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 discuss 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 12 months 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 affordable. 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 proportion, simply marginally forward of the Chicago Blackhawks) and can not seem to do something proper. They’re thirtieth in targets per recreation, twenty first in targets towards per recreation and their two largest additions (Stamkos and Marchessault) have mixed for simply 11 targets.
The worst signal of all is that they’re shedding regardless of getting actually robust goaltending from Juuse Saros, who’s having an enormous bounce-back 12 months.
Pittsburgh Penguins
After two straight non-playoff seasons, no postseason collection wins because the 2018 season and with an growing older 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 solution 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 Japanese Convention. Coming into play on Tuesday their 91 targets towards and three.96 targets towards per recreation have been each the worst within the NHL, whereas they’ve developed a crushing behavior of persistently blowing multiple-goal leads. They don’t defend nicely, 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 may be merely not a lot right here to get enthusiastic about.
They weren’t purported to be good. They weren’t purported to be this dangerous.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have been seemingly overdue for a decline in some unspecified time in the future, and it lastly appears to be like like it’s right here.
On the first quarter level of the season the Bruins discover themselves on the skin of the Japanese Convention playoff image, already fired their head coach (Jim Montgomery) and nonetheless have lots of the identical flaws which have existed for the previous couple of years (particularly the dearth of a real No. 1 heart). They spent huge 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 gradual begin after signing an enormous eight-year, $66 million contract extension.
After being one of many NHL’s finest groups the previous two seasons, this can be a sudden regression.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers have been one recreation away from profitable the Stanley Cup in 2024, have two of the perfect gamers in hockey in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and still have one of many league’s finest defensive pairings in Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm.
The issue? They’ve nearly nothing after these 4 gamers.
Not less than nothing that’s taking part in nicely 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 staff that’s reliant on only a handful of gamers will not be going to go far.
