Tony Ferrari gives his burning questions and initial thoughts of the 16 NHL teams who missed out on the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.
Tony Ferrari gives his burning questions and initial thoughts of the 16 NHL teams who missed out on the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.
With the 16 playoff teams decided, the remaining squads must all face the harsh reality that they failed to compete for the ultimate prize – the Stanley Cup.
Some of those teams are fine with it as they undergo a rebuild, and they're more concerned about whether they were bad enough to get Connor Bedard. Others are going to face tougher questions because they were expected to compete.
Let’s look at some initial thoughts and questions on the NHL’s 16 teams who missed the playoffs.
Calgary Flames
Last off-season's big moves ultimately failed in 2022-23. Now what?
After losing Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk in the off-season, the Flames managed to bring in Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, and MacKenzie Weegar. That should have – at a minimum – eased the loss of two franchise cornerstones. It did not. The Flames need to figure out what is next, whether it’s firing the coach who seems out of touch with his team or trying to blow up a team that, on paper, should have eased their way into the playoffs.
Nashville Predators
The playoff push was fun after selling at the deadline, but it’s time to embrace the future.
The Predators sold at the deadline with a capital ‘S,’ jettisoning franchise cornerstone Mattias Ekholm as well as Tanner Jeannot, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund. Nashville is hosting the draft this season. They’ll have 13 picks, including two firsts, two seconds and three thirds for incoming GM Barry Trotz as the franchise's only GM, David Poile, walks off into the sunset. There will be a true changing of the guard this off-season.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Even Crosby, Malkin, and Letang can’t cover up for the holes on this roster.
The Penguins have far too often relied on their top stars to carry players who come out of nowhere but never project to play as high in the lineup as they do. How many times have we asked, “Who is that?” on Crosby’s wing? It just can’t be like that anymore, even if the three superstars are all still elite players. Go find some legitimate players to fill out this roster and figure out what’s going on in net. Sid, Geno, and Tanger deserve it.
Buffalo Sabres
The team is on the precipice of playoff contention – stay the course.
It’s great finally seeing the Sabres as a relevant playoff contender once again. The NHL is better when one of the best markets in the league is popping, as Buffalo was this season. The infusion of youth from Owen Power, Jack Quinn, and J.J. Peterka, among others, gives this team lots of hope for the future with the massive steps Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson have taken. Their biggest task this off-season should be not trying to rush it or make a signing that could hurt them down the line.
Ottawa Senators
The rebuild is still not over.
An improved top six wasn’t enough to get the Sens into the playoffs this season. Two years after the rebuild was deemed over, the club still has a plethora of questions. Is Alex DeBrincat a long-term fit? Where does the offensive depth come from beyond the top six? Who is coming to help save the blueline? Who is the netminder of the future? They have some solid pieces in Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Jake Sanderson and Jakob Chychrun, among others, but they need the depth pieces before the rebuild is truly over.
St. Louis Blues
They traded the old guard – now, build around the new wave.
The Blues have been one of the better teams at rebuilding on the fly over the last decade or so, understanding when it’s time to move on from key veterans and when to bring in their younger talent. They did it again this season, moving Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly while arming themselves with three first-rounders in a very good draft. Stay the course, and keep faith in the process.
Vancouver Canucks
Don’t think you’re good because you got hot under a new coach – we literally did this last year.
The Canucks are a perpetual source of entertainment – for good and bad. They never seem to want to rebuild but are also cognizant of not being competitive enough to make an impact in the playoffs. They are seemingly fine being in the mushy middle of mediocrity. If they repeat the mistakes of a year ago, they will continue along that route, wasting the talents of Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko.
Detroit Red Wings
This year was a step in the right direction – it's time to take another step next year.
GM Steve Yzerman pushed some of his chips into the table last off-season, signing Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik to bolster the young roster. It didn’t quite work in terms of getting to the playoffs, but it did help the Red Wings become a competitive team that wasn’t getting blown out on a weekly basis. They need to let the young guys develop and take on bigger roles while not rushing the process by signing aging vets.
Washington Capitals
Ovechkin is 72 goals away from Gretzky, but this roster needs some retooling.
The Capitals seem to be in the era of “Get Ovechkin to the goal record” with less than full focus on icing a Cup-contending roster. That’s fine if that’s the goal, but they could use some holes filled on this roster to at least make them a playoff contender on the back nine of Ovechkin’s career. They had a number of major injuries this season which played a factor, but they need to add some talent at every level.
Philadelphia Flyers
By failing to plan, you're planning to fail.
The Flyers started hot, thanks to Carter Hart, which made for a fun opening month. From that point on, it was John Tortorella berating players and scratching his top scorer while the team went into full-on free-fall mode. The team made some moves last off-season that were considered win-now moves, and the lack of payoff proves the naysayers correct. The team lacks a direction, and they need to get that sorted out before they are able to climb out of the NHL's basement.
Arizona Coyotes
College is fun for a few years. Don’t stay longer than you need to.
The City of Phoenix is suing the team over developments around the new proposed arena while the team is countersuing the city. The Coyotes are supposed to be playing at Mullett Arena for at least the next two seasons after this one, with an option for 2025-26 if the team and Arizona State University agree to it. On the ice, the team over-performed as they had a who’s who of random players in the lineup throughout the season, but they also got career years from players like Clayton Keller. The on-ice product will improve. They just need to get the off-ice stuff figured out.
Montreal Canadiens
The kids are fun…when they’re healthy.
Montreal is on the right path. They had the first pick at the draft last year and have a chance to select in the top five yet again after a season of development, youth and inconsistent play. The Canadiens iced rookies and young players throughout the lineup, and they all showed exactly why many pundits think that they are going to eventually be one of the most entertaining teams in the NHL. From Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield to Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj, they have all been so much fun to watch when healthy, which hasn’t often been the case.
San Jose Sharks
Erik Karlsson had 100 points. Sell immediately.
The San Jose Sharks have successfully tanked while giving their fans something to care about. They are one of the worst teams in the NHL despite Erik Karlsson refinding his elite offensive form and breaking 100 points. The last time a defender hit the century mark was in 1992. The fact that Karlsson did this with such a putrid supporting cast makes it all the more impressive. His defensive game isn’t great, but he’s been on the ice for a league-leading 21 empty-net goals and plays on the Sharks' penalty kill, which have killed his goal differential. This is still an amazing player, which is exactly why the Sharks need to leverage this season and trade him this summer.
Chicago Blackhawks
It sucks to suck unless you’re trying to suck. The Hawks were trying hard.
Chicago truly never tried to be even a semi-competitive team this season. The Hawks are going into the off-season with a high draft pick of their own, a Tampa Bay first-round pick and four second-round picks. They will be losing longtime captain and one of the franchise's best players in Jonathan Toews, who will not be re-signed this off-season. The Hawks are fully entering a new era, with hopes that a high draft pick in this loaded draft will give them a star for the future.
Anaheim Ducks
A new coach will help this team look functional next year.
The Ducks were hoping to take a step forward this season, but that would have required the team to play a system conducive to winning hockey games. There were far too many times throughout this season when the Ducks played with no cohesion, looking as if they were a group of rec league players who just met. The talent on this roster deserves better than a bottom-three finish, but it will take a new coach and philosophy to showcase the talent.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Johnny Gaudreau was good. The team was not. The draft is coming.
The Blue Jackets made the biggest splash of last off-season, signing Johnny Gaudreau to a big free-agent deal, which had some thinking they were going to be a relatively competitive team. Unfortunately, injuries, a porous blueline, lacking depth and an over-reliance on young players led to them sitting at the bottom of the NHL. It’s been a painful year in Columbus, but thankfully, they look poised to pick in the bottom three, and they’ll be hoping for draft lottery luck. It’s just time to move on from this ugly season.