NHL Midseason Report Grades for the 2025-26 Season
We have officially reached the halfway point of the 2025-26 NHL season, and that means it is time for another round of report cards for the league's 32 teams. Grades take into account the entire first-half performance, preseason expectations, and whether teams are meeting them.
There is still a lot of hockey to be played this season, but after 41-plus games, there is at least a good sense of what each team is and what it is capable of.
Anaheim Ducks
1 of 32
Grade: C
It has been a tale of two seasons for the Ducks. They were one of the league's biggest surprises during the first quarter of the season, and they looked as if their extensive rebuild was going to finally pay off. They are still in a good position to keep challenging for a playoff spot, but the second quarter has not gone anywhere near as well, and they could soon see themselves slipping out of the race.
Their record has plummeted over the past month, and they still have serious questions and flaws defensively. Those flaws on the defensive end pushed them down to 24th in the NHL standings by points percentage entering play on Thursday.
There is serious talent at forward. They need more defensive help.
Boston Bruins
2 of 32
Grade: C-
The Bruins were a mediocre team a year ago, were expected to be more of the same this season, and have mostly delivered on that expectation.
Jeremy Swayman has been a little better in net this season, but probably still not what the Bruins were hoping for when they signed him to his eight-year contract extension.
David Pastrnak is still great. Morgan Geekie is showing that his goal-scoring breakout a year ago was not a fluke. But there is not enough forward depth beyond them; they still lack a true No. 1 center, and their defensive metrics are among the worst in the NHL. When it comes to the latter point, their 2.97 expected goals against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play is 32nd out of 32 teams.
Buffalo Sabres
3 of 32
Grade: B
Which Buffalo Sabres team is the real Buffalo Sabres team?
The one that had the worst record in the Eastern Conference going into December, resulting in the eventual firing of general manager Kevyn Adams?
Or the one that won 10 games in a row to play itself back into playoff contention? The next three months will answer that question, but for now, Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin have the Sabres playing their best hockey in years.
Something to keep in mind: Only two teams in NHL history have ever won 10 games in a row and not qualified for the playoffs. One of those teams just so happened to be the 2018-19 Sabres (the other is the 2016-17 Philadelphia Flyers). They are looking to avoid a repeat of that history.
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Calgary Flames
4 of 32
Grade: D
The Flames barely missed the playoffs a year ago, mostly because they had the worst offense in the league. Then they did almost nothing to address it in the offseason. So it probably is not a shock to learn that goal-scoring and offense are, yet again, a huge issue for a Flames team that now finds itself near the bottom of the Western Conference.
The only difference between this season and the 2024-25 season is that Dustin Wolf isn't masking all of their flaws and bailing them out in net as much as he did during his rookie season.
Overall, it has been a pretty mediocre team with some of the worst finishing ability in the league offensively.
Carolina Hurricanes
5 of 32
Grade: A
Carolina has one of the best records in the league and has done so while getting just five games from its top defenseman, Jaccob Slavin, and, more recently, losing one of its best offensive players in Seth Jarvis. That is impressive work to overcome the absence of Slavin.
Overall, the Hurricanes are mostly doing what they always do. They control the pace of games, dominate territorially, lock games down defensively, and do not really have any major weaknesses.
Goaltending might be the one big question mark right now, but they have been close to league average as a team in that area. It might be a question, but it is not exactly a liability. At least not yet.
The regular season success is expected. This season will ultimately be measured by what they do in the playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks
6 of 32
Grade: C
Connor Bedard's injury derailed some early-season progress, but it also highlighted just how far the rest of the team has to go to be a serious contender for a playoff spot.
When Bedard is healthy, they can be competitive; when he is not, there is just not enough else here.
The play of goalie Spencer Knight has also been a huge development this season, and helped the Blackhawks overcome some ugly possession and defensive metrics.
They have a key ingredient in Bedard. Now the hard part begins and trying to build a team around him.
Colorado Avalanche
7 of 32
Grade: A+
What else can you say about this team?
In their first 42 games they only lost four in regulation.
In their first 19 home games, they lost zero in regulation.
They entered play on Thursday nine points ahead of the second-best team in the NHL despite having two games in hand. They also have a 57.1 percent expected goal share in 5-on-5 play, which is tops in the league.
They have a dominant process, top-tier players in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, and produce dominant results. At the halfway point, they should be the Stanley Cup favorites.
Columbus Blue Jackets
8 of 32
Grade: D
This season is starting to feel like a big missed opportunity for the Blue Jackets.
They took a big step in 2024-25, were in the playoff hunt, entered the offseason with multiple first-round picks to use as trade chips, and had an overflow of salary cap space.
Their biggest move of the offseason was to get Charlie Coyle. He's not much of a needle-mover, though.
Instead of continuing to build on the progress they showed a year ago, Columbus is through the first half of the season with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and in danger of falling out of the playoff race.
Dallas Stars
9 of 32
Grade: A
There should be no surprise that the Stars are one of the top teams in the Western Conference and the NHL. They have been knocking on the door of the Stanley Cup Final for three years now, reaching three consecutive Western Conference Finals.
They just have not yet been able to kick the door down to get through it. Will this be the year?
If there is a potential red flag with this team, it is that their 5-on-5 possession numbers are a little average to below average, and a lot of their offense and success has been special teams driven with top-10 power play and penalty killing units.
But they have the talent all over the ice to be a dominant team, and they may not have even started playing their best hockey yet. That could be a concerning thing for the rest of the league when they reach their peak.
Detroit Red Wings
10 of 32
Grade: B+
The Yzer-plan might finally be coming together. After their 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, the Red Wings have the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. They also have a Norris Trophy front-runner in defenseman Moritz Seider, who is also putting together a strong case to be the league's MVP.
If there is a knock on this Red Wings team so far, and it might be the difference between a B-plus grade and an A grade, it's the lack of depth beyond the top players, and that is especially true on defense.
The defense pairing of Seider and Simon Edvinsson is as good and as dominant as any defense pairing in the league. But there is a sizable drop-off after them that could be a problem come playoff time and in the second half of the season. They have the salary cap space to make a meaningful addition on the blue line. They should be aggressive in trying to make it happen.
Edmonton Oilers
11 of 32
Grade: D
The worst grade here needs to go to the front office for, again, putting together a badly flawed team around the superstar forward duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The Oilers' depth is so bad this season that when neither McDavid nor Draisaitl is on the ice during 5-on-5 play, the team is outscored 20-46 and has managed only a 46.8 expected goal share. It does not matter how good or great your two best players are. You are not winning a Stanley Cup with that sort of supporting cast.
The only thing keeping this Oilers team in it right now is the sorry state of the Pacific Division, where nobody seems to be anything more than an average team.
They tried to address the goaltending issue by trading for former Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, but he is already injured -- a problem for him consistently in Pittsburgh -- and is currently sidelined. He has also shown no reliability in big games throughout his career. There are many concerns and questions here.
This is a team that has played in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. This is supposed to be a Stanley Cup-contending team. It looks nothing like that through the first half of the season.
Florida Panthers
12 of 32
Grade: C-
The Panthers look nothing like the team that has played in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and won each of the past two championships. They are on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and very clearly lacking ... something this season.
The good news is we all know what that something is: their two best players, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
Barkov is likely to miss most, if not all, of the season, while Tkachuk has missed the entire first half.
They are not only Florida's best players, but also two of the best in the NHL. There is simply no replacing that level of talent. There is nobody in the lineup who can step in for them. There is no trade within reason that is going to fix it. They just have to be patient and hope Tkachuk's return sparks them.
The Panthers' underlying possession numbers are still strong. The structure and process are still there. They just do not have the players to produce results right now.
Los Angeles Kings
13 of 32
Grade: C-
The Kings are very similar to the Oilers in that a lot of their problems began in the offseason and with their front office.
The Kings' offense was mediocre and lacking another top-end finisher. They ignored that need.
The defense was a huge strength, and they made it worse by letting Vladislav Gavrikov walk, trading Jordan Spence, and replacing them with Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin on long-term deals.
The Kings were facing a lot of pressure this season to finally get beyond the first-round after four consecutive early exits. Now they are going to have to fight just to make the playoffs in a bad, watered-down Western Conference. It is a very underwhelming season.
Minnesota Wild
14 of 32
Grade: A
The biggest thing for the Wild coming into this season was simply having a healthy Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek. Their absences in the second half of the 2024-25 season played a big role in their late-season slide. When healthy, the Wild were one of the best teams in the league.
They have been healthy this season, and the Wild are once again among the best teams in the NHL.
That lineup only became stronger when they acquired defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster deal. Now the Wild are not only one of the best teams in the league, but they also have two true superstar talents in Kaprizov and Hughes. That is the type of core that you can build a championship team around.
The biggest obstacle might be the fact they play in the same division—and playoff bracket—as the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. It is going to be a gauntlet to get through in the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens
15 of 32
Grade: B+
The Canadiens surprised everybody a year ago by making the playoffs ahead of schedule, and then followed that up in the offseason with some significant additions in Noah Dobson and Zac Bolduc.
Those moves raised the expectations for this season.
So far, the Canadiens are delivering.
They have a tremendous young core of talent that is getting better with every game, and turning them into a rapidly improving contender in the Eastern Conference.
Goaltending has been a big concern so far this season, but rookie Jacob Fowler has been a promising call-up from the minor leagues. If he can help solidify that spot, the Canadiens will not have many glaring weaknesses.
Nashville Predators
16 of 32
Grade: C+
This has been a big change from where we were earlier in the season with this team. They were horrendous through the end of November and looked like one of the worst teams in the NHL, and also one of the most hopeless situations overall.
Then, starting in December, they went on a roll that has now seen them go 12-6-0 over their past 18 games, getting back into fringe playoff contention in the Western Conference.
The wild thing about that turnaround is the Predators still have an ugly minus-21 goal differential for the season.
They are playing better and have made it so they might at least be worth paying attention to for the time being. Whether or not that will be enough to make the playoffs remains to be seen. Will it be enough to change the perception of Barry Trotz's tenure as general manager?
New Jersey Devils
17 of 32
Grade: D
This is getting ugly, and it might eventually lead to some huge changes in the organization.
Head coach? General manager? Something major with the roster? Perhaps all of the above at some point?
Jack Hughes missed significant time again due to injury, and the Devils had no answer for his absence. His return has not fixed any of their problems either. Not only are they losing a lot of games, but they are also starting to get embarrassed and look like a team going nowhere.
They are just 6-13-1 in their past 20 games, and after Thursday's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they have now been outscored 16-2 over their past three games.
The Eastern Conference and the Metropolitan Division are too good to start dropping this many points. This season is looking like a failure through the first half.
New York Islanders
18 of 32
Grade: B
The Islanders are not a perfect team by any means, but there is a lot to like about them right now.
Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat are playing great up front, and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer has completely changed the defense and the long-term outlook of the franchise. He is already playing like a No. 1 defenseman.
The other big development here is Ilya Sorokin's return to elite status as a goalie. His play dipped a little—at least based on the standard he has set for himself—in recent years, but his save percentage is back up over .915 this season and has him once again back among the league's elite at the position.
New York Rangers
19 of 32
Grade: F
What a mess this season has become. What a mess this rebuild has become.
The Rangers may have missed their best chance with this core group, and now it looks like a franchise in need of another major reset. Mike Sullivan's arrival behind the bench has not improved the play on the ice or corrected any of their flaws, Alexis Lafreniere still has not taken another step forward, they still lack high-end finishing talent, and now their two best players (defenseman Adam Fox and starting goalie Igor Shesterkin) are out with long-term injuries.
As if all of that is not enough, they enter Friday with the second-worst points percentage in the Eastern Conference. The playoffs are rapidly slipping away, if they have not already.
The Rangers expected this to be a playoff season. That does not look like it is going to happen.
Ottawa Senators
20 of 32
Grade: D+
On the one hand, the Senators seem to have a solid process behind their games and some of the best underlying and expected-goals numbers in the league.
On the other hand, their goaltending has absolutely sabotaged their season, leaving them at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings.
They are at a point where their core group of players should be in their prime, but the rest of the roster around them is not quite good enough to complement them and compete. Add in the goalie issues, and it is rapidly turning into an extremely underwhelming and disappointing season.
This looks like another long-term rebuild that has stalled and is not panning out as hoped. It is really hard to go through a full-scale rebuild and start winning again. It takes a lot of time, and even when progress seems to be made (as was the case with Ottawa's playoff appearance a year ago) it can quickly get undone.
Philadelphia Flyers
21 of 32
Grade: B+
There are some potential red flags in terms of sustainability (a lot of shootout wins, a lot of overtime points, not a ton of offense), but there are also a lot of green flags in terms of sustainability (strong defensive play, individual talent really starting to emerge).
The two biggest differences from a year ago are free agent goalie Dan Vladar bringing some consistency to the position and Trevor Zegras arriving and starting to really reach his potential.
If they can get Matvei Michkov to do the same, they would really be on to something here.
Pittsburgh Penguins
22 of 32
Grade: B+
There is still not a bigger positive surprise in the NHL this season than the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even with an eight-game losing streak and some stunning blown leads, the Penguins still enter play on Friday in the top-six of the Eastern Conference by points percentage and are really starting to play strong hockey.
The defensive play has progressively improved as the season has gone on. Sidney Crosby still has the juice offensively, and their forward group as a whole is playing great with better depth than anybody could have anticipated at the start of the season.
Rookie Ben Kindel looks like a rising star, while free agent additions Justin Brazeau and Anthony Mantha have been great value signings. The big question is whether or not the goaltending duo of Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs can keep giving them strong play in net.
San Jose Sharks
23 of 32
Grade: B+
After not only being one of the worst teams in the NHL for the past few years but also being completely uncompetitive, the Sharks are at least taking a big step this season in both areas.
They have their young forward duo of Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith to thank mostly for that.
Celebrini is not just one of the best young players in hockey; he is one of the best players in hockey and is putting together an MVP case. If the Sharks end up making the playoffs, even in a watered-down West, he should be at the top of the MVP ballot.
They still have a lot of work to do around the edges of the roster, but there is at least a good core to build around, and the important pieces are reaching their potential. There is some progress here.
Seattle Kraken
24 of 32
Grade: C-
The good news for the Kraken is that by points percentage, they have the second-best record in the Pacific Division and are on track to make the playoffs.
But it's also hard to understand how any of that is happening or if they can sustain it, because they don't really do anything particularly well.
Their offense is one of the worst in the NHL.
They do not do a particularly good job preventing scoring chances or defending.
Their power play is above average, but their penalty kill is the worst in the league.
The only thing they have going for them is strong goaltending. If that continues, they will have a chance. If it regresses even a little bit, the house of cards might fall over. It all comes down to how much you trust Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer, and Matt Murray to keep playing at such a high level.
St. Louis Blues
25 of 32
Grade: D
The Blues looked like a team that had rediscovered its identity in the second half of the 2024-25 season.
Now it is all gone again.
They do not score goals, they do not prevent goals, and they get out-chanced on a nightly basis. That is a bad combination, and when you add in truly terrible goaltending, you have a recipe for one of the worst teams in the NHL. That is exactly what the Blues are at the halfway point.
They are no stranger to this sort of thing and have played their way out of these messes before, but asking them to do it again is a lot.
Tampa Bay Lightning
26 of 32
Grade: A
Jon Cooper should be in the coach of the year discussion, just because he should probably always be in that discussion and never really seems to be.
The Lightning core might be getting older, but they can still play, and they can still win.
The Lightning enter play on Friday on a 107-point pace, which would be the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
They control the pace of games, they have elite offensive talent, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is playing at an elite level again.
Toronto Maple Leafs
27 of 32
Grade: D
They are starting to play better in recent weeks, but they are still on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and that is simply not where they should be.
Dumping Mitch Marner and replacing him with depth players is not an experiment that seems to be working, while Auston Matthews has simply been "very good," not "elite," as he has been throughout his career.
There is still time to get back into a playoff spot, and there is still some high-end talent here, but the depth at forward and defense is a concern, and they do not have many trade assets to address it. And they've burned through so many for Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo last season.
Utah Mammoth
28 of 32
Grade: C
The Mammoth had big expectations coming into this season and, through the first half, has not yet met them.
Logan Cooley's injury certainly hurt things, as has the fact that they can not get a big save—or any saves—from their goalies.
They still have a strong expected-goals share (fourth-best in the NHL) and are doing a good job controlling the pace of play, but losing Cooley for so long and not getting consistent play in net have undone much of that.
They are still in it, but they need to start stacking some wins and collecting points. Very soon.
Vancouver Canucks
29 of 32
Grade: F
There weren't many expectations for the Canucks at the start of the season, yet it still feels like they are falling short.
Add in the trade of Quinn Hughes and the questions surrounding the front office's long-term direction, and it becomes one of the more concerning situations in the league.
There is not much to be positive about here. This is not a good team, not a well-run team, and that is a very, very bad combination.
Vegas Golden Knights
30 of 32
Grade: C
This is not a bad team, but it is not particularly good at the moment. It is an underachieving team. One of the biggest reasons it is an underachieving team—perhaps the biggest reason—is the fact that its goaltending has been a mess all season.
The Golden Knights have gone through four goalies this season, and none of them have a save percentage higher than .894. It is awfully hard to win with that level of play in net. Carter Hart probably is not the answer to that problem, either. For a lot of reasons.
If they can get some saves, their season would probably turn around pretty quickly. But right now, that is simply not happening as much as it should be.
Washington Capitals
31 of 32
Grade: C-
The Capitals looked like a legitimate Eastern Conference contender in the first quarter of the season, but now enter the second half on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture with some work to do to get back into it.
The Pierre-Luc Dubois injury has been a significant issue all season, but this team really needs another high-end offensive player at the top of the lineup. Charlie Lindgren has also been a liability as the team's backup goalie, creating a significant gap between him and starter Logan Thompson.
This might be a team that needs a trade to help jump-start things. If they do go for it, a top-line scorer has to be the priority.
Winnipeg Jets
32 of 32
Grade: F
It should have been a red flag when this team's biggest offseason addition, and their apparent plan for a second-line center, was Jonathan Toews following a two-year absence from the NHL.
Everything about this team is a mess. Sub-par depth. Awful defensive play and metrics.
Not even reigning league MVP Connor Hellebuyck can mask all these flaws, and he has not played like his usual self. His injury should have served as a wake-up call to management to examine how the team plays when he is not there, thereby hiding all of their problems. Not even his return to the lineup has helped.
After winning the Presidents' Trophy a year ago as the NHL's best regular-season team, Winnipeg now has the NHL's worst record at the halfway point of the 2025-26 season.
The Jets have the worst record by a decent margin as well. They are on pace for just 68 points this season. The second-worst team (Vancouver) is on pace for 70 points. The third-worst (Calgary) is on pace for 74 points. That isn't great company to be keeping right now.
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