5 NHL stars who will underachieve in 2018-19

3. Paul Stastny

Center Paul Stastny appeared to be a commendable fit with the Winnipeg Jets after the former second-round draft pick (2005) was acquired from the St. Louis Blues at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline. Stastny displayed a sense of confidence and comfort level down the middle of the ice for the Jets, which may have been characteristics that were missing during his tenure with the Blues (2014-18).

If Winnipeg was able to land a contract with the center than perhaps Stastny wouldn’t be incorporated on this list; however, the forward is setting himself up for failure by joining the Vegas Golden Knights.

Stastny entered his contract year in 2017-18 with high expectations, but as noted above he didn’t seem like a player who was skating in a contract year and wanted a pay raise until he joined the Jets in the spring season. The 32-year-old is arguably past his prime, and a deeper roster such as the Jets would have suited Stastny for the better moving forward in his career.

Don’t be surprised to see the Knights experience a sophomore slump and to have Stastny go down with them. Vegas is more than likely going to rely too much on Stastny during the early stages of next season, and the reality is that he’s better off with a less significant role on a playoff contender.

Entering the 2018-19 campaign, Stastny will be the highest paid skater on the Knights ($6.5 million AAV, three years), but Vegas will soon learn that he wasn’t worth that type of money and this summer’s UFA class benefited from the respective market.