1 Word for Every NHL Team's 2024-25 Regular Season

Welcome to the last day of the regular season, hockey fans. Alex Ovechkin already broke the all-time goals record, the Jets are this year's Presidents' Trophy winners, and life for the Bruins and Rangers as we know it has changed.

With the Montreal Canadiens officially punching their ticket via Wednesday's game against the Hurricanes' AHL roster, the field has been set. Now that we can take our eyes off the playoffs for a moment, shall we reflect on the regular season that was?

Here's one word to describe each team's 2024-25.

The Ducks didn't make the playoffs, nor were they expected to, but they were expected to take a significant step from the bottom of the West to somewhat relevancy. It took until the second half of the season, but it happened -- they were beating tough opponents and climbing up to almost enter the playoff race for a minute there.

Overall, they're ending the season with more points than the Sharks, Kraken, Blackhawks, Predators, Sabres, Bruins, Flyers, and Penguins. This is some realistic growth you'd like to see, but the work is just getting started, as next year's pressure to get in the playoff conversation is officially on.

You know it isn’t good when you get the end-of-season Charlie Jacobs notes app apology.

The Bruins became sellers for the first time in a decade at the trade deadline, sending captain Brad Marchand to the rival Panthers in the process. Now, the last remnant of the 2011 Cup team is officially gone, and it’s time to build fresh in hopes of seeking their next Cup run. 

It’s going to take some time, and the Bruins are ending this season at the bottom of the East for the first time since 1997. At least there’s some enticing draft capital to look forward to this summer.

At this point, if you had playoff hopes for the Buffalo Sabres headed into the season, that’s on you. The Sabres remain directionless and have officially extended the league’s longest playoff drought to 14 seasons. Another huge offseason is coming up, and we’re all sick of saying that.

Now that we know how it ended -- two points out of a playoff spot -- this Flames season was pretty unfortunate. Dustin Wolf gave it his all as his rookie goaltending season impressed, but it wasn't enough for a team that probably wasn't supposed to be in the playoff conversation to begin with.

At least no one had super high hopes for this team at the beginning of the season, and now it's time to get on with the real rebuild.

This Hurricanes season was destined for drama given the amount of roster turnover endured in the offseason, but no one predicted Mikko Rantanen entering the chat for precisely 42 days.

The Canes were one of the most talked-about teams with the in-season blockbuster of the year, but they also stayed in the playoff conversation on the ice when many thought the window was closing. It's up to them to decide how the narrative ends as they gear up for a first-round dance with the Devils.

The Chicago Blackhawks almost became the first team since 1992-93 to lose to every opponent in the league, but they put their minds to it and beat the Habs in a shootout earlier this week.

Inspiring!

Sure, it's easier to be resourceful when your resources are literally Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. But the Avalanche and their goaltending were a mess early on in the season, then management quickly corrected the situation by acquiring Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood and everything was fine.

Let it be a lesson to all NHL GMs: Just do the thing, and do it ASAP. Also, draft Makar and MacKinnon.

The Blue Jackets fell just short of qualifying for the playoffs, but they never, ever, ever gave up -- and that's the real story of their season.

No matter what: Unfathomable tragedy, injuries to the most crucial players at the most crucial times, a team no one thought was near ready to compete for a playoff spot, they didn't give up on themselves.

The odds were stacked against them, and they did something incredible anyway. They should be proud of how far they have come this season.

GM Jim Nill is considered one of the best for a reason, and the tweaks he made this deadline, like acquiring Rantanen, Mikael Granlund, and Cody Ceci, were among the best moves in the league.

On top of that, the Dallas Stars continue to be that solid, steady team we've come to know. Except for -- checks notes -- their seven-game losing streak to end the season. Will defensive injuries and a bit of malaise come back to bite them as the playoffs start?

Even with their skid, though, they held onto second in the Central, which is a testament to the aforementioned steadiness of the team.

The Red Wings were in the playoff mix until the end of the season, and the team drastically improved from the mid-season coaching change that brought in Todd McLellan. There was a lot to like from that point on, like a killer power play, the youth movement taking its next steps, and Dylan Larkin’s 30-goal season. If the Yzerplan includes a few faster accessory pieces and some help on defense this offseason, we could see its first playoff run next season.

The Oilers went through their fair share of hardships this season, including some injuries and a relatively down year for Connor McDavid. But hey, Leon Draisaitl put together a Hart Trophy caliber season, and they've accrued 101 points on the season.

You worry about some things headed into the playoffs: Goaltending, minor injury to multiple players, and the strength of the Kings this year. But everything's pretty much business as usual for the Oilers.

The Panthers followed up their Cup run with a 41-31-4 record for third place in the Atlantic – and it would’ve looked even better if they didn’t take their foot off the gas after qualifying for the playoffs. They’ve been hit with injuries to crucial players throughout the season, but their foundations are so strong that they kept winning against the best teams in the league. They also acquired Brad Marchand and Seth Jones to gear up for the upcoming playoff run, so it was a solid year on and off the ice.

We've been able to pencil the Kings in for a first-round loss to the Oilers the past few seasons, but not this time.

This Kings team has a different vibe thanks to goalie Darcy Kuemper, a solid showing from Adrian Kempe, and some extra effort and confidence. It's great to see them enter the playoffs with a fighting chance, not just trying to survive the last few months of the season.

Some teams just get all of the undeserved bad luck, and unfortunately, the Wild are one of them. They started the season with confidence as ever, with Kirill Kaprizov putting together a Hart campaign, but long-term injuries to him and several other crucial players struck.

It stunk to see a Wild team with such potential get shut down like that, but hey, they still qualified for the playoffs and players are healing. Joel Eriksson Ek had four goals in his much-anticipated return, so that's one way to usher in the good vibes. The rest is still unwritten?

It took until the final game of the season, but the Montreal Canadiens officially punched their ticket to the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday.

It was a fitting conclusion for the team that boasts the most third-period come-from-behind wins in the league, and a can-do attitude that has propelled them from the bottom of the standings to the second Wild Card spot in the East.

Nick Suzuki really stepped up as captain this year, Cole Caufield honored his late friend Johnny Gaudreau on and off the ice, and Lane Hutson tied the rookie record for assists by a defenseman. The future is bright in Montreal, and the present ain’t too shabby either.

It stinks that this season has been another disaster for the Predators. GM Barry Trotz bought in and gave it his all, acquiring Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei to see if Nashville could avoid a true rebuild.

Somehow, the Predators only got less functioning, ended up at 30-44-8 and only several points above the dreadful Blackhawks in the standings. It was a down year for everyone, even Juuse Saros.

Another team unfortunately plagued by injury, the Devils are hobbling into the playoffs without much realistic hope. Jack Hughes is the piece that allows everything else to fall into place, and his season had a devastating ending. Injuries throughout, including to star defenseman Dougie Hamilton and new goaltender Jacob Markstrom, shook the team's foundation at every turn.

Will Markstrom and his flashes of elite play be able to carry this broken Devils team through a playoff series or two? It's their only hope.

If I'm sick of this Islanders team doing virtually the same thing every year -- either narrowly making or narrowly missing the playoffs -- I can only imagine how frustrated actual Islanders fans are.

Lou Lamoriello took advantage of the seller's market at the deadline and sent Brock Nelson away, so maybe that's a hint of overall change to come this offseason. We're all begging the Islanders' management to develop a sense of direction.

The 38-36-7 record the Rangers ended up with this season might not look that bad, but New York played some of the most pathetic hockey our eyeballs had to endure this season.

More often than not, the team was lost on defense, shaken by the trade that sent captain Jacob Trouba to the Ducks, and shaken by the messaging that threatened to trade anyone and everyone else. Compound that with down years for almost every offensive heavy-hitter, and the Rangers have some serious soul-searching to do this offseason.

The Senators turned it on with a win streak to claim the East’s No. 1 Wild Card spot, and they refused to look back or drop down after that spurt of confidence. It’s exactly what we all needed to see out of the team that has been in a “will-they-won’t-they” phase forever. Through the power of Linus Ullmark, Dylan Cozens, and the return of Brady Tkachuk, this year they will!

John Tortorella's tenure as the Flyers' head coach ended in a classic Torts fashion: a verbal altercation with a player and a benched star scorned. With Torts' firing, Matvei Michkov immediately went off on a quest to prove management made the right decision, and he made the end of his Calder campaign interesting (although Hutson had already run away with it).

Is the rebuild and drama now over, or is it just getting started? The Scott Laughton trade was tough to swallow.

The Penguins are never totally cooked with Sidney Crosby as their captain, but GM Kyle Dubas made it clear this season that he'll do everything possible to make the team competitive again while Crosby is still in the league.

What does this mean? It means taking a few steps back before flinging forward. The Penguins benefited from the seller's market in a year where they weren't going to qualify for the playoffs, but they held on to Rickard Rakell. If they can do something with the Erik Karlsson contract and get a goalie, maybe this will be a painless and short retool. Maybe.

Now, obviously the Sharks were one of the worst teams in the league, but that was the point. Besides, the Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith show has arrived, and it's a good sign that it was worth watching each night despite how horrendous the full team could be at times.

GM Mike Grier can squeeze a few more enticing pieces out of this rebuild while it's on its way up.

The Kraken's season was stale, with no step forward taken and an identity struggle as it looks to enter the playoff race again. GM Ron Frances traded Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Brandon Tanev at the deadline, but curiously, the team improved after the firesale.

Maybe with the weight of expectation off, the young pieces like Matty Beniers and Shane Wright can have some room and space to grow.

Out of the playoffs and feeling down? Simply hire a coach everyone loves, like Jim Montgomery, then simply win 12 games in a row. It's not rocket science, folks.

Jordan Binnington has been on fire since his 4 Nations Face-Off performance, Jordan Kyrou proved his bright start to the season wasn't a fluke, and Robert Thomas has been stupendous upon his return from injury. Not to mention, those two offer-sheet acquisitions Dylan Holloway and Phillip Broberg have made gigantic impacts on this team.

All this, and you're telling me Colton Parayko is back? Life's good in St. Louis.

The Lightning started the season with the hardest schedule in the league, and they were a bit of a chaotic mess to show for it. But the first line of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and Nikita Kucherov was dominant the whole way through. When Andrei Vasilevskiy decided to turn it on in the second half, everything fell into place. Now the Lightning are headed into the playoffs in a way that should scare the rest of the league.

Look, the Leafs and their long-suffering fans won’t be truly happy until they’re hoisting a Cup after a dominant playoff run. But this season was a start as they clinched No. 1 in the Atlantic. The Leafs improved at five-on-five and on defense this season, the supporting cast is the best it’s been in years, and the goaltending tandem of Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz has worked.

The Hockey Club enjoyed a strong franchise start -- especially at home -- and that's what matters most this season. As injury plagued the team, the rest of the roster just couldn't fill the gaps, and scoring from some unexpected places dried up.

We'll see what happens this offseason, but you shrug your shoulders given the circumstances here.

One thing we can say about this Canucks season? At least it's over.

There was drama and chaos at every turn for the Canucks this year, peaking at the Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller beef that sent Miller packing to the Rangers. Unfortunately, the trade didn't improve the vibes on or off the ice, as Pettersson continued to underperform. It's not like he received much help from the rest of the forward group aside from Brock Boeser, but don't worry, we couldn't enjoy Boeser's performance without the reminder that he's probably gone this summer.

Again, thank you Canucks for falling short of our playoff hopes this year so we can at least forget about this mess for a few weeks. 

The Golden Knights are so consistent that sometimes we don't have much new to say about them. But here they are again, 50-22-10 at the top of the Pacific Division, and they deserve their flowers.

Jack Eichel had one of the strongest seasons of his career with 94 points in 77 games, Mark Stone was Mark Stone, and Tomas Hertl settled into the team.

We can debate if the Washington Capitals were the objective "best" team in the NHL this season, but we can't debate that they had the best time.

Alex Ovechkin's road to breaking the all-time goals record was thrilling and captivated the entire hockey world. The youth movement stepped up and came together ahead of schedule. Even Tom Wilson had a career year.

Even better, this was all set to the soundtrack of "Bandz A Make Her Dance" by Juicy C. Spencer Carbery will win the Jack Adams, and he deserves it.

Backed by another elite season by goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets took home the 2024-25 Presidents' Trophy. You'd be hard pressed to find a more complete team in the league, with above-average metrics at every position and the best goaltender in the game at their disposal.

Hellebuyck ends the season with a 2.01 goals against average, good for first in the league, and a .925 save percentage, good for second in the league. Will he finally make it count in the postseason?