There are too many great teams in the NHL for all of them to exceed or match expectations.
Some squads just end up being shockingly disappointing to their fans.
Last season, the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers were just that, missing the playoffs when getting that far was initially a no-brainer.
It’s only natural for a handful of teams to fall short of their pre-season goals, whether that’s being a top team in the NHL, a playoff team or a bubble team.
Here are three NHL teams that could surprise everyone next season – in a bad way.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings have been a respectable regular-season team, finishing in the top three of the Pacific Division for the last four campaigns. However, they can’t get past the first round of the playoffs and the Edmonton Oilers.
This off-season was a great opportunity for the Kings and new GM Ken Holland to leapfrog the Oilers in terms of their roster.
However, there’s a strong belief that Los Angeles didn’t do that, adding D-men Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin, goaltender Anton Forsberg and right wingers Joel Armia and Corey Perry. The team already received a blow as Perry has been ruled out for six to eight weeks following knee surgery.
Add that loss to an aging Kings team, where their core players like captain Anze Kopitar, D-man Drew Doughty and starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper are 35 or older. Los Angeles has plenty of young players who could counter that, but it isn’t a sure thing to expect this team to improve drastically from last year.
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals blew expectations out of the water last season in Spencer Carbery’s second year as their coach. They led the Eastern Conference with 111 points, which were 20 points more than the season before.
Captain Alexander Ovechkin’s historic goals record chase not only highlighted their campaign by energized it.
Even Carbery said the chase gave his team “a boost and energy at times down the stretch.” With that, he believed his players made an extra effort to help push Ovechkin to the record, which, in the end, took a lot out of his players.
While the Capitals are still in a position to be a playoff contender with the likes of Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, goaltender Logan Thompson, rookie Ryan Leonard and many more crucial pieces of the roster, they likely won’t be the powerhouse they were last season.
BetMGM set the over/under for the Capitals’ regular-season points total this season at 96.5. Their odds of getting more than that are at 1.91 (-110), while the odds for the under are at 1.83. (-120).
Florida Panthers
It could be considered a controversial take to say the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions won’t meet expectations next season. After all, they have the best odds of winning the Stanley Cup this season at 7.00 (+600) on BetMGM.
However, the Florida Panthers have reached the Stanley Cup final for three straight seasons. They won’t be able to recreate that success at some point.
The biggest concern for this impressive team would be its health. Florida has played more hockey than anyone else over the last three years, and the team hasn’t changed much aside from a couple of trade deadline acquisitions.
It’s already known that Matthew Tkachuk will be missing a chunk of this season with a torn adductor and sports hernia injury. It’s a significant loss to be without a star player and leader like Tkachuk, which could affect the start of the Panthers’ campaign.
The underperforming may not stop when the regular season is over, either. Ever since the Tampa Bay Lightning went to the Cup final for three straight years, they haven’t been able to get past the first round of the playoffs or clinch their division.
Could their Florida state counterparts face a similar situation next season?
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