The Erik Karlsson trade put an exclamation point on the offseason and shaped how the upcoming season will look. The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired the reigning Norris Trophy winner in a blockbuster trade that set them up for contention next year. Similarly, the trade further advanced the San Jose Sharks’ long and difficult rebuild which has been in the works for multiple years. The Sharks, like a handful of teams, are in the rebuilding phases of their team building and the trade helped them out but where do they stand in comparison to the rest of the league?
Related: 4 Reasons the Canadiens’ Rebuild Is Succeeding
“Rebuilding” and “retooling” are terms that are thrown around a lot in sports, especially the NHL. A lot of teams will say that they are doing one of the two when they aren’t competitive but how many of them have a plan in place? Moreover, which ones are on schedule or have the pieces to make them competitive soon? The initial eight teams that were classified as rebuilding were the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks. Heading into the 2023-24 season, two teams were added to the rebuild rankings as the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues are reclassified as rebuilding teams.
Out of the 10 teams, the ones that are in the best shape to rebound next year and beyond are the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Coyotes.
Below is a chart that looks at the rebuilding teams and their building blocks, specifically, their prospect pool, draft capital, head coaches and general managers (GM), and players that will be an integral part of their rebound. In addition, the chart includes each team’s grade from the recent NHL Entry Draft. The answers were provided by the team writers at THW.
| Core Players / Building Block Players | Prospect Pool Ranking (according to THW) | 2023 NHL Entry Draft Grade (according to THW) | Projected First Round Draft Picks (in the next three entry drafts) | Projected 2nd & 3rd Round Draft Picks (in the next three entry drafts) | The Right Head Coach & GM in place | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 5 | 10th | A+ | 5 | 12 | Yes |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 5 | 6th | A+ | 3 | 6 | No |
| Arizona Coyotes | 4 | 8th | B+ | 3 | 17 | Yes |
| Montreal Canadiens | 5 | 12th | C- | 4 | 8 | Yes |
| Anaheim Ducks | 5 | 3rd | A- | 3 | 9 | No |
| St. Louis Blues | 4 | 18th | B+ | 3 | 8 | Yes |
| Calgary Flames | 4 | 7th | B+ | 3 | 6 | No |
| Vancouver Canucks | 4 | 30th | B- | 3 | 5 | Yes |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | 24th | A+ | 4 | 6 | No |
| San Jose Sharks | 0 | 17th | A+ | 4 | 5 | Yes |
Some of the new additions for the offseason edition were the players added or subtracted, specifically to the core of each roster. Likewise, with all 10 teams, it’s important to look at how expectations have changed since the 2023 trade deadline. A lot of the teams left the deadline in a full reset mode but now are looking to make a push to contend and possibly finish this season near the top of their divisions.
Taking a deep dive into these teams, it’s clear why some are off to better starts in their rebuilds. So, let’s look at where each team stands, how things have changed, and what their outlook heading into the new year will be.
San Jose Sharks – 10 (March 2023 Ranking: 8)
Even after the Karlsson trade, which will help them in the long haul, the Sharks remain the furthest team from contention. The downfall began when they acquired the star defenseman in 2018 and then signed him in the 2019 offseason and in a full circle moment, the Sharks can now rebuild from the ground up with the blockbuster deal. Without Karlsson, they are a younger team and have more cap space to work with but they remain multiple steps behind the other rebuilding teams.
The biggest problem remains that the Sharks don’t have any players currently on the roster who can lead the rebound. Logan Couture, arguably their best forward, is 34 years old and Tomas Hert will be 30 at the start of the season. The best players on the Sharks are entering the twilights of their careers and while they managed to move on from Karlsson, Couture and Hertl are difficult players to move on from with both under contract for the next five seasons. By the time this team is competitive, the best players on the current roster will be complementary pieces at best. To make matters worse, they traded away Timo Meier, one of their best players in the prime of his career, at the trade deadline for an underwhelming return.
There is an argument that Anthony Duclair, who was acquired this summer, is a core player to build around. The same can be said about Fabian Zetterlund and Mario Ferraro but both skaters are shaping up to be complimentary parts of a roster and not core pieces. Duclair meanwhile, who scored 31 goals in 2021-22 has a high ceiling but is recovering from an Achilles tear and it’s unclear if he’ll return to that elite form in the future.
To make matters worse, the Sharks also have an average prospect pool with a few players that can make an impact at the NHL level, but not many that can carry the team to the playoffs. William Eklund was their first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and has the ceiling to become a star and the same can be said about Will Smith, their 2023 first-round selection. However, it’s still too early to tell what type of impact both Wills will have at the NHL level. Otherwise, the Sharks don’t have a lot of elite prospects in the pipeline.
This is part of the sacrifice they had to make when they acquired Karlsson in the first place from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a top prospect in Josh Norris and a 2020 first-round pick that was used to select Jake Sanderson. Both Norris and Sanderson have turned into promising players on a young Senators team and without question would have boosted the Sharks farm system. They also didn’t help their prospect pool, specifically the top tier, when they traded back in the 2022 Draft to acquire three selections instead of drafting with the 11th pick.
The rebuild is in its early phases and if there is a bright side, it’s that they managed to come away from the 2023 NHL Entry Draft with a good class. Along with Smith, who can emerge as a future top-line center, they selected Quentin Musty a power forward with top-six potential, late in the first round. With nine total draft selections, five of which were in the first four rounds, the Sharks managed to address needs in both the forward and defensive unit which should help them rebound in a few years.
The other positive for the Sharks is that they have the right head coach and GM in place for a rebuild. David Quinn coached the New York Rangers from 2018 until 2021 when the team was in the middle of a rebuild. He helped the young core develop and can do the same with the Sharks. GM Mike Grier was hired at the same time as Quinn and the two have been on the same page, indicating they are both in this rebuild together and prepared to patiently turn things around.
Philadelphia Flyers – 9 (March 2023 Ranking: 7)
The Flyers, like the Sharks, are a team that has a lot working against them in terms of a successful rebuild. As a result, they remain at the bottom of the rankings. However, instead of one trade setting them back, a completion of terrible decisions made by former GM Chuck Fletcher was their undoing. He made moves that signaled that the team was ready to compete even though the roster suggested otherwise.
The results have left the Flyers with a depleted roster and a handful of aggressive moves that haven’t worked out. The decisions to acquire defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Anthony DeAngelo cost them valuable draft assets that could have helped them in the long run. It didn’t help that both players have underachieved and failed to live up to the expectations that Fletcher had when acquiring them, leaving the Flyers with two expensive players who have set the team back. Sean Couturier signed an eight-year extension in the 2021 offseason despite being 29 years old at the time and having only three 20-goal seasons in his career. Couturier is on injured reserve and has yet to play this season.
Hiring head coach John Tortorella didn’t help out either as he is the type of head coach that isn’t suited for a rebuild and his style has particularly clashed with some players, specifically younger players on the roster. Oftentimes, a young skater that needs more ice time to acclimate to the NHL level will be healthy scratched by the head coach for a mistake in the game or even in practice.
The good news is that the Flyers have helped their cause, starting with a GM change as they replaced Fletcher in March and hire Daniel Briere as his replacement. Briere’s biggest priority was to restart from scratch. This offseason, he traded away Ivan Provorov, Kevin Hayes, and DeAngelo, costing the Flyers core players but at the same time, allowing them to receive much-needed prospects and draft assets in return.
Briere’s tenure is off to a strong promising start but the Flyers still remain behind schedule for multiple reasons. For starters, their core, notably their young core isn’t great. Aside from Carter Hart, who has also been placed on the trade block this offseason, and Travis Konecny, they don’t have any building block players that will help lead them back to the playoffs. Granted, Hart as a goaltender saves them a few headaches as the team has a reliable player at arguably the most important position. Likewise, the Flyers also have a few young players that can emerge as core pieces for a rebuild including Joel Farabee, Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, Wade Allison, and Cam York. However, they have proven thus far that they are complementary pieces and aren’t capable of carrying the team.
This leaves the Flyers with minimal avenues to improve their roster into a contender. They don’t have a core in place to make them competitive and the only options to add talent are through a blockbuster trade, free agency, the draft, or their prospect pool. Considering how the front office has tried to make big splash trades only to see them backfire, it’s unlikely they will go with that route moving forward. Free agency is also difficult because a lot of the star players on the market prefer to sign with contending teams, which the Flyers are not at the moment and haven’t been since the 2019-20 season. This leaves them with the draft and their prospect pool, both of which are also problematic.
The Flyers’ prospect pool is one of the worst in the league, especially among the rebuilding teams. Cutter Gauthier, who was their first-round selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft is an elite skater and can become a star in the NHL. However, the system drops off after him. The Flyers are projected to draft in the top five in the upcoming draft and can add another promising prospect but for a team deprived of talent, they are heavily reliant on only two prospects. Moreover, while Gauthier looks to be a star, he played last season with Boston College in the NCAA, and it’s unclear when he’ll be ready for the NHL level.
Considering where the Flyers are in their rebuild the question is if they have the right GM and head coach in place. The short answer is no. On March 10, they fired Fletcher and promoted Daniel Briere as the GM. Fletcher’s final impression as the GM was an unwillingness to move assets at the 2023 Trade Deadline despite a few players entering the final year of their contracts. The urge to keep the team competitive despite having the second-worst record in the Metropolitan Division ultimately cost him his job. With Briere now leading the front office, the rebuild can take place with more effectiveness but it becomes more complicated as it’s unclear if he will want to bring in his own head coach or keep Tortorella behind the bench.
Then there are questions about whether Tortorella is the long-term solution as the head coach. A lot of signs point to him being safe after this season but can he coach a rebuilding team? The big issue is his style has clashed with a lot of the players on the team. Throughout last season, he’s benched or even scratched some of his best players. His style can turn the team into a hardworking and competitive one but only if the players are willing to rally behind him. Tortorella looks like he’ll be the Flyers’ coach for the foreseeable future and will have a chance to turn this team around. However, with a new GM, a new coach might come as soon as this offseason.
The Flyers look like one of the furthest teams from contending. So, where do they go from here? Aside from trading away some of the veterans, which they did this summer, the other important element was having a strong draft. The good news is that the Flyers had one of the best draft classes in 2023. Matvei Michkov, who many saw as one of the top prospects this year, fell to the seventh overall selection. Michkov is poised to become an elite scorer on the wing and can form a dynamic duo with Gauthier in a few years. Additionally, they managed to select defenseman Oliver Bonk, who looks to round out the unit in a few years, with their other first-round selection. It’s hard to see one draft class turn a franchise around but the return they managed from this past draft looks like it can do just that.
The next steps are to help develop their young players, notably the top prospects. Gauthier can lead a rebound but only if there are other young contributors on the roster. Likewise, the Flyers need to hit on their draft selections. The problem is that these are the necessary steps to a successful rebuild and they haven’t addressed them yet. The city of Philadelphia has a lot to look forward to when it comes to its other sports teams, specifically, the Eagles and Phillies, but they will have to be patient with their hockey team before they are back in Cup contention.
Vancouver Canucks – 8 (March 2023 Ranking: 5)
The Canucks remain a team with the piece in place to make the playoffs but not much else in their favor. As a result, they remain near the bottom of the rebuild rankings. When a promising core continues to underachieve, as it did the past two seasons, it leaves the team in a tough predicament with no path to a successful rebuild or even a retool.
The core is the best part of the Canucks roster as they have star players that can help them rebound next year or in the coming seasons. Elias Petterson had a 100-point season in 2022-23 and with 136 goals and 187 assists in his career, the 24-year-old forward looks poised to lead the top line for years to come. J.T. Miller underachieved last year yet still scored 32 goals and 50 assists, a disappointment considering he scored 32 goals and 67 assists in 2021-22. Along with the two forwards in the top six, Andrei Kuzmenko made a significant impact in his first season with the teams and Quinn Hughes has established himself as a reliable two-way defenseman.
Granted, the decision to sign Miller to an extension in the 2022 offseason cost them Bo Horvat as they couldn’t afford to keep both players on long-term contracts under the salary cap. However, the Canucks have four players that they can build a contender around, and with a strong offseason, they can easily take that big step in the Western Conference next season. Similarly, an inevitable Pettersson extension will force the front office to move on from complementary pieces but in the roster will still have enough elite players under contract to build around.
Along with the core, the Canucks also have complementary players to help the turnaround. Brock Boeser has stepped up this season on the wing and has particularly helped the offense as a passer. The Horvat trade allowed them to acquire 25-year-old forward Anthony Beauvillier, who has thrived on the wing in the new setting and can add a spark to the top six for years to come. Along with Beauvillier, they received a first-round selection which they were able to flip for Filip Hronek, a right-side defenseman that rounds out the unit. The roster alignment explains why GM Patrik Allvin entered the trade deadline with the intention of retooling and not trading away all of his valuable players in a fire sale. Their talent level should allow them to quickly rebound, putting them a step ahead of the other rebuilding teams.
The pro-level talent is the best thing going for the Canucks but also arguably the only thing they have right. Their prospect pool is one of the worst in the league and without draft selections in the first round of the 2020 and 2021 Drafts, it looks poised to only worsen moving forward. They added Aatu Raty in the Horvat trade, adding a center with a high ceiling to their farm system. However, he has struggled to develop in the American Hockey League (AHL) and isn’t ready to take that next step to join the NHL roster, even at the start of next season.
The Canucks are built to win in the immediate future or at least rebound sooner rather than later. The question is if they have the GM and head coach in place to make that happen. The ownership was patient with former GM Jim Benning and will likely allow Allvin time to turn the team into a contender but the same can’t be said for the head coach with the team having three behind the bench in the past three years.
For now, Rick Tocchet looks like the right head coach to take the Canucks to the next level with a system that is fast-paced but also structured. Bruce Boudreau allowed the team to thrive on the offensive end of the ice but they were an undisciplined team defensively and he was fired as a result. Tocchet helped balance out the Canucks and after going 20-12-4, he looks poised to help them reach the playoffs next year. That said, if there isn’t progress starting this season and they continue to struggle, there will likely be a clean sweep of the front office and coaching staff.
This offseason, the Canucks needed to have a great draft to help their rebuild. They addressed some of their needs but didn’t bring in a great class. With the first selection, they landed Tom Willander who was one of the best defensive defensemen in the draft, which is what the unit needs in the long run. Additionally, the Canucks used both of their third-round selections on defensemen, making the position a top priority. Otherwise, the draft was uneventful for the team and it doesn’t help refuel a prospect pool that wasn’t great to begin with.
The Canucks have a roster ready to take the next step but only if they can add defensive reinforcements from the farm system. They also need a reliable backup to help out Thatcher Demko, who struggled last year and dealt with injuries. So far, the answer as their backup is Zachary Sawchenko, a 26-year-old goaltender who has only three games in his career. This team is in a unique position and can’t afford to enter a full rebuild but despite a rough season, they can rebound and emerge as contenders this year.
Calgary Flames – 7 (March 2023 Rankings: Unranked)
The Flames missed the playoffs last year and were one of the league’s biggest disappointments with a 38-27-17 record. It forced them to clean house in the offseason, parting with GM Brad Treliving and replacing him with Craig Conroy while also firing head coach Darryl Sutter and hiring Ryan Huska. Now, the Flames enter a rebuild in a unique spot.
For starters, the Flames have a core in place that can not only propel them to the playoffs but the top of the Western Conference. Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Andrew Mangiapane led the forward unit while MacKenzie Weegar is still an elite top-pair defenseman. They traded away Tyler Toffoli this summer, who scored a team-high 34 goals and added 39 assists to the offense, making him a core player last season. However, moving on from him was the right move for the Flames to rebound as they received a third-round draft selection and forward Yegor Shangovich from the New Jersey Devils in the deal.
Speaking of Sharangovich, the 25-year-old skater is one of the many complementary pieces the Flames have on their roster. The forward unit, along with star power, has Blake Coleman in the top six and the defense has Rasmus Andersson, who is hitting his stride defensively, contributing 10.3 defensive point shares in the past two seasons. While goaltender Jacob Markstrom is 33 and coming off a disappointing season both he and Dan Vladar form a reliable goaltending duo.
The knock against the Flames’ core is that while talented, it’s aging with multiple key players 30 years old or older. Kadri is 32, Coleman is 31, Huberdeau is 30, and Weegar will turn 30 in the middle of next season. Seven of the Flames’ projected starters will be in their 30s next year and it puts a lot of pressure on the roster to win now. If they struggle next year, the front office will be staring at a roster with a handful of players that can’t be traded, further hindering a rebuild. Fortunately, they have a farm system that can ease the transition if they indeed underachieve again.
Their farm system is one of the best in the league. Matt Coronato was one of the best scorers in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) last year and looks to be a top-six forward in the near future at the NHL level. While goaltenders are tough to evaluate and take time to develop, Dustin Wolf has played at a high level in the American Hockey League (AHL) and looks to eventually replace Markstrom down the road. Pairing the elite prospects with a respectable 2023 draft class and the Flames have a farm system built to help them compete in the near future.
The draft haul wasn’t great but they found enough elite talent to help out an already strong prospect pool. Notably, they selected Samuel Honzek in the first round, a versatile forward with a high upside. The Flames will have to wait for Honzek to develop, especially on the defensive end of the ice but he can be a part of a great young core along with Coronato when he is ready for the NHL. After the first round, they also selected two late-round skaters who look like draft steals in forwards Aydar Suniev and Jaden Lipinski. With the Flames starting over, the draft class has them off on the right foot.
A lot of things are in the Flames’ favor as they rebuild. So, what is holding them back, and what are the concerns with this team are they looking to rebound from a year that could be perceived as a bump in the road? The first thing is the front office. Treliving had his ups and downs as the GM but he was the one who assembled the 2021-22 team, which finished the season with a 50-21-11 record and in first place in the Pacific Division. More importantly, he had to deal with the fallout of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, the teams two best players, leaving in the 2022 offseason. Considering the circumstances, Treliving managed to return a few key players to salvage the offseason, notably adding Huberdeau in the Tkachuk trade and signing Kadri to a seven-year deal. Now, Conroy is operating the front office and he is an unknown as a first-year GM.
The same can be said about Huska. He was an assistant with the Flames for five years and knows the roster well but it’s unclear how he’ll coach the team. He’s a breath of fresh air from Sutter, who had a tough style that at times clashed with the players, making him a favorable hire. However, Huska will not only be a head coach for the first time but will have a new staff behind the bench as well.
The Flames can view last season as a bump in the road and with a great core, they can easily finish next season near the top of the Pacific Division. However, the past season also could be viewed as a warning sign that this team needs to tear things down sooner rather than later, making a GM and coaching change a necessity and a headstart. This season, with a first-year head coach, the expectation is for the team to look improved under Huska and at least start to show signs that they will compete in the near future after the disastrous 2022-23 season.
St. Louis Blues – 6 (March 2023 Rankings: Unranked)
The Blues are in a similar predicament as the Flames. Everything that could go wrong in 2022-23 did as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18. Suddenly, they have a roster built to compete but otherwise, they aren’t set up for a rebuild. If last season was an outlier, their roster suggests they will be competitive next year, largely because of the players at the top that carry them.
Jordan Kyrou has emerged as one of the best young forwards in the league. At 25, he already has 83 goals and 112 assists, making him a staple on the top line. Kyrou has emerged as the team’s best forward while Pavel Buchnievich, Robert Thomas, and Brayden Schenn round out the top six and form a great core for the Blues to build around. There are questions in the defensive unit but Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko, while not core pieces, have established themselves as reliable contributors.
The farm system isn’t a strength but the Blues trading away veterans Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ivan Barbashev helped set them up for long-term success. They moved all three skaters at the deadline and managed to field a handful of draft selections and prospects to add to the strong core they already have. The trades allowed them to have three 2023 draft selections in the first round and the Blues took advantage.
With the 10th overall pick, they selected Dalibor Dvorsky, who is an overseas prospect but a well-rounded center who showed his upside playing for the Slovakian team in international competitions. The Blues also selected center Otto Stenberg and defensemen Theo Lindstein in the first round, addressing the two biggest needs on the roster. Dvorsky, Sternberg, and Lindstein join a prospect pool that already has Jake Neighbours, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Zachary Bolduc, three skaters that look poised to make an impact on the NHL roster in the near future. The Blues don’t have a deep farm system but they have plenty of individual skaters that are poised to become reliable contributors.
There’s a lot of debate, especially after last season, if the right people are in place to help the Blues rebound. GM Doug Armstrong has helped turn the team into a perennial playoff team since he was hired in 2010 and along with head coach Craig Berube, he helped them win their first Cup title in franchise history in 2019. Armstrong has taken a lot of heat in recent years as he’s struggled to build a reliable defensive unit and most notably signed defenseman Torey Krug in 2020, a move that set the unit back. Likewise, Berube was the coach that led the Blues to the Cup when he was hired as an interim coach but it’s possible that his voice is wearing off. That said, both the head coach and the GM have proven that they are capable of turning the team around and making them Cup contenders, and barring another awful season, they are the right people to lead this team.
There’s a lot of reason to believe the Blues had a rough season and are going to bounce back next year. There are questions in the net with Jordan Binnington regressing in each of the last three seasons and the defensive unit is still a question mark. That said, the Blues have a great core and managed to retool on the fly at the trade deadline, setting themselves up for success in the near future.
Anaheim Ducks – 5 (March 2023 Ranking: 4)
The Ducks have more or less remained in the same state as they were following the trade deadline. They have a young and promising core that is starting to take shape, a great farm system that only improved after the draft, and questions in the front office and coaching staff that can hold them back.
The Ducks’ greatest strength is that they have a few building blocks already on the NHL roster. Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, and Mason McTavish are three of the best young forwards in the league while Jamie Drysdale has looked impressive on the blue line. Last season, they also saw Lukas Dostal step up and become a reliable goaltender, making him another key part of the young team. The Ducks have the players to build around when their prospects are ready for the NHL and they can form one of the best teams in the Western Conference in a few years. The problem is that despite rebuilding, they have a lot of aging veterans on the roster as well.
The problem is that they need to figure out the long-term plans for John Gibson, Jakob Silfverberg, and Cam Fowler, all of whom are 30 years old or older and under contract next season. On top of that, the Ducks signed Alex Killorn to a four-year contract this summer, a move that is in direct contrast with the rebuild. Killorn is 33 and past his prime, making him a player that can provide a veteran presence but not help the Ducks in the long run.
The Killorn contract is similar to a lot of the deals the Ducks have given out that have backfired in recent years and set the rebuild back further. In the 2022 offseason, they signed Frank Vatrano and John Klingberg, two veteran skaters that were signed with the hope of making the team competitive. Vatrano is 29 and is a complimentary piece while Klingberg, who signed a one-year deal, was traded at the 2023 trade deadline to the Minnesota Wild. Along with the Killorn deal, the Ducks also signed Radko Gudas this summer, a 33-year-old defenseman who is also on the decline.
The Ducks have a promising rebuild that is in the works but the free agency signings are holding them back. By all means, the Ducks are a rebuilding team but a roster with nine players 30 or older on it would suggest otherwise. Aside from the roster build, specifically the veterans that have been added to the team in recent years, the key pieces are in place to allow them to turn things around sooner rather than later.
Along with the young building blocks, the big advantage the Ducks have is one of the best prospect pools in the league. Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger are the top two defensemen in the pipeline and can help turn around a defense that has been one of the worst in the league. Mintyukov has particularly impressed in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season as a two-way player and when he joins the NHL team, he can take the team to the next level. The prospect pool will also only improve with the team projected to draft in the top five of the upcoming draft and add a generational talent in the process.
The farm system is one of the best in the league and it improved dramatically with their draft haul. Leo Carlsson was selected with the second overall pick in the draft and while he might not have been the best prospect available at the time, he’s still an elite prospect. Carlsson is projected to be a top-line center and is expected to be a star at the NHL level and he’ll join a dynamic forward unit in a few years. The Ducks second overall pick took up most of the spotlight for their draft but they also managed to add Nico Myatovic, Carey Terrance, and Damian Clara in the second round, providing the pipeline with two forwards and a goaltender who can potentially replace John Gibson down the road.
The Ducks have a lot in their favor as a rebuilding team but what sets them back are the ones running the team. GM Pat Verbeek was hired in the middle of the 2021-22 season and didn’t have a lot to work with but didn’t help the team in the long run by adding players to the roster in the offseason. The Klingberg acquisition backfired as they had to trade him away at the deadline because he was signed to a one-year deal, and they couldn’t afford to lose him in free agency for nothing. It’s not just the Klingberg move but the constant urge to add veterans that prevent the team from rebuilding and ultimately set them back in the long term. It makes the upcoming season a crucial one for Verbeek as the team is expected to see progress and another disappointing year might force ownership to replace him as GM.
Verbeek looks like he’ll remain the GM at least for one more season. However, along with uncertainty in the front office, the Ducks have a new head coach behind the bench. The team was undisciplined and had one of the worst defenses in the league last year, allowing 4.09 goals per game. It resulted in Dallas Eakins being fired and replaced by Greg Cronin who is a first-time head coach and a unique one at the age of 60. Cronin has a background in player development which will help with the young skaters but it’s unclear how his style will translate to the Ducks’ roster.
The bottom line is that the Ducks have all the pieces in place for a successful rebuild but have a front office preventing them from taking the next steps. If they have a big year and leap to the top of the Pacific Division, it will be easy to say that the rebuild was a success. However, the Ducks haven’t made the playoffs in five years and in that time, the team has been forced to rebuild after failed rebuilds and Verbeek’s decisions could make them go through the same motions once again.
Montreal Canadiens – 4 (March 2023 Ranking: 2)
There are two reasons the Canadiens fell from second on the rankings to four. The first is the rise of the three teams ahead of them (we’ll get them) and the second was their recent draft class, which wasn’t ideal for the rebuild. Aside from that, the Canadiens have a great rebuild that is taking shape under GM Kent Hughes and head coach Martin St. Louis.
Hughes was forced to clean up a mess that was created by former GM Marc Bergevin and so far he’s done just that. Along with trading away veterans like Toffoli, Ben Chariot, and Artturi Lehkonen, he’s helped assemble a new core that looks to lead the team back to contention. Likewise, he managed to find the right head coach to lead a rebuilding team with St. Louis being a younger coach who can connect with the younger stars on the roster, especially Cole Caufield.
Along with finding the right head coach and GM, the Canadiens have the building blocks in place to make them a contender in the future. Specifically, the young players are already making a significant impact on the roster and are the players that Hughes can build around. Along with Caufield, they have Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach centering the top two lines while the number one overall selection in the 2022 Entry Draft, Juraj Slafkovsky, is slowly maturing into an NHL-caliber scorer on the wing.
The forwards highlight the Canadiens’ youth movement but they also have multiple reliable young defensemen that might not become stars but are players that can help the turnaround. The surplus allowed Hughes to trade Alexander Romanov, a 22-year-old defenseman, during the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in a three-team trade to acquire Dach, who filled a need at center.
The prospect pool isn’t ideal for a rebuilding team but it’s better than a typical one since a lot of the Canadiens’ top prospects have already seen time with the NHL team in the past two years. The Canadiens being one of the worst teams in the league has allowed the prospects to be more NHL-ready than top prospects in other organizations around the league. Kaiden Guhle has taken on a big role with the team this year and the 21-year-old defenseman is progressing into a reliable skater who can impact the blue line for years to come.
The Canadiens’ rebuild is off to a great start, arguably the best among the rebuilding teams. But the recent class was underwhelming, starting with their first selection. With the fifth pick in the draft, they selected David Reinbacher, a surprise considering he wasn’t projected to be drafted in the top five but he helped fill a position of need as a defenseman that will round out the unit. Outside of Reinbacher, who many saw as a reach in the draft, the Canadiens had an uneventful draft, selecting a wing skater in the fourth and fifth rounds and three goaltenders.
The goaltending selections lead to the other obstacle in the Canadiens’ rebuild. Simply, how does Hughes plan to address the position when the team is ready to contend? Carey Price is unlikely to return and the team lacks a starter that can take on the majority of the regular season games. Jake Allen has proven that he can be a reliable backup or a goaltender capable of splitting starts but unfortunately, he can’t be heavily relied on. Sam Montembeault meanwhile has shown promising signs in the net and at 26 years old can mature into the primary starter but he has struggled for the majority of his starts. Casey DeSmith was acquired as part of the Karlsson blockbuster trade and can be part of a rotation but like Allen, he is a backup and not a starter at the NHL level.
The recent draft class could ultimately be what propels the Canadiens to the top of the Eastern Conference. Similarly, the goaltending unit, with DeSmith added to the mix, might no longer be a liability. However, those are the two things that continue to weigh them down. Otherwise, the rebuild has been a success and the upcoming season looks to be an exciting one for the Canadiens.
Arizona Coyotes – 3 (March 2023 Ranking: 3)
For the past two years, the Coyotes have been rebuilding and the Jakob Chychrun trade was the final blow. They gave up one of their core pieces but signaled that they were willing to restart from the ground up. The Coyotes have been in the news for their off-the-ice issues pertaining to a new arena but their on-the-ice rebuild has gotten off to a strong start and has remained on course.
The decision to eventually move Chychrun, and similarly trade defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, left the team with more draft assets but an NHL roster without a lot of core players. Outside of Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse, they didn’t have many young players that could help bring the team back to contention. Instead, they had to hope that the prospects would emerge as key pieces in a contending roster.
Fortunately, that is exactly what’s happened. Logan Cooley, who was selected with the third overall pick in the 2022 Entry Draft is expected to start the upcoming season on the NHL roster and remain a staple in the top six. Matias Maccelli was a pleasant surprise last year, scoring 11 goals and 38 assists in his first season with the team, making him a valuable part of the forward unit. Along with Cooley and Maccelli, the Coyotes have Dylan Guenther, Sean Durzi, Barrett Hayton, and J.J. Moser, all of whom are 25 or younger and expected to take on big roles this season.
Along with a great young core, the farm system is shaping up to be one of the best in the NHL. Conor Geekie, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2022 draft, is shaping up to be an elite center. To make the pipeline stronger, the Coyotes used the surplus of 2023 draft selections they acquired from recent trades to add six forwards and three defensemen to their farm system. While they didn’t add any star players, they favored quantity and added a surplus of young talent.
Regardless of when their prospects are ready to make an impact, the Coyotes have the luxury of building a contender with the surplus of draft selections they possess in the next three years. The Coyotes have 17 selections in the second and third rounds in the next three drafts. They’ve accumulated the draft assets primarily from the recent trades and they give Armstrong the ability to start from scratch and build up a great farm system.
The next steps for the Coyotes are straightforward but not an easy task, as they have to have successful draft classes and develop their prospects. So far, GM Bill Armstrong has proven that he is the right GM for this team and similarly, head coach Andre Tourigny looks like the one that can lead the team back to contention. That said, this year has to be the one where the Coyotes take that next step forward. After tearing down the roster, the hope is that things can start turning around soon. With the Coyotes staying in Mullet Arena, at least for one more season, the hope is that they can start to see a playoff-caliber team take the ice next year.
Columbus Blue Jackets – 2 (March 2023 Ranking: 1)
Last season can appear like a bump in the road for the Blue Jackets as everything that could go wrong did. After signing Gaudreau, arguably the best player available in the 2022 offseason, the team looked poised to take a big step forward and reach the playoffs. Unfortunately, a slow start to the season, a surplus of injuries, and the defense falling apart left them with the worst record in the Metropolitan Division and one of the worst in the league.
The bright side is that despite the awful season, the Blue Jackets are on track to contend soon, more than the other rebuilding teams in the NHL. GM Jarmo Kekalainen already mapped out a rebuild and put the pieces in place for the team to rebound after missing the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
The biggest advantage that the Blue Jackets have is that they have a core in place. The Gaudreau signing didn’t pay off this season but he is an elite scorer whom they can build their offense around. Likewise, Patrik Laine is one of the best players on the wing and like Gaudreau, is signed to a long-term contract. They also have Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic playing big roles in the top six while defensemen Zach Werenski and Adam Boqvist lead the defense and are great two-way players.
The Blue Jackets have the core in place to build a contender around but the depth, especially on defense along with the goaltending, is what is holding them back. Granted, both question marks are easier tasks to solve compared to other teams that are rebuilding but both issues have prevented the Blue Jackets from making the playoffs in recent years. For Kekalainen, these needs are likely what he addresses next in both the draft and the offseason.
Fortunately, along with having the players on the roster in place, the Blue Jackets also have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL. Last season, a lot of the younger players on the team stepped up at the NHL level including Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, and Cole Sillinger but the best prospects are still to come. Because of the Seth Jones trade, the Blue Jackets had two first-round selections in the 2022 Draft and drafted two defensemen in David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk. Jiricek is projected to be one of the best young defensemen in the league while Mateychuk is a promising two-way player who has impressed in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Moose Jaw Warriors. While the defense has been a weak link for the team in recent seasons, they could have one of the best young defensive units in the league in a few seasons.
To make the farm system even stronger, the Blue Jackets came away from the 2023 draft with a remarkable haul. Adam Fantilli, who many pinned as the second-best player in the draft, fell into their lap with the third selection. Fantilli is one of the generational talents in the draft and looks to be an elite top-line center in the NHL, making him one of the steals in the draft. The Blue Jackets also came away from the draft with another University of Michigan center, Gavin Brindley. Likewise, they drafted two local prospects, William Whitelaw and Andrew Strathmann who both played for the Youngstown Phantoms in the United States Hockey League (USHL) last year.
The Blue Jackets have the pieces in place to contend and have the right GM to continue to build a contending roster. Kekalainen has proven throughout his tenure that he can not only upgrade the team through trades but also develop talent through the draft and the farm system.
The only question mark (and the primary reason the Blue Jackets fell one spot on the rankings) is if they have the right head coach in place. Brad Larsen had a rocky tenure and with the defense unraveling in a disappointing 2022-23 season, he was fired as head coach. Larsen’s replacement is Mike Babcock, who is known for winning the Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008 and being one of the more experienced, established coaches in the game. Babcock is expected to elevate the Blue Jackets and make them a contender but with a younger roster, it’s possible his style can clash with the key players, especially the ones who are still developing.
With the Blue Jackets ahead of schedule, the next steps are straightforward but crucial to their future success. They have to address the goaltending. Elvis Merzlikins has had a rough year but the expectation is for him to bounce back. However, he needs a reliable backup who can split starts in an 82-game season with him. 24-year-old Daniil Tarasov can be the answer but the young goaltender is still developing and it’s unlikely he can start 30 games next year and provide stability in the net while doing so. As a result, the team needs to find a backup at some point to complete their rebuild.
Along with helping out Merzlikins in the net, the Blue Jackets need to find more reliable defensemen. While Jiricek and Mateychuk will eventually upgrade the unit, they are still at least one season away from joining the NHL team. It explains why Kekalainen was active in the offseason, adding Damon Severson in a deal with the Devils and Provorov in a trade with the Flyers. Both skaters add stability to the unit and hopefully round out the roster.
The Blue Jackets are ahead of schedule and the fixes are minimal at this point rather than bigger-picture problems. Last season was a lost one but they can be expected to compete soon.
Chicago Blackhawks – 1 (March 2023 Ranking: 6)
It’s easy to look at the Blackhawks and think that one player turned things around. They won the draft lottery and selected Connor Bedard who is expected to be one of the greatest players in the league (he’s been called the next Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, you name it, he’s been called it). However, the Blackhawks’ rebuild goes beyond that. The players they’ve added along with Bedard are what have helped them become the closest team to contention.
The timeline of the strong rebound starts when Kyle Davidson was hired. He had to clear up a mess and was responsible for starting a new era of hockey for a franchise that won three Cup titles in the previous decade. The teardown began at the 2022 trade deadline and continued until the 2023 deadline with the team trading Brandon Hagel, Alex DeBrincat, Dach, and Patrick Kane for draft capital. Once the rebuild was off the ground, the Blackhawks had to assemble a strong core which leads to the first part of their successful rebuild.
In 2022-23, the core consisted of one player, Philipp Kurashev. Since then, Lukas Reichel has emerged as a reliable player who looks to take a big step next year. Likewise, forward Taylor Raddysh and defenseman Caleb Jones have made their marks as reliable contributors and look to round out a competitive roster. Then there are the draft picks who are projected to join the NHL roster this season. Bedard leads the way but Kevin Korichinski, who has been one of their top prospects, is expected to join the team early next year and become a pivotal two-way defenseman for years to come.
Korichinski is on the cusp of making the NHL roster but for now, he leads the prospect pool which has rebounded under Davidson. Along with the promising two-way defenseman, the Blackhawks drafted Frank Nazar with the 13th pick in the 2022 draft and used the 19th pick in the 2023 draft to select Oliver Bonk, who projects to be a reliable middle-six center.
Davidson took heat for trading away DeBrincat and Dach, two players entering the prime of their careers, for draft selections. However, the returns allowed him to both boost the farm system and add multiple young skaters to the NHL roster. Looking back, the two trades paid off for a team that had to restart from the ground up.
Likewise, the past season allowed the Blackhawks to call up a handful of prospects to the NHL from the AHL team, Rockford IceHogs, helping them acclimate to the pro game. Reichel looked impressive in the eight games he played while Jaxson Stauber and Arvid Soderblom have both proved that they can potentially become part of the team’s goaltending unit moving forward.
Along with a rebounding prospect pool, the Blackhawks have better draft assets than arguably any team in the NHL, largely because of the trades they made in recent seasons. The five first-round selections in the next three years can single-handedly turn the franchise into another dynasty. The surplus of selections in the second and third rounds that Davidson received in the recent trades has also given him the ability to add depth to the prospect pool and the NHL roster in the upcoming seasons.
Based on the moves that Davidson has made, he’s put this team on track to rebound in the upcoming years. Behind the bench, head coach Luke Richardson looked impressive in his first season with the team as well, particularly as a younger head coach that can connect with the youth on the roster. The team wasn’t great but he always seemed to get the best out of his players, who not only played up to him but appeared to exceed expectations.
Bedard isn’t the only reason the Blackhawks’ rebuild has improved. That said, he’s helped put them ahead of schedule. The expectation is that he’ll step in on day one and be a star, someone who can consistently lead the team and at times put them on his back. Bedard will be the player Davidson builds around and he allows the team to immediately look more competent on the ice. The ability to draft him explains why the Blackhawks added Taylor Hall in a trade this summer. Simply, the expectations are different with a generational talent on the roster.
The young core is starting to take shape and the future looks bright with the Blackhawks. The origination went through Hell and back in recent years but now, they have a young team that is poised to take the steps necessary to contend. Bedard helps turn things around quickly but Davidson has made a lot of great moves to set this team up for success in the long run.
Other Notes on the Rebuilding Teams
The Nashville Predators were a notable omission from this list. There’s an argument that they are starting over and turning over their roster, especially with longtime GM David Piole and head coach John Hynes stepping down after a disappointing 2022-23 season. However, the Predators, at least for this upcoming season, will make a push to be competitive which was reflected in the additions of Ryan O’Reilly, Gustav Nyquist, and Luke Schenn. That said, the Predators could join the rankings soon, most notably if the team has another disappointing season.
Likewise, the Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Washington Capitals were left off the rebuilding list as well. All four Eastern Conference teams can be classified as teams looking to reset but at the same time, they are looking to make a push for a playoff spot and possibly finish near the top of the conference. The Senators, Red Wings, and Sabres went through rebuilds in recent years and are looking to take the next step this year and the Capitals while on the decline, still have a group in place led by Alexander Ovechkin that is looking to contend.
The projected draft picks in the chart at the beginning of this article include conditional first-round picks. Meaning, the selections can move to a later round or back to the team that traded them, to begin with, but are expected to remain with the rebuilding team.
What’s fascinating about these rankings is looking at how many things need to go right to have a successful rebuild. Along with developing a promising roster, there must be a persistent effort to create a contender at every step along the way. Unlike the NBA, a rebuild takes more than one player. Teams can’t just tank and draft their way to the top. What makes NHL rebuilds unique is that they require front offices to draft great prospects, develop them into elite players, and then start to build around those star players.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a model franchise, building a modern dynasty with a Stanley Cup title in 2020 and 2021 while appearing in the Final in 2022. What makes their success great is not how they drafted talented players at the top of the draft but were successful every step along the way. The rebuilding teams have to take note if they hope to eventually become contenders and hoist the Cup one day.