The NHL season has passed its midway point, with all 32 teams playing between 46 and 49 games. By now, we generally know what each team is and isn’t and whether the rest of the season should be focused on title contention, short-term progress or the long-term future.
What better time to break out our red pens and hand out some grades? That’s exactly what The Athletic did this week when it asked its NHL staff to assign a grade to every team with expectations in mind. You’ll definitely want to show some of these to your parents (or general managers). Others … maybe not.
Stats collected before Friday’s NHL action.
Anaheim Ducks: C+
The Ducks were the embodiment of exciting, high-event hockey in the early weeks, but that concoction for winning games aged quickly. Opponents adapted and slowed down their rush game, forcing them to adjust, and the offense has been harder to come by. More alarming is their inability to consistently defend well and their continued tendency to allow golden scoring chances. The youngsters are still growing, but a recent nine-game losing streak showed they’re not ready to lead, and the contributions from complementary veterans have been waning. — Eric Stephens
Boston Bruins: B+
The Bruins are fading, but they’re still in the playoff hunt. It’s a good spot to occupy considering how poorly they played last season. Jeremy Swayman is back, the team plays with spirit, and a handful of players are performing above expectations. — Fluto Shinzawa
Buffalo Sabres: B
The Sabres got off to a slow start because of injuries and inconsistent play. But a 10-game winning streak that coincided with Jarmo Kekäläinen’s taking over as general manager has Buffalo right back in the wild-card mix. This is a deeper and more defensively sound Sabres team than we’ve seen in years past. — Matthew Fairburn
Calgary Flames: D
The Flames weren’t a favorite to make the playoffs despite nearly accomplishing the feat last season. Especially with their offense trailing behind the rest of the league. And if they weren’t on trend to do so, they needed to sell hope with their future. Fans weren’t given that hope after some confusing comments about a retool and rebuild earlier this year. Their youth needs more time and opportunity. But they’re in the hunt for a top pick in the draft, which is sorely needed for the franchise to take that next step in its evolution. — Julian McKenzie
Carolina Hurricanes: B+
The Hurricanes have settled in atop the Metropolitan Division, but injuries and inconsistency have made for some ups and downs through the first half of the season. The good news is Carolina believes it has found a hidden gem in goaltender Brandon Bussi, who is off to a 16-3-1 start to his NHL career. The Hurricanes are also getting healthy. Seth Jarvis is back from a rib injury, and Jaccob Slavin — who played in only five games this season before getting injured — has returned. Slavin should help shore up a surprisingly mediocre penalty kill, and Carolina’s power play is showing signs of life. — Cory Lavalette
Connor Bedard is a major reason the Blackahwks have been better than expected this season. (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
Chicago Blackhawks: B
The Blackhawks have been much better than anyone could have anticipated coming into the season. Connor Bedard is a major reason for that, but it goes beyond him. Even when he was out for a month recently, the Blackhawks remained afloat. Players such as Spencer Knight and Tyler Bertuzzi have consistently performed well, and the team’s young players are coming along. Jeff Blashill deserves some of that credit, too. The Blackhawks have been much more structured and competitive under him. Odds are still likely against their making the playoffs this season, but they’re in the mix. — Scott Powers
Colorado Avalanche: A+
The Avalanche are on pace to tie the 2022-23 Bruins for the best regular-season record in NHL history. Their plus-79 goal differential is nearly double the next-best team (Tampa Bay at plus-44). Colorado has the favorite to win the Art Ross (Nathan MacKinnon with 81 points), the Rocket Richard (MacKinnon again with 36 goals), the Hart (MacKinnon again) and the Norris (Cale Makar). It would be tough to grade that as anything but exemplary. — Jesse Granger
Columbus Blue Jackets: D
Well, the first team to fire its coach can’t get a good grade, right? Dean Evason was replaced by Rick Bowness on Monday, with the Blue Jackets stuck in second-last place in the East. They’ve scored fewer goals and allowed more goals than a year ago, and they’ve coughed up way too many late leads. The Blue Jackets have a .521 points percentage, but that’s not what they were expecting after nearly making the playoffs one season ago. — Aaron Portzline
Dallas Stars: B+
The Stars were the only team within spitting distance of the Avalanche, but a six-game losing streak pretty much ended that chase. Their underlying numbers are fair to middling, and they’re being propped up to an extent by a brilliant power play. Still, they’re third in the league, and their three biggest stars — Jason Robertson, Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston — are having huge seasons, and Jake Oettinger has been trending in the right direction since the start of December. Now it’s just cruising to the finish line and preparing for a titanic first-round matchup with the Wild. — Mark Lazerus
Detroit Red Wings: B+
The Red Wings have clearly exceeded preseason expectations, battling for the top spot in the Atlantic so far. They’re getting good depth contributions from players such as Andrew Copp and James van Riemsdyk, a Norris-level season from Moritz Seider, and strong goaltending as of late, too. But they still have a lot to prove, particularly as the games get harder. — Max Bultman
Edmonton Oilers: B+
The Oilers have a championship ceiling, led by Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. The floor (third and fourth lines, goaltending before two trades brought in Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram) is expansion level at five-on-five. Edmonton is in a good spot, and some of the recent auditions in those depth positions appear to be gaining traction. It’s been a weird first half. — Allan Mitchell
Florida Panthers: B
No Aleksander Barkov and no Matthew Tkachuk could have been a lot uglier than this. The Panthers struggled mightily to start the year (7-7-1) but have been better as of late, and their 93-point pace is going to put them right in wild-card territory, which is all they need to accomplish to do damage in the postseason. They’ve played more hockey than anyone in the league the past few years, so we’re not going to fret that they aren’t in more solid playoff positioning than this at the half, especially with all the injury absences. — James Mirtle
Los Angeles Kings: D
The Kings brought in Ken Holland as GM to change up the dynamic after four straight first-round losses to Edmonton. Holland kept Jim Hiller as coach after a 105-point season despite his backfiring coaching maneuvers last spring. This season has shown the Kings brought in inadequate replacements to key departures, and the few successful additions have been offset by returnees not measuring up to what they did last season. Only goalie Darcy Kuemper and defenseman Brandt Clarke have excelled. The Kings, in a weak Pacific Division, have traded wins and losses throughout. They are the definition of average and underwhelming. — Eric Stephens
Minnesota Wild: A
After the Wild won three of their first 12 games this season, nobody in their right mind would have predicted they’d have the third-most points in the NHL (and cutthroat Central Division) at this juncture or be the team to execute a Quinn Hughes blockbuster. But here they are, on the verge of true contender status if they can add a top-six center by the deadline. They’ve got a great blue line, great goaltending tandem and star power with Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. — Michael Russo
Montreal Canadiens: A
The Canadiens are in the thick of a race to win the Atlantic Division more than halfway through the season. They are unlikely to reach the finish line in first, but the fact that they are there as the NHL’s youngest team is a very good sign. Not only that, but it is their youngest talents who have been driving the bus, players such as Juraj Slafkovský, Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson, who are still far from hitting their ceiling, and they are doing it despite missing several key players to injury. General manager Kent Hughes said recently his team is ahead of schedule, and this grade reflects that. — Arpon Basu
Nashville Predators: C
This is essentially averaging the “F” for the first quarter of the season and the “A” for the second quarter, which has pulled the Predators into playoff contention — amid tremendous outside negativity, it should be noted. Predators fans are largely enamored of a true rebuild. But Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos have no use for that. They’re fighting, and coach Andrew Brunette is leading. — Joe Rexrode
New Jersey Devils: D
The Devils’ fall has been startling after their strong start to the season. Injuries haven’t helped, but the fact that the team’s playoff odds have dropped so significantly speaks poorly of everyone involved. It’s been an eventful season off the ice, too, with the Quinn Hughes pursuit coming to a head (and Vancouver ultimately trading him elsewhere) and the Dougie Hamilton healthy scratch. — Peter Baugh
New York Islanders: B+
The Islanders’ season hasn’t been perfect — the defense has been shaky, the penalty kill relies heavily on goaltending, and their scoring rate is bottom-10. But this retooling team is still exceeding expectations. The vibes are different since a change in management, and the on-ice product is trending up, too. Matthew Schaefer has been phenomenal, Ilya Sorokin is Vezina worthy, Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat are leading the way up front, and there have been highlights in the supporting cast. The team plays with a lot more pace this year and has a stronger long-term outlook. — Shayna Goldman
New York Rangers: F
The Rangers are the only team in the Eastern Conference under .500. They are coming off a 10-2 loss to Boston, a blown two-goal lead to Seattle and an 8-4 loss to the Senators. It’s only January, and Chris Drury already sent out a letter to fans that they’ll be sellers. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a total surprise given the team’s aging core, but it’s hard to be charitable with the midseason grade. — Peter Baugh
Ottawa Senators: D+
It’s a harsh grade for a team that’s done so many things right. Its underlying metrics at five-on-five are among the league’s best. The Senators’ best offensive players, including Tim Stützle, have done their part. Jake Sanderson continues to emerge as one of the best two-way defenders. But goaltending has them in the Eastern Conference’s basement. And with their chances of making the playoffs plummeting in recent weeks, they risk slipping in their growth trajectory with this core. — Julian McKenzie
Dan Vladar has been outstanding in net for the Flyers. (Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)
Philadelphia Flyers: B+
The Flyers’ being in a playoff position for much of the season can only be considered a win for a team many figured would once again be near the league basement. Their offseason additions have fueled their success, as Dan Vladar has been outstanding in net, Trevor Zegras has paced the offense and Christian Dvorak has given them solid play down the middle. But they lose points for their still abysmal power play, and because young winger Matvei Michkov, who is still so vital to the rebuild, seems to have regressed. — Kevin Kurz
Pittsburgh Penguins: A-
The Penguins are in a fight for a playoff spot, which surely exceeds any reasonable expectations one might have had for them. I can’t give them an A because of the way they blew leads in December. It was historic, really, to blow three-goal leads twice in a 24-hour span during the same week in which they blew a lead while on the power play with 0.1 seconds remaining in regulation. It still makes you shake your head. However, it’s been a magnificent season for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are still going strong, and young Ben Kindel could be a foundational player for them. — Josh Yohe
San Jose Sharks: A+
If this seems generous, let’s remember the Sharks had an NHL-low 52 points last season and now sit in a wild-card position in the Western Conference. Expectations should be factored into this, and San Jose’s was about increasing its win total and moving into an upward trajectory as a franchise. Instead, Macklin Celebrini has dragged the Sharks into a playoff push. The 19-year-old Hart Trophy candidate has been so good that he’s keeping up folks watching late at night on the East Coast. Full of flaws and fun, the Sharks are bringing big crowds back to SAP Center. — Eric Stephens
Seattle Kraken: B
The Kraken’s goaltending has largely carried them — Philipp Grubauer, Joey Daccord and Matt Murray have been sensational — and permitted them to defy gravity despite some five-on-five struggles. Still, despite a fragile-seeming profile, the Kraken are sticking around in the Western Conference playoff race and have become a legitimately formidable defensive side in Lane Lambert’s first season. It might not be meaningful or sustainable progress just yet, but the Kraken have exceeded expectations and put themselves in a position to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch. — Thomas Drance
St. Louis Blues: F
It’s hard to fathom the Blues were viewed as a potential playoff team before the season. They are tied for last in the league in goal differential (minus-44) and averaging the fewest goals per game in the league (2.49), with a 33-year-old defenseman who had four goals last season, Justin Faulk, tied for the team lead (11). They were also allowing the fourth-most goals in the league (3.38) with the No. 24 power play (17.1 percent) and the No. 25 penalty kill (77 percent). It’s an all-around, epic disaster. — Jeremy Rutherford
Tampa Bay Lightning: A-
The Lightning have been streaky at times, with some ups and downs. Brayden Point is the latest to join a long list of injuries to key players. Despite all that, Tampa Bay still looks like one of the strongest contenders in the Eastern Conference. It’s a credit to the team’s elite core, Jon Cooper’s coaching and the overall development system. A lot of the supporting cast have stepped up, such as J.J. Moser and Darren Raddysh on the back end, and so have some AHL call-ups from Syracuse. So when this team finally gets healthy, it should make for a much deeper lineup. — Shayna Goldman
Toronto Maple Leafs: C
The last three weeks don’t erase the first three months when the Leafs were an underperforming team that couldn’t find answers to major problems, even firing assistant coach Marc Savard along the way. They’ve turned things around in a big way recently. Auston Matthews is looking like a superstar again, the power play is no longer a back hole and the team is playing a connected brand of hockey at both ends. Long a formality with this team, the playoffs are still a question mark, though, thanks to that troubling start. — Jonas Siegel
Utah Mammoth: C+
Boasting an impressive collection of young talent and robust analytics last season, the Mammoth were a popular pick to break out in 2025-26. Unfortunately, it hasn’t come together yet — Utah is on pace for 89 points, which would tie last year’s total. Utah’s young players haven’t taken the leap to superstar status yet, the power play is ranked 31st, and secondary scoring remains underwhelming. The good news is Utah still sits in the first wild-card spot because of how poor the West is, and the team has maintained a respectable record lately despite Logan Cooley’s injury. — Harman Dayal
Vancouver Canucks: F
The Canucks lost their ninth consecutive game Thursday night in Columbus. One more loss would match Vancouver’s longest winless streak since 1997-98, and the franchise record (13 games, 1973-74) is very much in sight. The Canucks have played uninspired hockey, traded their franchise player, have been beset by injuries and rank 32nd in the NHL by points percentage — where they’re likely to stay over the balance of the season. — Thomas Drance
Vegas Golden Knights: B-
By every statistical measure, the Golden Knights have been middling this season. They’re seventh in goals per game and 20th in goals against. Their recent five-game win streak was desperately needed after they had lost eight of their previous nine games. The only reason Vegas’ grade gets bumped from a C to a B-minus is because it still somehow remains atop the Pacific Division. — Jesse Granger
Washington Capitals: B-
The Capitals haven’t been great — there have been too many rough patches and too much reliance on Logan Thompson to say that — but they’ve been good enough, especially with Pierre-Luc Dubois injured for nearly the whole season. Besides, expecting a full-on replay of last season would’ve been unreasonable. — Sean Gentille
Winnipeg Jets: F
After winning the Presidents’ Trophy last year, the Jets have plummeted all the way to 31st in the standings. Most people expected Winnipeg to take a step back this season because of Nikolaj Ehlers’ departure and some of the club’s early injuries, but nobody envisioned a fall this dramatic. The Jets are old, slow, lack secondary scoring and blow leads as if it’s nothing. Winnipeg has had a couple of decisive wins lately, and the West is mediocre enough that it isn’t completely out of the playoff race, but it’s going to be a major uphill battle. — Harman Dayal