Checking In On the NHL: New Year 2025 Edition
Folks, it’s New Year's Day 2025. First, Happy New Year. Second, because it’s the new year, it’s time for our annual check-in on each NHL team. We’ll take a look at all 32 of them, and see how things have gone so far this year for each team. That, and how things are likely to go in the second half of the year for each.
Anaheim Ducks: Well, we all expected them to suck. They suck. Right now, they and their fans are really just waiting for the young talent to get better. It’s just a waiting game right now. The future could and should be bright in a few years. This year really doesn’t matter too much.
Boston Bruins: It took a coach firing and a little bit longer for the Bruins to not stink to high heaven, but they’ve finally done it. Not saying that they’re living up to their potential yet, but at least they don’t stink now. That, and they’re in the third in the Atlantic. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t looked at the standings since the middle of December, and that surprised me. I figured Tampa Bay was holding on to that spot, but nope. I should probably check the standings more often. So, congrats to the Bruins on that. They’re finally figuring things out and now what remains to be seen is if they’ll finally figure it out in the playoffs.
Buffalo Sabres: Abandon all hope ye who enter here.
Calgary Flames: After a hot start, they cooled down quite a bit. Really, what’s keeping them in the wild card race is how good they are at home. As of writing this, they’re 12-4-3. Unfortunately for them, they’d also be in a playoff spot if they didn’t suck on the road (5-8-4). But hey, at least Dustin Wolf is looking like a future Vezina winner. So, between still being a legitimate contender in the wild card race and watching the new superstar in the net, there’s still a lot to be excited about for this year. Which is more than what could be said for this team in the last few years.
Carolina Hurricanes: Oh, of course, the moment Jack Roslovic leaves Columbus he starts lighting it up. I’m not mad. Please don’t put in the newspaper that I got mad.
Chicago Blackhawks: Well, at least they’re better than they were last year after 37 games. After 37 games last season, they had a .324 point percentage while this year they have a .351 point percentage. I’m not helping, am I, Blackhawks fans? In all seriousness, it’s been wild as someone who hasn’t watched the team since probably October to see the discourse coming out of there. I wouldn’t have thought that finding linemates that could work with Bedard would take until Christmas, but here we are. Good lord, what are they doing to that poor kid? That said, I do think the freakout I’ve seen about him is overblown. Even Patrick Kane struggled mightily in his second season. Bedard will be all right. He’s not a bust, and we’re far from discussing whether he’s been ruined or not. Seriously, he will be fine, and this team too, maybe.
Colorado Avalanche: The haters may have been hoping that this year was the downfall of the Avalanche. Alas, that was not meant to be. Even with some of the worst goaltending I’ve ever seen (and I’m a Blue Jackets fan), MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Makar are still very, very, good. They can and will drag this team to the playoffs. How far in the playoffs we’ll see, but, those three alone are so good that even with little to no help, this team will be good.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Speaking of the Blue Jackets, wow. I was wrong. I’m not entirely sure if I’m happy to be wrong, I mean, this team DOES need another superstar winger (yes, Kent Johnson, I see you, but you’re not there yet, and this team could use a bit more help on the wing), but, really, who cares? This team is fun. They’re genuinely fun. After two of our players dying in the last few years and watching some truly horrible hockey during that time as well, the players and the fanbase needed this. We needed to see a team that never quits, we needed to see Marchenko, Voronkov, and Kent Johnson solidify themselves as the future. Furthermore, we needed to see Zach Werenski put on a Norris-worthy campaign. Yes, if he keeps this up, Werenski should win the Norris. He won’t, because it’s Columbus, but he should.
Dallas Stars: According to Stars fans, the sky is falling, it’s over. Look, I know things have been rough for the Stars lately. That said, this team is too talented. They’ll figure it out and likely make a deep playoff run.
Detroit Red Wings: Play fucking hockey.
Edmonton Oilers: We’ve all seen this story before: they’re absolutely morbid to start the season before catching fire. As per usual, they’re dominating with poor goaltending. Just imagine this team if they had a legitimate starter. Actually, if you’re a rival of theirs you’d probably rather not. This team even with bad goaltending is scary enough.
Florida Panthers: What a roller coaster of a season this team has had. They’ve suffered huge injuries, were dominant to start, struggled mightily in mid-November, then regained form. Starting in December they have this new trend they’ve been consistent on: win three games, then lose two. We’ll see how much longer that goes on. Just like the team they played against in the Cup Final last season, they’ve suffered from sub-par goaltending. Bobrovsky had one great year and reverted back to who he was when he first joined Florida. Oh well. He has a ring now. Probably softens that blow.
Los Angeles Kings: If things continue as we all expect them to, the Kings will be playing the Oilers in the playoffs…again. I hope you Kings fans have a good therapist.
Minnesota Wild: Earlier in December, the Wild were one of the three best teams in the league. They are devoted to making me look bad. I really thought they would be near the bottom of the league. Heck, in my pre-season predictions, I had them listed as the second-worst team in the Central Division. Look, I know they were heavily injured last year, but I didn’t think any of the names that were out long-term were that impactful of players. Besides, the youth are here, they are ready to take over, and young teams usually don’t succeed. Boy was I wrong. I really need to watch more of this team. They’re one of those that I consistently forget exist and I need to stop doing that and enjoy them more often.
Montreal Canadiens: They’re the Canadiens. They suck. We all knew they were going to suck. They’re always battling injuries and even when they’re not injured, they simply don’t have enough talent to climb up the standings.
Nashville Predators: At least Matthew Schaefer is going to look great in your sweater.
New Jersey Devils: What’s in that New Jersey water that prevents each and every goaltender from being barely above average at absolute best?
New York Islanders: A forgettable team that plays a forgettable style of hockey. Let’s be honest: anytime you watch the Islanders you forget everything they did during the game the moment the game is over. But hey, at least Maxim Tsyplakov has been a genuine contributor. I’ve enjoyed watching his game the five or so times I’ve watched the Islanders this year.
New York Rangers: So, you all know how my predictions on who will make the Cup Final are always completely off? I have never in my life predicted correctly who will make the Final. Ever. For some odd reason, I curse both teams. Well, I picked the Rangers to win the Cup. I would go hide in shame but frankly, it’s too fun watching them suck this hard with so much talent. What can I say? I’m a hater. (I will never be allowed to step foot in New York City, will I?)
Ottawa Senators: Shortly after I made the joke on social media and here in my newsletter that the Senators do to goaltenders what the Chicago Bears do to quarterbacks, the goaltending figured it out. Ullmark looks like Ullmark again. They’ll probably make the playoffs this year because I just don’t trust the Penguins or Blue Jackets to steal that second wild-card spot from them. As a certified Senators hater, I hate that, please figure it out Blue Jackets, and don’t waste this amazing season from Werenski, please. I don’t want to watch the Senators in the playoffs. Also, I certainly don’t want to see the Penguins be the one to steal that second seed away from the Senators. I actually might prefer the Senators making it to the Penguins. Either way, it will be my personal hell.
Philadelphia Flyers: Ok, I’ve been hateful towards the last two teams. So, allow me to show some love to the Flyers. No, I’m not just doing that because they’re the city of “Brotherly Love”. Look, we all know the Flyers suck. That said, Matvei Michkov is good. So, who cares, really? The future is bright and that’s all that matters. They’ll be good soon enough. Sure, they could probably stand to give Michkov a little more support, but that prospect pipeline is pretty solid, even if they’re missing another star player to help out. They just need one more star and they're set.
Pittsburgh Penguins: I have no idea what to think of this team.
San Jose Sharks: Look, we all know the Sharks suck. That said, Macklin Celebrini is good. So, who cares, really? The future is bright and that’s all that matters. They’ll be good soon enough. Yes, I just copied and pasted that from the Flyers section and replaced Michkov with Celebrini. I won’t copy the last half of the Flyers section because, unlike the Flyers, I actually do think they have a great supporting cast. They have a legitimate #2 center, they have some solid wingers, good defensemen coming up, and a #1 goaltender in Askarov. They’re not going to be good for probably 2-3 more years, but when they get good, they’re going to be good. Like, dominate the league levels of good. Thank god they’re in the other conference from my teams so I can properly enjoy it.
Seattle Kraken: Remember when I said earlier this year that the team sucking wasn’t on Ron Francis and it was ridiculous to fire him? Turns out, I was completely correct. It’s just not a good roster. A bit more concerningly, Beniers is still struggling to find his way in this league. I really expected this year to be a breakout year. I don’t know what’s going on with him, though. I’ve only seen about three games. So, I need to watch them a bit more.
St. Louis Blues: Yeah, St. Louis is just as mediocre as I expected. Next.
Tampa Bay Lightning: They’re the Lightning and no matter how much talent they lose, they’ll still be good. I’ve only seen them, like, twice this year, so I have no idea if they’re capable of doing damage in the playoffs, though. But, they are definitively good, and so far, as predicted, none of the rebuilding teams have been able to overtake them.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Well, they have good goaltenders now. They’re still probably not getting past the first round, though.
Utah Hockey Club: Even when I watch their games I forget about basically everything they did immediately afterward. They leave actually zero impression on me and most of the time I forget they exist.
Vancouver Canucks: They overperformed last year, and they’re regressing now. They’ll probably make the playoffs but get bounced early.
Vegas Golden Knights: Remember in my pre-season predictions when I said the Golden Knights were going to be mediocre? Yeah. Absolutely laughable looking back that I thought the Canucks were going to be far superior to Vegas. Even accounting for the inevitable regression. The sad thing is, that’s not even the worst prediction I made. There’s far worse in that pre-season predictions article.
Washington Capitals: Chychrun is tied for most goals by a defender. Connor McMichael is a break-out star. Ovechkin is 25 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record. Pierre-Luc Dubois is good again. They’re one of the best teams in the league. I was skeptical that their big spending spree in the offseason was going to pay off, but it most certainly has. So far, at least.
Winnipeg Jets: Kind of wild that we’re about to watch Connor Hellebuyck win the Vezina for the second straight year and the third time in his career. It’s also kind of wild how little hockey social media talks about him. What he’s doing is truly incredible and deserves more attention. Do you know who’s also flying under the radar? Kyle Connor. This man has 51 points in 39 games so far. Put more respect on his name. Hell, just give the Jets more respect. Amazing things are going on over there. What won’t be amazing is their playoffs. I’ve fully given up on them ever doing any damage in the playoffs. They’ll probably get bounced in the first round. But hey, another magical regular season.
If you found value in this article, please consider paying for a subscription here at Prism Hockey, as subscription money goes to other subscriptions such as DeepL (for translating articles in other languages to cover hockey news around the world) or Google One (necessary for storage for my articles and graphics on social media) to ensure I can continue to cover hockey. If you aren’t able to buy a paid subscription, please consider at least getting a free subscription as all articles are free, and sharing this article. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on this article in the comments below (only paid subscribers can comment) or on social media. I can be found on Bluesky, Instagram (Personal | Prism Hockey), Mastodon, Threads, and Tumblr.