NHL: These 15 players need to bounce back next season

Prior to the 2018-19 campaign, Nazem Kadri had solidified himself as one of the NHL’s finest second-line centers, amassing 32 goals and 61 points in 2016-17 and 32 goals and 55 points in 2017-18. But in a season riddled with background noise — yet another controversial suspension in the Stanley Cup playoffs, a nasty concussion and deployment on the third line in Mike Babcock’s system — Kadri’s production fell, as the 28-year-old notched just 16 goals and 28 assists for 44 points in 73 matchups.

While Kadri’s season was less than favorable, the chances of him bouncing back remain quite high. Kadri’s Corsi numbers remained strong last year at 54.0% (a jump from his career average of 50.3%), while his career shooting percentage of 11.5% dropped to a measly 8.7%. Expect his numbers to rise as his shooting percentage improves.

Philadelphia Flyers’ young defenseman Ivan Provorov was not terrible in the 2018-19 season, but his numbers took quite the hit. Despite seeing an increase in his time on ice, the defender netted just 7 goals, 19 assists and 26 points in 82 matchups — a sharp decline from his 17 goals, 24 assists and 41 points in 82 games during the previous season.

While some of this can be attributed to the changing manner in which the 22-year-old was deployed — as the defender spent just 43.5% of his starts in the offensive zone — there is little doubting the fact that Philadelphia will need more out of its stud blue liner going forward. The defender’s capacities were frequently tested throughout the last campaign, so look for the winds of improvement to blow onward.