Report Card for Every NHL Team After Season's First Month

It might seem hard to believe, but we are already through the first month of the 2023-24 NHL season. That means we have seen a decent sampling of every team and are starting to get a sense for what they are capable of and what they will look like this season.

It also means report card time.

So let's go through each NHL team and hand out some early grades.

We are grouping the teams into divisions, and they are listed alphabetically.

In handing out grades we are considering a couple of factors, which include the actual on-ice performance so far, whether it is sustainable and how all of that compares to the preseason expectations.

Boston Bruins: A+

There was every reason to believe the Bruins would take a step backward this season, from the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to possible regression from the goalie duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. All they have done through the first month of the season is post the league's best points percentage (entering play Thursday) and again be one of the toughest teams in the league to score against. The goaltending still seems like it is in line for a percentage-based regression, but this team does not slow down.

Buffalo Sabres: C-

After missing the playoffs by just a single point last year and boasting one of the most exciting young rosters in the league, the Sabres entered the season with real expectations this season. For the first time in more than a decade, the playoffs not only seemed like a realistic goal but also an expectation. So far...it's not been great. There are still goalie questions, defensive issues and the offense has not been quite as good.

Detroit Red Wings: C+

The top-line forwards are playing excellent hockey, especially offseason addition Alex DeBrincat. But they really need more from their goaltending, especially starter Ville Husso, who carries an .890 save percentage. If the Red Wings do not get closer to a playoff spot this season or take a major step forward, it will be way past time to start questioning general manager Steve Yzerman.

Florida Panthers: B-

The Panthers' 2022-23 season was one of the wildest in hockey. They disappointed during the regular season, needed a ton of luck just to sneak into the playoffs and then went on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final as the No. 8 seed. The reality is they are probably closer to the regular-season version of what we saw than the playoff version. It's a good-but-not-great start.

Montreal Canadiens: C

Martin St. Louis seems like he has a chance to be a really good NHL coach for a long time. He just needs the players around him to make it all come together. There is some serious young talent here, but it's going to take time to build up the depth and complementary pieces around it.

Ottawa Senators: D

The Senators have spent a lot of money to keep their young core together and locked in place long-term. The top half of the lineup looks like a playoff team, but there are still some big depth and goalie questions here that need to be answered. Based on the early returns, those answers are not what the Senators want.

Tampa Bay Lightning: B+

Preseason expectations might have been lower for the Lightning than at any point over the past decade. It is an older roster, and starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy remains sidelined for a significant portion of the season. But they keep winning. Probably not wise to bet against a team that still has Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos leading its offense.

Toronto Maple Leafs: D

The quartet of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares is probably playing as good as you could possibly hope for if you are a Maple Leafs fan. Especially Matthews and Nylander. But the rest of this team has been so painfully mediocre that it is dragging down the performance of the top group. How long can you keep playing Ryan Reaves? How long can you watch this goalie situation? How long can this organization keep disappointing?

Carolina Hurricanes: B

The most encouraging sign for the Hurricanes is that players such as Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Seth Jarvis look like they might be starting to have breakout seasons. The Hurricanes always do everything well and dominate their opponents territorially, but they always seem to lack star power and elite finishers. That tends to haunt them in the playoffs. But with Kotkaniemi, Jarvis, Martin Necas and (hopefully now he is healthy) Andrei Svechnikov entering their prime years, that could start to change.

Columbus Blue Jackets: D-

They spent so much money the past two offseason to simply get a bad team, while also ignoring their most significant weakness: goalie. Add in the Mike Babcock fiasco from the offseason and everything about this situation just stinks. There are some encouraging youngsters on the roster and coming through the system, but why should anybody trust the current front office to build it into something?

New Jersey Devils: B

The biggest disappointment here is that Jack Hughes has another injury (shoulder) that is going to sideline him for a while. That is the only thing slowing him down in his career, and it is unfortunate that it happened again because he is having an MVP-caliber season to start. This is one of the deepest collections of forward talent in the league.

New York Islanders: C

This has to be an incredibly frustrating start for Islanders fans. The record itself is fine, but it could be so much better if they could simply hold on to third-period leads and not keep falling apart late in games. If you pride yourself on being a team built around defense and goaltending, you cannot give away points like New York has.

New York Rangers: A

Until their young forwards take a big step forward, there should be some reasonable skepticism about what the ceiling is here, but you can't argue with the early-season results on a team-wide level. You would still like to see more from them 5-on-5, but this has been the type of start they needed in a tough conference.

Philadelphia Flyers: C

The Flyers have some of the best expected goal numbers in the league through the first month, and they got a pleasant surprise in the fact that Sean Couturier looks like he can still play. They are playing hard and playing mostly well. They just do not have the talent or the depth to turn all of that promising form into something meaningful in the standings.

Pittsburgh Penguins: D

There are still big questions with the forward depth, and Tristan Jarry is as inconsistent as ever in goal. The power play is also wildly disappointing given the talent they can put out. They missed the playoffs by a single point a year ago, largely because they gave away a lot of winnable games to teams they should have beaten. They have already done that multiple times this season.

Washington Capitals: D

They are really starting to show their age, and the Nicklas Bäckström injury is disappointing as it looks like his career is most likely over. Alex Ovechkin only has two goals in 11 games (unheard of) and Darcy Kuemper is looking like his free-agent contract is going to be a significant bust.

Arizona Coyotes: B

The Coyotes have been fun to watch on most nights. That is what happens when you have a young player—and potential cornerstone building block—like Logan Cooley make his debut and immediately look the part. The 19-year-old has just one goal this season, but he is noticeable in every game and his playmaking has been fantastic. This is not a playoff team yet, but there is finally reason for optimism.

Chicago Blackhawks: C

Like Arizona, this team is far from contending for a playoff spot. Also like Arizona, it's still a team worth watching because of the presence of young franchise cornerstone Connor Bedard. His overall numbers are not eye-popping, but they are outstanding when you consider he is an 18-year-old rookie playing on a terrible team. No player since Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid has entered the NHL with more hype and he looks like he is going to be as good as advertised.

Colorado Avalanche: A

The strange thing about the Avalanche having one of the league's best records so far is that they are doing so while their starting goalie, Alexander Georgiev, has a sub-.900 save percentage for the season. With the depth and defense of this roster, not to mention the two superstar forwards (Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen) the sky is the limit for this team when Georgiev gets back on track.

Dallas Stars: A

The Stars have one of the league's best rosters on paper and are off to a fantastic start. They have a 55 percent expected goal share during 5-on-5 play, have a goalie playing out of his skin in Jake Oettinger, and they don't really have a weakness anywhere on their roster. Top-five Stanley Cup contender.

Minnesota Wild: D

The Wild are in a brutal spot because their salary-cap situation limits how much they can add around their core, and a lot of their success a year ago was driven by Filip Gustavsson having a breakout season in goal. He has not played that way this season, while some other stars are off to slow starts.

Nashville Predators: D

The biggest problem with the Predators is that they are just stuck in that messy middle ground in the NHL where it's impossible to make progress. They are not good enough to seriously compete. But they are also not committing to the rebuild they desperately need. That is the best way to remain mediocre for years ahead.

St. Louis Blues: C-

There is not a lot to like about the Blues. Their expected goal numbers are among the worst in the league. The offense has not been great. The only thing keeping them afloat so far is the goaltending. You should not trust the Blues goaltending to be able to continue doing that.

Winnipeg Jets: B

There are a lot of reasons to have concerns about this team, from a front office that is resistant to change to the top-heavy roster that is lacking in depth. But credit where it's due, the Jets are off to a strong start that is made even more impressive by the fact that their best and most important player, starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck, has not been playing to his usual high standard.

Anaheim Ducks: B

The Ducks have been an extremely fun team to watch this season. A lot of their success is percentage driven thanks to some high shooting percentages and some unexpectedly strong goaltending performances, and that does create some questions about sustainability this season. But the truly encouraging thing is that they are showing progress, and some young players are really starting to shine. Mason McTavish looks fantastic, and even though his production is not there yet, Trevor Zegras looks like he is on the verge of a breakthrough offensively.

Calgary Flames: D-

Every week the Flames are talking about why they had to bench Jonathan Huberdeau in a game. If he does not start generating more offense, that contract is going to become one of the worst in the NHL. It might already be there. They needed him and Jacob Markstrom to have big bounce-back years. Neither has shown that's going to happen this season.

Edmonton Oilers: F

What a mess. The goaltending situation here is unacceptably bad and in danger of ruining the entire season. That isn't the only problem, of course, but it's the most obvious and the one that was most clearly a question mark entering the season. There is still a lot of hockey to be played, but this start puts the pressure on them to get things turned around...rapidly.

Los Angeles Kings: A

The Kings are so good defensively and have so much talent at forward that it almost doesn't even matter that their goaltending duo is the least-inspiring one on paper among the likely playoff teams. Not many teams are good enough to pull that off. The Kings are.

San Jose Sharks: F

Everybody knew this team was going to be bad. The roster has been gutted by trades as the rebuild gets underway, and the defense might be one of the worst blue lines assembled in the modern era. But I doubt anybody saw this team being quite this bad. Allowing 10 goals in back-to-back games? That is not NHL-caliber play.

Seattle Kraken: C

The Kraken took a major leap forward in year two by not only reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs, but also by eliminating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche when they got there. It was a great year, but it also may have set expectations a little too high. A lot of their offensive success was shooting percentage driven, and they still don't have reliable goaltending.

Vancouver Canucks: B+

Everything about the Canucks' start screams mirage. Everything about this start is based on outrageously high shooting percentages and save percentages, and it's difficult to maintain both of those over a full 82-game season. A 44 percent expected goal share but a 72 percent goals share during 5-on-5 play? Nobody can believe in that continuing. At some point, we will see this team's true talent level. For now, though, it is stacking wins and giving itself a cushion for when that regression inevitably happens.

Vegas Golden Knights: A

Everything is clicking here for the Stanley Cup champions. The goaltending is great from both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson. The forward depth is great. The defense has been outstanding. They look like champions with a serious chance to repeat.