NHL: Teams That Can Call It Quits Already

We are about six to 10 games into the season now and the NHL is front and center as the focus for weekday sports now that the NBA is on a hiatus.

Only two weeks into the season, we already have a good idea of how teams are going to fare this season, which ones will be in contention, which ones will be surprises and which teams will make homes at the bottom of their respective divisions.

Then there are some teams with horrible starts to the season, but they have so much potential that there is no possible way to write them off for the season.  The Sharks are a good example, as are the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

The teams that we can consider down for the count just two weeks into the season are those who we sort of felt would be this way, which is why it is no surprise to see these teams starting the year off badly and most likely continuing that play for the next 70-plus games.

Here are six teams that can call it quits already this season.

Phoenix Coyotes

At just 3-3-1 to start the season, it really is not a bad start for Phoenix considering its offseason.

However, because of that offseason, a 3-3-1 start may not be enough to impress many. The loss of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was a blow this team simply cannot rebound from.

Shane Doan is having a great start to the season, but that may be the only bright spot this year for Phoenix.

Calgary Flames

The Flames have a tough start to the schedule, I will give them that.

Losses to St. Louis, Toronto, New York and Nashville, but the fun does not stop there. After they finish out the month of October, Calgary will embark on the part of their schedule consisting of the Western Conference elite, like the Canucks, Red Wings and Blackhawks.

November will truly tell where this team stands in the NHL, but a 2-4-1 start to the season does not make things look any better.

Montreal Canadiens

Hopes were high for Montreal after a decent bout in the playoffs with the eventual Stanley Cup champions last season. However, a 1-5-2 start to the season is not a good look. The Habs are even ranked towards the end of nearly every statistical category so far.

It does not get much easier either, as they host the Flyers and Bruins this week.

The injury to Cammalleri has hurt and Travis Moen has picked up the slack in his absence, but Carey Price and the defense will need to step up.

Way too many goals against this early in the season for a decent team in the Eastern Conference.

Ottawa Senators

Michalek, Karlsson and Spezza have really had fine starts to the season in their respective offensive categories. However, a team ranked 30th in goals against with players putting up those kinds of offensive numbers is cause for worry in Ottawa.

The Sens have given up five, six, seven, two and seven goals in their five losses, which explains a lot.

There is a definite problem in net with Anderson and Auld, and the defense in front is not faring any better.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Starting the season off 0-7-1 is one thing, but there was so much hope surrounding this team heading into this season, especially after an offseason of good moves that included the addition of Jeff Carter.

However, Carter has only played in five games so far and the offense is led by Vinny Prospal. That should be enough.

Other than that, the Blue Jackets are ranked towards the bottom of every statistical category in the NHL and they have a team that is clearly not playing to their capability.

The road only gets tougher from here.

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