Winners and Losers from First Half of the 2023-2024 NHL Season

Lyle Richardson@@SpectorsHockeyFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 31, 2024Winners and Losers from First Half of the 2023-2024 NHL Season0 of 8

Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard challenges Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

The 2023-24 NHL schedule reached its halfway point on Jan. 13. With the 2024 NHL All-Star break from Feb. 1-4 and the March 8 trade deadline on the horizon, it’s a good time to review the winners and losers from the first half of this season.

It’s been an interesting campaign. Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov is reminding everyone that he’s still an offensive force, while Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard was enjoying a solid debut before being sidelined by a fractured jaw.

Meanwhile, several teams that entered the season with low expectations find themselves in playoff positions. On the other hand, a handful of clubs expected to make strides this year have regressed.

The following is our choice of four winners and four losers from the first half of this season.

If you agree or disagree with our selections or believe there are clubs or players we missed or don’t belong here, let us know in the app comments section.

Loser: Teams Shopping for Goaltenders1 of 8

Nico Daws and Vitek Vanecek of the New Jersey Devils.Michael Mooney/NHLI via Getty Images

Inconsistent goaltending has been an issue for the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils during this season. The Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs have also had their issues at times this year.

That’s led to all these teams appearing in the NHL rumor mill at various points, as media speculation has had them searching for help between the pipes. However, they’ve found it difficult to address that need thus far.

Several notable goalies have been mentioned as trade candidates this season. They include the Anaheim Ducks’ John Gibson, Calgary Flames’ Jacob Markstrom, Columbus Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins, Montreal Canadiens’ Jake Allen, and Nashville Predator’s Juuse Saros.

None of those netminders have been moved yet, though. Some, like Markstrom, carry expensive contracts with no-trade clauses. Some, like Saros, remain invaluable to their club’s playoff hopes. Meanwhile, some teams flush with goalies, such as the Canadiens, are setting high asking prices.

One or two of these goalies could be moved by the March 8 trade deadline as teams accrue more salary-cap space or become desperate enough to overpay for their services.

For now, teams seeking goaltending help must continue to make do in the hope that the trade market improves.

Winner: Teams Exceeding Expectations 2 of 8

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Every NHL season has its share of teams that end up doing better than predicted by the experts.

This season is no different. The Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets and Philadelphia Flyers have exceeded expectations and find themselves near the top of the standings or holding a playoff berth.

The Canucks struggled with consistency and injuries over the past three seasons as well as changes in their front office and behind the bench. With a healthy and productive roster led by core stars Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Thatcher Demko and Brock Boeser, they’re now jockeying for first place in the overall standings.

This season was supposed to be a transition year for the Bruins following the retirements of centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí, Instead, they’re battling for first overall led by sniper David Pastrňák, captain Brad Marchand, defenseman Charlie McAvoy and the goaltending duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.

After several seasons of decline and an offseason that saw the departures of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler, the Jets were expected to be a playoff bubble club. Led by core stars Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey as well as promising Cole Perfetti, they’re just six points behind the Canucks and Bruins.

This season was supposed to be the start of a rebuild for the Flyers, according to new general manager Daniel Brière. However, the club has jelled under head coach John Tortorella as well as a healthy Sean Couturier and a rising star in sniper Owen Tippett. Despite a recent slump, they sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Loser: NHL Head Coach Job Security3 of 8

Former St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube.Michael Reaves/Getty Images

There’s an old sports adage that says coaches are hired to be fired. That’s proved true through the first half of this NHL season, with five bench bosses handed their walking papers.

Jay Woodcroft was the first to go as the former Edmonton Oilers head coach was replaced on Nov. 12 by Kris Knoblach. Fifteen days later, the Minnesota Wild relieved Dean Evason of his duties in favor of John Hynes.

On Dec. 12, the St. Louis Blues bid farewell to Craig Berube as Drew Bannister took over on an interim basis. Six days later, D.J. Smith was axed in favor of interim coach Jacques Martin for the remainder of the season. The latest departure came on Jan. 20 when Patrick Roy took over from Lane Lambert.

They might not be the last to lose their jobs between now and the end of the regular season. Coaches of struggling teams such as the Buffalo Sabres (Don Granato), Los Angeles Kings (Todd McLellan), Columbus Blue Jackets (Pascal Vincent) and Pittsburgh Penguins (Mike Sullivan) could find their seats becoming uncomfortably warm in the coming weeks.

Winner: The Resurgent Edmonton Oilers4 of 8

Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images

Entering this season, the Edmonton Oilers were among the experts’ picks for Stanley Cup contenders. By Nov. 12, though, they were near the bottom of the overall standings with just three wins and seven points in 13 games.

That prompted Oilers management to replace Jay Woodcroft as head coach with Kris Knoblach while former Oilers great Paul Coffey was named an assistant coach in charge of improving their defense. They also demoted struggling starting goaltender Jack Campbell to their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

Since Nov. 13, the Oilers have been on an impressive tear, sporting a record of 26 wins and six losses. Those include an eight-game winning streak from Nov. 24 to Dec. 12 followed by a 14-game win streak from Dec. 21 to Jan. 27. They’ve risen to third place in the Pacific Division and are looking like Cup contenders again

Several factors account for their improvement. Their goaltending has improved and they’re playing a better overall defensive game under Coffey’s watchful eye. Stars such as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman have regained their form, and they’re getting secondary scoring from depth forwards like Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele and Sam Gagner.

Loser: Underachieving Clubs5 of 8

Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils entered this season with heightened expectations. Unfortunately for those clubs, things haven’t panned out as hoped as they move into the second half of the schedule.

After narrowly missing the 2023 playoffs, the Sabres hoped to end their 12-year postseason drought this season. But inconsistent goaltending, ongoing defensive issues and a big drop in scoring have left them well off last season’s promising pace and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The Flames aspired to a bounce-back performance following changes in management and the replacement of head coach Darryl Sutter with Ryan Huska. However, they’re in danger of missing the playoffs for a second straight season, prompting speculation they could ship out pending free agents Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev.

After dropping from second overall in the Western Conference in 2021-22 to sixth last season, the Wild looked to rebound in 2023-24. Instead, their inconsistent play led to head coach Dean Evason being replaced by John Hynes. They’ve also been hampered by injuries to core players such as Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon.

The Devils sought to build on last season’s franchise-best 112-point performance to become legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Injuries to core stars such as Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton and shaky goaltending have them six points out of a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Winner: Connor Bedard Playing Up To The Hype6 of 8

Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Before he was sidelined by a fractured jaw on Jan. 5, Connor Bedard was enjoying a terrific NHL debut.

Chosen first overall by Chicago in the 2023 NHL draft, the 18-year-old center faced considerable pressure entering this season, but he proved to be up to the challenge during the first half of the schedule.

With 33 points in 39 games, Bedard led all Chicago skaters and this season’s rookie class in scoring. He remains atop both categories despite being out of action for nearly a month. Those achievements are more impressive considering the limited amount of skilled talent that the youngster has skated with this season on a rebuilding roster.

Blessed with dazzling offensive skills, he was considered a generational talent before he played a single NHL game. The young center didn’t disappoint, being named NHL Rookie of the Month in November and December. As further proof of his talent, he became the youngest player in NHL history chosen to compete in the All-Star Game.

Because of his injury, he won’t be playing in this year’s All-Star Game. Nevertheless, his performance thus far indicates the Chicago forward is a superstar in the making.

If Bedard resumes his pace of production once he returns from injury, he should remain the favorite to win the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Loser: Alex Ovechkin’s Pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s Goals Record7 of 8

Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Entering this season, Alex Ovechkin’s 822 career regular-season goals put him just 72 behind Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894.

Under contract with the Washington Capitals through 2025-26, he needed to average just over 24 goals per season to establish himself as the greatest NHL goal scorer of all time.

So far, though, Ovechkin is well off that pace. After sitting 12th overall among NHL scorers in 2022-23 with 42 goals, the Capitals captain is 200th this season with just nine goals. At this pace, he will fall short of reaching the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his 19-season NHL career.

Age seems to be catching up with the 38-year-old. He leads the Capitals with 151 shots, but his shooting percentage is a paltry 6.0. Deadly on the power play before this season, he’s netted just four goals with the man advantage. He is also missing a reliable setup man with Nicklas Backstrom sidelined for the season.

Barring a torrid scoring streak not seen since Gretzky’s heyday, Ovechkin won’t reach 40 goals this season, and 30 is a long shot. He could reach the 20-goal mark, but that would still represent a steep drop-off for him. He still has two more seasons to make a run for the record, but his odds of doing so appear much longer.

Winner: Nikita Kucherov Leading The Scoring Race8 of 8

Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images

Back-to-back Stanley Cup champions in 2020 and 2021, the Tampa Bay Lightning are now in decline. They remain a playoff contender, but salary-cap constraints have depleted their roster depth while long-time stars such as Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman are aging.

Nikita Kucherov, however, is reminding everyone that he’s still very much in his playing prime. Winner of the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion and the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in 2018-19, he has led the scoring race for most of this season. As of Jan. 30, he has a league-leading 85 points in 49 games.

The 30-year-old was also the NHL playoff scoring leader in 2019-20 (34 points) and 2020-21 (32 points), but his postseason achievements were overshadowed by Conn Smythe Trophy-winning teammates Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Injuries limited him to 69 points in 47 games in 2021-22, but he rebounded to finish fourth last season with 113 points.

The Lightning star will have his hands full over the rest of the season fending off Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, who sits just one behind him.

Kucherov must also remain healthy and avoid any slumps along the way. Nevertheless, there’s no denying he was the league’s top scorer during the first half of 2023-24.

Stats and standings (as of Jan. 30, 2024) via NHL.com.