NHL first quarter reactions: Is Toronto different? How can the Rangers fix this?

Checking in on every NHL team so far.

We are already through the first quarter of the 2024-25 NHL season and I have some thoughts on every team so far.

Let’s go.

Anaheim Ducks. The .500 record as of Monday looks like progress, but I wonder how meaningful it is and how much actual progress there is here. The Ducks have the worst expected goals against metrics in the NHL and some of the young players have been a little underwhelming. The goaltending is actually the big difference-maker here. While it is nice to see Lukas Dostal playing well and John Gibson maybe giving himself some trade value again, a bad defensive team with underwhelming young players getting boosted by strong goaltending is the type of mirage that leads to bad decisions. Instant reaction: Misleading progress

Boston Bruins. A step backwards should have been expected here, but I did not expect it to be “fire the winningest coach in hockey over the past two years a quarter of the way through the season” bad. The lack of a true No. 1 center is going to be the Achilles heel that prevents them from being a Stanley Cup team, and I still hated their offseason. But I wonder how much better the season looks so far if Jeremy Swayman plays like they expected Jeremy Swayman to play. Then again, if Sweeney handled that contract situation better maybe he he gets a real training camp and preseason to prepare for the season. Instant reaction: Flawed team with a probably mediocre general manager

Buffalo Sabres. There is talent here, but not enough. I still can not believe this team came into the season with more than $5 million in unused salary cap space. You are working on 14 straight seasons without the playoffs in a league where half of the league makes the playoffs. That is impossibly bad. There was not somebody out there that could have helped you? Instant reaction: Mediocrity

Calgary Flames. Every year there are a couple of teams that hang around longer than anybody expected early in the season before turning into the team everybody expected them to be. The Calgary Flames are one of those teams this season. Dustin Wolf has been a nice pleasant development in goal. Still not enough here to make me think this is a serious playoff contender. Instant reaction: Just waiting for the bottom to fall out

Carolina Hurricanes. My biggest criticism of the Hurricanes in recent years has always been “who is the star here?” Who is the guy that is going to put the team on his back in the playoffs and carry it offensively? This has always been a team where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and dominates with great structure and winning out on the percentages. All of that remains true this season, but now Martin Necas has emerged as one of the top-scorers in the league and taken the big offensive step that we have been hoping one of their young players would take. That is a big development. Instant reaction: Maybe this season is different

Chicago Blackhawks. Connor Bedard’s numbers are not anything that wow you at this point, and that is okay. Development is not the same for every player, and it is important to keep in mind he is still only 19 years old playing on a terrible team. He will be fine. He will be great. Instant reaction Patience. BE PATIENT

Colorado Avalanche. They have to do something about this goaltending situation. That is not the only problem here, but it is the biggest problem, the most obvious problem, and the problem that is easiest (in theory) to fix with one move. An .872 save percentage for the team is impossibly bad. That is the fastest way to waste an otherwise good team. Instant reaction: Fix the goaltending before you waste this season

Columbus Blue Jackets. I give these guys a lot of credit. They are above .500 despite getting awful goaltending and they have some legitimately strong underlying numbers so far (top-10 in expected goal share during 5-on-5 play). Despite the bad results in recent years this was still a team that didn’t seem far away from being interesting given the strength of the farm system. They might be able to build something here. Instant reaction: Better days could be on the way

Dallas Stars. They are one of the best teams in the league despite getting pedestrian production from Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston. Incredibly dangerous team if those two guys heat up. Instant reaction: Another trip to the Western Conference Final should be the expectation.

Detroit Red Wings. The offense has taken a big step backwards, the defense is still not good and the only saving grace this season has been better-than-expected goaltending. When is there going to be real progress? Instant reaction: Yzer-plan? Yzer-sham

Edmonton Oilers. The lack of depth around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and the goaltending questions are alarming. We have seen this movie from them before and it does not usually go well. Instant reaction: New season, same old problems