NHL EDGE stats: Under-the-radar offseason movers excelling early

Each Friday during the season, NHL.com director, senior fantasy editor Pete Jensen will take a look at the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, he identifies some under-the-radar offseason movers so far this season.

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Two weeks into the NHL season, there have been plenty of surprises, especially among offseason movers around the League, in terms of both surface-level and advanced metrics.

While big names and past Stanley Cup champions like forwards Jake Guentzel (now with Tampa Bay Lightning), Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault (Nashville Predators) and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (Utah Hockey Club) are still getting acclimated to their new surroundings and usage, there have been some under-the-radar trades and signings that have yielded impressive results, helping some teams exceed expectations and others stay afloat despite injuries to teammates.

Here are some players with impressive EDGE stats so far this season who could continue to make noise as the season progresses:

New Jersey Devils: Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen

Cotter, acquired by the Devils in the trade that sent goalie Akira Schmid and forward Alexander Holtz to the Vegas Golden Knights, made a splash at the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia with two goals and one assist in two games against the Buffalo Sabres and has kept the momentum going domestically. He is tied for second in the NHL in goals (five in six games) behind Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning entering Friday.

Per NHL EDGE stats, Cotter is tied for the League lead in high-danger goals (four) with Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton of Utah entering Friday and ranks in the 97th percentile in high-danger shots on goal (seven). Other EDGE highlights from Cotter’s hot start include his speed bursts over 20 miles per hour (12; 91st percentile) and total skating distance (15.38 miles; 87th percentile), leading to his elevation to the top line with elite forwards Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt on Thursday.

Cotter is tied with Bratt and an even more unheralded offseason pickup in Noesen (from Carolina Hurricanes; signed three-year contract with New Jersey) for the Devils' points lead (six in seven games) early on. Despite mostly a third-line role, Noesen has shown some chemistry with Cotter and is also quietly an EDGE stats standout in high-danger shots on goal (nine; tied for fifth in NHL), high-danger goals (two; 95th percentile) and total skating distance (15.61 miles; 88th percentile). The Devils, who missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, are 5-2-0 in their first seven games despite injuries to defensemen Luke Hughes (shoulder) and Brett Pesce (lower body).

St. Louis Blues: Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway

The Blues made waves with the successful offer sheets on the defenseman and forward, landing them from the Edmonton Oilers and signing each to a two-year contract. Each skater has factored into the offense early and often in expanded roles compared to their usage in Edmonton; Broberg has had points in each of his first five games of the season (one goal, four assists) playing on the second pair with veteran Justin Faulk, while Holloway had a strong preseason (three goals in three games) and has played all around the top-nine forward group so far this regular season.

Per EDGE stats, Broberg has the fourth-highest max skating speed (23.27 mph) in the NHL and the second-best mark among defensemen behind Jake McCabe of the Toronto Maple Leafs (23.67) entering Friday. Holloway has been held to no goals on seven shots on goal and has one assist in his first five regular-season games with the Blues but has the second-best max shot speed (97.99 mph) in the NHL behind Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm (98.39). The added depth provided by these additions has helped St. Louis win three of its first five games after missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Anthony Stolarz and Oliver Ekman-Larsson

The absence of Toronto’s No. 1 goalie Joseph Woll (lower body; injured reserve) has been an early obstacle for new coach Craig Berube, but two low-key offseason pickups in Stolarz and Ekman-Larsson have paid enormous dividends.

Stolarz, who signed a two-year contract with the Maple Leafs in the offseason, is 2-1-0 with a .940 save percentage in his first three games with Toronto after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky with the Florida Panthers during their Stanley Cup title run last season. Ekman-Larsson, who also came over from the defending champion Panthers on a four-year contract that was signed two days before Stolarz, has three assists and 15 shots on goal over his first four games with the Maple Leafs. Ekman-Larsson has even seen some first power-play usage lately with Toronto’s potent forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.

Per NHL EDGE stats, Stolarz has the fourth-highest high-danger save percentage (.944) behind starters Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars backup Casey DeSmith (each is perfect so far at 1.000). Stolarz, who’s making an early case for the 1A job even when Woll returns, has had better than a .900 save percentage in each of his first three games and is tied with six other goalies for the most such games in the League early on.

Ekman-Larsson has also excelled in EDGE metrics so far; he’s tied for fourth in long-range shots on goal (eight) and ranks among the leaders in offensive zone time percentage at even strength (46.2; 93rd percentile) and average shot speed (72.84 mph; 94th percentile).

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