Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
It is time to bring back the NHL sour rankings, our opportunity to look at how bad things are going for the league’s basement dwellers.
The NHL’s bottom 10 teams are usually poised to be in the running for the first overall pick when the draft lottery takes place after the season. They’re usually rebuilding organizations that trade veterans and acquire young players and draft picks.
Every once in a while, though, the sour rankings feature a team with much higher hopes that’s having dreadful results so far. This time around, however, about half of the teams in the sour rankings fit that bill.
Since it’s this early in the season, those teams may just be having a rough start and will be out of the bottom 10 later in the season. In last year’s first sour rankings on Nov. 18, 2023, three of the bottom 10 squads – the Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders – made the post-season.
But that’s not the case for every underachieving team, and there are about to be miserable months ahead.
Let’s dive into which of the bottom 10 clubs in points percentage are destined to live at the bottom of the NHL’s standings and which teams are just off to a rough start.
Chicago Blackhawks, 3-7-1, 7 points, .318 P%
Connor Bedard is off to a slow-ish start – nine points in 11 games – based on the expectations hockey pundits had for him coming into the year. But the reality of this season was always going to be the Hawks would be on the outside looking in.
They’ve played fairly close games and have avoided the types of blowouts other basement dwellers have suffered, but Chicago has still found ways to lose more often than not.
Chicago seems to be taking a slower approach this year with their youth after bringing in veterans Tyler Bertuzzi, TJ Brodie and Alec Martinez during the off-season. Nolan Allan is the only rookie on the roster, with Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov and Kevin Korchinski, among others, all playing in the AHL.
This team is focused on developing their youth right now. Bedard is the big draw on the big club, but the focus isn’t necessarily on winning many games this season.
Related: NHL Rumor Roundup: Will The Sabres And Blackhawks Get Help?
San Jose Sharks, 3-7-2, 8 points, .333 P%
After picking first overall last year and selecting Macklin Celebrini as the centerpiece to the next era of Sharks hockey, the Sharks are back at the bottom of the NHL’s standings.
Unfortunately for them, this season’s start has been nearly as bad as last year. They started 0-7-2. At least it didn’t take them until November to win a game.
Celebrini has only seen one game of NHL action, but he did record two points in the contest. He’s dealing with a hip injury he played through on opening night, but the Sharks sat him down to ensure long-term health.
The Sharks belong here at the bottom of the standings. Even without Celebrini, they have young talent on the roster, such as Will Smith and Danil Gushchin, but they’ve struggled out of the gate. With yet another full-on tank in store, this team is exactly where it wants to be.
Nashville Predators, 3-6-1, 7 points, .350 P%
After winning the off-season, no one could have predicted the Nashville Predators would be in the bottom five of the NHL a month in, but here we are.
The Predators have struggled to gel with new additions throughout the lineup, and Juuse Saros hasn’t quite been his typically dominant self with a 3.04 goals-against average and .896 save percentage.
Thankfully, the Predators began to turn it around with points in four straight games before Thursday’s ugly 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, going 3-0-1.
This team has too much talent to end up at the bottom of the league. Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Ryan O’Reilly were already on the squad before the Predators added Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei this summer. They also have some young players, such as Zachary L’Heureux and Luke Evangelista, starting to make an impact. The Preds won’t be on this list much longer.
Pittsburgh Penguins 4-7-1, 9 points, .375 P%
With a roster that features Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, you wouldn’t think there would be any chance for the Penguins to have the fourth-worst point percentage of any team in the NHL. That’s exactly what has happened.
The scary part for Penguins fans is that despite having those future Hall of Famers, this is exactly where this team belongs.
Pittsburgh has a roster full of flaws. Their goaltending has been dreadful, with 22-year-old third-stringer Joel Blomqvist being their best netminder right now. Their defensive play is horrific, and their best players aren’t getting any younger.
Although Crosby could once carry an NHL roster on his back at times, that can’t last forever. He may very well be one of the best 37-year-old NHLers of all-time, with 12 points in 12 games so far, but it will require more than a member of hockey’s Mount Rushmore in his late 30s to get this team out of the basement.
Related: The Wraparound: Which Direction Should The Pittsburgh Penguins Go From Here?
New York Islanders, 3-5-2, 8 points, .400 P%
Has the floor fallen out from the Lou Lamoriello-led Islanders? That seems to be the case.
With questionable free-agent signings, a bare prospect pool and a roster lacking solid depth, the Islanders are falling into where they should have likely been for quite a while now. Star goaltender Ilya Sorokin is playing some of his best hockey ever, and yet, the Islanders will still have a hard time climbing up the standings if they can’t score.
Mathew Barzal, Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat lead a forward group that lacks the firepower to score their way out of trouble. They’ve been shut out four times in 10 games. Even though they’re generating a respectable number of chances and perhaps aren’t getting as many goals as the advanced stats would suggest, averaging a league-low 2.10 goals-for per game and getting shut out in almost half their games so far is completely unacceptable.
Their defense is solid, allowing only 2.90 goals per game, but they haven’t been stonewalling teams to victories as much as they used to.
The Islanders may be at the crossroads of deciding whether they will continue to push for a playoff spot or start looking toward the future and grab a high draft pick.
Philadelphia Flyers, 4-6-1, 9 points, .409 P%
The never-ending search for stable goaltending continues as the Flyers remain near the bottom of the NHL in net.
They sit second-last in save percentage league-wide, according to naturalstattrick.com. They don’t have the scoring to cover up for their woes in net, either. Their goalie situation is a work in progress, but maybe Samuel Ersson or Aleksei Kolosov can find their way to do a serviceable job in net.
As for the rest of the team, the young talent is beginning to emerge. Matvei Michkov is October’s NHL rookie of the month, and they have other young players, such as Jamie Drysdale and Tyson Foerster.
Jett Luchanko started the year in the NHL right after being drafted. Even though he was sent back to the OHL, it was promising to see him make such an impression. The Flyers are supposed to be near the bottom of the standings, but if they can find some semblance of average goaltending, they might end up outside of the basement.
Related: NHL Prospects: Flyers And Avalanche First-Rounders Gained Huge Experience In Trial
Boston Bruins, 4-6-1, 9 points, 409 P%
There’s just something missing. The usual Bruins magic and will to win just hasn’t been there early in the year.
They are coming off an 8-2 loss to Carolina, and the team looks uninspired. They have an aging group with captain Brad Marchand, who is now 36 years old. After a contract dispute that lasted right up until the start of the season, star goalie Jeremy Swayman has been just fine to start the year. Without his Vezina-winning tandem-mate, Linus Ullmark, in the fold anymore, the Bruins don’t have the luxury of the best tandem in hockey anymore.
David Pastrnak is still an all-world scorer, and the blueline still features some of the most well-rounded defenders in hockey, such as Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. They have the pieces to get out of this slump, but it’s been a weird start to the year for the Bruins. It’s unlikely they will be near the bottom of the NHL much longer, but this could be the year the Bruins fall off. Probably not, but it could be.
Related: What Are The Boston Bruins’ Contract Options With Brad Marchand?
Montreal Canadiens, 4-6-1, 9 points, 409 P%
This feels right. The Canadiens are barely on the list, and they haven’t really been performing well to this point.
They’ve been dealing with some injuries as Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky missed time, and the long-awaited debut of Patrik Laine was delayed because of a careless knee-on-knee hit in the pre-season. This team certainly isn’t out of the rebuild, and Habs fans know that, but they have taken a step out of the absolute basement and still have room to grow.
Lane Hutson has been one of the most dangerous offensive defensemen in the NHL early on, but there have been some hiccups. Sam Montembault has looked like a front-runner for Team Canada’s starting goaltender job at the 4 Nations Face-Off at times, and he’s also been pulled. Cole Caufield has been a menace as a goal-scorer, sitting at the top of the league. The Habs have plenty to be happy about, even with the inconsistent start.
Related: Trick Or Treat, NHL: ‘Goal Caufield’ Emerges For The Canadiens
Buffalo Sabres, 4-5-1, 9 points, 450 P%
Buffalo, why are you still here on this list? Seriously.
The Sabres are supposed to be taking off and rising up the standings by now after rebuild 3.0 or 4.0, but they keep finding new ways to falter.
They have talent, so that isn’t the issue. Even some players who took a step back last year, such as Tage Thompson and Owen Power, have returned to form and look better than ever. They are loaded on the back end with Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram, Mattias Samuelsson and Power.
Why does a team with so much raw talent remain in the sour rankings? Well, one game, it’s poor defensive play. Another is a lack of offensive punch. The next game, their goaltending is dreadful. They always seem to find a way to lose.
Will they be in this position by season’s end? I want to say no because their roster on paper is better than this, but if any team is going to find a way to lose despite being able to win, it might be the Sabres.
Related: The Buffalo Sabres Need Their Defense To Protect Their Young Goalies
Detroit Red Wings, 4-5-1, 9 points, 450 P%
How are you still here as well, Detroit?
The Red Wings were everyone’s sweetheart last season. A group of veterans were thrown together with some young players in an unconventional rebuild that had some ups and downs. But they managed to stay in the playoff race until virtually the very last second.
This year, the team is struggling to look functional consistently.
The good news is Lucas Raymond looks like he’s a star. Moritz Seider continues to prove he’s a pillar to build around on the back end. Simon Edvinsson has been impressive in his first extended stint in the NHL. They’ve received good goaltending from Cam Talbot (.913 SP) and Alex Lyon (.916).
The rest of the roster hasn’t pulled their weight, though. Even typically reliable veterans, such as Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane, have been inconsistent.
The Red Wings have a path to improvement, but they need to get their acts together quickly.
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News Summary:
- NHL Sour Rankings: October's Worst Teams Include Huge Shocks
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.