Ranking the 10 Biggest Surprises in the 2014-15 NHL Season so Far

The look on Edmonton Oilers coach Dallas Eakins' face in this picture seems to say it all: "How do I still have a job?"

Surprises are all around the NHL a couple of months into the season, with some players and teams exceeding expectations and others crashing and burning.

Here's a look at the 10 biggest shockers of the season so far.

10. Brent Burns Hasn't Let His Return to Defense Affect His Offense

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Back in August, Eric Gilmore of NHL.com wrote about the concern of Brent Burns' transition back to defense and the hope on the San Jose Sharks' part that it would go smoothly.

He was a force at forward with Joe Thornton for the better part of two seasons after proving he could play at an all-star level on defense with the Minnesota Wild. With Dan Boyle let go as a free agent, the Sharks decided they'd return Burns to the back end with the idea he'd be among the best offensive blueliners in the league.

And he is. Burns is currently fourth among all defensemen with seven goals and 19 points through 26 games. He's right in the mix for the team lead as well, with Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture rounding out the top five in San Jose. 

Head coach Todd McLellan told Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News the defensive part of his game hasn't been perfect, but there's no denying his offensive prowess.

9. Filip Forsberg Is Looking Like a Superstar

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Considering Filip Forsberg's first couple of forays into the NHL, improvement was a definite possibility. But no one would have expected the 20-year-old to make such a dramatic leap forward in what's still considered his rookie season.

The product of Sweden started hot out of the gates and hasn't slowed down. The NHL's rookie of the month for November leads the Nashville Predators in goals (10), assists (13) and points (23). He is in the top 20 in league scoring and tops in the NHL with an impressive plus-21 rating.

He is doing this after one goal and six points in 18 games over two seasons. He had a career minus-13 rating prior to this season and was traded away by the Washington Capitals despite his offensive potential after becoming the 11th overall pick in the 2012 draft.

It's safe to say when they made the deal, the Caps didn't foresee this happening so quickly.

8. The Blue Jackets Are Looking Like Bums

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So much promise was shown last spring as the Columbus Blue Jackets pushed the Pittsburgh Penguins to the brink of their first-round playoff matchup. The expectations this season were ramped up as a result. The Jackets were a favorite dark-horse pick to make some noise this year.

They're making noise, but it sounds more like a fan's thumbs-down raspberry—pfffffffffffttthhhbbt—than the cannon that celebrates their goals at the Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets are the worst team in the Eastern Conference and fell to last in the league when the Edmonton Oilers earned a point for an overtime loss Wednesday night.

8. Rick Nash Has Re-Emerged as One of the League's Best Forwards

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Nash had 39 points in 65 games in the regular season last year. He had three goals and 10 points in the playoffs, with no goals at all in the Stanley Cup Final and a 3.6 shooting percentage through the postseason.

His lack of production led to all kinds of harsh talk about the 30-year-old. He has often been a lightning rod for criticism because of his general lack of physical play for a man his size, a somewhat standoffish personality, a massive $7.8 million salary-cap hit and a lack of a winning pedigree.

What a difference a summer makes. Nash is second in the league with 16 goals, is on pace for his first 50-goal season, sits seventh in the NHL points race and is shooting at a 19 percent success rate. He even has a pair of short-handed goals.

6. Anze Kopitar Has Lost His Scoring Touch

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Excluding the lockout season, Kopitar hasn't had a season with fewer than 61 points in his career and hasn't been lower than 70 since 2009. This year, though, the Los Angeles Kings leader is on pace for just 45.

Kopitar netted just two goals and three points through his first 11 games and then put up seven points in a five-game stretch before going scoreless in his next five. His inconsistency is shocking considering how dominant he's been at both ends of the ice for the Kings the past few years.

If usual linemate Marian Gaborik can stay healthy, he might be able to help the less flashy Kopitar get back on track; however, Gaborik has been plagued with injury this season, and Kopitar has yet to find much chemistry with others so far.

A Tanner Pearson, Kopitar and Jeff Carter trio did help as head coach Darryl Sutter juggled his lines on Tuesday night, according to the Los Angeles Times' Lisa Dillman. Kopitar snapped his five-game slump and finished with a pair of assists.

5. Jakub Voracek Is Giving Sidney Crosby a Run for His Money

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After he set career highs in goals (23), assists (39) and points (62) last season, another step forward was definitely on 25-year-old Jakub Voracek's mind.

But challenging Sidney Crosby for the scoring title a couple of months in? That's probably not something anyone thought very likely.

The Philadelphia Flyers' Voracek has a nearly identical stat line to the cross-state star of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has played 24 games and has nine goals, 24 assists, 33 points, a plus-six rating, 15 power-play points and 71 shots. Voracek has played 25 games with nine goals, 24 assists, 33 points, a plus-four rating, 12 power-play points and 78 shots.

He also has a five-point buffer over teammate Claude Giroux, who was a finalist for the Hart Trophy that Crosby won last season.

According to Bleacher Report's own Dave Lozo, sushi has a lot to do with this surprise.

4. You Can't Spell the Top Vote-Getter for the All-Star Game so Far

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Either Latvia is the hacker capital of the world, or there are a lot of hockey fans over there clicking it up on their computers.

Two weeks into the NHL's All-Star Game fan voting—which continues until Jan. 1—the leader isn't Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos or Jonathan Toews. Nope, it's Zemgus Girgensons...and yes, I had to take a second look at how I spelled it.

The rest of the top seven reads more like you might expect, with defenseman P.K. Subban, Crosby, Patrick Kane, Toews, Duncan Keith and Carey Price all earning more than 200,000 votes apiece. But none is anywhere near Girgensons' total of nearly 400,000 through the first couple of weeks.

Girgensons leads the Buffalo Sabres with eight goals and a plus-six rating and sits second on the team with 14 points, which is a far cry from the individual numbers so many other players much lower in the voting have put together. But he has been a bright spot for the struggling Sabres and earned some love during the Olympics in Sochi last year.

He's not surprised by the support in his homeland, as he told NHL.com correspondent Joe Yerdon: "It's awesome that I'm from such a great country that everyone is pretty much all about hockey. It's kind of cool."

3. Martin Brodeur Is Back in the NHL

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When the New Jersey Devils moved on from future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur and no other team invited him to training camp, it seemed no one was willing to take a chance on the 42-year-old as a backup, let alone as a starting option. 

Nevertheless, Brodeur—the goaltender with the most career wins in the league—wouldn't retire and told NHL.com's Louie Korac he was willing to sit out the entire season if necessary. 

Most thought that was it for Brodeur, whether he wanted to admit it or not. But an injury to Brian Elliott in St. Louis combined with the inexperience of young Jake Allen led to a need for the Blues.

After a tryout, the Blues signed the old-timer, who gets to pad his record and audition for another extension of his career.

2. The Calgary Flames Look Like Contenders

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

The only thing preseason prognosticators like The Hockey News thought the Calgary Flames would be in contention for was the first overall pick at this spring's NHL draft. 

Instead of being in the race for Connor McDavid's services, the Flames are in the hunt for a playoff spot with a 16-8-2 record and more regulation wins (13) than the powerhouse Anaheim Ducks (12). They sit in the top four in the league with a plus-17 goal differential. The Flames are also the kings of the comeback this season, with a league-best five wins when trailing after two periods.

What's amazing is they're doing this with contributions coming from all over an inexperienced lineup and the defensive group. Among rookies who have played at least 10 games this season, three Flames sit in the top six in points per game, with Johnny Gaudreau second among all rookie scorers and in the top 50 in the entire league.

Considering the Flames are in a rebuild that only began after the trade of former captain Jarome Iginla less than two years ago, their performance so far is unexpected, to say the least.

1. No Coaches Have Been Fired...Yet

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The odds-on favorites to be fired from their spots behind the bench still hold onto their jobs. The Toronto Maple Leafs' Randy Carlyle, Philadelphia Flyers' Craig Berube, Edmonton Oilers' Dallas Eakins, New York Islanders' Jack Capuano, Ottawa Senators' Paul MacLean and Calgary Flames' Bob Hartley made up the top six on the Bodog.com list of likely cannings back in early October.

Somehow, they've all avoided the ax. The Maple Leafs are in a wild-card spot, and the Islanders are tied for the top spot in their division. The Flames are a single point off the lead in the Western Conference. Others like the San Jose Sharks' Todd McLellan are in the mix after disappointing starts, and Berube has to be on thin ice the way his Flyers are playing.

Maybe most surprising, though, is how Eakins continues to guide the Oilers to the league's second-worst record. Sportsnet's Mark Spector suggested this week that could change within days.