With the first month of the National Hockey League almost officially in the books, fans are either absolutely convinced their teams are Stanley Cup caliber or shaking in their boots from the reality that their team might tank this season.
In this week’s edition of The Puck Drop, I plan to do my annual article where I reveal my biggest surprises and disappointments of the NHL season so far.
Let’s get into it.
Avery’s Biggest Suprises
Quinn Hughes stays as the behind-the-scenes player for the Canucks
Quinn Hughes, much like his brothers Jack and Luke, is known to be a force to be reckoned with around the crease, but instead of scoring goals, he’s contributing to his teammates scoring.
This season, though, he has been continuing that momentum.
In just 13 games played this season, he notched three goals and 12 assists and has been one of the main contributing factors to the team’s offense as of late as they sit at No. 11 in the league.
The Canucks recently lost to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, but before then were on a three-game winning streak.
With the addition of Quinn Hughes and new head coach Rich Tocchet last season, it was a blessing in disguise for the Canucks and the key to their success.
Rangers dropping in the standings
After winning the President’s trophy last year and making it to the Eastern conference finals, the Rangers were expected to have another stellar season, especially with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad at their disposal.
Much to Ranger fans’ dismay, though, they have been struggling to gain momentum as of late and they are sitting tenth in the league.
With teams like the Jets and the Canucks coming up in their schedule, it will be a test for the team’s offense as they hope to head into the midway point of the season with stats in the win column under their belt.
Avery’s Biggest Disappointments
San Jose Sharks less than stellar start
With many new additions to the roster, including sharpshooter rookies Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, NHL fans thought that maybe this could be the year for the San Jose Sharks to really rack up those points in the win column.
However, they currently sit at No. 30 in the rankings and have been struggling for a good part of this season, standing at a 9-5-2 record.
Veterans Michael Granlund and Tyler Toffoli lead the team in points totals with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
As of print, on Monday night, the Sharks shut out the New Jersey Devils 1-0 on their home ice, with former Devils Toffoli and Mackenzie Blackwood on the roster.
This was a huge win for the Sharks as the Devils currently sit at No. 4 in the league, which shows that despite their struggles in the early season, with practice and gaining chemistry among players, they can rise in the standings.
Boston Bruins’ early struggles
The last few seasons the Bruins have found themselves higher in the standings, but as of print, they are currently sitting at No. 14 in the league with a record of 6-7-2 and are coming off an overtime 3-2 loss against the No. 20 ranked Ottawa Senators.
Their veteran players like David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand lead their team in points with 14 and 12, respectively.
Throughout the duration of the beginning of the 2024-25 season, head coach Jim Montgomery and the Bruins have found themselves fluctuating back and forth in the winning and losing columns.
Just like the Rangers, with the tough opponents they have in their schedule and without Linus Ullmark, it will be an interesting test for the Bruins and what’s to come for the rest of the season.
It’s very possible that in the next weeks, these teams can find themselves in vastly different spots in the standings since it’s still just the beginning of the season.
I plan to come back and revisit these when we reach the post season, but for now, we just sit and wait.
That’s the beauty of the National Hockey League. Anything can happen.