Three NHL Duos That Might Be Too Reliant On One Another

Can an NHL duo be too good?

Throughout the history of the sport, the NHL has seen dynamic duos like Wayne Gretzky and Jarri Kurri, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, and Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Eventually, those duos either went their separate ways or, in the case of the Sedin twins, retired together.

A recent duo that may not have achieved as much success as some of the already mentioned pairings that have recently split up was Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.

Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, San Jose Sharks

This partnership extends beyond the game of hockey, as Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith have become widely known for their close-knit friendship off the ice. But on the ice, they are dynamite together, leading the San Jose Sharks' offense.

With that being said, there have been some troubling signs early in their careers. In 2024-25, during Celebrini and Smith's rookie seasons, Smith struggled to score. Part of it can be attributed to the Sharks wanting to slowly integrate Smith into the NHL without jumping the gun, but it wasn't until the two were paired together that Smith began popping up on the scoresheet.

This trend would continue in 2025-26. Celebrini, whether Smith was healthy in the lineup or not, continued to pile on the points. But when Smith was pulled away from Celebrini, he looked like a different player.

At just 20 and 21 years old, it's far too early to worry that they may become too attached and unable to play with anyone but themselves, but this story has been written before, most notably with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Cale Makar and Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche

Similar to Celebrini and Smith, Cale Makar and Devon Toews have been attached at the hip since being paired. Makar and Toews have guided the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup win, a gold medal with Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and a silver medal at the Olympics, but as the partnership continues, it's become more evident that one side needs the other more.

When Makar is out of the lineup, Toews tends to struggle, most notably in the 2025-26 playoffs. Makar missed the first two games of the Western Conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights, requiring Toews to step up as the No. 1 defenseman and play without Makar.

Cale Makar Is Worth A Record Contract. The Avalanche Have To Get The Number Right

Cale Makar has earned a historic contract, but the Colorado Avalanche must balance paying their franchise defenseman with maintaining the championship-caliber roster needed to keep chasing Stanley Cups.

It wasn't pretty for Toews.

He finished as a minus-3 in the two games but made costly errors with the puck that rarely happen when playing with Makar.

Makar and Toews remain one of the best, if not the best, defensive pairings in the NHL, but it's a duo that has become very reliant on each other for success.

Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets

The closest to Kaprizov and Zuccarello are Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Scheifele or Connor has led the Winnipeg Jets in scoring since 2019-20, but they've also been inseparable, which has hurt the team's depth scoring.

It's not entirely fair to blame the departure of Nikolaj Ehlers on Scheifele and Connor, but the fact that no Jets coach has been able to separate the pair could have played a larger factor than what's been led on.

Throughout his Jets career, Ehlers has been stapled to the second line and left there to drive all the offense. It worked because Ehlers is of that caliber, but this season without him proved how important he was to the organization.

Winnipeg Jets Cannot Accept A Hellebuyck Trade That Starts A Retool

Trade rumors linked Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck to the Buffalo Sabres. Unless the trade makes the Winnipeg Jets a Stanley Cup front-runner next season and beyond, forget it.

Cole Perfetti, who was steadily improving, fell off a cliff production-wise. Despite his struggles, coach Scott Arniel never changed the top line to balance the scoring, partly because Scheifele and Connor have struggled to produce when apart.

Scheifele is one of the best finishers in the NHL, routinely finishing seasons with shooting percentages above 20 percent. The 33-year-old doesn't need many chances to score and excels at finding open areas on the left flank or in the slot. Connor is already a fairly proficient finisher, but he excels on the opposite side of the offensive zone from Scheifele, which allows them to zip passes to one another.

Their games rarely mesh with other players, and the Jets' offense lives or dies by the success of their top-line duo.

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This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 7:09 AM.