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Frank takes a look at every NHL team's regular season one-hit wonder, including Jonathon Cheechoo of the San Jose Sharks and more.
Every NHL team has had a player unexpectedly put together a career year, only to never reach those heights again.
For this list, we're looking at the biggest regular-season one-hit wonder for all 32 NHL teams. The focus is on players whose production spiked well beyond the rest of their careers, whether that came in goals, points, or both.
Since Utah's history is still limited, we're dipping into the Arizona Coyotes era for the Mammoth's selection.
Anaheim Ducks: Bob Corkum
Bob Corkum immediately became one of the Mighty Ducks' top offensive players during their inaugural 1993-94 season. He recorded 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points in 76 games, despite never previously reaching 25 points in an NHL season.
Corkum never approached that production again, making his first year in Anaheim the clear outlier of his career.
Boston Bruins: Dmitri Kvartalnov
Dmitri Kvartalnov looked like a budding star when he arrived in Boston in 1992-93, scoring 30 goals with 42 assists for 72 points in 73 games.
That ended up being almost his entire NHL story. Kvartalnov managed only 12 goals and 19 points in 39 games the following season before his NHL career came to an end.
Buffalo Sabres: Ales Kotalik
Ales Kotalik broke out in 2005-06 with 25 goals, 37 assists and 62 points for the Sabres. It was easily the best offensive season of his NHL career.
Kotalik remained a useful scorer for several more years, but he never reached 45 points in another season. That 62-point campaign stands comfortably above everything else in his career.
Calgary Flames: Jiri Hudler
Jiri Hudler caught fire for Calgary in 2014-15, producing career highs across the board with 31 goals, 45 assists and 76 points in 78 games.
Hudler had been a productive forward before that breakout, but his previous career high was 57 points. He never reached 50 again after leaving Calgary, making his 76-point season a substantial outlier.
Carolina Hurricanes: Shane Willis
Shane Willis appeared to have a promising future after scoring 20 goals and 44 points in 73 games for Carolina as a rookie in 2000-01 en route to finishing fifth in Calder voting.
Instead, that became his only significant offensive NHL season. Willis dropped to 24 points the following year while splitting time between Carolina and Tampa Bay and never played another NHL regular-season game afterward.
Chicago Blackhawks: Jeff Hamilton
Jeff Hamilton finally received an extended NHL opportunity with Chicago in 2006-07 and made the most of it, scoring 18 goals and 39 points in 70 games.
It proved to be a brief breakout. Hamilton recorded 24 points with Carolina the following season and never again came close to matching his production with the Blackhawks.
Colorado Avalanche: Marek Svatos
Marek Svatos burst onto the scene in 2005-06 with 32 goals and 50 points despite playing only 61 games. His 19.4% shooting percentage helped turn him into one of Colorado's biggest surprises that season.
Svatos never reached 40 points again. His next-best season came in 2007-08, when he finished with 26 goals and 37 points.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Alexander Wennberg
Alexander Wennberg looked like he was developing into a high-end playmaker in 2016-17, finishing with 13 goals, 46 assists, and 59 points in 80 games.
Alexander Wennberg gives Columbus their first lead of the game!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/YbXoiZJlIz
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) August 19, 2020
That season ended up being his offensive peak by a wide margin. Wennberg never reached 40 points again after his breakout year with Columbus.
Dallas Stars: Fabian Brunnstrom
Few NHL debuts generated more immediate hype than Fabian Brunnstrom scoring a hat trick in his first game with Dallas. He went on to finish his 2008-09 rookie season with 17 goals and 29 points in 55 games.
Unfortunately, that early production didn't last. Brunnstrom scored only two more NHL goals and 12 more points over the remainder of his brief career.
Detroit Red Wings: Danny Grant
Danny Grant had been a productive NHL scorer before arriving in Detroit, but nothing compared to his 1974-75 season. Grant erupted for 50 goals and 87 points in 80 games for the Red Wings.
He had never previously scored more than 34 goals and never reached that mark again. Grant also dropped to just 10 goals and 26 points the following season.
Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Potulny
Ryan Potulny took advantage of his opportunity with a struggling Edmonton team in 2009-10, setting career highs with 15 goals, 17 assists and 32 points in 64 games.
It was the only time Potulny established himself as a regular NHL scorer. He never recorded another 20-point season and was out of the NHL after 2011-12.
Florida Panthers: David Booth
David Booth appeared to be developing into a legitimate top-line scorer when he put up 31 goals, 29 assists, and 60 points for Florida in 2008-09.
He never replicated it. Booth's next-best point total was 40, and he never scored more than 23 goals in another season. His 31-goal campaign remains the clear offensive peak of his career.
Los Angeles Kings: Brian MacLellan
Brian MacLellan made a massive jump during his second full NHL season. After recording 54 points in 1983-84, he exploded for 31 goals, 54 assists and 85 points for Los Angeles in 1984-85.
MacLellan never reached 50 points in a season again. His career year came on a loaded Kings offense that also featured Marcel Dionne, Bernie Nicholls and Dave Taylor.
Minnesota Wild: Guillaume Latendresse
A midseason trade to Minnesota unlocked the best stretch of Guillaume Latendresse's career in 2009-10. He scored 25 goals and 37 points in only 55 games for the Wild after producing three points in 23 games with Montreal.
Latendresse finished the season with career highs of 27 goals and 40 points. Injuries limited him afterward, and he never came close to those totals again.
Montreal Canadiens: Kjell Dahlin
Kjell Dahlin looked like Montreal had found another offensive star when he scored 32 goals and added 39 assists for 71 points as a rookie in 1985-86.
That was as good as it got. Dahlin finished with only 20 points the following season and 25 in 1987-88 before his brief NHL career ended.
Nashville Predators: Sergei Krivokrasov
Sergei Krivokrasov produced the best season of his NHL career during Nashville's inaugural campaign in 1998-99. He scored 25 goals with 23 assists for 48 points in 70 games.
Krivokrasov had never reached 25 points before arriving in Nashville and never reached 30 afterward. His lone season as a legitimate top scorer came with the expansion Predators.
New Jersey Devils: Brian Gionta
Brian Gionta suddenly became one of the NHL's top goal scorers in 2005-06, exploding for 48 goals and 89 points in 82 games with New Jersey.
BRIAN GIONTA SKATES IN ON THE BREAKAWAY AND BEATS LYON FOR HIS FIRST GOAL AS A BRUIN! pic.twitter.com/qm5FLJRioo
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 9, 2018
Gionta remained a productive NHL forward for more than a decade, but that season was on another level. His next-best point total was 60, while he never scored more than 28 goals in another season. While still a productive player, this was a clear outlier season.
New York Islanders: Jason Blake
Jason Blake delivered a stunning goal-scoring breakout in 2006-07. He scored 40 goals with 29 assists for 69 points while playing all 82 games for the Islanders.
Blake had scored 28 goals the previous season, but he never reached 30 again. His lone 40-goal campaign also earned him his only NHL All-Star appearance.
New York Rangers: Mike Allison
Mike Allison immediately looked like a future Rangers star after producing 26 goals, 38 assists, and 64 points in 75 games as a 19-year-old rookie in 1980-81.
He never came close again. Allison's production fell to 22 points the following year, and his next-best season after his rookie campaign produced only 31 points.
Ottawa Senators: Colin Greening
Colin Greening established himself as a full-time NHL player in 2011-12, recording 17 goals and 37 points while appearing in all 82 games for Ottawa.
That became his career year by a significant margin. Greening never reached 20 points in another season and gradually moved into a smaller role before his NHL career ended in 2016-17.
Philadelphia Flyers: Ville Leino
Ville Leino finally broke out during his first full season with Philadelphia, finishing 2010-11 with 19 goals, 34 assists, and 53 points in 81 games.
That performance helped establish Leino as a highly sought-after free agent, but he never replicated the production. His highest total over his final three NHL seasons was just 25 points.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Justin Schultz
Justin Schultz put everything together offensively for Pittsburgh in 2016-17. The defenseman scored 12 goals and added 39 assists for a career-high 51 points in 78 games.
Schultz had previously reached 33 points with Edmonton, but he never topped 30 in another season after his Pittsburgh breakout. The 51-point campaign stands alone on his career stat line.
San Jose Sharks: Jonathan Cheechoo
Jonathan Cheechoo is arguably the NHL's ultimate regular-season one-hit wonder. He exploded for 56 goals and 93 points in 2005-06, leading the entire league in goals and winning the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Cheechoo remained productive the following season with 37 goals, but he never reached 40 again. Within three years of his 56-goal season, he had fallen to 12 goals and 29 points.
Seattle Kraken: Vince Dunn
Seattle's short history makes this one difficult, but Vince Dunn's 2022-23 season stands out so far. The defenseman produced 14 goals, 50 assists, and 64 points in 81 games.
Dunn has remained an effective offensive defenseman, including 46 points in only 59 games the following year, but he hasn't approached 64 in raw production since. He followed with 39 points in 2024-25 and 44 in 2025-26. I know this one doesn't fit as well as others on this list, but that's because the Kraken are still a new franchise with limited history.
St. Louis Blues: Wayne Babych
Wayne Babych looked like one of the NHL's next elite goal scorers during a spectacular 1980-81 season. He scored 54 goals and added 42 assists for 96 points in 78 games with St. Louis.
His previous career high was 61 points, and he immediately dropped to 44 the following season. Babych never again reached 55 points, let alone approached 96.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Stan Drulia
Stan Drulia spent years starring in the minor leagues before finally getting an extended NHL opportunity with Tampa Bay in 1999-00. At age 32, he responded with 11 goals and 33 points in 68 games.
It was almost his entire NHL production. Drulia managed only six points the next season and finished his NHL career with 42 points in 126 games.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Errol Thompson
Errol Thompson went from a solid scorer to an offensive star seemingly overnight in 1975-76. He poured in 43 goals and 80 points in 75 games for Toronto after recording 42 points the previous year.
Thompson never came close to 80 again. His next-highest total over the remainder of his NHL career was only 45 points.
Utah Mammoth: Vinnie Hinostroza
We're going back to the Arizona Coyotes era for Utah's selection. Vinnie Hinostroza had the best season of his NHL career in 2018-19, setting career highs with 16 goals, 23 assists, and 39 points.
Hinostroza remained a useful depth forward afterward but never reached 30 points again. His lone season approaching 40 points makes him a strong one-hit wonder from the Arizona portion of the franchise's history.
Vancouver Canucks: Ron Sedlbauer
Ron Sedlbauer suddenly developed into a 40-goal scorer for Vancouver in 1978-79. He scored 40 goals with 16 assists for 56 points in 79 games, more than doubling his previous career high of 18 goals.
The breakout didn't last. Sedlbauer scored 23 goals while splitting the following season between Vancouver and Chicago and never reached 20 again.
Vegas Golden Knights: William Karlsson
William Karlsson's first season in Vegas produced one of the most unexpected scoring explosions in recent NHL history. After scoring six goals for Columbus in 2016-17, Karlsson erupted for 43 goals and 78 points during the Golden Knights' inaugural season.
Karlsson has remained an important player for Vegas, but the goal total was never replicated. His next-best season was 30 goals, while his 23.4% shooting percentage in 2017-18 was extraordinarily difficult to sustain.
Washington Capitals: Chris Simon
Chris Simon was primarily known for his physical play, which made his 1999-00 offensive breakout even more surprising. He scored a career-high 29 goals and added 20 assists for 49 points with Washington.
Simon never approached those numbers again. He failed to reach 20 goals or 35 points in every other season of his lengthy NHL career.
Winnipeg Jets: Mason Appleton
Mason Appleton unexpectedly put together his best offensive season in 2023-24, setting career highs with 14 goals, 22 assists and 36 points while playing all 82 games for Winnipeg.
His previous high had been 25 points, and the production quickly fell back. Appleton recorded 22 points in 2024-25 before finishing with 14 in 2025-26 after moving to Detroit.
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