This week we're going to look at each team in the Western Conference and name an MVP and an MDP (most disappointing player).

I'm going to exclude players who were out with an injury for more than three-quarters of the season, but focus more on players who just didn't perform up to expectations.

Anaheim Ducks

MVP – Troy Terry – W (70-23-38-61)

While his goal total went from 37 to 23, Terry was still able to produce 0.87 points per game, which was just slightly down from the 0.89 in 2021-22. What separated his play from Trevor Zegras was his play away from the puck. His zone starts were 56.1 percent compared to the 66.2 that Zegras had, while his plus minus was a minus seven compared to the minus 25 for Zegras. Terry also led all Ducks skaters with a 46.2 xGF%.

MDP – Maxime Comtois – W (64-9-10-19)

It's hard to believe that Comtois led the Ducks in scoring in 2020-2021 with 33 points in 55 games which was 0.60 points per game. Last year, he struggled with just 16 points in 52 games (0.31). I thought he would perhaps bridge the difference this year with 0.45 to 0.5 pts/g but he ended up with 0.3. His icetime has decreased over the past three seasons as well as his physicality.

There were quite a few candidates for MDP as Ryan Strome, John Klingberg and John Gibson could easily slide in.

Arizona Coyotes

MVP – Clayton Keller – W (82-37-49-86)

Keller followed up on his 63 points in 67 games (0.94) in 2021-2022 with a career-high 37 goals and 86 points. He's still just 24-years-old with six years of NHL experience.

MDP – Zack Kassian – W (51-2-0-2)

You hate to say a player mailed it in, but Kassian did just that after being traded from Edmonton. He generated just 25 shots on goal and had just 32 hits in 51 games. This is from a player who averaged between 2.5 and 3 hits per game throughout his career.

Calgary Flames

MVP – Tyler Toffoli – W (82-34-39-73)

Toffoli had his career-high with 34 goals and 73 points in his 10th year in the NHL. Fantasy-wise this goes to Toffoli, but hockey-wise, Elias Lindholm and/or Mikael Backlund might edge him out.

MDP – Jonathan Huberdeau – W (79-15-40-55)

When a player goes from 110 points to exactly half of that, it's hard to be anything more than disappointing. While I don't think many people thought he would duplicate his 2021-2022 production, 80-90 points was in line with what was expected. While most of the disappointment lies with Huberdeau, there are some obvious deployment concerns with coach Darryl Sutter as well.

If Huberdeau hadn't overshadowed them so much, Jacob Markstrom, Nazem Kadri, Mackenzie Weegar and Andrew Mangiapane would have been in line for this award.

Chicago Blackhawks

MVP and MDP – Seth Jones – D (72-12-25-37)

Some might ask, how one player can be both, but unfortunately for Chicago fans that is the case with this roster.

With Patrick Kane dealt to the NY Rangers, Jones is the face of this franchise now (at least until the 2023 entry draft). While his salary and contract length might warrant an ability to carry a team, Jones is not that player. He will need to be surrounded by a much better roster.

Colorado Avalanche

MVP – Nathan MacKinnon – C (71-42-69-111)

MacKinnon was able to put up 100 points for the first time in his 10th NHL season. He averaged a staggering 5.2 shots per game and ended up with a career-high of 366. It was the first time he had played more than 70 games since 2018-2019.

While Mikko Rantanen had 55 goals and 105 points in 82 games, this team is still so reliant on MacKinnon being healthy.

MDP – Alex Newhook – C (82-14-16-30)

It's tough to pin this on a second-year player who is only 22-years-old, but it's a testament to the rest of this roster. Newhook was only disappointing in the fact that he failed to progress his production. His points per game went from 0.46 to 0.37 and his shots per game went from 1.6 to 1.4. I was hoping he would get 40-45 points, but he'll get there.

Dallas Stars

MVP – Jason Robertson – W (82-46-63-109)

The number which stood out for me, other than his 109 points, was Robertson's IPP of 76.2 which is the percentage of Dallas goals while he was on the ice. Compared to his linemates Roope Hintz (60.5) and Joe Pavelski (55.0) it shows pretty clearly who is driving the offense on that line.

Other players who could be considered are Miro Heiskanen and Jake Oettinger.

MDP – Mason Marchment – W (68-12-19-31)

Marchment clearly overachieved when he had 18 goals and 29 assists in 54 games while with Florida. I think there were hopes he could get 45-50 points in Dallas, but his shooting percentage went from 14.9 down to 8.1 and his goals went from 18 to 12.

Edmonton Oilers

MVP – Connor McDavid – C (82-64-89-153)

Just an incredible season for McDavid where not only was he the MVP of the Oilers but hands down the MVP for the NHL. He's had two times in his career at 1.87 and 1.88 points per game and if anyone can get over two per game it is him.

MDP – Kailer Yamamoto – W (58-10-15-25)

After his 20 goals and 20 assists in 2021-2022, I didn't envision a step back. To be fair he did battle some injuries, but a player who plays more than 16 minutes with the time he spends on the ice with Leon Draisaitl should produce more than he did.

Los Angeles Kings

MVP – Anze Kopitar – C (82-28-46-74)

Kopitar had his best points per game (0.9) since 2017-2018 (1.12). He is still a force in the faceoff circle (55.9%), kills penalties (36.2%) and averages over 20 minutes per game still at the age of 35.

The Kings had pretty big contributions from Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Drew Doughty, Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault.

MDP – Trevor Moore (59-10-19-29)

Moore had 49 points in 81 games (0.6/game) but regressed to just 29 points in 59 games (0.49) in 2022-2023. His shooting percentage was stuck at 6.1 percent.

Minnesota Wild

MVP – Kirill Kaprizov – W (67-40-35-75)

Even though Kaprizov wasn't as productive as his 108 points, he missed 15 games and was still on pace for perhaps 50 goals and over 90 points.

Joel Eriksson Ek continues to improve and has become one of the most valuable players on this roster. Filip Gustavsson played 39 games and if he had played 50 or 55 his name would deserve to be here as well.

MDP – Frederick Gaudreau – C (82-19-19-38)

After 44 points in 76 games last year, I had Gaudreau in for 45-50 points. He scored more goals with 19 compared to 14 but his assists dried up as he went from 30 to 19.

Some people might have Ryan Hartman here as well as he went from 34 goals and 65 points to 15 goals and 37 points in 59 games as he battled injuries. I think most people had him regressing a little.

Matt Dumba could be included as his offense has dried up completely with just 14 points in 79 games. It was the first time he had played 70 games since 2017-2018.

Nashville Predators

MVP – Juuse Saros – G (64GP, 33W, 91.9)

Saros almost singlehandedly got the Predators into the playoffs. His GSAA was 30.5 which was up from 22.95 when he had 38 wins in 67 games. Back-to-back 30 wins are rare for goalies these days.

We would be remiss if Roman Josi wasn't mentioned here as he was destined to decrease from 96 points. He ended up with 18 goals and 59 points in 67 games, which seems rather ordinary but is anything but.

MDP – Ryan Johansen – C (55-12-16-28)

After a resurgent 63 points, Johansen struggled offensively this year with just 28 points in 55 games. He's still very effective defensively and in the faceoff circle, but his shooting percentage went from 22 to 14.

San Jose Sharks

MVP – Erik Karlsson – D (82-25-76-101)

Karlsson went four years without playing more than 56 games. He was healthy and played all 82 games and had an incredible campaign. I think he'll get the Norris Trophy on his point total alone.

MDP – Oskar Lindblom – W (73-6-9-15)

Everything Lindblom does is gravy as it's just great to see him healthy. After coming over from Philadelphia, I was hoping that he would get back to some of the offense he displayed in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 where he had almost 0.5 points per game. He struggled and will need to regroup to even make this roster next season.

Seattle Kraken

MVP – Vince Dunn – D (81-14-50-64)

Dunn had a huge breakout offensively raising his point total from 35 to 64. He elevated his overall game as well with 115 hits and 80 blocked shots and averaging 23:40 per game.

Jared McCann and the understated Adam Larsson deserve mention here as well in what has been an historic time for the Kraken.

MDP – Oliver Bjorkstrand – W (81-20-25-45)

After three years in a row between 0.71 and 0.79 points per game, I think the hope for Bjorkstrand in Seattle was that output at a minimum if not more. He ended up with 45 points in 81 games (0.56) and saw his ice time go from around 18 minutes to between 15-16. The Kraken have one of the deepest forward groups in the NHL.

Philipp Grubauer has yet to find his 'A' game since becoming a member of the Kraken. The good news I guess, is that he wasn't quite as below average as Bjorkstrand was.

St. Louis Blues

MVP – Pavel Buchnevich – W (63-26-41-67)

I find it difficult to put the MVP down for a player who dressed for just 63 games. Buchnevich had a point per game for the 2nd year in a row and continues to kill penalties as well.

Jordan Kyrou could be here, but his defensive game has some pretty large holes, while Justin Faulk deserves mention as well.

MDP – Torey Krug – D (63-7-25-32)

Krug is one of those players who need to produce offense to survive in this league as their defense is not what is keeping them in the lineup. He is one of the most sheltered veteran players in this league (73.4 percent in the OZ) and was a minus 28. He hasn't played more than 64 games in five years and at 32-years of age, his decline could be swift without the first unit of the power play time.

Vancouver Canucks

MVP – Elias Pettersson – C (80-39-63-102)

Pettersson put this underachieving team on his shoulders at certain points and won some games on his own. He had his first 100-point campaign and put himself into the next tier of NHL players.

Quinn Hughes deserves mention as well here. He finished with 76 points in 78 games and elevated his defensive play and is such a valuable player for this team.

MDP – Thatcher Demko – G (33GP, 14W, 90.1)

It's tough to pin this on Demko as he was much better when he returned from his injury. Unfortunately he just wasn't nearly good enough when the Canucks needed him to be in the first few months. Unfair or not, it was a disappointing year for him and he will need to rebound.

The Canucks had no shortage of players here including Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, Tyler Myers, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Vasily Podkolzin.

Vegas Golden Knights

MVP – Jack Eichel – C (67-27-39-66)

Eichel had only played 55 games over the prior two years, so it was just good to see him healthy enough to play 67. He had almost a point per game and averaged 18:46 per game. He's shown that he can play more as he was regularly over 20 minutes per game in Buffalo. As Eichel goes this team will go.

That isn't to say there aren't valuable players in Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore. Vegas has a great supporting cast, which was the appeal for Eichel in the first place.

MDP – Phil Kessel – W (82-14-22-36)

Kessel was signed as a free agent after putting up 52 points with Arizona. His shots on goal are at an all-time career low at just 1.8/game and hasn't been an option on the first unit of the power play.

Alec Martinez is still a shot-blocking machine (career-high 242) but his offense has dried up with just 14 points in 77 games. His career points per game was about 0.35 while with Vegas it was at just under 0.5.

Winnipeg Jets

MVP – Connor Hellebuyck – G (64GP, 37W, 92.0)

Hellebuyck had 37 wins and has now won 30 or more games four times in his career. It's impressive to think that he had 44 wins in 2017-2018. Much like Nashville, the fortunes of the Jets getting to the playoffs rested with Hellebuyck and he got them there. He had a career-high GSAA of 31.54.

Josh Morrissey certainly deserves mention after his 76 points in 78 games. He did fade a little with 48 points in his first 44 games and 28 in his last 34.

MDP – Nikolaj Ehlers – W (45-12-26-38)

This is the third season in a row in which Ehlers has missed quite a few games with injuries. He hasn't played more than 62 games in that period. While his points per game was 0.84, he had been flirting between 0.89 and 0.98 and should be a point per game player at some point. He will be in his 9th NHL campaign in 2023-2024.

Thanks very much for reading and if you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15