There are some bad teams in the NHL this season; who should panic?

Looking at some slow starts and rough rosters around the NHL so far this season....

We knew coming into this season that there were going to be at least a couple of absolutely brutal teams in the NHL for the 2022-23 season.

Arizona is clearly still in a rebuilding phase and is still years away from serious contention. There is some talent there, there is a plan, but it is going to take a while to achieve it.

Chicago is just not even trying to be competitive and has arguably the worst roster in the league, which is only going to get worse with the inevitable trades of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

With a potential franchise player in Connor Bedard waiting for somebody in the 2023 NHL draft, there is going to be quite a derby for securing the top draft lottery odds. Based on their rosters, Arizona and Chicago should be in the early driver’s seats. They are not alone in that race.

I know they won their first three games, but I am not yet buying the Philadelphia Flyers as anything other than a potential lottery team. John Tortorella might squeeze a few extra wins out of this group, but that is not a great roster.

San Jose is also a sneaky bad team. It has missed the playoffs for a few years now, has an entirely new front office and coaching staff, and is inching its way toward a rebuild. It also lost each of its first five games of the season going into Thursday night and managed just eight goals in the process. This is a team that is not getting enough attention for just how bad it might be. They are not on a clear tanking mission like Arizona and Chicago, but they might end up there just because the roster is not very good. The sooner they start their rebuild, the better.

But the Coyotes, Blackhawks, and Sharks are not the only teams off to bad starts. Let’s takes a look at a few other teams that have stumbled out of the gate and which of them might need to consider hitting the panic button.