After finishing bottom 10 in the NHL the Flyers surprised the hockey world by pushing for a playoff spot last season. Despite their disappointing ending where they lost 9 of their final 11 games to miss the playoffs by 4 points, things seemed to be trending in the right direction for the team going into this year.

According to the athletic the Flyers are the third youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 26.3. With the Flyers young players, a year more experienced than last year there was a lot of hope they could take a step in the right direction this season. In addition to this the top KHL prospect Matvei Michkov came over to the NHL two years before he was expected to. The 19-year-old scored 19 goals and 22 assists in 48 Games last season in the KHL. He had a higher point % than Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin in his post draft season.

The Flyers even started on the right note after beating the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shootout who finished first place in the pacific division last regular season. However, since then the Flyers have lost all 5 games they have played. The Flyers are currently tied for the 2nd fewest goals scored in the NHL and their two highest paid forwards, Owen Tippet and team captain Sean Couturier are yet to score a goal. While head coach John Tortorella is top 10 in NHL history in games and wins as a head coach, has won two Jack Adam awards(awarded to the head coach who contributes most to their teams success), and has won a Stanley Cup, with the Flyers major collapse at the end of last season and their slow start to this season you have to start to wonder if he is a good fit for this young team.

While they are only 6 games into the season it is very fair to say a setback season seems to be in store for the Flyers.

The Senators have gone the last 7 seasons without a playoff appearance which is the 3rd longest active playoff drought only behind the Buffalo Sabers (13 seasons) and the Detroit Red Wings (8 seasons). Last season was a disaster for the Red Wings which featured key injuries to star players Josh Norris and Thomas Chabot. In addition to this Shane Pinto who was expected to have a breakout year after a promising 20 goal rookie campaign received a 41-game suspension for gambling.

In addition to all of this the Senators were penalized a first-round pick because of a trade that went down between them and the Vegas Golden Knights. After the season ended the Senators hired head coach Travis Green who has more losses than wins in his career. Some people criticized this signing because of his poor record and only having one playoff appearance in his 6 seasons of being a head coach.

Despite trading for Boston’s star goalie and former Vezina winner Linus Ullmark expectations were not incredibly high because of the stacked Atlantic division they play in and disappointing previous seasons. They now have a 4-2 record which is tied for the highest win% in the Atlantic division. The Senators have won their last 2 games and have multiple wins against playoff teams from last year including the reigning Stanley cup champions. They also are 4th in goals and two of the three teams that have scored more have also played in more games played.

The Senators currently have 5 players who are point per game(ppg). While this is very much an overreaction as we are only 6 games into the season it is still impressive considering they did not have a single ppg player last season. While the season is early, and the Senators are by no mean a lock for the playoffs this is a solid start for the team.

Most teams being 2-4-1 would be in panic mode right now but slow starts are nothing new for this Oilers team. Last season despite starting out 2-9-1 the Oilers managed to finish 2nd place in the pacific division and came one game away from winning the Stanley Cup. In this span the Oilers went on a 16-game winning streak to get them back from their disappointing start. The Oilers were also losing in 3 of their 4-playoff series including being down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals (SCF) before winning the next 3 games before losing game 7 by a goal.

While the Oilers are not in uncharted territories and are still likely to make the playoffs, I still have concerns for them moving forwards. Since last season the Oilers have lost 3 of their 7 defensemen on their roster during the playoffs. The losses include Cody Ceci who played solid minutes for them since arriving prior to the 2021-22 season, Phillip Borberg who played well for them in the playoff last spring and is currently thriving for the St. Louis Blues, and Vincent Desharnais who is a big physical defenseman who was serviceable.

According to Statmuse the Oilers have the 2nd worst team save % in the NHL with .852 only ahead of the Colorado Avalanche (.827). While the Stuart Skinner/Calvin Pickard tandem played very well at the end of last year and in the playoffs, this is definitely not a good start for them. The Oilers also have the 4th fewest goals in the NHL despite having Connor McDavid and Lean Draisaitl. While McDavid and Draisaitl aren’t producing as much as they usually do, they still have far bigger problems.

They only have 3 players on their roster who are averaging a half a point per game or better. While I would not be surprised if they overcome this it is definitely crucial for them that they turn this around soon, so it doesn’t get as bad as it was last season.

The bar was set very low for Utah’s inaugural season by the Arizona Coyotes missing the playoffs 11 of the last 12 seasons. The Coyotes relocated to Utah over the off season. While they have different ownership and completely new jersey designs, most of the players are the same. Even with adding solid defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino I do not think most people thought the Utah hockey club would start so well. Utah is currently 4-2-1 and has beat several playoff teams from last year being the away team. While Utah is far from a playoff lock their solid start and other teams in their division struggling have put them in a good spot to start off the year.

The Nashville Predators are by far the most disappointing team in the NHL this season. Last season the Predators exceeded expectations making the playoffs following a season where they barely missed. The Preds entered the off season with a lot of salary cap space because rookie General Manager Barrie Trotz cut ties with several big contract players including Matt Duchene, Ryan Johanson and Ryan McDonauh. With the extra cap space Trotz signed multiple star veteran presences including Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei, and Stevan Stamkos. With the team’s success last season and new additions, the bar was set very high, and a lot of people had them as contenders.

However, the Predators start to the season has been disastrous to say the least. They are currently 1-5 and the only team with fewer goals than them are the San Jose Sharks who are winless. In addition to this Stamkos is off to an awful start in Nashville. In 6 games he has just 1 goal and is a -6. Stamkos is making $8 Million a year through the 2027-28 season. While I am not shocked to see him struggle because of his lack of 5 on 5 production last year and his new linemates not being as good as they were in Tampa, I did not think it would be this much of a collapse. While it is still early things do not look good for Nashville.

The Flames are the biggest surprise of the year. In the last year they have traded Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Jaccob Markstrom. On paper this team screams lottery team. Their offensive depth is pretty good but they lack top end talent. There are clear holes in their defense from trading half of it away last season. In addition, they are going with a rookie goalie in net. Despite all of this they are 6-0-1. Several players have stepped up for them in a big way. The Flames are 8th in goals for and 6th in goals against. While it is hard to see them keep it up, I had to have them at the top of this list. Not only have they exceeded expectations, but they have also crushed them.

While these teams didn’t make the cut, they are still worth mentioning. While the Winnipeg Jets being 6-0 is impressive and a little unexpected, they have been a good regular season team for years. I also heavily considered the Washington Capitals for exceeding expectations but didn’t pick them because they were a playoff team last season and added multiple high upside players in the off season. I did not choose the Colorado Avalanche as disappointing because even though they are 3-4 and the bar is set pretty high for them they have won their last 3 games and it feels like they are starting to heat up. I did not choose the Sharks because while they are winless to start out the year and are in last place I did not expect them to be good at all this season.