Midseason Report Grades for Every NHL Team

Midseason Report Grades for Every NHL Team0 of 32

Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

The 2023-24 NHL season is at its halfway point and that can only mean one thing—it is report card time!

Come along with us as we hand out grades for all 32 NHL teams to check in on their progress.

Grades not only take into account the team’s actual performance, but also what the expectations were at the start of the season. Some teams, like Chicago and Montreal, were expected to struggle as they rebuild, so their grade might not be as harsh as a team like, say, Ottawa or Buffalo that was expected to compete for a playoff spot.

All advanced stats, scoring chance numbers and expected goal numbers come from Natural Stat Trick.

Anaheim Ducks1 of 32

Leo Carlsson.Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: C-

In the standings, the Ducks look virtually identical to the way they did a year ago and are again one of the worst teams in the NHL. But expectations were low coming into the season. This is still a team very much in a rebuilding phase, and they have not had their full allotment of players this season.

Trevor Zegras has only played in 20 games and has had terrible shooting percentage luck.

No. 2 overall pick Leo Carlsson looks like an emerging star but is also sidelined for an extended period because of injury.

Alex Killorn and Mason McTavish have also missed games.

They simply do not have the depth to overcome those sorts of absences.

The results are the same, but the variables are a little different and they look like a more composed team under first-year coach Greg Cronin. There is a clear core of young talent in place and it is going to take some time to turn it into a contender.

Arizona Coyotes2 of 32

Clayton Keller.Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: B

It remains to be seen whether or not the Coyotes have the talent to sneak into a playoff spot this season, but they have made significant progress and look like a very competitive NHL team.

The fact they are still in contention for a playoff spot halfway through the season is probably more than most people reasonably expected this season.

The biggest game-changer for them has been Connor Ingram giving them better-than-league-average play in goal (.915 save percentage entering the weekend).

They would still like to see more from 2022 No. 3 overall pick Logan Cooley (just three goals halfway through the season), but he has star potential and they should be patient with him.

Boston Bruins3 of 32

Brad Marchand.Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: B+

The Bruins lost a lot of talent this offseason because of the retirements of centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí as well as the trades and free agency departures of veterans Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, Dmitry Orlov and Tyler Bertuzzi. It would have been easy to predict a big drop in their performance, but they remain one of the best teams in the NHL at the halfway point.

They still have some top-tier players in David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, but the biggest impact has come from their goaltending duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. They remain one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL, and they are masking a lot of flaws that might exist on this team under the surface.

Boston could still use some additional scoring depth, and their 5-on-5 performance as a team has taken a step backward this season as their expected goal share of just 49.1 percent is 20th in the NHL entering play on Friday. A year ago, that number was over 53 percent and eighth in the NHL. The continued excellence of Ullmark and Swayman hides that drop.

The Bruins are a strong team, but they could probably use a little more forward depth, especially at center.

Buffalo Sabres4 of 32

Tage ThompsonJeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: D

This year was supposed to be different.

This was supposed to be the year the playoff drought ended. It doesn’t seem as if that is going to be the case.

After missing the playoffs by just one point a season ago, the Sabres are one of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams at the halfway point. Even worse, they seem to have lost most of the excitement that surrounded the team a year ago and raised expectations. They were one of the highest-scoring teams in the league during the 2022-23 season and have dropped down to 21st this season, losing more than a half-goal per game.

Add in the defensive and goaltending issues and you have the recipe for a bad—and dull—team. They are going to need a huge second half to make sure the playoff drought does not grow by another year.

Calgary Flames5 of 32

Nazeem Kadri.Terence Leung/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: C-

The biggest thing the Flames needed this season was for some of their big-money veterans—particularly Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri—to have big bounce-back seasons.

It hasn’t happened. That is especially the case for Huberdeau, whose contract is now looking like it is going to be one of the worst deals in the entire NHL. It is tough to win when your $10.5 million man has 23 points in 42 games and does not provide anything defensively.

The good news for the Flames is starting goalie Jacob Markstrom has bounced back with a strong season in net and has kept them competitive. But this is still an underwhelming team with a lot of pending free agents (Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev) that should be selling at the trade deadline.

Carolina Hurricanes6 of 32

Brady Skjei.Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: B+

The Hurricanes did not have the early start they probably wanted, but they are starting to heat up.

Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov have both been white-hot offensively over the past couple of weeks, and the Hurricanes are again posting dominant possession numbers. Their 55.6 percent expected goals share during 5-on-5 play is third-best in the NHL as they consistently tilt the ice in their favor.

What makes their overall record even more impressive is the fact they have not received any decent goaltending. Pyotr Kochetkov is the only of the three goalies to appear in a game this season that has a save percentage of .900 or better for the season, and now he is injured and expected to be sidelined for a bit. That is going to be a problem.

The Hurricanes are a strong enough team that they can overcome those goaltending issues in the regular season, but it could be an issue in the playoffs against better teams (and better goaltending on the other end of the ice). It might be an area that needs to be addressed.

Chicago Blackhawks7 of 32

Connor Bedard.Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: D

The Blackhawks were never supposed to be good this season, so it’s hard to give them a failing grade for their record, especially given the injuries they have dealt with. But it also hasn’t been a particularly strong showing by anybody outside of No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard. And even he is injured right now.

This is going to be a lengthy rebuild, but the good news is that they have a cornerstone player to build around in Bedard. When healthy, he looks like he has the juice to not only be a superstar, but a megastar. They just have to keep him healthy and get him a lot more help at all levels of the roster.

Colorado Avalanche8 of 32

Cale Makar.Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: A

The Avalanche again look like an absolute force in the Western Conference thanks mostly to the dominant performance from their top stars.

Nathan MacKinnon is playing at an MVP level with 67 points in his first 42 games, Mikko Rantanen is on pace for 100 points, Cale Makar is on a 100-point pace over 82 games as a defenseman and Valeri Nichushkin is having a career year.

They just might need two things to put themselves over the top: a little extra scoring depth beyond the top-three forwards, and for starting goalie Alexandar Georgiev to return to his 2022-23 form. Georgiev has been a little underwhelming so far this season (.897 save percentage entering the weekend), and he needs to be better to make the Avalanche a true top-tier contender. He is capable of it. He just needs to get there again.

Columbus Blue Jackets9 of 32

Johnny Gaudreau.Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: F

There are three types of bad teams.

There are the teams that are rebuilding and simply have a young, inexperienced roster. Some teams are trying to be good and are unlucky because of injuries, bad luck or some other weird randomness. Then there are the teams that tried to be good and simply failed by building a terrible roster.

The Blue Jackets are an example of the third.

They tried. They really tried. They spent big money in free agency on Johnny Gaudreau a year ago. They spent big money by adding Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson this offseason. They talked about how they wanted to contend sooner rather than later.

They are not even close. They are one of the worst teams in the league, neglected some of their biggest needs (center, goaltending, offense) and then embarrassed the organization as a whole with the failed Mike Babcock experience that never even made it to training camp.

Just a royal mess from top to bottom and a well earned F at the halfway point by everybody involved.

Dallas Stars10 of 32

Jason Robertson.Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: A

The Stars might have one of the most complete rosters in the NHL.

Jason Robertson is a bonafide superstar, Joe Pavelski is an ageless wonder and still going strong, Roope Hintz has blossomed into a top-line offensive force and veterans like Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene still have something to give offensively.

They are also getting a breakout performance from young defenseman Thomas Harley with nine goals in his first 37 games.

What makes the Stars’ performance even more impressive is they have one of the best records in the league and have received somewhat disappointing performances from second-year forward Wyatt Johnston (23 points in 40 games) and starting goalie Jake Oettinger (.901 save percentage). Oettinger can—and should—be better, and when he is on top of his game is a potential game-stealer. When he gets hot, this team could go from Stanley Cup contender to Stanley Cup favorite.

Detroit Red Wings11 of 32

Patrick Kane.Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: C

At some point, the Red Wings are going to need to start making some progress, or the Steve Yzerman era is going to start looking like a failure. The progress is still limited, and the team is still mostly mediocre.

The good news is the Red Wings do at least one thing well—they can score. A lot. They are one of the highest-scoring teams in the league and are getting a huge performance from offseason addition Alex DeBrincat. Even Patrick Kane seems to still have something left in the tank offensively. It is a balanced group that is one of the highest-scoring teams in the league.

The problem is they simply cannot stop anybody.

They are allowing 2.70 expected goals per 60 minutes during 5-on-5 play (24th in the NHL) and are getting some of the league’s worst goaltending on top of it. Giving up too many chances and not having the goalie to cover for it is a bad combination and will likely keep the Red Wings out of the playoffs once again.

Edmonton Oilers12 of 32

Connor McDavid.Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: B

The Oilers had a terrible start to the season that resulted in the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft. But even while that was happening, there were still encouraging signs that this team would break out of it.

For one, they have two of the best offensive players in the NHL on their roster in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Second, their 5-on-5 possession numbers were consistently the best in the NHL.

Almost every single one of their problems could be traced back to goaltending. Jack Campbell showed he wasn’t the answer, while Stuart Skinner had a dreadful start. When Skinner started giving them closer to league-average play, the wins started coming in bunches, and they started rapidly climbing the standings.

Overall, this team should be a Stanley Cup contender and is starting to look like it. The goaltending—and the front office’s handling of that situation over the past couple of years—drops them down a letter grade from the A they could have.

Florida Panthers13 of 32

Sam Reinhart.Scott Rovak/NHLI via Getty Images

Florida Panthers: A

There was a question as to which Panther team we would see this season.

Would it be the team that underachieved during the regular season and barely snuck into the playoffs thanks to some help from other teams losing?

Or would it be the team that went on a dominant run in the playoffs and reached the Stanley Cup Final?

Halfway through the season, we can see that it is the latter. And they are doing it while superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk got off to a shockingly slow start and has just 12 goals through the first 41 games.

Tkachuk is starting to heat up again, while Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart (who is playing his way to a huge contract in free agency) have been consistently strong all year.

The goaltending duo of Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz has also been surprisingly strong with well above league-average play (both have save percentages of .912 or better).

This team looks legit.

Los Angeles Kings14 of 32

Pierre-Luc Dubois.Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: B

The Kings needed two things to happen this season for them to step forward as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in the Western Conference.

They needed Quinton Byfield to become an impact player, and they needed somebody to solidify their starting goaltending spot.

Both things have happened.

Byfield is having a breakout year while playing in the Kings’ top six and is on pace for more than 20 goals and 50 points, both of which would obliterate his previous career totals. That is a huge development for the Kings. But the biggest development has been Cam Talbot taking the No. 1 goalie spot and running with it. He has a .922 save percentage through his first 28 games. It seemed like a potential weakness in the preseason, but goaltending is such a wildly unpredictable position that sometimes these sorts of performances happen.

The one player the Kings do need more from this season is Pierre-Luc Dubois. They paid a huge price to get him—both in terms of assets and salary—and are not getting what they hoped for. He needs to be better for the Kings to go where they think they can this season.

Minnesota Wild15 of 32

Marc-Andre Fleury.Sam Hodde/Getty Images

Grade: D

The Wild are at a huge disadvantage compared to the rest of the league because of their salary-cap situation. The buyouts to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are still crushing their ability to build a complete roster, and while a lot of flaws existed a year ago, they got the goaltending from Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury to mask them.

They are not getting that goaltending this season.

Even worse, a lot of their top stars—Kirill Kaprizov, and Mats Zuccarello—have taken a small step backward offensively.

The Wild do have a couple of promising rookie performances from forward Marco Rossi and defenseman Brock Faber, but they are not enough to cover up for all of the other problems.

Gustavsson’s regression might be the biggest disappointment, because he looked like he had a chance to be a franchise goalie a year ago. He has not been terrible this season, but he hasn’t been anything close to a game-changer, either.

Montreal Canadiens16 of 32

Cole Caufield.David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: C

This is probably the best-case scenario for this roster. They are competitive, they’re seeing some production and improvement from their young players (specifically Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield), but they simply do not have the depth or overall talent to be a playoff team.

The other important development would be veterans having big seasons to boost their trade value.

They have three NHL-caliber goalies in a league where several contenders need help in net, while veteran forward Sean Monahan has rediscovered his game in Montreal. All of those players could be valuable trade chips to add more assets to the rebuild.

Canadiens fans need to have patience, because they are still a few years away.

Nashville Predators17 of 32

Roman Josi.Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: B

If you are looking at the big-picture outlook, it would be fair to wonder what exactly the Predators are hoping to accomplish.

The franchise has been stuck in the NHL’s middle ground for a few years now, and it needs everything to go perfectly just to get a Wild Card spot (and summarily exit in the first round). There is some value in making the playoffs, but they are not getting any closer to a championship.

When it looked like they might be starting a rebuild going into the offseason, they went out and signed veterans Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist to multiyear deals to join their core. So far, those deals have been pretty successful. O’Reilly and Nyquist are two of the Predators’ top-three scorers, and Nashville is playing fairly well as a team.

The fascinating thing about this Predators team is that starting goalie Juuse Saros is usually one of the variables that needs to get perfectly for them to have a chance. And he has not quite been himself this season. Being in playoff contention at the halfway point with a down year from him is a very encouraging sign, and it’s a testament to the job first-year head coach Andrew Brunnette is doing.

New Jersey Devils18 of 32

Nico Hischier.Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Grade: C

It is so hard to fairly judge this team right now. On one hand, they are performing well below expectations after entering the season as a potential Stanley Cup favorite.

The results do not match that hype.

But injuries have completely ruined New Jersey’s season, as Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier have all missed significant time. Those are not just run-of-the-mill players. Those are stars and the foundation of the team, and they’re not easy to replace, especially considering the number of games they have missed.

They also have major issues in goal.

You can understand injuries holding them back because there is nothing you can do about your top players going out of the lineup. That is just bad luck.

You can, however, blame the Devils for the goaltending issues, because everybody knew that was going to be a question mark coming into the season and they simply chose to do nothing about it. That’s on them.

New York Islanders19 of 32

Brock Nelson and Mat Barzal.Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: C+

If you look at the overall point total and the Islanders’ place in the standings, things are going fairly well here. And yes, that does count for something. It is the only thing that counts at the end of the season.

But this is still a pretty baffling team.

Entering play on Friday, they had lost two more games than they had won, had a negative goal differential (minus-11), and were a bottom-10 team in goals scored, goals against, the penalty kill and their expected goal numbers. Almost everything about their actual on-ice play kind of…well…stinks.

The two exceptions to that are their power play, which is very good, and the fact they have two great goalies in Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.

Sorokin deserved serious MVP consideration a year ago for dragging this team into the playoffs, and while he has not been quite as dominant this season, he has still been one of the driving forces behind their success.

New York Rangers20 of 32

Artemi Panarin.David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: A

The Rangers have a lot of the same flaws they have had for years as it relates to forward depth and 5-on-5 scoring.

But they still have an elite power play, they still have a superstar goalie (Igor Shesterkin) and they have an MVP candidate this season in Artemi Panarin.

They also have something else they have lacked in previous years—a head coach (Peter Laviolette) that seems to have a plan and more of a coaching technique than just asking people to play harder, which was seemingly the only thing Gerard Gallant did.

They could still use bigger performances from the the top picks (Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko when he returns) but they do have the foundation to compete in the Eastern Conference. Their ability to get more out of Lafreniere and add forward depth will go a long way toward determining what their ceiling is this season.

Ottawa Senators21 of 32

Vladimir Tarasenko.Codie McLachlan/Getty Images

Grade: F

Similar to Buffalo and Columbus, this is a team that tried to be good this season. Ottawa invested heavily in this core group of young players and have tried to add to it with the recent additions of Jakob Chychrun and Joonas Korpisalo.

But none of it is working.

The scoring depth is bad, the defense is worse and Korpisalo does not seem to be the long-term (or short-term) answer in goal. Instead, now the Senators have his brutal contract to worry about.

There was a legitimate belief this team could compete for a playoff spot this season and be fun to watch. Instead, they have taken a huge step backward and fired head coach D.J. Smith, but there are way bigger problems than just the head coach.

Philadelphia Flyers22 of 32

Jamie Drysdale.Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Grade: B

You have to give the Flyers a lot of credit, because the only expectation for this team coming into the season was for them to stink. Badly. They are rebuilding, the roster is thin, they traded even more veterans this offseason and lacked star power.

But head coach John Tortorella has them in playoff contention and playing tough, exciting hockey. They defend hard (2.39 expected goals against per 60 minutes is 11th in the NHL) and play an aggressive attacking style offensively that leads to a lot of odd-man rushes.

One of the big positive developments this season has been the return of Sean Couturier from a back injury that pretty much cost him two full seasons. He has at least given them a viable No. 1 center and has been a huge addition. They also got Cam Atkinson back after he missed all of last season as well.

This team is far from a finished product and still has a long way to go, but nobody in Philadelphia is going to complain about a surprisingly competitive, hard-working team that is exceeding expectations.

Pittsburgh Penguins23 of 32

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Grade: C

After missing the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade-and-a-half, the Pittsburgh Penguins refused to start rebuilding and doubled down on their core by acquiring players like Erik Karlsson, Lars Eller and Reilly Smith over the summer.

The results have been mixed.

The positives here are that the Penguins are one of the best 5-on-5 teams in hockey in terms of both goal differential and scoring chances/expected goals. They’re also getting far better goaltending from the duo of Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedelkjovic than anybody could have reasonably hoped for.

The negatives are that their power play has badly underachieved and they still lack bottom-six scoring depth.

The power play is the baffling issue here, because it not only is not producing goals, but it is also giving up shorthanded goals, not even coming close to scoring on most nights and actively costing them games. There is too much talent here for that to be happening. They are starting to get back track over the past month-and-a-half and climbing back toward a playoff spot, but the power play has to be better for them to get there and be able to do something.

San Jose Sharks24 of 32

Anthony Duclair.Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Grade: F

You hate to pile on a team that is clearly in the early stages of a much-needed rebuild, but this is one of the worst non-expansion NHL teams we have seen in decades.

The Sharks started the year 0-10-1 and then had an even worse stretch later in the year by losing 12 consecutive games in regulation. They gave up 10 goals in back-to-back games at one point and have allowed at least seven goals five times.

There is just nothing positive to take away from this team this season other than the fact they are looking at the best draft lottery odds.

Settle in, Sharks fans. This rebuild is going to take a long time.

Seattle Kraken25 of 32

Vince Dunn.Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Grade: C+

The Kraken got off to a terrible start, but are finally starting to get rolling over the past month.

They have been hit hard by a shooting percentage regression this season at a team level, sending them to the bottom of the league in goals scored. They also have not seen a big second-year jump from Matty Beniers, as he had just six goals and 19 total points through the team’s first 41 games entering play on Friday. Expectations should have been higher for him.

The biggest positive development here has been the shocking emergence of Joey Daccord in goal.

He has taken over the No. 1 spot and owned a .925 save percentage entering the weekend, making him one of the most productive goalies in the NHL. Goaltending has been a huge weakness for the Kraken in the first two years of their existence, despite the fact they made huge investments in the position at the expansion draft.

It turned out to be Daccord who would solve the position (for now).

St. Louis Blues26 of 32

Robert Thomas.Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Grade: C

General manager Doug Armstrong has done a lot of great things for the Blues during his time with the team, including the fact he built the franchise’s first Stanley Cup winner.

This current team, however, leaves a lot to be desired. It ended up costing head coach Craig Berube his job earlier in the year.

The biggest issue with the Blues is the fact they have huge money tied up in defensemen Colton Parayko, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk, as well as goalie Jordan Binnington, and they are still only 18th in the league in goals against per game. Even that is only because Binnington is having a decent season and at least playing at a league-average level.

The Blues have also taken a big step backwards offensively, going from fourth in goals scored two years ago, to 16th a year ago, and now down to 26th this season.

It is just a very flawed, incomplete team that does not seem to have much of a direction or identity right now.

Tampa Bay Lightning27 of 32

Steven Stamkos.Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: C

Thanks to Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Brandon Hagel, the Lightning can still score goals with the best of them. And all of the aforementioned players are having monster years offensively.

The problem this season is Tampa Bay isn’t stopping anybody, and the most baffling problem of them all is starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy simply looks…human.

Vasilevskiy has been one of the best goalies in the world for close to a decade and helped make the Lightning one of the league’s best teams. But after missing the first part of the season because of injury, he has not yet rounded back into form and is having the worst season of his professional career with a sub-.900 save percentage.

Is it just him trying to work his way back? Or is this the beginning of the end of his time as an elite goalie in the NHL? If it is the latter, that is bad news for the Lightning’s short-term outlook as Stanley Cup contenders.

Toronto Maple Leafs28 of 32

William Nylander.Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: B-

This is the same Toronto Maple Leafs team we see every single season.

Their top-four forwards (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander) are all great.

Their scoring depth is a concern.

Their goaltending is a big question mark.

And now they have another uncertainty thrown into the mix, as they are legitimately struggling defensively. Most years when people complain about the Leafs’ defense, it is typically an overstated—and sometimes lazy—concern, as their metrics tend to be a lot better than they get credit for. That is not the case this season, as they rank 21st in the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play. That is not good for a playoff team!

They are winning games in the regular season, but this recipe has not worked in the playoffs for them. Why should this year be any different?

Vancouver Canucks29 of 32

Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: A

What an absolute wagon this team has become out of nowhere. There was always a talented core group of players here, and everything has finally clicked for them this season.

Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes are all among the top-15 scorers in the NHL, Hughes is playing like an early Norris Trophy favorite, and they have found a big-time partner for him in last year’s trade-deadline addition Filip Hronek.

Thatcher Demko has also had a huge bounce-back year in goal and is having a fantastic season. The Canucks do not have great underlying numbers, and their depth leaves a little something to be desired, but those top-end guys and their goaltending can take them pretty far.

Even if there is some kind of shooting percentage regression in the second half, they have given themselves a huge cushion in the Pacific Division that the playoffs should be considered a lock at this point.

Vegas Golden Knights30 of 32

Jack Eichel.Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: B-

This season has been a tale of two teams for the Golden Knights.

They started the year on an 11-0-1 run and looked like a Stanley Cup repeat was potentially on the horizon. Since then, they have gone just 13-13-4. Which team is the real Golden Knights?

The most encouraging development is that Stanley Cup-winning goalie Adin Hill has picked up where he left off in the playoffs and has played like a No. 1 goalie.

But they have some real depth questions offensively on the wings (especially on the left side) and are going to need to address those before the trade deadline. They are not likely to catch Vancouver in the Pacific Division at this point, and they need to be worried about Edmonton and Los Angeles behind them.

Washington Capitals31 of 32

Alex Ovechkin.John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: C

The Capitals were off to a great start into November, but the whole thing seemed like a mirage. Their underlying numbers were terrible, their top veterans were not producing, their power play had been awful and a lot of their success was centered on backup goalie Charlie Lindgren standing on his head.

None of that was a long-term, sustainable recipe for success.

Indeed, it has not been.

The Capitals still have all of the same problems mentioned above and are no longer getting the results to hide it, winning just two of their previous nine games going into Friday.

This looks like a second straight non-playoff season, with Alex Ovechkin’s quest to catch Wayne Gretzky’s goal record being the must-see attraction.

Winnipeg Jets32 of 32

Josh Morrissey.Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images

Grade: A

Just like Vancouver, this is another mid-season Stanley Cup contender that has simply come out of nowhere. The Jets have been completely mediocre for years, kept pretty much the same core, did not make major trades unless they had to, and never really dipped into the free-agent market.

Thankfully for them, their top-end forwards are outstanding and their goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, is one of the best in the league.

Hellebucyk is having a sensational year, and the team in front of him is matching it. The most fascinating thing about their recent success is that a lot of it has come without top forward Kyle Connor, who has been sidelined since early December.

There is also nothing to suggest any of this success is a fluke. The Jets are seventh in the league in expected goals against, eighth in expected goals share and are one of the top 5-on-5 teams in the league. Everything is clicking for them this season. They look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender at the halfway point.