It feels great to have hockey back. Week one is in the books and while we still have a long ways to go, it’s still nice to reflect and see how each team has been performing so far. There’s been a couple of surprises and some pretty predictable things and so far it seems like it’s shaping up to be a pretty good season. That being said, it’s time to tear the teams apart. Here’s every NHL team’s grade after week one.
Anaheim Ducks (Grade: B+)
The Ducks went 1-1-0 in their opening two game. They got their butts handed to them by Vegas, then turned around and shocked everyone by beating Carolina. Their prevalent issues are still glaring however.
Arizona Coyotes (Grade: A-)
The Coyotes are playing far better than expected. They beat the Devils in their opener and then gave the Rangers all they could handle in a 2-1 loss. Maybe there’s a Cinderella story on our hands.
Boston Bruins (Grade: A+)
The question was never if the Bruins were going to be good, it was how good they were going to be. So far, they look pretty good as they’ve won both their first two games.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NHL stories via Google! Follow Us
Buffalo Sabres (Grade: F)
The Sabres have tripped on their skate laces and fallen flat on their face. Not a good start to the season at all.
Calgary Flames (Grade: D+)
The only positive Calgary has right now is Jacob Markstrom appears to have gotten his game back. If Markstrom goes back to his poor play this team is done for.
Carolina Hurricanes (Grade: B-)
The reason their grade is so low despite winning two of three is because they’re underperforming. Be it barely scraping by the Kings and Senators to losing a stunner to the Ducks, this team has looked mortal so far.
Chicago Blackhawks (Grade: C+)
Bedard has given this team a lifeline, but how long can they coast on their offense? The team is still noticeable outgunned by most teams and even in their wins they’ve looked shaky.
Colorado Avalanche (Grade: A+)
Colorado look like world beaters. A healthy roster and vengeance in their hearts means this team is out for blood and the league better watch out.
Columbus Blue Jackets (Grade: D-)
How this team managed to get a win against the Rangers is beyond me. They’re a bumbling mess.
Dallas Stars (Grade: A)
Dallas has only played one game so far, but they looked darn good playing it so they get themselves an A.
Detroit Red Wings (Grade: B+)
Beating up on Columbus doesn’t get you too many points, but besides that this team has looked pretty decent. We’ll see if they keep to it.
Edmonton Oilers (Grade: F)
The Oilers couldn’t have started off worse. Vancouver embarrassed them from start to finish and they couldn’t find the rebound they needed in the game after. They better pull it together.
Florida Panthers (Grade: D+)
They started out 0-2 before beating the Devils but we expected regression from this team. However, you don’t get graded by what you might do in future weeks, just what you did this last week.
Los Angeles Kings (Grade: D+)
They almost pulled it back in a thriller against Carolina, but dropped the second point in a shootout. The team had two hard games in Colorado and Carolina as their openers so there’s no real reason to be concerned except that their goaltending has looked very shaky. Cam looked good against Winnipeg though.
Minnesota Wild (Grade: B+)
Minnesota doesn’t look bad at all, but they don’t look positively outstanding either.
Montreal Canadiens (Grade: C)
They look better than expected. That’s only gotten them one win so far however. I still don’t expect this team to do much this season.
Nashville Predators (Grade: D-)
Nasvhille has regressed even faster than expected. The team is completely relying on Saros, but even he can’t win them games right now. They better buckle down for a rough season.
New Jersey Devils (Grade: C-)
New Jersey looks a bit regressed this season. Dropping games to Florida and Arizona is definitely concerning, but I do believe they will find their footing.
New York Islanders (Grade: A)
The Islanders are 2-0 to start the season. I would give them an A+ but one of those wins was Arizona.
New York Rangers (Grade A-)
The Rangers have looked good, but that weird loss to Columbus is a bit of a black eye right now. Maybe Boone Jenner is just the one guy in the league that’s figured out Shesterkin.
Ottawa Senators (Grade: A)
Their one loss is to Carolina and they far from looked bad during it. This team is going to be a pain in the neck to play against this year, even if you do beat them.
Philadelphia Flyers (Grade: B+)
Again, beating Columbus doesn’t get you too many points, but handing Vancouver their first loss of the season counts for something. The Broadstreet Bullies look a bit revitalized with Couturier back in the lineup.
Pittsburgh Penguins (Grade: B+)
Loss to Chicago aside, this team hasn’t looked bad. The question is if Tristan Jarry can remain healthy, and even if he can, can this team keep it up?
San Jose Sharks (Grade: F)
The Sharks are 0-1-1 and they’re lucky to even have that one point. They look dreadful in all aspects of the ice outside of some decent play from Mackenzie Blackwood.
Seattle Kraken (Grade: F)
We may have expected too much out of Seattle. A dreadful loss to Nashville is not the only thing bad looking on this team. The goaltending in particular is very concerning.
St. Louis Blues (Grade: C+)
St. Louis is 1-0-1 to start the year and honestly they haven’t looked bad, especially defensively. This team might have a glimmer of hope after all.
Tampa Bay Lightning (Grade: D-)
Yikes. This team is fading fast. Their one win is a life and death battle with Nashville in their season opener. With a salary cap nightmare still coming their way it’s hard to see much hope.
Toronto Maple Leafs (Grade: A-)
I had to drop their grade because after looking amazing in their first two games they went and lost an absolute stinker against Chicago. Come on Leafs, you’re better than that.
Vancouver Canucks (Grade: A-)
They whooped the Oilers 8-1 before going on and beating them again 4-3. Their loss to the Flyers showed they do still have issues, but a solid start from this team.
Vegas Golden Knights (Grade: A+)
The champs look like champs. They’re 3-0 and with no signs of slowing down and two goaltenders playing like rock stars this team is going to be a problem.
Washington Capitals (Grade: C)
They managed to beat the Flames in a shootout, but so far that’s not looking like a super hard thing to do. The Caps still look fairly average if not worse.
1. Winnipeg Jets (Grade: D-)
They got whooped by the Kings and downed by the Flames. They didn’t look great against Florida either. To make matters worse for Winnipeg, Connor Hellebuyck doesn’t look like his normal self after signing a massive extension. Here’s hoping it turns around for them.
