The rebuild rankings following the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline were tough to evaluate. There was a lot of movement and a handful of fringe teams that made it difficult to put them on the list to begin with. The Vancouver Canucks graduated from the rankings as a team that was in contention for the Stanley Cup. The Ottawa Senators made their return. The Philadelphia Flyers weren’t on the list as they looked competitive at the deadline (that was fool’s gold) and by the end of the season, it was clear they were a rebuilder.
Related: NHL Rebuild Rankings: Post-2024 Trade Deadline Edition
With all the dust settling from the previous season and the 2024 offseason, there’s more clarity about which teams are rebuilding and which ones aren’t. With the way the league has shifted — with some juggernauts in both conferences and a few teams still putting competitive rosters together — there are 12 teams on this list. Along with the Senators and Flyers (as mentioned above), the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, and Utah Hockey Club made it.
For those unfamiliar with how the rankings work, we interviewed writers at The Hockey Writers (THW) for all the teams on this list. We asked them to evaluate their teams on a few primary categories from building blocks or core players to build around, to roster depth, and stability in the front office and behind the bench.
Note: The farm system rankings are reflected in THW’s midseason update edition. To dive deeper into each team’s prospect pool, check out the rankings here.
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets had one of the more promising rebuilds at one point. They had a lot of youth, depth, draft assets, and just about everything a rebuilding team wants. So, where did everything go wrong? It all starts with the dysfunction at the top which only got worse over time.
General manager (GM) Jarmo Kekalainen was regarded as a savvy GM, notable for his trades and prospect development. It wasn’t long ago he constructed a team that upset the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round in 2019, one of the best regular-season teams of all time, and had the players in place to make a deep playoff run. Unfortunately, hiring wasn’t his strength and it showed starting in the 2021 offseason. Kekalainen not only missed on the Brad Larsen head coaching hire and the Mike Babcock hire, but he also whiffed on the Pascal Vincent hire. Granted, the Vincent hiring was on the fly but that quick coaching change shows the flaws with the initial hire.
Kekalainen was fired halfway through the 2023-24 season and the Blue Jackets hired Don Waddell with the hopes he can get this team back on track. Waddell helped turn the Carolina Hurricanes from a team that constantly missed the playoffs to a perennial Cup contender so it’s safe to say he’ll do the same with the Blue Jackets. His tenure is off to a rocky start.
Waddell was hired with the expectation that he would bring in a new head coach. He did, but a few months too late, firing Vincent while the Stanley Cup Final was taking place. At that time, every team knows who their head coach is with the hopes that both the coach and GM are on the same page for the draft and subsequent offseason movement. The Blue Jackets weren’t one of those teams and they went through free agency without a head coach and anyone they signed had to guess what type of coach they would play for and the system that would be run. Waddell hired Dean Evason and by all measures, it’s a great hire, but the process to land him was messy and didn’t have to be.
All the front office and coaching changes hurt the rebuild. Then there’s Waddell’s urge to balance a long-term plan and make the team competitive. The Blue Jackets already have Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner as the veterans to build around, making the Sean Monahan long-term signing a tough one to understand. For a team that is rebuilding, they have a lot of veteran skaters taking up valuable ice time. It’s not just Gaudreau, Jenner, and Monahan, they have eight skaters in their 30s taking up valuable roster spots.
What makes the Blue Jackets rebuild more frustrating is that the young talent is there both at the NHL and American Hockey League (AHL) level. Adam Fantilli, the third-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, is a star in the making. David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk are two defensemen rising in the farm system. The Blue Jackets have young talent in the forward unit and the defense plus a Cleveland Monsters team in the AHL that with a surplus of elite players reached the Calder Cup semifinals. Sure, goaltending remains an issue and it has been since Sergei Bobrovsky left in free agency in 2019 but that shouldn’t keep them near the bottom of the standings for the past four seasons. Yet, chaos and dysfunction keep doing it for them.
11. St. Louis Blues
There are two ways to look at the Blues in the short term. One, they can push for the playoffs and keep the contending window open, one that will result in a few playoff appearances but not much else. Two, they need to rebuild and start tearing down the roster with a plan to turn things around a few years behind schedule. It’s a lose-lose situation caused by the fallout of trying to pursue another Cup title with a roster that doesn’t have the pieces to do so.
The Blues’ first issue is that their core is good but not great. Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours, and Pavel Buchnevich lead the forwards while Jordan Binnington, who has had plenty of rough stretches, remains the goaltender of the present and future. Then there are a bunch of aging players who they must build around by default because they are tied to long-term contracts. Torey Krug, Colton Parayko, and Justin Faulk, three of their top defensemen, are attached to big contracts and aren’t players to build around. The trio is what fuels the team’s biggest issue – that they have core players in their forward unit but not on the defense — and they don’t make it easy to pivot. To make matters worse, five of their defensemen are 30 or older and instead of trying to add youth to the lineup, they signed a 40-year-old Ryan Suter.
The good news, aside from having stability in the forward unit and in the net (Joel Hofer’s development is a plus), is that the Blues have more depth than most rebuilding teams. Alex Texier, Mathieu Joseph, and Radek Faksa add forward depth while Zachary Bolduc, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Zach Dean are coming up in the pipeline. As for the defense, the Blues knew it was a need heading into the offseason and drafted the position with their first three selections in the draft.
The roster slowly declining has a lot of the blame shouldered on GM Doug Armstrong. He signed multiple aging defensemen to long-term deals and the one big name he let go of happened to be Alex Pietrangelo, who continues to play at a high level and helped the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023. Armstrong might not be the GM to lead this team in a rebuild but the good news is that the Blues have a plan for who will. Alex Steen was hired as the next in line to take over in 2026 and he’ll bring a new era and a different philosophy to the front office.
Steen is one of the many hires that will usher in the rebuild. His tenure will go hand-in-hand with the latest head coaching hire, Drew Bannister, who replaced Craig Berube midway through the season. Bannister is a younger coach and works well with the younger skaters, making him an ideal leader for a rebuilding team. Bannister is starting to put his stamp on the team but it will take a few seasons before he can be judged as a successful head coach or not. At least for now, he’s the right one for the job.
The Blues are in a tough spot since their rebuild is further behind most teams. They don’t have a lot of cap space and will eventually have to move on from some of the veterans on the roster. The defense in particular is a weak link and it’s not improving anytime soon. Once the Blues can trade away or move on from some contracts, then add much-needed youth to the lineup but that’s still at least a season away.
10. Pittsburgh Penguins
As a team that missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the warning signs of a decline are there. Ideally, the Penguins would start a rebuild with a roster that is starting to age and slowly lose ground to the rest of the Eastern Conference. Aside from the Jake Guentzel trade at the 2024 Trade Deadline, they haven’t made any moves to set them up for long-term success. So, the Penguins are left in a tough spot.
They have a core and that goes without saying. Sidney Crosby is one of the greatest of all time and Evgeni Malkin is a surefire Hall of Fame forward. Kris Letang continues to play at a high level and Erik Karlsson, even with the overpay to acquire him in the 2023 offseason, is still an elite defenseman. The problem is that this core is an old one and it’s unlikely all four skaters will be a part of any rebuild. It forces the Penguins to either move on without them and hope to start from scratch or keep pushing for the playoffs with the hopes that this group can make a run.
They keep choosing the latter and it’s left them with a roster that has a great core and not much else. The Guentzel trade added a few depth pieces, most notably, Michael Bunting, but otherwise, the depth is nonexistent. Ideally, they would add young skaters from the pipeline but the Penguins have one of the worst farm systems in the league, and considering they haven’t been in a lottery position, they aren’t adding any top-tier prospects to the system anytime soon.
The roster isn’t doing Mike Sullivan any favors. He’s one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the NHL and constantly gets the most out of his roster. If the Penguins fire him, there will be at least 10 teams giving him a call. However, if they miss the playoffs for the third season in a row, it’s hard to see Sullivan keeping his job. More importantly, it’s hard seeing him as the head coach for the rebuild regardless.
If the Penguins fire him, all the pressure then shifts to GM Kyle Dubas, who was hired to help with the rebuild or at the very least, retool the roster. His tenure is off to a promising start but the next few years will be telling as he will either help the Penguins rebuild on the fly or set them back for years. The few trades he’s done have helped but he’s still doubling down on the roster with the hopes they’ll make the playoffs and for now, it’s only hurting this team’s long-term outlook.
The Penguins have a lot of question marks and a low ceiling to boot. At the best, they make it to the playoffs in a Wild Card spot. They won’t go much further. With questions in the net, the depth being an issue, and injuries battering this older team, the playoffs seem further away each season. A rebuild is inevitable and somehow the Penguins don’t believe so. It’s why even with a good core, they are so far from the Cup.
9. San Jose Sharks
For a while, the Sharks were the furthest team in the NHL from contention. They made the Western Conference Final in 2019 and it all went downhill from there. In 2023-24, things went from bad to worse as the Sharks finished the season with the worst record in the NHL and once again, fired their head coach (this time it was David Quinn who got the axe.)
The Sharks are starting to turn a corner. It starts with youth starting to make their way to the NHL. Will Smith was the first-round selection in the 2023 draft while Macklin Celebrini was the first-overall pick in the 2024 draft. The two high-ceiling forwards are expected to join a roster that already has Fabian Zetterlund, William Eklund, and defenseman Mario Ferraro as building blocks. Eventually, Quentin Musty and Sam Dickinson will also make their way to the lineup which is a benefit to having a revamped farm system (a lot of losing went into turning the prospect pool into a good one).
The strength is in the youth movement and some of their prospects will carry the Sharks. That said, they were busy this offseason, adding depth players on both the forward and defensive units. Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg, and Barclay Goodrow (welcome back!) will turn around an offense that averaged only 2.20 goals per game. Jake Walman and Jan Rutta were brought in to turn around a defense that allowed 3.98 goals per game last season. The Sharks didn’t add goaltending reinforcements and the position could set them back but MacKenzie Blackwood proved he can carry the weight as a starter.
All the offseason movement was reflective of a front office that is starting to feel the pressure and urgency to turn things around. GM Mike Grier did the thing that nobody else wanted to do with the Sharks by starting the teardown. He traded Brent Burns, Karlsson, and Tomas Hertl to allow the rebuild to eventually take shape. It wasn’t pretty, especially last season, but at least progress is starting to show. Grier proved he can turn the Sharks into a contender and the unknown is whether head coach Ryan Warsofsky is the right hire to lead this team back to contention. Next season is his first at the NHL level and it will take time to determine if he’s capable of taking this team to the next level. If not, the team might once again be searching for a new GM and head coach and going through the same cycle they’ve been going through since 2019.
The Sharks still have a lot of work to do before they are contenders again. They need to let the elite prospects develop into stars, they must figure out what the depth will look like, and the defense still needs young talent to turn it around. However, the difficult work is in the past and the Sharks are slowly turning a corner. For the first time in a long time, there’s optimism in the Bay Area surrounding the hockey team.
8. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers looked poised to make the playoffs last season and prove they are ready to compete in the Eastern Conference. Going 4-9-3 down the stretch with only two wins in their final 11 games proved otherwise. The good news is that despite the lost season, the Flyers proved they have the pieces to be contenders sooner rather than later.
The optimism starts at the top. GM Daniel Briere started to move out some aging players and bring in both youth and skaters who could play under John Tortorella, a tougher, old-school coach who wouldn’t be afraid to scratch a star when needed. With Tortorella, teams are always waiting for the shoe to drop but he got the most out of the roster last season and proved the Flyers have the right people running the rebuild, at least for now (the jury is out on both of them in a long-term project).
Then there’s the roster itself, which is looking better in part because of the youth movement that started. Travis Konecny is the only star, a top-line skater who scored 30 goals or more in each of the past two seasons. Then there are a handful of young skaters who are taking on greater roles including Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster in the forward unit with Jamie Drysdale, Cameron York, and Yegor Zamula on the defense. The Flyers lack star power but they already have a few building blocks to put together a competitive team.
The depth is where the concerns surrounding the Flyers start to arise. Outside of Konecny, who splits time between playing the center and wing position, they don’t have reliable centers, and goaltending, which caused their downfall last season, remains a weakness. The Flyers will rely on Samuel Ersson as their primary starter and hope Ivan Fedotov is ready to play consistently at the NHL level as the duo can be relied upon for years to come. However, if they struggle, Briere will have to search for a reliable starter elsewhere. The bottom line is that they have an answer for the issue but it might not be the right answer.
Along with the depth issues, the Flyers don’t have a great prospect pool that will help with the rebuild. Sure, Matvei Michkov, their first-round selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft who will join the roster after signing his entry-level contract, can be a star forward at the NHL level to change that perception. Unfortunately, he’s one of the few bright spots in the pipeline and the Flyers particularly, lack the answers for their current roster issues with their prospect talent. They have a surplus of defensemen they can trade to add more center depth or a reinforcement in the net but at the moment, they are lacking in both areas.
The bottom line is that the Flyers have a good but not great roster to start a rebuild. The problems start after that and with no depth, or prospects on the way, this team could have the rug pulled out from underneath them. If they aren’t a playoff team this season and are forced to continue to tear down the roster, the timeline will change and it might force ownership to search for a new GM and head coach. So, this season might be a telling one for a Flyers team looking to make a playoff push in an Eastern Conference that is expected to improve after a disappointing 2023-24 season.
7. Ottawa Senators
The Senators entered last season with a roster poised to leap to the top of the Eastern Conference and snap one of the longer playoff droughts in the NHL. That didn’t happen or else they would not be on this list. Instead, everything that could go wrong did and it’s why both the head coach and GM were replaced midseason.
The Senators are starting over in their front office and behind the bench. Steve Staios was hired as the new GM to build a contender and Travis Green was hired to lead them as the next head coach. It’s still too early to tell if they are the right people for the job and there isn’t enough of a sample size to determine if they will be successful. Green however brought in mixed reviews as the coaching hire as his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks was a disappointment (although in his defense, the roster wasn’t great) and his system will bring out the best in a unique Senators team. That’s where the good news starts as this team has plenty of good players leading the way.
There’s an argument to be made that the Senators, who already went through a rebuild, are now going through a retool. Why? Because the core from previous seasons remains and it’s a good one. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Thomas Chabot, and Jake Sanderson are the four players they can build a winning team around. Then there are some complementary skaters like Josh Norris, Shane Pinto, Drake Batherson, and Artem Zub. Throw in the Linus Ullmark addition to add stability in the net and the Senators might be back in the contention discussion by next season.
The core and the complementary pieces are the best things the Senators have going for them. Everything else is a concern, especially if this retool turns into a rebuild. Despite having multiple seasons to strengthen the farm system, the Senators have one of the worst in the league. Then there are questions about the bottom six and the later defense pairings. If Norris doesn’t return to form, something he has yet to do following his 2022 upper-body injury, then this team is weak up the middle. It puts a lot of pressure on the David Perron, Michael Amadio, and Nick Jensen additions to work out as all three players are key in preventing the depth from looking like a mess.
If the Senators remain healthy and Green instills a winning culture and a good system, this team could be the surprise of the Eastern Conference. However, if they are still on the outside of the playoffs looking in, they will be one of those teams that must rebuild after a failed rebuild. They invested in the Stutzle, Tkachuk, and Chabot core to get them to the playoffs, and even with some big moves, this group failed to get them there. It begs the question that if this group can’t get them to the playoffs, will Staios need to dismantle it and start all over again?
6. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are one of those tough teams to figure out. In the past few seasons, they were putting together a promising rebuild and had the young players coming up in the ranks. Then they signed aging players on the decline to take up significant roles and prevent the prospects from developing. Alex Killorn, Radko Gudas, and five other skaters 30 years old or older on the roster don’t help the rebuilding cause.
Putting that aside, the Ducks have a good thing going for them. Leo Carlsson, Troy Terry, and Mason McTavish are top-six forwards they can build around while Pavel Mintyukov leads the defense. Then there are wild cards like Trevor Zegras, who has been on the trade block but if he stays, can be another forward added to the mix along with Cutter Gauthier, ia high-ceiling player who they acquired in a trade last season with the Flyers. Likewise, Olen Zellweger is one of the promising defensemen on the roster who looks to take big strides in the upcoming season. It’s the young core and one of the best farm systems that give the Ducks hope.
It’s after that youth movement the Ducks start showing their flaws. The forward unit falls off after the top six and the best defensemen are on the decline. Cam Fowler is 33 and while he can play a limited role, he’s still relied on as a second-pair defenseman. The same can be said about Brian Dumoulin who is 33 and whom the Ducks signed in the offseason to reach the cap floor. Then comes the goaltending which consists of John Gibson and Lucas Dostal. Gibson is one of the better goaltenders in the league but at 31, it’s unclear if he’ll be on the team by the time they are competitive. Dostal on the other hand is a goaltender they can build around but he still has yet to prove he can take on the starting role (he’s only played 58 games in his career).
The Ducks have an odd roster build where they look like two different teams with different motives (they want to rebuild but at the same time, make moves that competitive teams would make.) It’s why there are questions about both GM Pet Verbeek. He’ll have a longer leash and will be given the time to turn the team around but if they aren’t showing signs of progress in the next few seasons, Verbeek might be replaced.
The same can be said about Greg Cronin. He was hired to add discipline to a team that lacked it under the previous head coach, Dallas Eakins. The problem is that his style and voice — one that is hard-nosed and has plenty of accountability — can wear off, especially with the young skaters. The Ducks want to avoid another coaching change at all costs as they are already on their fourth head coach since the rebuild began in 2018-19. If they must make a change, they have Matt McIlvane as the heir apparent as the AHL team’s coach in San Diego.
The key to the Ducks’ rebuild is to be patient. If they let the kids play, it won’t look good at first. They will struggle to begin next season and might be one of the worst teams throughout the season. However, they will start building something special and have a great young team sooner rather than later. The question is if the front office is willing to do that. For now, they will see the losses pile up against the Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and Vegas Golden Knights but eventually, they will have the best roster in their division if they allow their youth to develop.
5. Buffalo Sabres
The longest playoff drought in the NHL has many fans frustrated and oftentimes, feeling hopeless. The Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since 2011 and despite a lot of promise in recent seasons, they kept coming up short and it forced the front office to make a coaching change.
The good news is that most of the work required for a successful rebuild is already in the rearview mirror and it’s why there’s a good argument to be made that the Sabres are no longer rebuilding. Tage Thompson is one of the best forwards in the NHL and arguably a top-five goal scorer. Rasmus Dahlin is one of the best two-way defensemen in the NHL. Then there are complementary pieces throughout the roster who can make the Sabres one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Dylan Cozens, J.J. Peterka, and Alex Tuch are staples of the top six while Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, and Bowen Byram, who they added at the 2024 Trade Deadline, give the team two great defense pairs. There are questions about how the roster will come together, notably with Jack Quinn, Zach Benson, and other young skaters who are part of the league’s best farm system making their way to the NHL but there aren’t any glaring weaknesses. Even goaltending, which has been their downfall in the past, has a lot of upside with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi, two goaltenders still developing and expected to split starts moving forward.
Considering the Sabres were one point away from making the playoffs in the 2022-23 season, it’s easy to look at this team and see why they are close to contending. So, what’s holding them back? It starts at the top. GM Kevyn Adams has turned this team around but when it comes to the finishing touches, a lot of his moves are hit or miss. Buying out Jeff Skinner’s contract gives him salary cap space but now he must find a top-six skater who can compensate for the production he provided. Adding Ryan McLeod as a depth skater helps round out the roster but they had to trade Matthew Savoie to do so. Adams has done a great job overall but the same couldn’t be said about Don Granato, the former head coach who lost the locker room last season and was fired because of it.
Enter Lindy Ruff, a familiar face as he coached the Sabres for 15 seasons. The reviews are mixed about him since he’s going to preach accountability and help take this team to the next level, as he did in his previous tensure with the club. However, Ruff’s teams tend to collapse after a few seasons. The Dallas Stars imploded in 2016-17 and the New Jersey Devils fell apart last season, causing both teams to fire him midway through campaigns. If he gets this team to the playoffs, all will be forgiven. The catch is that it must happen soon or the Sabres might be looking for a new coach and GM as they try to rebuild after a failed rebuild.
For years, the Sabres have been their own worst enemy as it seems like they can’t get out of their way. If they can get their act together, they might be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The problem is that the Sabres have yet to do that and until they do, doubt will remain.
4. Utah Hockey Club
There’s a bitter feeling surrounding this rebuild, particularly for the fans of the Arizona Coyotes. They had to endure the tough times and just as the team started to turn a corner, all the relocation action took place. The Coyotes moved to Utah where they are still pending a nickname but everything else seems to have a plan behind it and the roster is no exception.
The young core is one of the best in the NHL with Clayton Keller, Matias Maccelli, Logan Cooley, and Josh Doan all developing into key players and hitting their stride. Those are just the forwards as the defense has Sean Durzi and offseason addition Mikhail Sergachev, two young elite defensemen to anchor the unit. This young core will only get stronger from here with this team boasting one of the best farm systems in the league.
The young players are starting to make a significant impact at the NHL level and to go with that is a roster that has depth. Dylan Guenther and Barrett Hayton are two depth forwards who will be staples of the offense for years while John Marino and Ian Cole, two veteran defensemen, were added in free agency to round out the unit. On top of that, they have their goaltender of the future with Connor Ingram proving last season that he can carry the load in net.
The impressive roster build is a credit to a great GM who had to take a team that was a mess and make it competitive while dealing with one of the greatest off-ice distractions any team had to deal with. Bill Armstrong had to tear it down with some difficult trades but he’s drafted and developed some of the star players that are on the current roster. He also had to strengthen the depth of the roster while dealing with an ownership group that didn’t give him any breaks (they were known for cutting corners both on and off the ice.) Armstrong is now being rewarded for powering the team through the tough times and with a new ownership group that is willing to spend and eager to win, he’s ready to reap the benefits.
The same praise can be said about their head coach Andre Tourigny. He had to coach this team through the rebuild and the recent relocation. While they collapsed in the second half of the season amid the relocation rumors that eventually became fact, Tourigny proved he’s the right coach to get them back to the playoffs.
All the pieces are in place for this team to be competitive by next season. Consistency was an issue last season but they proved to be a tough matchup for any team. The Central Division will be top-heavy but they can easily be a playoff team and if the young players continue to improve and can surprise a lot of teams around the league. Ironically, the only thing that can stop them is the relocation. Sure, there’s a lot of promise that Utah will work out but a lot can go wrong in the new setting and a franchise that struggled with attendance can once again run into that issue and similar ones that they experienced in the desert.
3. Chicago Blackhawks
Winning the NHL Draft Lottery changes the trajectory and the expectations of this franchise. Sure, one player can’t do it all but the team is operating differently knowing they have an elite player to build around. The 2024 offseason spending spree reflected that urge to open up the competitive window sooner rather than later.
That star player is Connor Bedard. The Blackhawks selected him with the first-overall pick in 2023 and after winning the Calder Trophy last season, he’s already proved he can lead them back to contention. He’s a generational talent who at times can singlehandedly lead the team to victories the same way Connor McDavid does. The Blackhawks are well aware that Bedard can’t do it all himself and that’s what makes their rebuild all the more impressive. They are building around him and not just relying on him.
Lukas Reichel and Philipp Kurashev have emerged as top-six forwards who complement Bedard’s game and Kevin Korchinski, the seventh pick in the 2022 draft, proved he can be a dynamic two-way defenseman at the NHL level. then there are the prospects poised to make a big impact in a few seasons with Frank Nazar slated to be a middle-six center, Artyom Levshunov expected to be another young defenseman in the fold and Drew Commesso looks to be the goaltender of the future.
The question isn’t if the Blackhawks have depth — they acquired plenty of it this offseason, to be sure. The question is if they added too much veteran talent at a time when they are still rebuilding. Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi and middle six forwards. Do the Blackhawks want them taking away ice time from a younger skater like Reichel or Landon Slaggert? Alec Martinez joins Seth Jones and Connor Murphy on the defense and gives the roster three blue-liners in their 30s. With Korchinski and Alex Vlasic making big strides, the unit seems better off with the veterans playing on the second and third pairings. Throw in the Laurent Brossoit signing to strengthen the goaltending and the glass-half-full or half-empty argument can be made about this roster. Either all these moves make them immediate contenders or they prevent them from experiencing long-term success.
The debate about the roster build is a fair one but it’s hard to deny the right people are running the show. GM Kyle Davidson took over a complete mess and a team with no direction. The teardown was ugly but it’s helped them turn around things fast. The Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach trades during the 2022 draft, the Patrick Kane deal, and the haul received for Brandon Hagel helped the team land plenty of prospects and turn the farm system into one of the best in the NHL. Hiring Luke Richardson as his head coach wasn’t a bad move either. Richardson has gotten the most out of his roster and has helped build a strong culture despite a losing record. The only question is if he’ll change his style now that there’s a mix of veteran talent and young prospects joining the roster. It’s a balancing act that will have all eyes on him this season as the expectations are to make the playoffs.
At this point, the things that hold the Blackhawks back are minor. They don’t have a clear-cut secondary star to go along with Bedard. They must be patient with some of the youth but with the talent they added, this season has a playoff-or-bust perception. They brought in a lot of players who have reliable track records but there’s no telling if they’ll mesh together. The Blackhawks have all the pieces to contend, not just for a playoff spot but for a Cup in the next few seasons. Now it’s just a matter of the front office landing the plane.
2. Calgary Flames
With the Jacob Markstrom trade this offseason, the teardown is officially complete and the Flames are starting to rebuild with a new group. When they missed the playoffs and fired both the head coach and GM, they threaded the needle with a retool, trading Toffoli. At the trade deadline, they essentially had a firesale, moving on from Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin to set themselves up for the long run. It’s why they have a lot working in their favor.
Despite trading everyone they could, the Flames still have a good core to build around. Nazem Kadri is in his 30s (at 34, he’s the second-oldest player on the team) but is still playing at a high level. MacKenzie Weegar is a dynamic two-way defenseman while Rasmus Andersson is the anchor of the unit. While Jonathan Huberdeau has been a disappointment and will forever be tied to the Matthew Tkachuk trade, a deal that ultimately turned the Florida Panthers into one of the best teams in the league, he’s still a forward they can build around. Dustin Wolf is 23 years old and still developing yet looks like their goaltender of the future.
These are all the players they had on the roster before all the big trades. Then they added some key players as part of the teardown. Yegor Sharangovich was acquired in the Toffoli trade and at 26, is poised to be one of their key forwards. Andrei Kuzmenko was part of the haul they received in the Lindholm deal and is a middle-six winger who will add consistent offence.
The trades added building blocks and also strengthened the farm system and the depth. Some of the skaters who will strengthen the depth include Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil, and Matt Coronato, all of whom are 25 or younger. They join veterans in the likes of Blake Coleman, Anthony Mantha, and Ryan Lomberg to provide the Flames with a lineup that has no glaring weaknesses in their forward unit or their defense.
The sudden turnaround is a credit to Craig Conroy, who took over as GM after Brad Treliving was fired in the 2023 offseason. Treliving left the team in a state of chaos and Conroy had to do the difficult teardown. He did it and it made the 2023-24 season a rough one. However, the Flames are set up to compete both next season and down the road as well because of all the big trades.
Ryan Huska doesn’t receive the same credit as head coach but he’s also done a remarkable job since taking over. He’s a breath of fresh air compared to Darryl Sutter and more importantly, is focused on starting and developing the youth. He might not be the coach to take the Flames to the next level, yet Huska’s ability to change the lineup and adapt shows what he can do once this roster is competitive.
The only issue the Flames have is that despite all the moves and having good players up and down the lineup, they don’t have any superstars. They lack the elite talent that the teams within their division have and some of the rebuilding teams possess. In a league where a lot of teams have a skater or two who can take over a game and win it themselves, the Flames lack that. Gaudreau’s departure in the 2022 offseason (plus the Tkachuk trade) can be blamed for that. That’s a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. This team is still on track to be back in the playoff picture and with their depth, they could go on a playoff run once they get in.
1. Montreal Canadiens
Since taking over as GM in 2022, Kent Hughes had to teardown a roster spiraling downward and he was able to build it back up. The Canadiens have done just about everything right with their rebuild and if they don’t make the playoffs this season, they will within the next few seasons and they might be contending for a Cup sooner than expected.
The optimism starts with the young core that they have. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Kirby Dach already gave the Canadiens a great forward group to build around and then they added Juraj Slafkovsky to the top six. The 20-year-old winger scored 20 goals and 30 assists in his first full season in the NHL and the 2022 first-overall pick is on pace to become a superstar. Sure, Dach is recovering from a season-ending injury and there’s a lot of weight on him returning to form as one of the few centers on the team but they have four young forwards who will anchor the offense for years to come.
The forward unit has the star power but the defense has more talent from the top down. Enough young skaters are coming up the ranks that the Canadiens traded Jonathan Kovacevic this offseason with the confidence they can find skaters to fill the void. Kaiden Guhle has become a regular at the NHL level while Lane Hutson is expected to take on a bigger role on the unit this season. Keep in mind, they already have Arber Xhekaj and Jordan Harris entering the prime of their careers while Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher are projected to make their marks within a few seasons.
It also helps that Martin St. Louis gets the best out of the roster as the head coach. He’s a player-friendly coach who particularly works well with the younger skaters but he’s the type of leader who would do well in many spots. There’s a fear he won’t be able to take this team to the next level and the Canadiens might need to hire a new coach once the rebuild is complete and they are competitive. However, St. Louis is more than a player’s coach as he’s capable of adapting and being a disciplined force behind the bench when needed. It’s that ability to pivot that will make him the right coach to lead this team once they are contending for the Cup.
So, what’s holding the Canadiens back at this point? The young skaters are already NHL-proven and will be one year better when the next season begins. The answer is two-fold. It’s the division they are in and goaltending, a lingering issue since Carey Price left.
The Canadiens finished last place in the Atlantic Division last season and to make the playoffs, they’ll have to leapfrog at least three teams. The Florida Panthers are the reigning Stanley Cup winners while the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs are surefire playoff teams until they prove otherwise. The Tampa Bay Lightning have an aging roster but they continue to prove everyone wrong by making the playoffs each season. Then there are three teams in the same boat as the Canadiens, with the Sabres, Senators, and Detroit Red Wings all possessing young and rising rosters. It makes the jump into contention a hard one for any rebuilding team, even one with everything clicking like the Canadiens.
The goaltending, meanwhile, has been addressed through the pipeline. Jakub Dobes impressed with the Laval Rocket in the AHL while Jacob Fowler put together a strong season at Boston College. Both goaltenders are a few years away from joining the NHL roster so in the meantime, the Canadiens will rely on the Samuel Mountembeault and Cayden Primeau duo to lead the way. That duo is good enough to get them to the playoffs, assuming the rest of the roster plays at a high level, but it won’t get them over the hump. It’s why Hughes might have to make a splash and add a goaltender to the roster as the finishing touch to an otherwise-masterclass rebuild.
Other Notes on the Rebuild Rankings
A few teams didn’t make this list as it’s difficult to say whether they are rebuilding or not. The Red Wings came to mind as a team that for the most part, has completed the rebuild process and is ready to make a push for a playoff spot. They came up just short last season and if they miss the playoffs again, they might be back on this list.
There are also the Washington Capitals, a team that backed their way into the playoffs and aren’t rebuilding but by all means, they are not a contender. However, instead of a roster teardown or the front office turning the page, the Capitals are making a push next season to compete, acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois and Jakob Chychrun in the offseason. The New York Islanders are in the same spot but considering they’ve made the playoffs two seasons in a row, they are in a more competitive state.
This is the fourth edition of the rebuild rankings, a project that was started following the 2023 Trade Deadline. With each edition, there are more lessons and insights into what makes a rebuild successful. The past season was a reminder of the value of stability in the front office all the way down. Without a great GM and head coach, a rebuild is going nowhere. The Canucks were a good case in point for how much things can change with a great head coach in place and the same can be said from a front-office perspective regarding the Panthers (although that was more of a long-term success story.)
Some of the other insights from previous rebuilds remain and they are some of the reasons why the NHL and hockey in general have more obstacles to building a championship team. Teams can’t just tank their way to the top — they must draft, develop, add a strong supporting cast, and put together the finishing touches with valuable additions both in free agency and at trade deadlines. Likewise, one player, no matter how great they are, can’t do it by themselves. Even the best skaters are only on the ice for 25 minutes in a game (and that’s a generous number). Bedard is a generational talent but he won’t make the Blackhawks contenders by himself. Similarly, McDavid put the Oilers on his back with remarkable performances in the Final but the more-complete team ended up winning the Cup with the Panthers taking the series in seven games.
Which rebuilding team do you think is closest to contention? Let us know in the comments section below!
