NHL
Midway through the 2024-25 season, The Athletic’s NHL staff broke out their red pens and handed out grades for every team’s first half.
Now that the regular season is behind us and all 32 clubs get set for the playoffs or offseason, there’s no better time to reflect on every team’s season as a whole.
That’s exactly what The Athletic did this week when it asked its NHL staff to assign a grade to every team’s entire 2024-25 regular season with expectations in mind. You’ll definitely be proud to show some of these to your parents (or general managers). Others … maybe not so much.
The Ducks were supposed to improve. A jump from 59 points last season to 80 does represent progress. But they didn’t fare well in their first meaningful second-half games in years, and never squeezed into the wild-card race. Important young players such as Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish and Jackson LaCombe took necessary strides forward, while Cutter Gauthier had a good rookie season. Lukáš Dostál proved he’s got the chops to be a No. 1 goalie. But they’re still very leaky defensively and inconsistent from period to period and game to game under Greg Cronin, with special teams that were mostly brutal. — Eric Stephens
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It would have been one thing if the Bruins started the season with low expectations. They did not. They believed they’d contend for the playoffs. So it’s a major whiff to finish as a bottom-five club. The only solace is how aggressively they acted at the deadline with futures and a high 2025 draft pick in mind. — Fluto Shinzawa
It’s tough to grade this season as anything higher than an F for the Sabres. They came into the season with playoff expectations and ended up regressing from their 84-point season a year ago. They spent more than three months of the season in last place in the Eastern Conference. A 13-game winless streak ruined their playoff chances before Jan. 1. It’s not that the season was completely devoid of silver linings or glimmers of hope. But the overwhelming feeling about Buffalo’s season will be disappointment as the Sabres watch the playoffs from home for a 14th straight season. — Matthew Fairburn
The Flames punched above their weight and expectations thanks to their rookie goalie Dustin Wolf and key contributions from Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri throughout the season. It nearly got them into the playoffs. They can get points for that. The downside is that the Flames will have to give up the best of three first-round draft picks to Montreal thanks to the Sean Monahan trade, and that their next two first-rounders will be middle of the pack. But that’s still ample opportunity for them to move their rebuild/retool along. But game-breakers are still needed. — Julian McKenzie
It was a wild season in Raleigh: a mini roster overhaul, the blockbuster Mikko Rantanen trade, the shocking follow-up deal and now the arrival of long-awaited top prospect Alexander Nikishin. But in the end, the Hurricanes, despite having their doubters, still finished near the top of the Eastern Conference and are poised to make noise in the playoffs. — Cory Lavalette
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The Blackhawks weren’t much better than they were last season, finishing in 31st place again, but it does feel like the rebuild took a step. Their roster looked a lot different and younger by the end of the season. Being able to trade Seth Jones was the biggest surprise of the year, and that opened present and future roster possibilities. Sam Rinzel and Frank Nazar opened eyes and look to have promising futures. Plenty of others also made their NHL debuts. It wasn’t exactly the year general manager Kyle Davidson hoped for, but it does set the path for a more interesting 2025-26 season. — Scott Powers
Colorado’s aspirations were certainly higher than third place in the Central Division entering the season, but in the end, the Avalanche earned a ticket to the playoffs. General manager Chris MacFarland reworked the roster to a degree we rarely see from a contending team, swapping both of his goaltenders, moving on from Mikko Rantanen and adding to his center depth at the deadline. The result is a team that’s good enough to go on a deep run, which is what the season will ultimately be judged by. — Jesse Granger
Very few NHL teams should get an “A” grade after missing the playoffs, but the Blue Jackets are an exception. They played through the grief following the late-summer death of beloved teammate Johnny Gaudreau, and they overachieved perhaps more than any team in recent memory. A 4-11-1 slump that lasted all of March and into April sealed their fate, but the Blue Jackets had a number of really strong performances — Zach Werenski, Sean Monahan, Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli and others — that bode well for their future. — Aaron Portzline
We’re grading on a bit of a curve here, given how comically high expectations were and are in Dallas. Failing to win the division title and a mediocre power play keep this from being a full “A.” But there’s little to complain about. The Stars were a top-five team despite losing Tyler Seguin for more than 60 games and Miro Heiskanen for more than 30. They added a true star in Mikko Rantanen and locked him up long term, and the Mikael Granlund trade made the deepest team even deeper, which will pay off in the playoffs. If they can get past Colorado, they’re still the team to beat in the West. — Mark Lazerus
The Red Wings hoped to push for the playoffs this season, and while a January surge under new head coach Todd McLellan put that goal in reach, it wasn’t enough to overcome a disastrous start and another March collapse. Detroit did see some growth this year, but the failure of a ninth straight season outside the playoffs is the bottom line. — Max Bultman
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The Oilers had designs on winning their division and maybe even the Presidents’ Trophy. Instead, they won’t even have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Injuries hurt them down the stretch, but too many players underachieved this season. The list of those meeting or exceeding expectations might be limited to Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, Corey Perry and Calvin Pickard. The result was only 36 regulation wins, good for just sixth in the Western Conference. That’s three fewer than last season. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman
Could the regular-season portion of Florida’s title defense have gone a little more smoothly? Sure. In a perfect world, they’d be preparing to play a wild-card team in Round 1. Injuries and inconsistency happen, though, so the defending champs (plus Seth Jones, Brad Marchand and with a rested Matthew Tkachuk on the way) have to worry about Tampa Bay. Try not to feel too bad for them. — Sean Gentille
Considering many expected the Kings to embark on a slow slide toward the mushy middle after a third straight first-round playoff exit, a season in which they tied the franchise record of 48 wins and 105 points deserves high marks. A division title or No. 1 seed would have pushed it to an A+. Their veterans continued to get the job done, their youngsters leveled up and all their additions since last spring have been key contributors. They’ve got to win in the playoffs, but the 82-game performance is a victory lap for coach Jim Hiller and much-maligned general manager Rob Blake. — Eric Stephens
We’re grading the Wild on a curve because they made the playoffs. If Joel Eriksson Ek didn’t score with 22 seconds left in regulation to force overtime against Anaheim on Tuesday, though … whoa, Nelly! Still, if we told you before the season that Kirill Kaprizov would miss 41 games, Eriksson Ek 36 and Jonas Brodin 32, nobody would have envisioned the Wild as a playoff participant. It came down to the very, very end, but reaching the postseason with the adversity they endured is an achievement. — Michael Russo
The Canadiens came out of the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off with a 2 percent chance of making the playoffs. It took all 82 games, but they made it. Along the way, the NHL’s youngest team to make the tournament learned valuable lessons that will serve it well in the future, and those lessons will continue this spring. Coach Martin St. Louis said all season the priority was learning how to win, how to perform under pressure. It wasn’t perfect, but mission accomplished. — Arpon Basu
This was a complete disaster. There’s no way to spin it. This was the most disappointing season in franchise history, in part because it was one of the most anticipated. General manager Barry Trotz’s big signings didn’t work. Coach Andrew Brunette couldn’t elicit anything resembling consistency. And now Juuse Saros is about to start the eight-year deal Trotz just gave him, coming off the worst season by far of his career. Things are bleak in Nashville. — Joe Rexrode
The Devils took an important step in getting back to the postseason, but with Jack Hughes out with a shoulder injury until next season, they don’t seem like legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. The team got off to a good start but struggled when the calendar flipped to 2025, which hurts their grade a bit. Still, New Jersey had a good regular season that it can build on. Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier had excellent seasons, and the offseason additions fit in enough to get this team back to the playoffs. — Peter Baugh
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Injuries did hamper them — Mathew Barzal played just 30 games this season — but this was a team that defined mediocre right from the start. The Islanders were never more than four games above or below .500 all season and finished right at .500, which means they didn’t bottom out to grab a top draft prospect, nor did they compete for anything important. Lou Lamoriello did trade Brock Nelson for a good return at the deadline, but nothing else has changed. — Arthur Staple
There are no major redeeming points of this Rangers season. The team went from a Presidents’ Trophy winner to a non-playoff club. There was off-ice drama with Chris Drury sending a memo to other clubs in November saying he’d be open to trading roster players, including Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, and the team floundered after a 12-4-1 start. The Rangers looked lost defensively at times and repeatedly failed to respond well to adversity. It’s going to be a long offseason for New York, during which Drury will continue trying to rework the roster. — Peter Baugh
The Senators are in the playoffs for the first time in eight years. This was the goal they set out to accomplish last summer. They improved on defense and in goal, thanks to Linus Ullmark, Anton Forsberg and season-saving performances from rookie goalie Leevi Meriläinen. Tim Stützle improved defensively, Jake Sanderson took a step, the Sens acquired a new center for their core in Dylan Cozens, and Brady Tkachuk is still himself. They’ll enter the playoffs with nothing to really lose in the long run. But any blood they draw off the Maple Leafs will go a long way in terms of accumulating playoff experience. — Julian McKenzie
In many ways, the season went according to plan, with a number of notable subtractions and a lottery pick on the way. But there was a bit too much that went wrong to just give the Flyers a C average — specifically, the league-worst goaltending and the nearly league-worst power play, both of which are going to have to be addressed in the offseason. There was also the late-season unpleasantness of firing coach John Tortorella, who should have lasted at least through the season. There were some encouraging performances from young players such as Jamie Drysdale, Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov, but others, such as Owen Tippett and Cam York, disappointed. — Kevin Kurz
Most didn’t expect the Penguins to make the playoffs this season, but they still receive a poor grade because of the way they played. There can’t possibly be a worse defensive team in the NHL. Sidney Crosby remains so great, and the Penguins still provide a healthy amount of the offense. But they couldn’t even challenge for a playoff spot in a bad Metropolitan Division because of their amateurish defensive play. — Josh Yohe
Some might give the Sharks a better grade for being more competitive (and far more entertaining), yet still being in contention to get the No. 1 pick for the second straight year. Finishing with the NHL’s worst record should never get a good mark. Saying that, Macklin Celebrini proved he’s a star in the making and they weren’t supposed to win very much. They’ve got terrific young talent and a pipeline full of good prospects. A bright future lies ahead. The present is still terrible. — Eric Stephens
Under the surface, the Kraken showed some signs of progress this season. Brandon Montour was nothing short of brilliant in his first season, Shane Wright found his way as an impact center and Kaapo Kakko and Matty Beniers found immediate chemistry after Kakko was acquired from the Rangers. A lot of the reason the Kraken fell short was down to the performance of their backup goaltender. In games that Joey Daccord started, the Kraken had a record you’d expect from a playoff-bound team. That said, this team spent heavily in unrestricted free agency with short-term improvement in mind. Seattle didn’t even come especially close to realizing it. — Thomas Drance
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It’s about the ending, right? The Blues brought in Jim Montgomery as coach in November and when the shine wore off, they still struggled. But between Montgomery’s persistence in preaching the details and the players’ sacrifices for the good of the team, they pulled it together. While it took every bit of a franchise-record 12-game winning streak to make the playoffs, they did it, and the accomplishment does wonders in advancing the retool. — Jeremy Rutherford
The Lightning had to show that their window of contention wasn’t closing just yet, and they did exactly that. After some major changes in the offseason, such as moving on from Steven Stamkos and signing Jake Guentzel, their elite core proved to be a difference-maker. Andrei Vasilevskiy bounced back, and the supporting cast stepped up in a big way, giving management reason to bet on this team at the deadline. Tampa Bay looks like one of the most dangerous teams in the league again. — Shayna Goldman
The Leafs deserve a lot of credit for winning their first division title in 25 years, especially their efforts down the stretch to lock up the crown. Top-notch goaltending from Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll was the biggest separator for Toronto, because in a lot of ways, it was a middle-of-the-road team — at five-on-five especially, they weren’t elite offensively or defensively. The other advantage: High-end talent that — in addition to goaltending — won them a lot of close games. — Jonas Siegel
After finishing in sixth last a year ago, a jump up to 19th with 89 points certainly does count as progress. It’s also a better record than they had in Arizona over the past decade. While there was plenty of playoff talk in the preseason, Utah entered the season with the fourth-youngest team in the league and key injuries on defense early on, so growing pains were to be expected. But it does feel as though terrific seasons from Clayton Keller and netminder Karel Vejmelka went a bit wasted given the underperformances elsewhere. There’s plenty of upside for this group next season, however — especially if 2024 No. 6 pick Tij Iginla can step in right away. — James Mirtle
The Canucks were supposed to be a contender. Right from the get-go, however, the season went pear-shaped. Thatcher Demko didn’t return from his complicated knee injury until December and then dealt with two additional extended absences. Dakota Joshua missed the first month and a bit recovering from surgery following a summer testicular cancer diagnosis. Filip Hronek, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser all missed stretches for various reasons, too. To top it off, the vibe of the group was off from the jump. J.T. Miller took an unexplained 10-game absence in November and was ultimately traded a couple of months later, a necessity for team chemistry. This was a spoiled season for a core group that’s quickly running out of chances to make the case that they’re even a consistent playoff team. — Thomas Drance
The Golden Knights enter every season with the same expectation: winning the Stanley Cup. After losing several key pieces due to cap constraints last summer, it did seem like this would be a bit of a retooling year for Vegas, but the new pieces fit in seamlessly and the team won its fourth Pacific Division title in eight years. The biggest concern was scoring, but the Golden Knights got contributions from up and down the lineup and had their best power play yet. — Jesse Granger
They shuffled their feet at the end a bit and cost themselves an A+, but the Capitals’ season has still been an unqualified success. Alex Ovechkin broke the all-time career goals record, the new guys made major impacts, young players took important steps and they went from a fringe playoff team to the No. 1 seed in the East. What more could you want? — Sean Gentille
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I expected Winnipeg to be a playoff team, but last year’s 110 points seemed tough to replicate with so many games against an improved Central Division. Now the Jets are first-time Presidents’ Trophy winners, with a 56-22-4 record and 116 points. Winnipeg won its first-ever Central Division title. Connor Hellebuyck won his second straight Jennings Trophy, will probably win his second straight Vezina and may even win the Hart. Plus, Josh Morrissey was elite all over again and Dylan Samberg emerged as a top-four defenseman. The power play was way better, finishing first, which helped four of Winnipeg’s top-six forwards set career highs in points. This was an A+ season and then some. — Murat Ates
(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; Top photos: Jonathan Kozub, Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images)

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