Judging NHL overreactions at the one-month point of 2026-27 - ESPN

The first month of the NHL season should not be ignored, dismissed or hand-waved away.

Sure, there are narratives established quickly that seem a little silly by season's end — it turns out Vancouver's Paul Cotter might have used up all his goals when he scored four in the first four games of the season, for example. But most of the time, what's happening now is prologue: Six of the eight teams that eventually made the playoffs in the West last season were in playoff spots last Halloween.

Here are 10 overreactions to the happenings on and off the ice to start the 2026-27 NHL season, starting with hockey's most electrifying player trying to do something we haven't seen anyone but Wayne Gretzky do before.

It's been interesting to watch the two best centers in the NHL react to their respective playoff disappointments due to injury and lingering angst from accepting Olympic silver.

Nathan MacKinnon decided to start punching people in the face. Connor McDavid decided to break Wayne Gretzky's single-season scoring record of 215 points (1985-86) — or at least threaten to do so while potentially becoming the only player in NHL history other than Gretzky to score 200 points in a season.

McDavid had 34 points through his first 12 GAMES of the season. That means he outscored Alex Killorn's entire 82-game campaign last season (33 points) with games to spare in October.

The verdict: OVERREACTION. Look, we all want this to happen. It would be incredible for hockey, like an unexpected sequel to Alex Ovechkin breaking Gretzky's career goals record. McDavid is a singular offensive talent in NHL history, with an alchemy of speed and agility and hands and vision and scoring ability that just hasn't existed in a human on skates before. If