We’re 1 / 4 of the best way via the 2024-25 NHL season, and a few groups throughout the league have been fairly vital disappointments which have failed to satisfy expectations.
Let’s speak about 4 of them.
Nashville Predators
The Predators entered the season with sky-high expectations after a busy offseason that noticed them add two 40-goal scorers (Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault) and a top-four defenseman (Brady Skjei) to a roster that made the playoffs a yr in the past. A return to the playoffs ought to have been the bare-minimum expectation. Profitable a spherical or two ought to have been cheap. Competing for the Stanley Cup was not out of the query.
Simply 22 video games into their season, they’ve the second-worst document within the league (.386 factors share, simply marginally forward of the Chicago Blackhawks) and can not seem to do something proper. They’re thirtieth in objectives per sport, twenty first in objectives in opposition to per sport and their two greatest additions (Stamkos and Marchessault) have mixed for simply 11 objectives.
The worst signal of all is that they’re dropping regardless of getting actually sturdy goaltending from Juuse Saros, who’s having an enormous bounce-back yr.
Pittsburgh Penguins
After two straight non-playoff seasons, no postseason sequence wins because the 2018 season and with an ageing core, there shouldn’t have been overly excessive expectations for the Penguins this season.
They’re nonetheless failing to satisfy them.
Not solely are the Penguins on their approach to a third-straight non-playoff season, they’ve been one of many worst groups within the league and have the worst document within the NHL’s Jap Convention. Getting into play on Tuesday their 91 objectives in opposition to and three.96 objectives in opposition to per sport have been each the worst within the NHL, whereas they’ve developed a crushing behavior of constantly blowing multiple-goal leads. They don’t defend properly, they’ve a few of the league’s worst goaltending (28th in save percentage) and outdoors of captain Sidney Crosby and the occasional brilliance from Evgeni Malkin, there’s merely not a lot right here to get enthusiastic about.
They weren’t speculated to be good. They weren’t speculated to be this unhealthy.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have been seemingly overdue for a decline in some unspecified time in the future, and it lastly seems like it’s right here.
On the first quarter level of the season the Bruins discover themselves on the surface of the Jap Convention playoff image, already fired their head coach (Jim Montgomery) and nonetheless have loads of the identical flaws which have existed for the previous couple of years (particularly the shortage of a real No. 1 middle). They spent large cash in free company on ahead Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, and each have been underwhelming. Beginning goalie Jeremy Swayman has additionally been off to a sluggish begin after signing an enormous eight-year, $66 million contract extension.
After being one of many NHL’s finest groups the previous two seasons, it is a sudden regression.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers have been one sport away from successful the Stanley Cup in 2024, have two of the very best gamers in hockey in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and now have one of many league’s finest defensive pairings in Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm.
The issue? They’ve virtually nothing after these 4 gamers.
No less than nothing that’s taking part in properly this season. Solely three forwards on the roster (McDavid, Draisaitl and Mattias Janmark) have a minimum of 10 factors this season, whereas their goaltending with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard is only 27th in the league in save percentage.
No depth, no goaltending and a crew that’s reliant on only a handful of gamers just isn’t going to go far.