The NHL has been quite unpredictable this season. The salary cap was announced to be raised next season, 4 Nations has been an enormous success, and big trades have gone through. On a team level, multiple teams have shocked the NHL world, some for good reasons, and others not so much. Here are six teams that have surprised fans this season.
The Washington Capitals entered this season in a peculiar position. They were off the back of barely making the postseason, with a goal differential of -40 and getting swept by the New York Rangers in the first round. While Ovechkin still wanted to chase the goal record, the Capital’s outlook didn’t look great. However, they’ve defied all odds this season, at the 4 Nations break the Capitals are first in the East and second in the NHL standings. Once a team that many thought needed a rebuild post-Ovi, the Caps are now an intimidating opponent come playoffs.
The Sabres are maybe the most consistently disappointing franchise in the NHL. Every year they have high hopes to make it back to the postseason, and yet they always fall just short. It has been nearly 15 years since Buffalo’s last made the playoffs. Buffalo always seems to have elite stars like Jack Eichel, Tage Thompson, or Rasmus Dahlin but they are never enough to get the Sabres back to the postseason. Even in recent years, they have acquired and developed guys like Bowen Byrum, Dylan Cozens, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Whether it’s their inability to take the next step or inconsistent play, the Sabres continue to surprise NHL fans for being so bad.
This summer, the Blue Jackets and the rest of the NHL received some of the worst news imaginable. Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew passed away due to a tragic traffic incident. Columbus lost one of its beloved leaders and a stand-up guy who brightened everybody’s day. Despite that, the Blue Jackets have risen to the occasion and played amazing hockey this year. Guys like Kirill Marchenko and Zach Werenski are having career years, and Columbus sits just one point out of a wildcard spot. Injuries have been piling up as of late, but if they can continue to play well, they have a great chance at making it to the postseason.
Calgary entered this season with zero intentions of making the NHL playoffs. The Flames were thought to have a couple more seasons left in their rebuild, but Dustin Wolf had other thoughts. In his first season as a full-time starter, he has a 2.63 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. While they still seem committed to at least one more year of rebuilding, the Flames still have a chance of sneaking into the playoffs.
When Barry Trotz signed Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, and Jonathan Marchessault, Predators fans all over thought this would be an all-in season. Their expectations were sky-high headed into the season, many NHL analysts believed a deep run was inevitable. Unfortunately, the Predators have fallen extremely short of their Cup aspirations. The team has shown no cohesion, and their free-agency signings have struggled immensely. Nashville has now destroyed its future for a team that will not make the playoffs and has been a massive failure.
Even though the Sharks have been an objectively bad NHL team, Macklin Celebrini and the rest of the team have made tremendous strides amid their rebuild. After taking Celebrini first overall in last year’s draft, many thought that he would take a few years to develop. Celebrini proved all the doubters wrong, as he has 40 points in 45 games and has looked great in his rookie season. Additionally, by acquiring Yaroslav Askarov and more draft capital from the Dallas Stars, the Sharks are in a great spot. The Sharks will hopefully be a competitive team in the next few years.
The NHL has been full of twists and turns this season, and these teams have contributed to that. Some of these teams’ fans are surely happier than others. There are still lots of storylines headed down the final stretch of the season, and all of these teams will continue to be one of scrutiny or praise.
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