Top 7 NHL players who fell short of expectations in 2025: Ryan Donato, Matt Duchene, and more

Looking back at the 2025 NHL season, some players were not able to live up to their high-profile expectations set by both fans and experts. Fans were looking forward to the upcoming performances of the stars—Ryan Donato, Matt Duchene, Morgan Geekie, and Brandon Hagel—while the respective veterans—Darcy Kuemper, Aliaksei Protas, and Mark Stone—were expected to continue leading and producing, albeit at a reduced rate. Hockey, however, is a game of surprises, and the combined factors of age, line changes, and high expectations meant that not every player was able to reach his predicted performance.

Some of the younger players had already surpassed the set standards for their previous seasons, which made it incredibly hard to hold on to those high benchmarks, while the veterans were slowly being overtaken by the exhaustion caused by long NHL careers. Moreover, injuries, adjustments to new line-mates, and changes in team strategy were also at the forefront of the players' weaknesses. Sources like ESPN and NHL.com have pointed out these trends throughout 2025 and still underlined that, through no fault of their own, even highly skilled players could find themselves taking a hit in terms of their production.

Why these NHL players struggled in 2025

In 2025, Ryan Donato, while playing with Connor Bedard, surprised the Chicago team by scoring 62 points and consequently got himself a four-year $4 million contract. This season, his adjustments at the beginning of the season, which included moving down to the third line, might lead to a big erosion of his scoring. The 34-year-old Matt Duchene might not be able to reach more than 82 points because he lost his mate, Mason Marchment, and is also heavily relying on a very high shooting percentage, which historically is so.
Morgan Geekie from the Boston Bruins has a personal best of 57 points, but may not be able to sustain his 22% shooting rate. The 28-year-old Brandon Hagel might experience a reduction in output when he is moved down to the second line, though he would still be a productive scorer.

The 35-year-old Darcy Kuemper is giving in to age and is also having a poor defense in front, which could result in his performance being lower than that of the Vezina winner. Capitals Aliaksei Protas may not be able to match his 30-goal season in the coming year despite offseason skating improvements. Mark Stone, the Golden Knights’ two-way forward, is entering his mid-thirties, and the combination of a physically demanding playing style and a new line could slightly reduce his offensive output.

Even though all seven players are still very important to their teams, the reasons for aging, switching lines, and being very fortunate in shooting last season make it hard for them to repeat their stellar 2024-25 campaigns. Fans can still expect fairly good contributions, but these NHL stars’ expectations for 2025-26 should be swift.

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