NHL power rankings: Here are our midseason grades for every team (2024)

Figuring out the true midpoint of this NHL season was always going to be a bit of a moving target. Right now, with every team between 36 and 46 games played, is as good a time as any. Whatever. We’re all just throwing darts.

Last week, we graded our own preseason predictions. Did it turn out … OK? Not that bad?

This week, though, in addition to the 1-32 rankings, we’re attaching letter grades to teams. All of them. Including yours.

Our process was a little different than “good teams get As, bad teams get Fs.” Do these grades account for the overall quality of play? Sure. We also considered context and expectations. This is relative, not absolute. It is, in part, the Roger Ebert approach to film criticism applied to hockey teams by two dumbasses.

That said, one thing is certain here at Power Rankings HQ; you (the reader) always get an A-plus!

1. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 30-8-3
Last week: 1
Dom rank: 1
Sean rank: 1

Midseason grade: B-plus

Dom: Hard to find fault with a team on pace for 126 points and scoring a million goals per game, but when the expectation is dominance there will be some nitpicking. Last year Colorado had the best-expected goals percentage in the analytics era at 61 percent. This year they’re eighth in the league at 53 percent.

Sean: Cold world when you’re leading the league in points percentage. Here we are, though. The funniest thing about all this is that they’re at the top of the league after a legitimately slow start. Nobody was sounding actual alarm bells, but missing out on some of those points way back when had a two-fold effect — it stopped them from a tighter midseason grip on the President’s Trophy, and it stopped them from getting an ‘A’ here. Both are equally important.

Dom: The commenters: so, not at all important. Insert second-round jokes here.

Sean: Catch Dom “Insert Joke Here” Luszczyszyn, coming to your town soon with “Barry The Plumbing Gentleman.”

Dom: Thank you for the reminder that SNL used to be good.

2. Florida Panthers

Record: 30-9-5
Last week: 2
Dom rank: 2
Sean rank: 3

Midseason grade: A-plus

Sean: If we’re grading based on preseason expectations — and we are, because we said we are — there’s not an easier A-plus than this one, right? We figured the Panthers would be pretty good. A solid third in the Atlantic, maybe. Instead, we’re living in a world where a) Sam Bennett is scoring at a 40-plus pace b) it seems sustainable and c) it’s not one of the three most pleasant surprises about this team. I love them.

Dom: You know how the Blues winning the Cup after being in “last place” (they were not actually last in points percentage) always gets brought up for struggling teams now as proof that they’re not out of it? The same will be true for every “change of scenery” trade with Bennett being Exhibit A. I certainly didn’t expect this given what he had shown to date, but good for him and good for the Panthers. This team is all kinds of fun and a first (or second) round all-Florida clash – a repeat of arguably the most fun series from last season – would be incredible.

Sean: Consistent run with good linemates works wonders.

Dom: Imagine if the Flames actually tried putting him with a slick playmaking winger? Did they have one of those?

Sean: I grooved an 82-mile fastball down the middle for the kid, and he came through.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 29-9-2
Last week: 4
Dom rank: 4
Sean rank: 3

Midseason grade: A

Dom: The Hurricanes had what seemed like a goofy offseason, but every single bet they made has paid off. Frederik Andersen is putting up Vezina-calibre results. Tony DeAngelo has filled in Dougie Hamilton’s void on the power play. Ethan Bear is a solid top-four defender. Even Jesperi Kotkaniemi has seen his game round out. Many, including and probably especially me, thought this team would take a step back this season, but instead they’ve picked up exactly where they’ve left off from last year.

Sean: I look forward to them scoring more than nine goals in a five-game playoff series. It’s certain to happen.

Dom: How could it not with all that scoring depth?

Sean: But yeah, I thought the goaltending calls they made had major backfire potential, but Andersen has been the best of the bunch.

Dom: As some who witnessed the Frederik Andersen Experience up close and personal over the last two seasons I was right there with you.

4. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 29-10-5
Last week: 3
Dom rank: 3
Sean rank: 4

Midseason grade: A

Sean: They’re seventh in expected goals percentage, eighth in actual goals percentage and fourth in points percentage. That’d be good for anybody, let alone a team that played more hockey in a calendar year than anybody should, rebuilt its third line and went months without one of the best players in the world. Regardless, it takes a lot for a back-to-back champ to exceed expectations, and they have.

Dom: I don’t even know if “rebuilt” is the right word for what happened to their third line.

Sean: “Invent a new one?” I don’t know.

Dom: It just sort of evaporated and they basically just threw a bunch of random players together in the bottom six and it’s worked. Corey Perry, defensive ace? Who saw that coming. It’s helped that Anthony Cirelli is playing Selke-calibre hockey again, but the way Tampa Bay managed after losing one of its most important lines has been extremely impressive.

Sean: The scary thing about the Lightning? I’m not sure they’ve hit fifth gear at any point this season. If they’ve been treading water this whole time, look out.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 27-10-6
Last week: 5
Dom rank: 5
Sean rank: 5

Midseason grade: A-plus

Dom: The past few seasons have featured the same hype cycle for the Penguins. They lose unceremoniously in the first round. They do some weird stuff in the offseason. A mob of people says “this is the year they miss the playoffs.” They start slow. They have injury troubles. And then they just start rolling. It’s scary how good this program is and how much Mike Sullivan gets out of everyone. I thought they’d still be a playoff team, but their first half has been incredible. They look like they can win their fourth Cup in the Crosby/Malkin era.

Sean: They also just went flat in the third period against Seattle, so I’m currently watching folks nitpick a team that’s gone 17-2-1 and outscored opponents 81-47 in its last 20 games. It’s funny! But yeah, Tristan Jarry’s play so far this season is what snags them that “plus.” He’s on track to show up on Vezina ballots, and he’s on track to deserve it. I thought he was fully cooked after whatever that was against the Islanders.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 26-10-3
Last week: 6
Dom rank: 6
Sean rank: 7

Midseason grade: A

Sean: Do we have to write anything here? Everyone is going to ignore it, head straight for the comments and accuse me of growing up in Mississauga or some sh*t. I don’t even like these guys. Talking about them bothers me.

Dom: Before the season started I projected the Leafs to earn 109 points this season. Everyone said that was absurdly high. They’re on pace for 116 points. They’ve surpassed even the most optimistic forecast and if the grade is for what they’ve done so far only, then the Leafs deserve high marks.

Sean: Who cares?

7. Minnesota Wild

Record: 25-10-3
Last week: 9
Dom rank: 7
Sean rank: 6

Midseason grade: A-minus

Dom: Lots of folks refused to believe this team was the real deal, that last season was a fluke. This season has been proof otherwise, specifically at how much offensive firepower they have.

Sean: They get tagged with a minus because Cam Talbot is a detonation risk. Does anyone realize he’s at minus-8.11 goals saved above expected this season? That’s Karel Vejmelka territory. If Marc-Andre Fleury blocks a trade to Washington — and Elliotte Friedman said that’s a possibility — send him here.

Dom: But they get an A because Kirill Kaprizov exists and is amazing. He’s on pace for 109 points.

Sean: He does, indeed, exist. Just ask Ryan Hartman!

8. Boston Bruins

Record: 24-13-3
Last week: 7
Dom rank: 8
Sean rank: 9

Midseason grade: B

Sean: I was legitimately surprised to hear that they’re outrunning their preseason projections. Maybe it’s that consistent 7-8 percent gap between their expected and actual goals percentage. Either way, it feels like something is missing, and yet they’re in my top 10 every week.

Dom: That something is Tomas Hertl.

Sean: We have to stop doing this, or else we’re going to kill our mid-march “One-player wish list for each team” gimmick. No more floating trade targets. Cease.

Dom: Mine would be Hertl for every team anyways.

9. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 25-16-3
Last week: 8
Dom rank: 9
Sean rank: 8

Midseason grade: B-minus

Dom: This is a tough grade. The Golden Knights had a weird start, lots of injuries, and have been very inconsistent. Vegas has definitely disappointed, but how much leeway should the team get given the circ*mstances?

Sean: I say it every week, but I’m not going to formulate a strong opinion on them until Jack Eichel is ready and the dust settles on whatever roster demolition is needed to facilitate it. They’re going to be fundamentally different in short order.

Dom: They’ll have to be because they cannot afford it.

Sean: It’s a blah grade for a blah season thus far, and it’s absolutely going to be different by the time they’re done.

10. New York Rangers

Record: 28-12-4
Last week: 8
Dom rank: 11
Sean rank: 10

Midseason grade: A-plus (Igor Shesterkin), C (everything else)

Sean: Sure, they’re running at evens in goals at five-on-five while getting cratered in expected goals, but whatever. They can just coast through a couple rounds on all those power plays they’re certain to get.

Dom: It is funny that we did this on a night where the Rangers actually demolished a team at five-on-five and lost because they didn’t get goaltending. New York outchanced Columbus 2.9-to-1.4 by expected goals.

Sean: When the Olympic stuff went down last month, I went on the podcast and talked about how bad I felt for Chris Kreider because this felt like he was getting robbed of his last good chance to make the roster. (Custance yelled at me because he signed for $45 million about 15 minutes before the 2020 pandemic shutdown, but whatever. I’m right.) He has 30 goals this season. Thirty! It’s January!

11. Calgary Flames

Record: 20-13-6
Last week: 13
Dom rank: 10
Sean rank: 11

Midseason grade: A

Dom: Before a let-down game on a back-to-back against the Blues, the Flames looked like a wagon this week with two wins by a margin of six goals — the latter of which featured 62 shots on net. With how strong they’ve been this season it’s easy to forget they missed the playoffs last season… in Canada! There was barely any competition creating some middling expectations this season. They’ve blown past them and look pretty dominant on most nights.

Sean: The West isn’t good, and the Flames have a legit top line and a goalie more capable than most of going on a heater. Are they ✌️dangerous✌️? Definitely a lot more dangerous than we anticipated them to be. Also, uh, they might want to take a shot with this core while they still can. The offseason could get weird.

12. Washington Capitals

Record: 23-12-9
Last week: 11
Dom rank: 12
Sean rank: 12

Midseason grade: B

Sean: You were wrong about them. We established that last week. They didn’t fall apart, and they’re not going to miss the playoffs by a lot. They’re also 3-6-2 in their last 10 and in the midst of a riveting game of “Who Stinks Less?” between Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek.

Dom: Now hold on. They could, if they continue falling apart. They won’t. But they could. The East is extremely boring right now, give me an epic collapse here to make it spicy.

Sean: They’re this week’s “Team That I Think Should Be Lower When I Start Typing Stuff About Them.” Probably gonna overcorrect next Friday and have them at 23rd or something.

13. Nashville Predators

Record: 27-14-4
Last week: 13
Dom rank: 13
Sean rank: 13

Midseason grade: A-plus

Dom: The reason the Predators are good is that Sean ranked them 27th in the power rankings one time. Inside sources tell me the ranking was put on the team’s bulletin board that night. Nashville’s record since: 42-20-4, a 109-point pace that ranks seventh in the league.

Sean: That’s on the Bridgestone Arena bulletin board, and a photo of my face is on the wall at a bar called Loser’s (unspecified incident during the 2017 Stanley Cup Final). Huge in Nashville, I am. They’ve got seven guys with at least 10 goals, and one of them is Yakov Trenin. I learn something new about this team every week.

14. St. Louis Blues

Record: 26-12-5
Last week: 12
Dom rank: 14
Sean rank: 14

Midseason grade: A-minus

Sean: Ninth in the league in points percentage. They just keep winning games, man. I don’t know.

Dom: They have one of the best goalies of all time, pretty simple if you ask me. I docked them because they got destroyed in Calgary — hilariously after Justin Faulk said he was looking forward to leaving Canada quickly — but the Blues made up for it by exacting revenge over the Flames a few games later.

Sean: Get Ville Husso more starts. In 13 games, three of which were sub-.900, he’s got a save percentage of .943. Also, should we have included Jordan Kyrou in the midseason Player Tier refresh?

Dom: He was mentioned in that big group of forwards, but now that Drake Batherson is out for a while he’s got room to put a firm grasp on that open spot.

Sean: Just imagine what that forward group will look like when Matthew Tkachuk arrives.

15. Dallas Stars

Record: 22-16-2
Last week: 16
Dom rank: 16
Sean rank: 15

Midseason grade: C-plus

Dom: The most mid team gets the most mid grade.

Sean: That’s what shows up on the report card, but not all C’s are created equal. This is the equivalent of alternating between the low 90s and the high 40s. What I’m saying is this is ECON100 for me as a freshman at Maryland.

Dom: The way Dallas earns results is a chaos factory. They’re either an A-team or an F-team with very little in-between. And that’s also exactly what we expected from them too, hence the average grade.

16. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 22-6-6
Last week: 15
Dom rank: 15
Sean rank: 16

Midseason grade: B-plus

Sean: The Kings’ roster remains kind of weird, but the season has gone about as well as it could, yeah? The vets are still producing — hello, Engaged Drew Doughty — and the young guys are getting some seasoning. Quinton Byfield almost literally just scored the first goal of his career, and they’re in a playoff spot based on points percentage. What more could you expect?

WELCOME TO THE NHL 🙌

Quinton Byfield, the highest drafted Black player in NHL history, scored his first career goal! pic.twitter.com/XN0L0IXy0k

— ESPN (@espn) January 28, 2022

Dom: The fact this team is firmly in the playoff hunt is impressive in its own right, but that the performance seems legit makes it even more impressive. The Kings are 12th in expected goals percentage this season and getting the results to match. I didn’t think they were ready, but strong performances for the vets have changed the math.

Sean: Is this happening because they employ the league’s preeminent Sean? Perhaps.

We knew @seandurzi would rock the Drew Doughty mask during warmies, we just knew it. pic.twitter.com/vPtlfWWoHE

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 28, 2022

Dom: Sean Couturier: “Am I a joke to you?”

Sean: We’ll get to his team eventually. Not soon, but eventually.

17. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 21-16-2
Last week: 19
Dom rank: 17
Sean rank: 17

Midseason grade: D-minus

Dom: Better days are coming, but if we’re grading a team on their first half then it’s hard not to have one word for the Oilers: Oof. The offseason was weird, but should’ve been enough to bolster the team’s forward depth and it just hasn’t worked out that way. Recently, a lot comes down to goaltending, but that was glaringly obvious in the summer so it’s hard to feel much sympathy for the team failing in the most predictable way possible.

Sean: The one-word summary is “pissy.” Come on. But hey, they just added another depth forward. I’m sure that’ll work out well and very normally. Also, you are unequivocally wrong to just assume that better days are coming.

Dom: Pretty sure the Oilers lead the league in expected goals since that press conference. Put ol’ Jimmy Matheson on the Stanley Cup if the Oilers really turn it around.

Sean: Mhmm, they also lead the league in Ken Hollands.

Dom: I know you said “don’t give away any more trade deadline targets” but, hear me out: Rasmus Ristolainen???

Sean: If Luke Glendening isn’t an Oiler by April 1, I’ll eat a beer can.

Dom: When Holland acquires Glendening:

18. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 19-19-5
Last week: 16
Dom rank: 18
Sean rank: 19

Midseason grade: C (Travis Green’s F-minus combined with Bruce Boudreau’s A)

Sean: The Boudreau/Jim Rutherford Era has already been a gift for plenty of reasons, and we talk about them each week, but here’s something else to consider: Rutherford has spent the last month preoccupied with building out his front office (and do an interesting job with it, for whatever that’s worth). That’s out of the way. Now? THE RETURN OF TRADER JIM. He’s got an itch that only trading for the fastest forward or worst defenseman on the market can scratch.

Dom: Tucker Poolman is already on the roster though?

Sean: Another batting-practice dinger for my guy. I couldn’t wait to see which guy you went with there.

Dom: Kidding aside, I would like to say that Poolman (and Tyler Myers!) have both been shockingly competent this season, especially since Boudreau arrived on the scene. It’s a brave new world.

Sean: Elias Pettersson has five goals and seven points in his last six games, by the way. Only 78 more to reach my preseason prediction.

19. New York Islanders

Record: 15-15-6
Last week: 20
Dom rank: 19
Sean rank: 18

Midseason grade: D-minus

Dom: After years of exceeding expectations to an absolutely ridiculous degree, it’s only fair that the other shoe dropped once the team actually had any expectations thrust upon them. This was the year we all believed. And for what? For this? Shame on you Islanders, for once we trusted you.

Sean: Jean-Gabriel Pageau is 29 years old and signed for $5 million annually through 2026. He has 11 points in 34 games. Who could’ve seen that coming?

Dom: A million different hockey fans, but not Lou Lamoriello.

Sean: Their stats page is making me sad. Let’s get out of here.

20. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 22-16-8
Last week: 22
Dom rank: 21
Sean rank: 20

Midseason grade: B-plus

Sean: Both of us came into this season thinking the Ducks were going to be bad and boring. They’re neither. Thank you to Trevor and the Zegrases.

.@tzegras11 DOES THE MICHIGAN!! pic.twitter.com/UvYPvC8W0l

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) January 28, 2022

Can we please get him a real number, by the way? “46” is meant for special-teams fullbacks, not whatever he is. It’s the curse of polite hockey players; I remember asking Conor Sheary why he wore No. 43 for his whole time with the Penguins, and it was — as you’d expect — just because that’s the jersey they gave him when he was called up from the AHL. So, when I found out a couple years later that he just kinda let people mispronounce his last name that whole time, too, I wasn’t surprised.

Dom: Anytime you see a player’s jersey number in the 40’s it’s always “it’s what they gave me.” I remember when Nazem Kadri was first called up they gave him 43 and he just never changed it. Terrible look. Zegras wore 13 in college — he needs to go back to that because that’s an elite number.

21. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 17-16-7
Last week: 18
Dom rank: 20
Sean rank: 21

Midseason grade: D-plus

Dom: Our expectations for you were low, but holy f*ck. This is what the Jets look like when Connor Hellebuyck isn’t standing on his head every night. It’s bad, bad. That, and a lack of elite finishing as usual. Live by the percentages sword, die by it.

Sean: Sure, but “PIONK” is a go-to Gordle starter for me.

Dom: I tried playing Gordle, but my ability to recall five-letter hockey names is very poor. I’ll stick with classic Wordle where I’ve been using “ARISE” lately.

Sean: How good are you with 11-letter hockey names that only have one vowel?

Dom: “And sometimes Y,” Sean. And sometimes Y.

Sean: Paul Maurice tried Gordle, went three guesses without putting anything on the board and quit.

Dom: That’s better than Dave Lowry, who, in real life, loves to consistently put his son Adam Lowry over the boards despite him being unable to put anything on the board either.

22. San Jose Sharks

Record: 22-19-2
Last week: 20
Dom rank: 22
Sean rank: 22

Midseason grade: C-plus

Sean: How much less interested are you in this team now that Erik Karlsson is hurt? We love Hertl, and Timo Meier is on his way to the Hall of Fame, but I’m at 65 percent.

Dom: I am completely out. It was a nice start, but the Sharks are back to where we expected and back to irrelevancy.

Sean: They might be an interesting deadline team, though. There is that.

23. New Jersey Devils

Record: 15-22-5
Last week: 26
Dom rank: 23
Sean rank: 24

Midseason grade: F (MacKenzie Blackwood and all the other goalies), B-minus (everything else)

Dom: The Devils “won” the offseason once again, had high hopes of turning the corner once again, and fell flat on their faces once again. And as always, goaltending was a massive issue and it didn’t matter who was in net either. Six goalies earned starts for New Jersey this season and every single one had a negative goals saved above expected. MacKenzie Blackwood was the worst of all at minus-12, the second-worst mark in the league. Can’t do much when the starter is that bad.

Sean: Devils fans were pissed that we didn’t mention Jesper Bratt in the Player Tiers refresh, and they probably had … maybe not a right to be, but if I squint, I can see it. He’s having an awesome season. He’s basically at a point-per-game with a 3.2 GSVA pace, and his success isn’t tethered to Jack Hughes. I said at some point that at least a couple of forwards beyond the obvious were going to have to level up, and he did it. It’s a shame it doesn’t matter more, at the moment. Blame Blackwood, I suppose.

24. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 18-19-6
Last week: 24
Dom rank: 25
Sean rank: 23

Midseason grade: C-plus

Sean: If the Red Wings were a little worse, their outlook would be a little better. They’ve had a couple of heaters — the Larkin-Raymond-Bertuzzi line has been too good, for one — that seemed ready to nuke their best shot at snagging an elite center prospect for that rebuild. Lots of time left, though.

Dom: They were a really fun team to start and it looked like maybe this was the year they turned a corner. To an extent, they have, but a difficult road lies ahead. Detroit had the easiest schedule in the first half and will have the hardest one in the second half. A reality check is likely coming and that might mean they fall further in the standings, closer to where many expected they would.

Sean: That’ll provide ample time for Steve Yzerman to <redacted> a <redacted> then <redacted> his <redacted>.

Yzerman on what he does to unwind when he gets away from the rink. Steve is interview gold, man. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/mhd8nvcwmk

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) January 27, 2022

What a gift that interview was. Early returns on the TNT studio show are really, really good.

25. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 16-20-7
Last week: 23
Dom rank: 24
Sean rank: 25

Midseason grade: C-minus

Dom: The fact the Blackhawks got up to a C-minus given how the season started is a miracle. They were an immediate trainwreck and though they salvaged things a bit under Derek King, the season was already over before he took over. Some folks thought this was a playoff team (and some smoother-brained folks even thought this was a contender), but it was always going to be an uphill battle for this group. Turns out the hill was even steeper than we thought.

Sean: Your model had them at 87 points before the season. This isn’t hindsight; I did not see it. What’s weird, though, is that they haven’t quite been bad in the way I thought they’d be bad. Whatever. Sell sell sell.

Dom: And yet, that was viewed as pessimistic to many!

26. Seattle Kraken

Record: 14-25-4
Last week: 28
Dom rank: 26
Sean rank: 26

Midseason grade: F

Sean: At least Jared McCann is good.

Dom: I’m excited for the Philipp Grubauer second-half revenge tour where he’ll regress closer to where he should be in games that don’t matter in any way shape or form. He was great Thursday night against Pittsburgh, somehow.

Sean: And look how that worked out for you. I’d also like to take this space to address a previous tweet of mine.

the kraken keep winning for that dog because if they lose it’s getting put to sleep 🙁

— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) January 21, 2022

This is not true. I repeat — the Kraken are not going to euthanize Davy Jones, their team dog, based on their on-ice performance.

Dom: But it is true that Davy gets more pets after wins, and that’s been the team’s key motivation over the last couple of weeks.

27. Ottawa Senators

Record: 13-20-4
Last week: 29
Dom rank: 27
Sean rank: 27

Midseason grade: D-minus

Dom: “The rebuild is over! Time for an epic run of unprecedented success! Ah, right near the top of the table, just as we hoped!”

*someone whispers to Eugene that his newspaper is upside down*

“Oh no!”

Sean: Halfway to another offseason of hiring execs named Pierre, drafting kids whose dads played in the NHL and setting unfair, unrealistic expectations for his coach and a nice group of young players.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 19-21-1
Last week: 26
Dom rank: 28
Sean rank: 28

Midseason grade: C

Sean: Has any team in recent history had a fast start that was a more obvious mirage than whatever Columbus was doing in October? This team is going to finish where it was supposed to finish.

Dom: How quickly we forget each of the last four Buffalo Sabres seasons.

Sean: I always believe in the Buffalo Sabres.

29. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 13-22-8
Last week: 25
Dom rank: 29
Sean rank: 29

Midseason grade: F-minus

Dom: The Flyers were a popular choice to bounce back into a playoff spot this season – it was an even year, after all. Though Carter Hart has indeed bounced back as optimistic folks expected, the rest of the team has unfortunately fallen apart. Injuries played a role, but it was difficult to fathom a descent this catastrophic. Philadelphia has had two (!!) separate 10-game losing streaks already this season and are currently mired in a franchise-record 13-gamer. It’s bleak.

Sean: Fifteen years ago, if you’d have told me that I’d actively, sincerely pity Flyers fans, I’d have … I dunno, thrown up or something. But I do. So help me, I do. Watching on Twitter as they reacted in real time to that Dave Scott press conference was something else.

30. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 13-22-7
Last week: 30
Dom rank: 30
Sean rank: 30

Midseason grade: C-plus

Sean: It’s been a rough week in Buffalo. At least they have Alex Tuch.

Dom: In hindsight, an Eichel trade where Tuch was one of the pieces coming back should’ve been something that was 100 percent certain. It’s nice the Sabres have a guy who wants to be there and wants to win in Buffalo, although you wish the franchise could build a culture where it didn’t take birthplace geography to elicit such a feeling.

Sean: Syracuse isn’t even that close. It’s like, two hours, 30 minutes and 13 seconds away. Sorry! I’m sorry!

Dom: Upstate New York, it’s all the same.

31. Arizona Coyotes

Record: 10-27-4
Last week: 31
Dom rank: 31
Sean rank: 31

Midseason grade: A-minus

Dom: Excellent work here. The Coyotes had a plan and they have accomplished it perfectly. This team was designed to fail and it has succeeded in failure. The only thing holding Arizona back from a perfect grade is that the Coyotes aren’t the worst team in the league. That was the goal, but second worst isn’t bad either.

Sean: Yep, their whole season has gone according to plan. All of it. Every single thing.

32. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 8-27-7
Last week: 32
Dom rank: 32
Sean rank: 32

Midseason grade: J

Sean: Oooooh, we hit ‘em with the Rasmus Ristolainen trade grade.

Dom: Montreal: The Rasmus Ristolainen of hockey teams.

Sean: This tweet from Arpon was depressing on no less than three separate levels.

I honestly believe if there were people in the stands at the Bell Centre tonight they would have stood up and cheered that Zegras goal.

— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) January 28, 2022

Remember when we thought they were simply going to contend for the worst Cup finalist follow-up season of all time? We were younger then.

Dom: There is no contest. Once again, the Montreal Canadiens will go down in hockey history.

(Top photo: Michael Martin / NHLI via Getty Images)