The 2023 NHL season has been a wild one so far. Through just the first seven weeks we’ve already seen a phenom live up to the hype in Chicago, chaos in Edmonton, and some surprising teams exceeding their preseason expectations. With plenty of hockey yet to be played, it’s still a bit too early to count anyone out, but we did want to take this time to check in on how the season has impacted some key cards.

All of the charts and data is provided by Market Movers. SCF Members can try Market Movers free for 30 days plus get 30% off for life with code SCF.

For these comparisons we’ll be using each player’s Young Guns rookie card graded a PSA 10 when possible.


TOP 5 PLAYERS
If we take a look at the top 5 players going into the 2023-24 NHL Season (according to ESPN); since opening week, only Cale Makar and Jack Hughes have seen a positive increase in value, with Makar rising the most at +13.1%. On the flip side, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid have both seen their values drop by over -24%.

While all five of these players are elite-level talent, who’s cards will always hold value, it’s interesting to see how injuries and early season performance can affect a players’ value, even the best of this generation.


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POINTS
Hopefully not a surprise to anyone, each of the league’s top 5 points leaders’ cards have seen an increase in value since opening week. While it’s always good to see Kucherov, Makar, and Pastrnak up there, Quinn Hughes and JT Miller’s cards have benefited the most from their surprising early season domination, rising +54.4% and +45.7% respectively.


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GOALS
Looking at our top 5 goal scorers through the first 7 weeks, it’s interesting to see that both Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby have seen their values decline by -6.4% and -1.8% respectively despite being within 2 goals of leading the entire league. On the other hand, dominant performances from Kyle Connor and Brock Boeser have collectors paying up to grab their cards, with Connor rising +46.1% and Boeser rising +43.8% since opening week.


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ASSISTS
Through the first seven weeks the assist stat has been dominated by Canucks, with 4 of the top 6 assist-ers coming out of Vancouver. Based on the rise in value from all 4 - Pettersson (+11.1%), Hughes (+54.4%), Hronek (+6.1%), and MIller (+45.7%), it appears that collectors outside of Vancouver are finally taking note of the talent in the Pacific Northwest.


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SAVES
On the goaltending front, looking at the league’s top 5 leaders in saves, things get a little wild, with players like Elvis Merzlikins and Jonas Johansson dropping off -56.3% and -41.8% over the past 7 weeks; while Sergei Bobrovsky rose +89.6%. As always the goaltending position can fluctuate by the day, with overall team performance, defensive support, and health all playing key roles in goaltender performance.


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TOP ROOKIES - 2022
Now that we’re a full season in, and have had a chance to watch most of the 2022-23 Young Guns class play, we have a better idea of who could end up being great. With that being said, looking at the 6 highest-selling cards from the class since the 2023 regular season began, only Wyatt Johnson has seen his card value rise at +5.2%. With hyped rookies like Matty Beniers and Matt Boldy dropping off significantly at -40%, it will be interesting to see how this class stands up over the next few years.


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TOP ROOKIES - 2023

The good news for Bedard collectors is that he appears to be the real deal, the bad news for Bedard collectors is that since 2023-24 Series 1 released the value of his NHL Draft SP card has dropped -15.5%. The extra good news, is that while Bedard’s value has dropped, it hasn’t fallen quite as far as the other rookies out of the Series 1 Young Guns class, with players like Devon Levi dropping as much as -66.7%.

With Series 2 on the horizon, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of these values continue to dip as collectors move onto the next drop.


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Finally, I wanted to take a look at all cards for currently active players in the NHL and see how these cards have performed over the past 2 months. Unsurprisingly, the most volatile cards have been those of younger players, who are still proving themselves on a nightly basis.


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How do you see the rest of the 2023-24 NHL season playing out? Do these card values align with what we’re seeing on the ice?