Top 5 best and top 5 worst NHL teams following October
The 2022 National Hockey League season is well underway now. Every team in the NHL has a win and every team in the league has lost. Some have done more winning than others and that is what makes this league so interesting. It is going to be a while before we truly know who is good.
As expected, there are a few surprise teams out of the gate in both a good and bad way. Some of the good teams will continue to roll and some of them will fall off of the pace that they are currently at. The teams that have struggled will do what they can to get out of it.
There are a lot of things that go into any sort of power rankings. It is a combination of your success (a record), how you got those wins (or losses), and how likely you are to sustain it. That makes doing this early in a season harder but we are going to try.
The NHL has a lot of parity. There are some really good teams in this league. There are some really bad ones too. There are also good teams off to a poor start and vice versa. Figuring out who of the bunch is good and who isn’t will take a little bit of time.
October is officially over so it is time to name the five best and five worst teams in the NHL. As alluded to, the November version will be easier and the same goes for every month after. For now, however, these are your five best and five worst teams following October:
There are a lot of teams that can make a claim for being a top-five NHL team.
5. Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers come in at number five. They are one of the most exciting teams in the league and they have a record of 6-3-0 following October. With players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way,
They proved that they can win in the playoffs last spring as they made it to the Western Conference Finals but they were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions. This year, they are looking to take another step and they are off to a good start.
4. Calgary Flames
The Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames on Saturday night in the Battle of Alberta. However, Calgary played better and was just a victim of Connor McDavid having another three-point night. They almost doubled the Oilers up on shots.
The Flames are 5-2-0 as they have played two fewer games than Edmonton as well so their points percentage is better. As of right now, it is fair to say that Calgary is deeper and has better goaltending so they get a slight edge over Edmonton despite Saturday’s result.
Their dominance is in large part because of a much different look than the year prior. There is no more Matthew Tkachuk or Johnny Gaudreau anymore as they have both moved on.
Guys like Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri lead that deep group of skaters now in front of a very solid goaltender in Jacob Markstrom.
3. Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the league now and they still haven’t reached the Stanley Cup Final. We don’t know if this is the year that it will happen but they are certainly in that mix of teams that have a roster good enough to win big.
Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas are all leading this very deep group that is getting really good goaltending from Antti Raanta and Frederik Anderson. It is easy to see them being near the top f the Eastern Conference all season long.
2. Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights missed the playoffs last year despite having one of the best rosters in the league. Health and inconsistencies all over the ice led to them missing. Since then, they have hired Bruce Cassidy to be their head coach and have a fresh attitude coming back into this season.
They also traded for Jack Eichel which was sure to enhance things but he took a minute coming back from his injury. They barely missed out on the postseason but it was still a major disappointment for a franchise that has only known winning.
Now, they are back with much more energy in their game and they are finally healthy. They are off to a blistering start as they are 8-2-0 through their first ten games. Ranking them second seems unfair until you see what is going on with team number one.
1. Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are the NHL’s best team right now. They are 8-1-0 through ten games which has them atop the league standings. Their record is one thing but they have mostly dominated the games that they’ve played. Things will get harder but they are making it look easy now.
They are missing Charlie McAvoy and were missing Brad Marchand until his recent return and they still have dominated. David Pastrnak is a legit game-changer up front to lead a great group of skaters and they are getting great goaltending.
A lot of people have expected the Bruins to fall off but they have done anything but that. They might not be number one all season long but you can expect to see them in the top five the rest of the way if they keep playing like this. There is no doubt that the Stanley Cup is on Boston’s mind.
Honorable mentions:
- The Colorado Avalanche
- Tampa Bay Lightning
There are a lot of teams that are near the top five because of their record but we need to see more from them. The Colorado and Tampa Bay Lightning were each in the Stanley Cup Final and both of them expect to get there again.
However, they have been a little bit slower out of the gate when compared to some of the other top teams in their conference so they are bumped out for now. We’ll see if they are able to climb back in and if any new teams emerge.
The five worst teams in the NHL have all stood out big time to this point.
28th. Columbus Blue Jackets
For being the team that landed the best free agent in the summer, they are off to a horrid start this season. At 3-7-0, it is hard to say that they have been anything other than a bad hockey team. They don’t have a fully loaded roster anymore and their youth is showing a little bit.
Johnny Hockey is nice to have but the rest of the team needs to show up. They better start stringing together some wins soon otherwise they are going to be buried in the Metropolitan Division.
29th. Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are awful. Before the start of the season, this looked like the team that could be a surprise in the Pacific Division. They have some great stars on both forward and defense and they got J.T. Miller to agree to a huge contract that will keep him there for a long time.
So far, they have not proven to be worthy of that kind of commitment. At 2-5-2, they blew a lot of games in which they had multi-goal leads. That is not a good sign for a team that thought they might be okay. They have the talent to crawl out of this but it doesn’t feel likely right now.
30th: San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a very interesting NHL team. They are 3-8-0 but have put on some decent performances against other good teams in the league. They aren’t winning a lot of games because they simply aren’t a talented enough team.
Erik Karlsson is a little bit overpaid at this point but he is still an outstanding offensive defenseman. He also is surrounded by other good players like Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, and Timo Meier but it isn’t eneogh.
They have some pieces to trade away before the NHL’s trade deadline so we will see if they do. Other teams in the league would love to have some fo these guys. San Jose would like to get a rebuild going but they haven’t really started yet.
31. Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have Trevor Zegras who is one of thee most spectacular players in the league. He has already scored some slick goals that will be ono the highlight reels all season long. Howevere, the supporting cast is very young and inexperienced.
Over the next few years, Anaheim might be on the rise but it doesn’t seem like that is going to be the case this year. Developing these young kids, including Zegras, is one of the biggest keys to their success in the future.
32. Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are one of the worst franchises in the NHL. They are currently playing their home games at a college rink because of building issues. They need to get that worked out and be smarter with their decision making.
The vibes are great surrounding their little trip to college (Arizona State) but they need to start winning. There are good players there that are just being wasted. We have seen the Yotes be good in the past so it isn’t like it is impossible. Hopefully, it comes sooner than later.
Honorable mentions:
- Montreal Canadiens
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Seattle Kraken
These three teams, along with a few others, were expected to be amongst the worst in the league. However, they have all gotten off to a bit better of a start than some would have anticipated.
Don’t be surprised if all three of them fall off a cliff and make this list as soon as by the end of November. With that in mind, the five teams mentioned have all been terrible so they are well deserving of being behind these three honorable mentions. We’ll see who climbs out of it.
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