5 NHL players off to fast starts with new teams

Many factors affect the performance of a NHL player, including mindset, how their skill set complements their linemates and the coach's style and approach to the game.

This past summer, free-agent Eric Staal, who was traded to the New York Rangers late last season after playing his first 909 NHL games with Carolina, was excited about the possibility of centring Zach Parise in Minnesota.

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​"When he was on top of his game, Carolina beat us all the time," said former Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau, whom the Wild hired last May. "He would get three or four points. … He was a dominant force everywhere."

On July 1, Minnesota signed Staal to a three-year deal worth $10.5 million US. The former Hurricanes longtime captain was eager to recapture his goal-scoring touch and hasn't disappointed on the young season. The Thunder Bay, Ont., native scored twice in Thursday's 3-2 win over Toronto, including the 48th winning goal of his 12-year career and first with the Wild. He also has three goals in six games through Sunday.

"I never felt like I forgot how to play," Staal, looking to become just the fifth 30-goal man in the Wild's 16-year history and coming off a 13-goal, 39-point campaign in 83 games for Carolina and New York, told reporters Thursday. "There are a lot of different reasons why things went the way they did, but I'm not making excuses. I didn't play great."

Here are four other players off to impressive starts in their new surroundings:

Thomas Vanek

​A healthy scratch late last season and then hurt in the playoffs, the 32-year-old Vanek appeared done in a young man's NHL when Minnesota decided in June to buy out the final season of his contract. But on July 1, Detroit, whose assistants John Torchetti and Doug Houda had previously coached the left winger, signed Vanek to a low-risk, one-year deal at $2.6 million. He enters Tuesday's home game against Carolina tied with fellow forward Gustav Nyquist and defenceman Mike Green for the team lead with three goals and seven points.

Mika Zibanejad

When the New York Rangers traded for Zibanejad, 23, general manager Jeff Gorton suggested the former Ottawa Senators centre had merely scratched the surface of his potential with last season's career-high 21 goals and 51 points. So far, it's hard to argue with that assessment as the speedy and creative Zibanejad has clicked with linemates Chris Kreider and rookie Pavel Buchnevich, notching two assists in his Rangers debut and recording two goals and six points overall.

Lee Stempniak

The 33-year-old was on track for a career year before New Jersey dealt the right winger to Boston late last season and Stempniak ultimately fell one point short of the 52 he attained in his second year in the NHL in 2006-07 with St. Louis. Stempniak is off to another blistering start with four goals and six points in his first five games with the Carolina Hurricanes, playing on a line with Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask.

Joe Colborne

When the Flames didn't make the Calgary-born forward a qualifying offer, Colorado jumped at the chance to sign the unrestricted free-agent centre fresh off a career season with 19 goals and 44 points. Armed with a two-year, $5-million deal, Colborne, who played two seasons with the University of Denver Pioneers, paid immediate dividends when he posted his first NHL hat trick and only the second opening-night, three-goal game in Avalanche history in their season-opening 6-5 win over Dallas. Colborne has three goals and four points in five contests.