It was a long summer, hockey fans, but the wait is finally over.
Yes, it’s finally time for another NHL season to begin! It was only a handful of months ago that the Vegas Golden Knights lifted the Stanley Cup for their first-ever championship in franchise history. Since then, the NHL Draft came and went, marking an event that changed the fortunes of multiple franchises thanks to a deep draft class. The NHL’s free agency period started with a bang then grew quiet quickly as the summer lull took over.
But now, it’s time to shake the rust off, because the 2023-24 NHL season is finally here! Things will kick off officially on October 10 when the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators collide for our first regular season action of the year.
MORE: Why these 5 NHL teams (Maple Leafs) will win the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
While many of us rejoice at the start of a new hockey season, there are many who are overwhelmed with the idea of a full 82-game slate spanning October to April. There will be a lot of hockey played these next six months, and not all of it good! So, to get you ready for the upcoming season, let’s dissect which teams deserve your limited attention and which ones you can safely ignore.
Here are all 32 NHL teams ranked from least to most watchable for the 2023-24 season.
32
Philadelphia Flyers
Only true Philadelphia sports diehards will tune into the rebuilding Flyers for all 82 games this season. As a Philly sports fan myself, I respect it, but power to you. The Flyers’ future is bright with Matvei Michkov set to join the team in a few years, but this Philadelphia squad is as green as they come and will no doubt be going through growing pains this season.
31
San Jose Sharks
Without Erik Karlsson, it’s hard to say where the goals will come from for this Sharks squad. You have to feel for Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture here, as the two veterans will have to carry around the Sharks’ dead carcass almost by themselves for the entire season. Godspeed.
30
Winnipeg Jets
Honestly, the biggest reason to watch the Jets this year is to see what happens with Connor Hellebuyck. The 30-year-old goaltender is in the final year of his deal and could be moved depending on how the Jets fare this season. Even though Winnipeg projects to be a playoff team, they don’t have many exciting skaters to make them a must-watch team every night.
29
Arizona Coyotes
Speaking of exciting players, Logan Cooley is going to be fun to watch! Outside of that, don’t expect the Coyotes to make much noise this season. The team has improved and could be interesting to watch if their pieces begin to gel together, but they’re still at the bottom of the barrel for entertainment.
LOGAN COOLEY HAS ARRIVED ‼️ pic.twitter.com/vHGGzHWZuk
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 23, 2023
28
Anaheim Ducks
You’d think a team with Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, and Mason McTavish would be higher on these watchability rankings considering the highlight reel goals they can pull off. Considering how horrid the Ducks were last year — and how it’s not likely to improve much this year — it’s hard to place them any higher on these rankings until they can prove last season was truly an anomaly.
27
Columbus Blue Jackets
Mike Babcock’s resignation as head coach was an embarrassing look for the Blue Jackets that will likely have reverberations into the regular season as well. It’s not often a team loses its head coach a few weeks before the season begins, but I don’t think it bodes well for the Blue Jackets’ performance going forward!
26
St. Louis Blues
Jordan Binnington’s antics aside, the Blues regressed hard last season — going from a second round playoff appearance in 2021-22 to finishing sixth in the Central last year — and lost a lot of talent this summer to boot. It’ll be interesting to see how Kevin Hayes fits in this lineup offensively alongside some big names, but St. Louis’ defense will be where the big cracks start to show.
25
Montreal Canadiens
In a few years from now, when the Canadiens have fully completed their rebuild, they are going to be a delight to watch with all the talent they have on their roster. For now, though, Martin St. Louis will be tasked with leading Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, and company through another developmental year in a tough Atlantic Division.
24
New York Islanders
The Islanders are a bubble playoff team with some solid talent in a strong Eastern Conference. So, why are they so far down these rankings? Because their bread and butter is playing defensive hockey, relying on goaltender Ilya Sorokin to make big plays to offset their middling offense. No hate to you if you like this style of hockey, but it’s certainly not the most watchable on this list.
23
Detroit Red Wings
Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond both went through unfortunate sophomore slumps last season. For the Red Wings to continue to make strides forward, they’ll need their two cornerstone pieces to pick off where they left off in their rookie seasons. Steve Yzerman made some interesting offseason additions — like Alex DeBrincat — but considering the other powerhouses in the Atlantic Division, you’re better off tuning into a more competitive team if you want consistent highlights.
22
Chicago Blackhawks
Okay, I’ve stalled long enough. Connor Bedard is the only reason you should tune into Blackhawks games this season. And even then, you could just watch his highlights on social media and be satisfied all the same. Chicago gets a bump in watchability here for Bedard alone, but be warned, the team itself is going to be bad.
21
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin needs 73 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all time leading goal scorer. At this point, it feels like the Capitals themselves have stepped back as a contender to let Ovechkin’s quest of chasing down Gretzky take the forefront. And it should! The Capitals were the second-oldest team at the end of last season and their roster hasn’t changed all that much from last year’s sixth place finish in the Metro. We’re still a year or so out from making every Capitals game a must-watch, but Ovechkin is still worth the price of admission every so often for now.
20
Nashville Predators
The Barry Trotz general manager era has officially begun in Nashville. For years, the Predators have flirted with a full on rebuild, but instead retooled this past offseason by bringing in Ryan O’Reilly to slide in alongside big names like Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros. These Predators have big boom or bust potential, depending on how the offense and Saros fare, so your milage may vary on their watchability this year.
19
Minnesota Wild
The Wild project to be a playoff team this season once again after finishing with 103 points last season in the Central. So, why are they so low here? Kirill Kaprizov has been a juggernaut since entering the league in 2021, but the Wild don’t have much else going for them offensively outside of that. Much like the Islanders, the Wild are a defensive-first team — with an incredibly talented stud in Kaprizov — but at the end of the day, defense just isn’t much fun to watch in the NHL compared to scoring buckets of goals.
18
Ottawa Senators
The Senators are in the unfortunate position of being an interesting up-and-coming hockey team stuck in the NHL’s division of death. Tim Stützle is coming off a 90-point season, with Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux not far behind. Ottawa made things compelling in the Atlantic last year, and might still with their pesky young talent, but they could very well be battered around by the meat grinder of teams that is the Atlantic Division if they’re not up to the task.
17
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks have to make the playoffs this season after missing out the last three years. It’s put up or shut up time in Vancouver, which has wasted enough of Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes’ prime as it is. That drama alone will keep the Canucks on everyone’s radars this season, especially with Pettersson in the last year of his current RFA contract.
16
Calgary Flames
The Flames flamed out hard in 2022-23, finishing two points out of a playoff spot and firing head coach Darryl Sutter as a result. Jonathan Huberdeau is a prime candidate for a big bounce back season, but Jacob Markström will be where the Flames season lives or dies. If the goaltender can just get back to league average goaltending, Calgary should be able to leverage their talent to take advantage of a more open Western Conference.
15
Los Angeles Kings
Anže Kopitar led the way for the Kings last season, posting his best point total (74) since the 2015-16 season. Los Angeles has a solid mix of young players (Quinton Byfield, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Brandt Clarke) and seasoned NHL veterans (Kopitar, Kevin Fiala, Phillip Danault, Drew Doughty) to make some noise out West. Regression could very well come for this Kings team, who had a top-10 offense in part thanks to Kopitar’s incredible year, but Los Angeles’ foundation is solid for another playoff run.
14
Buffalo Sabres
Tage Thompson broke out onto the scene and then some last season with the Sabres. Thompson’s 47 goal, 94 point season alone was enough to elevate Buffalo from a cesspool of misery to a must-watch team based off vibes alone. The Atlantic is still as strong as it was last year, but even if the Sabres don’t make the playoffs, we can only hope Thompson, Jeff Skinner, Rasmus Dahlin and the rest of the Sabres continue to play fun and enjoyable hockey all year round.
13
Seattle Kraken
The Kraken got their first taste of postseason action as a franchise last season, finally bringing playoff hockey to Seattle. Jared McCann led the Kraken in scoring (40 goals, 70 points) but everyone across the Seattle lineup contributed in the scoring department, as 13 different players each tallied double digits in scoring last year. We’ll have to see if the Kraken will get close to shooting 11.6 percent like they did last season, but Seattle should hopefully continue to make some noise in an open Western Conference once more.
12
Pittsburgh Penguins
The 2023-24 season will be a mix of the old and the new for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby and company are returning once more as the end of an era continues to approach in Pittsburgh. Even still, the team added Kyle Dubas as general manager and traded for Karlsson to bolster their back end in a big way. If this addition of new blood doesn’t spark the Penguins to a postseason return, I don’t know what will.
11
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have been able to delicately balance just the right amount of offensive firepower with a stifling defense for years now. Martin Nečas took a large step forward last season and could very well make an even bigger name for himself this year if he can be the second half of a one-two punch combo with Andrei Svechnikov. Carolina’s modus operandi might be a suffocating defense with stellar goaltending, but their offense can absolutely light you up on any given night too.
10
Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy’s injury absolutely stings for the Lightning, who will have to live without their Vezina-caliber goaltender for the first two months of the season. And yet, the Lightning are still an incredibly talented group up and down the lineup, from Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov on down. Tampa Bay has been one of the most consistently good teams in the NHL in recent years, as the team always makes for an enjoyable watch any night of the season.
9
New York Rangers
The Rangers may have lost a lot of big names this past offseason with the departures of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, but the addition of Blake Wheeler should be a big boost to the team’s top six. The big-name stars always shine bright in New York, from Chris Kreider to Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin, but the real question will be, do Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko finally blossom into the first round talent we know they can be?
8
Dallas Stars
Jason Robertson revitalized the careers of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin last season with his 46 goal, 109 point season and it looks like he’ll once again be the centerpiece of this Stars roster. Thanks to the rising tide of Robertson lifting all boats in Dallas last season, the Stars had a top-10 offense that surprised many after folks believed this team to be in need of a retool. Not to mention, Jake Oettinger in net has been sensational for Dallas as the team looks to compete for the top of the Central once more.
7
Florida Panthers
Matthew Tkachuk was the star of the show last year in Florida and for good reason. The forward had a career year (109 points) and was a blast to watch in the playoffs with his amusing antics. With all of the Panthers usual suspects set to return, from Aleksander Barkov to Carter Verhaeghe and more, Florida is gearing up for yet another season of run-and-gun style hockey where defense is secondary to blitzing scoring opportunities.
6
Boston Bruins
Patrice Bergeron’s presence will certainly be missed from the Bruins after his retirement this past summer, but that doesn’t mean Boston’s fated to step back this season. Given that David Pastrňák and Brad Marchand are still leading the way in Boston, the Bruins will be just fine, especially bolstered by a strong defense with Charlie McAvoy at the helm. Plus, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark are set to return once again, giving hockey fans another full season of the goalie hugs we all know and love.
5
New Jersey Devils
The kids really showed up for the Devils last season. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt turned the Devils’ doubters into believers and the team’s top six only got better this past summer. Seriously, New Jersey’s offense is as stacked as they come and they could very well compete for the league’s scoring crown when all is said and done. Expectations are high for this Devils team after last season’s second round exit, but it feels like this squad could very well surpass them if the young stars once again impress on the big stage.
4
Colorado Avalanche
Injuries really hampered the Avalanche this past season and the team experienced a lot of turnover in the summer. While Colorado will still be missing captain Gabriel Landeskog due to injury, the team picked up Ryan Johansen, Tomas Tatar and others to help fill the gap. Still, a team with Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar are going to demand eyeballs no matter the occasion as the Avalanche figure to be one of the best teams out West once more.
3
Toronto Maple Leafs
After winning a playoff round for the first time in 19 years, this Maple Leafs squad is in uncharted territory. Dubas is out and Brad Treliving is in after an embarrassing second round performance, with the new general manager making sweeping changes to Toronto’s roster this summer. The team now has some much-needed truculence in Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Ryan Reaves, who will all fit in alongside Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs usual suspects. While this team has a new coat of paint, drama always surrounds the Maple Leafs and this season likely won’t disappoint in that regard.
2
Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are appointment viewing every time they step out onto the ice. The Oilers led the NHL last year in total goals scored (325) and the team’s core remained intact this past summer, meaning they could very well repeat as the league’s best scoring squad with ease. There are a lot of questions for this Oilers team come playoff time but come on, it’s McDavid and Draisaitl. You don’t need me to tell you to watch these two play hockey!
1
Vegas Golden Knights
The reigning Stanley Cup champions will be returning all but Reilly Smith from their golden season, setting them up nicely for another deep playoff run. With the stress of the franchise’s first championship lifted from their shoulders, the Golden Knights should be feeling loose headed into the 2023-24 season. The core of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, and William Karlsson should once again impress as the team looks to be quite the complete package as the season begins.
Vegas has a real chance to run it back and repeat as Stanley Cup champions this year, so if you’re going to keep your eye on one team in particular this season, make it the Golden Knights.
