight reel has been full of Connor content in 2023, with rookie Connor Bedard making countless contributions – from his record-setting 23-point performance at the World Junior Championship (7 GP), to his historic sweep the CHL’s three most prestigious awards, to his first-overall selection at the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft to his standout start so far in 2023-24. Bedard tops rookies in scoring this season and is within striking distance of finishing with the most goals, assists and points by a rookie in the 2023 calendar year. Looking ahead to 2024, Bedard can become the third 18-year-old in NHL history to lead his team in scoring at the end of a season – only Sidney Crosby (2005-06) and Steve Yzerman (1983-84) have done so.
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High Point Production from the Blueline: Defensemen produced a torrid pace in 2023, a storyline that started with Erik Karlsson becoming the first defenseman in more than 30 years to record a 100-point season (and oldest ever to do so) en route to winning his third Norris Trophy. The “offense from the defense” trend continued into this season as Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar each rank among the top 12 in scoring so far in 2023-24 and are now on pace to finish the calendar year as the two highest scoring defensemen – while tracking toward becoming the first defensemen ever to record 100+ points apiece in the same regular season. In the 2023 calendar year, Makar is averaging 1.33 points-per-game (tops among defensemen and seventh among all skaters) while Hughes ranks second among blueliners at 1.12.
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Big Bruins Dominance: The Bruins finished one of the most dominant regular seasons in NHL history in 2023 and, following the best start ever by reigning a reigning Presidents’ Trophy winner (6-0-0 to start 2023-24), now pace the NHL with 115 standings points so far this calendar year. After tying for the most wins in a calendar year in NHL history with 65 in 2022 (also PIT in 2013), Boston can become the first team in NHL history to record 60-plus regular-season victories in consecutive years (55 through Dec. 14, with eight games remaining in 2023).
Golden Knights Hit Jackpot: Eight days shy of the seven-year anniversary of Las Vegas officially receiving an NHL franchise, the Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup and became the seventh-fastest franchise to do so. Jonathan Marchessault captured the Conn Smythe Trophy, finishing the postseason tied for the League lead in goals, and Jack Eichel led all players in points with 6-20—26 in his first-ever trip to the postseason. Mark Stone, who posted a Cup-clinching hat trick, became the first player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to serve as a franchise’s first captain and guide them to a championship while wearing the “C.” The team’s success has translated into the 2023-24 campaign as they started with a seven-game winning streak, 12-game point streak (11-0-1) and currently sit atop the League standings with 14 game days remaining in 2023.
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NHL EDGE Tracking Technology: The League launched the NHL EDGE advanced stats section on NHL.com which helps brings fans closer to the game with more advanced statistics for players and teams. Through Dec. 14, the hardest shot in 2023 was by Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas (101.73 mph) on May 7 in Game 3 of the Second Round against the Maple Leafs and the fastest skating speed recorded was by Lightning forward Brayden Point (24.26 mph) on Feb. 7 against the Sharks. The most distance travelled in a regular-season game that ended in regulation was by Devils forward Jack Hughes (4.62 mi) on Dec. 1 against the Sharks, while the most miles skated in any period was by Predators defenseman Roman Josi (1.92 mi in 3rd) on March 9 against the Coyotes. NHL EDGE data shows that the top goal-scorer so far in 2023, Bruins forward David Pastrnak (52 goals), ranks in the 91st percentile or higher in every shot speed category (70+, 80+, 90+ mph and top speed) – just as he did during the 2022-23 campaign when he scored 61 goals (the most by a Bruins player in 48 years).
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200+ Records Broken in 2023: The NHL records site saw many updates throughout 2023 as more than 200 records were broken by a skater, goaltender or head coach at either the League or franchise level. Highlights included the Bruins setting a new NHL benchmark for wins (65) and points (135) in a single season as well the Kings winning 11 straight road games to start the 2023-24 campaign.
Many Milestones in 2023: Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin both reached the 1,500-point mark while Ottawa’s Claude Giroux, Dallas’ Joe Pavelski and Toronto’s John Tavares each hit 1,000 points.
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From jaw-dropping to awe-inspiring, 2023 saw plenty of eye-catching goals, including a “Michigan” by a former Wolverine, plenty of “Goal of the Year” candidates in the early goings of 2023-24 and two goalie goals in one calendar for just the second time in NHL history (also 2013).
* Linus Ullmark scores a goalie goal
* Tristan Jarry scores a goalie goal
* Kent Johnson pulls off ‘The Michigan’ on its 27th anniversary
* Aleksander Barkov ‘fakes between the legs’ in Conference Finals
* Trevor Zegras goes ‘between the legs’ against the Kraken
* William Nylander scored a fairytale overtime winner to close NHL Global Series – Sweden
* Logan Cooley wowed the crowd in Australia during NHL Global Series
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Record Revenues and Attendance: The business of the NHL was stronger than ever in calendar year 2023, and revenues for the 2023-24 season are projected to exceed $6 billion. Total attendance for the 2022-23 regular season was the highest ever and up 7.9% from 2021-22. NHL teams are playing to 95.5% capacity in 2023-24, the second highest rate at this stage of a season on record (behind 2012-13: 96.8%). Other top hits from 2023 from the business realm include:
* There are now 70 corporate partners on the NHL roster, with AstraZeneca, PENN Entertainment (ESPN Bet & theScore Bet), Moosehead Breweries and Kal Tire added in 2023.
* After generating over $40M in incremental revenue in 2022-23, Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards (DEDs) won the SBJ’s Sports Breakthrough of the Year award and were nominated for the George Wensel Technical Achievement Award at the 2023 Sports Emmys – where NHL Productions claimed the top honor for Outstanding Edited Event Coverage.
* NHL Blast launched on the Roblox platform in April, another step for the NHL in immersive fan experience and connecting with younger fans. In its first four months, NHL Blast hosted nearly 15 million total visits from over 4.5 million unique users driving over one million hours of engagement – higher usage compared to other sports properties’ Roblox experiences at the same stage.
* The NHL made history on March 14, in partnership with Disney and ESPN, with a national telecast of the NHL Big City Greens Classic – a first-of-its-kind live hockey game animated in real-time (leveraging NHL EDGE technology).
