10 NHLers likely to rebound in 2018

The 2016-17 NHL campaign was very peculiar.

Two of the league's basement-dwelling clubs from 2016 - the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs - rocketed up the standings and into the postseason.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, many of the league's top talent had downright putrid seasons statistically. Seasons so off it would be a near-guarantee the 2017-18 season will see a rebound.

Here are 10 such players who should do just that:

Anze Kopitar

Fifty-two points in a season doesn't sound too bad, but considering Kopitar had never tallied fewer than 61 points in a full 82-game season prior to 2017, it's certainly a downer.

The Los Angeles Kings captain also scored a career-low 12 goals while posting a career-low shooting percentage. A new coaching staff and team dynamic should give Kopitar the jolt he needs to get back to being the player we know he is.

Joe Thornton

Thornton scored seven goals last season. Seven! And three of those were empty-netters. Sure he's more of a passer and is getting older, but that's just bizarre.

Thornton scored 12 fewer goals and 32 fewer points than in 2016. One big reason is he managed just over one shot per game. If Jumbo Joe can get a little more selfish in his old age he could still get close to the 20-goal mark.

Matt Duchene

You'd be hard-pressed to find a single member of the Colorado Avalanche who had a strong 2017.

Duchene is no exception. The 26-year-old finished the year with 18 goals and 41 points, after scoring a career-high 30 in 2016. Duchene has the talent to be better and should have the motivation to try to either fix the situation in Colorado or up his value so he can be more easily traded.

Andrew Ladd

Ladd only managed four goals in the first 32 games of the 2017 season, but the New York Islanders forward rallied in the second half, finishing with a respectable 23 goals.

That said, Ladd still only managed eight assists in 78 games. Prior to that, Ladd hadn't had fewer than 21 assists since 2007-08. So you can bet he'll be better next season.

Dylan Larkin

After a strong rookie season, Larkin failed to impress during his sophomore campaign.

After 45 points in his first season, he put up six less goals and 13 fewer points.

There's no denying his talent and his speed are among the NHL's best, so Larkin will get it together and be better in 2018.

Chris Kunitz

The 2016-17 season was the worst of Kunitz's career, with just nine goals and 29 points in 71 games.

The 37-year-old is clearly nearing the end of his career, but in the previous two years he still managed 17 goals in each, so one might think he could manage those kind of numbers next season.

Perhaps a change of scenery in Tampa will help get him back on track.

Bobby Ryan

Ryan tallied almost as many points in the playoffs as he did during the regular season.

After just 13 goals and 25 points in 62 games (both career-lows in a full 82-game season) Ryan was arguably the Senators best player in the postseason, putting up 15 points in 19 games.

If he can rekindle that playoff scoring prowess, then he's sure to have a great 2018.

Patrick Sharp

Sure, Sharp was limited to just 48 games last season, but just eight goals and 10 assists is absurdly low.

Sharp ran into some bad luck, connecting on just 5.5 percent of his shots, while the Dallas Stars were just plain bad. Returning to his former team in Chicago with the potential to reunite with Patrick Kane should allow him to rebound.

Nick Bjugstad

Bjugstad's brutal season is just one of the reasons why the Florida Panthers took a giant tumble backwards last season.

Two seasons after a career-high 24 goals and 43 points, Bjugstad had just seven goals and seven assists in a injury-riddled 2017. He's still young, skilled, and the Panthers look to have sorted out their coaching staff, so expect more than a measly 14 points next season.

Anthony Duclair

It's inconceivable that Duclair won't score more than five goals next season. The fact he scored 15 fewer goals last season than in 2016 is outrageous.

His shooting percentage dropped over 12 percent from 2016, which is unlikely to happen again. Factor in the addition of Derek Stepan and a healthy Max Domi and it would be unlikely that Duclair doesn't improve next season.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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