Now that we have officially hit the All-Star break, what better time to take a moment to pause and reflect on some of the biggest surprises of the fantasy season. Whether that be pleasant surprises or massive disappointments, I will cover a bit from both ends of the spectrum. I posted an article similar to this one over the holiday break, but there's plenty of players worth highlighting so I figured I'd cover some more!

Surprises

Joe Pavelski

Maybe some of you won't agree with me on this one, but I have been shocked at how Joe Pavelski keeps on putting up massive numbers, year in and year out. After 12 incredible seasons with the Sharks, Pavelski took his talents south to Dallas in the 2019-20 season. His first season with Dallas was a cause for concern to say the least. Through 67 games, the then-35-year-old only mustered 31 points. For the first time in his career, his shot rare dipped below two per game, and by all accounts, he did not look great. 

Last season Pavelski showed a resurgence though and found massive success playing with youngsters Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. In 56 games he scored 25 goals and had 26 assists and was just under a point per game. He was shooting more, he had almost double the amount of power play points from his previous season. I guess I had two main concerns about Pavelski. First and foremost, he is now 37 years of age. More and more the NHL is becoming a young man's game and father time catches up to everyone. How long could Pavelski keep up with the lightning-fast speed of today's NHL? Secondly, I wasn't entirely convinced that the line of Pavelski, Hintz and Roberston was going to be able to replicate what they had done the season prior.

Well boy was I wrong! Here we are at the All-Star Break and Pavelski is in the top 15 in league scoring with 19 goals and 29 assists. His 48 points in 43 games puts him at over a point per game pace so far this season. Not only did the trio replicate what they had done last season, they are surpassing it. If you were lucky enough to have the foresight to grab Pavelski this season, you are over the moon with his production. Even outside of scoring stats, Pavelski gives you value in all areas. I guess the question is does he keep up the pace next season? This is a contract year for him, so who knows if he re-ups with Dallas, tests free agency or decides to call it a career after this season. It should be interesting to see what he gets contract-wise going forward.

Tony DeAngelo

After a tumultuous and abrupt end to his time in the Big Apple, Tony DeAngelo signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. While DeAngelo has been known as a problematic player due to his behavioral-related conduct, there was never any denying his skills and potential. DeAngelo had only played six games last season before New York general manager Jeff Gorton famously claimed he had "played his last game for the Rangers". And surely enough, the GM wasn't bluffing. That was the last we had heard of him. He felt like a real unknown heading into this season. The Hurricanes had just parted with a talented defenseman of their own, as Dougie Hamilton opted to sign with the Devils via free agency. 

While it would be unfair to expect DeAngelo to fill the void Hamilton left behind, he has fared surprisingly well. He is tenth in NHL defensemen scoring with seven goals and 26 assists, averaging just under a point per game. The 26-year-old American has had something to prove this season, and he sure is playing like it. A couple of weeks ago the Hurricanes hosted the Rangers, and in DeAngelo's first game versus his old team he scored a goal and had two assists. Circle April 12 on your calendars, as that will be the Hurricanes first trip to Madison Square Garden this season. Until then though, let's see if DeAngelo can keep up this pace he is on. If he doesn't cool off down the stretch and he keeps himself out of trouble, he could be in line for a big payday this offseason.

Disappointments

Elias Pettersson

After debuting in the league back in 2018 and delivering back-to-back 66-point seasons in his first two years, Pettersson seems to have hit a wall in his development. A couple years ago the sky seemed to be the limit for the sensational Swede. Last season was largely wiped clean thanks to an injury that forced him to miss the last 30 games of the regular season.  This season he has not looked great and at times I would even say he looks lost out there. He's lacked confidence, and although the Canucks have been facing a decent amount of diversity this season, Petey has not risen to the challenge. 

Through 46 games, Pettersson has just 11 goals and 13 assists for a lackluster 24 points. Pettersson doesn't get you much else besides scoring, so he needs to be producing offensively to be viable to any fantasy owner's team. The coaching change midseason to Bruce Boudreau seemed a bit promising. Boudreau is known for being a player's coach and he has given Pettersson all the opportunities you could ask for to get him going this season. 

While he has had seven points in his last ten games, I am still pretty pessimistic that Petey can return to form this season. Maybe he needs an offseason to get himself right, I'm not entirely sure.  But one thing I am entirely sure of is that there's a lot of disappointed fantasy owners who took Pettersson early in drafts that are kicking themselves.

Jordan Binnington

Who could forget when Jordan Binnington first burst onto the scene in 2018 and was one of the main catalysts in turning around the St. Louis Blues season, and eventually leading them on one of the most improbable Stanley Cup runs of all time? Good times, right? Well, it seems like the good times are over in Missouri as there is a new top dog in town, and he goes by the name of Ville Husso. It seems as though (at least for now) Husso has taken over the top spot in net for the Blues as Binnington's slow fall from grace has hit rock bottom. 

Binnington's numbers slowly declined ever since his incredible run in his rookie season, but he still posted respectable numbers, and with a solid defensive team in front of him, one would have thought you could certainly do worse than picking Binnington as one of your tenders heading into this season. Sure, he isn't in the elite tier of goalies (Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin, etc), but at the very least I would have labeled him as serviceable, heck even reliable.

Binnington currently sports an 11-9-3 record with a goals-against average of 3.27 and a save percentage of .901. In his 23 games started, just eight of them have been qualified as quality starts. His goals saved above average is minus-7.16. To give you an idea of how bad that is, he is ranked 61st in the league, just below Cayden Primeau!  By the way, Husso is ranked fifth. Binnington has played in two of the last seven contests for the Blues and let in 13 goals during those games. So yeah, he's been disappointing. 

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That's it for this week everyone. Thanks as always for reading! If you haven't seen it yet, go on YouTube and find the Trevor Zegras goal from the skills competition. I think the kid might have a future! Until next week, have a great week and best of luck down the stretch in your leagues!