The good Connor Bedard tank-off of 2022-23 lastly ends Friday. Who did it greatest?
On one degree, the reply is clear: Anaheim, who clinched thirty second place with their loss final night time. Straightforward
On one other degree, the reply is that we don’t know but. In any case, the lottery isn’t till Might 8. We don’t know if thirty second would be the magic spot meaning Anaheim will get the No. 1 decide within the draft. The season tells us who will get the most effective odds, however the lottery tells us who really wins. Till then, the query doesn’t have a solution.
I feel there’s a 3rd possibility, and that’s that we are able to’t get too caught up within the outcomes. In sports activities, and particularly the NHL, randomness guidelines. Similar to the most effective crew doesn’t all the time win the Stanley Cup, the most effective tanker doesn’t all the time win the highest decide. We are able to nonetheless attempt to determine who did the most effective job of tanking, even when it didn’t repay on the finish. Bust the method, so to talk.
So in the present day, let’s undergo the 11 groups with the worst data within the league, and see if we are able to give you an goal option to rank them primarily based on how blatantly and successfully they managed to tank. We’ll do this utilizing 5 classes:
Offseason strikes: The important thing to any actually nice tank is beginning early. How a lot of the deck did the crew clear earlier than the season even started?
Opening-night expectations: If everybody thinks you’re going to be good in October, you’re in all probability not tanking.
Goaltending scenario: With regards to tanking, goaltending is all the time crucial place. You need it to be dangerous, and you then wish to be sure to don’t do something to make it higher.
Coach issue: Coaches don’t tank, however let’s simply say you don’t need Scotty Bowman again there once you’re attempting to complete final.
Deadline selloff: Should you’ve executed it proper, your season ought to be spiraling down the drain by February. That’s when it’s time to complete the job with an aggressive deadline clearance sale.
We’ll mark every of these out of 10, combine in just a few bonus factors the place wanted, and give you a last rating. We’re counting down from tenth to first, and in contrast to the 82 video games your crew simply performed, you really wish to win.
Wait, when you end final on this listing, does that imply you tanked at tanking?
Offseason strikes: 4/10. Quiet, aside from what they thought was an improve in Tony DeAngelo.
Opening-night expectations: 8/10. Most of us figured they’d be dangerous, though not essentially dangerous sufficient to compete for prime lottery odds. (Checks standings.) Nailed it.
Goaltending scenario: 3/10. With Carter Hart coming off a strong rebound season, the Flyers appeared as set as any crew on this listing.
Coach issue: 2/10. They went out and employed John Tortorella, a coach who makes a speciality of squeezing probably the most out of a roster (together with loser factors). Purely by way of a tanking alternative, that didn’t appear excellent.
Deadline selloff: 0/10. Assist me out right here, when your GM does subsequent to nothing on the deadline after which will get fired just a few days later, is that dangerous?
Bonus factors: +2 for brand new administration which can lastly see the writing on the wall, though it actually got here too late for this season.
Whole rating: 19/50. The Flyers are a nasty crew that ought to have been even worse, making them the present poster baby for a franchise spinning its wheels.
I thought-about not even together with the Blues, however their document says they need to be right here.
Offseason strikes: 5/10. They moved Ville Husso and misplaced David Perron, however that felt extra like roster/cap administration than an try at getting worse.
Opening-night expectations: 2/10. Coming off a 109-point season, we thought they had been at the least a playoff crew.
Goaltending scenario: 3/10. Jordan Binnington wasn’t nice, however together with his contract and Cup ring it’s not like they had been ever going to make a change.
Coach issue: 3/10. Craig Berube’s seat might be getting heat however you by no means figured he was in any quick hazard.
Deadline selloff: 9/10. Right here’s the place we are able to lastly discover some factors, as they moved Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly (and received each offers executed just a few weeks early).
Bonus factors: -1 for going a mixed 11-1-0 towards the Geese, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks and Sharks. Simply no sense of the second, you already know?
Whole rating: 21/50. This wasn’t a tank, it was a season the place all the pieces went incorrect.
Fairly uneventful season, yeah?
Offseason strikes: 2/10. They signed Ilya Mikheyev. Extra importantly, they prolonged J.T. Miller quite than promoting excessive, as a result of they had been attempting to win.
Opening-night expectations: 4/10. They appeared like a borderline playoff crew.
Goaltending scenario: 5/10. It is a difficult one. Thatcher Demko wasn’t nice, to place it mildly. However that type of got here out of nowhere, so it’s not just like the Canucks had a lot alternative. Discovering virtually 30 begins for Spencer Martin was inspiring, although.
Coach issue: 5/10. The Bruce Boudreau factor turned a fiasco. Then they employed Rick Tocchet, who improved them sufficient to ensure they wouldn’t get close to the basement. Was the unique plan to only let Boudreau twist within the wind all season lengthy earlier than they had been shamed into making a transfer? We could by no means know.
Deadline selloff: 7/10. They by no means did transfer Miller or Brock Boeser, however we’ll give them credit score for being the primary main vendor after they dealt Bo Horvat in January.
Bonus factors: -1 for the five-game win streak that arrived simply as their followers had been beginning to embrace the losses. Actually twist the knife.
Whole rating: 23/50. In a season the place the generational prospect on the finish of the rainbow is native child and a Canucks fan, this might have been a lot extra with just a little imaginative and prescient.
OK however significantly, subsequent yr they’ll be proper within the combine.
Offseason strikes: 1/10. Steve Yzerman went wild, bringing in a ton of reinforcements. None had been precisely superstars, but it surely all added as much as the only greatest offseason enchancment of any crew. (Or so we thought.)
Opening-night expectations: 5/10. We figured they’d dangle round lengthy sufficient to play significant video games within the second half, though an Jap Convention playoff spot felt far-fetched.
Goaltending scenario: 7/10. Ville Husso was speculated to be the reply. He was not. Neither was Alex Nedeljkovic. Magnus Hellberg, who they snagged off waivers in November, additionally wasn’t. After that, it was simply these three sub-.900 save proportion guys all season lengthy.
Coach issue: 3/10. After years of persistence with Jeff Blashill, Yzerman turned to Derek Lalonde, a veteran getting his first shot at an NHL head teaching job.
Deadline selloff: 9/10. After watching his playoff bubble crew get smoked in back-to-back video games in Ottawa, Yzerman flipped the script and went full vendor, buying and selling Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Filip Hronek and Oskar Sundqvist. Message acquired, boss.
Bonus factors: -1 as a result of everyone knows the Crimson Wings won’t ever win the lottery so tanking feels type of pointless.
Whole rating: 24/50. Is the persistence for Yzerman’s perpetual rebuild beginning to fade only a bit?
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
Stunned to see them so quickly? Don’t be, as a result of for a lot of the season, they weren’t tanking in any respect.
Offseason strikes: 1/10. The Blue Jackets shocked everybody by signing the most important UFA in the marketplace, which doesn’t seem to be an incredible technique for ending final.
Opening-night expectations: 5/10. They had been a divisive crew. Dom’s projections had them flat, and perhaps even regressing a bit. The feedback part didn’t agree. Spoiler alert: One aspect was extra proper than the opposite.
Goaltending scenario: 8/10. Elvis Merzlikins got here into the season as a starter, and he was very dangerous. Backup Joonas Korpisalo was higher, so that they correctly traded him on the deadline.
Coach issue: 3/10. Brad Larsen hasn’t had a lot of an opportunity to point out what he can do, as this was solely Yr 2.
Deadline selloff: 7/10. Along with shifting Korpisalo, additionally they traded Vladislav Gavrikov and Gustav Nyquist.
Bonus factors: +1 for Zach Werenski’s harm that ended his season in November. It wasn’t a part of the plan, however as soon as it occurred the technique clearly shifted.
Whole rating: 25/50. Would ending near useless final once you weren’t even tanking make it really feel higher or worse? I’m fairly positive it’s worse.
I’m just a little stunned to see them this excessive. Or to see them in any respect, truthfully.
Offseason strikes: 2/10. They made just a few adjustments, most notably bringing within the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender as a high-priced free agent. That doesn’t appear very tanky.
Opening-night expectations: 3/10. They had been coming off a 100-point season and usually anticipated to make the playoffs, though age and accidents made it really feel precarious sufficient that you simply knew the window was closing in some unspecified time in the future.
Goaltending scenario: 4/10. On paper, swapping out Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov for Darcy Kuemper was an improve. It didn’t actually work out that approach, however Kuemper was nice, and together with Charlie Lindgren allowed the Caps to be one of many few groups to make it throughout the season with out ever enjoying a 3rd goaltender.
Coach issue: 7/10. Peter Laviolette is within the final yr of his deal and positive appears to be on the way in which out, however as soon as issues went dangerous the Capitals didn’t make any strikes which may have righted the ship.
Deadline selloff: 8/10. Give Brian MacLellan credit score, he learn the writing on the wall. Relatively than chase the bubble fringe, he offered onerous on guys like Dmitry Orlov, Marcus Johansson and Lars Eller.
Bonus factors: +2 for racking up losses down the stretch. No crew moved down the standings greater than the Caps over the past two months.
Whole rating: 26/50. This was speculated to be crew with longshot Cup aspirations, so they only began too late to be an particularly formidable tank. Nonetheless, as soon as they noticed which approach the wind was blowing, they placed on a powerful late push.
Would the NHL’s worst crew in 2021-22 attempt for a repeat with Bedard looming?
Offseason strikes: 5/10. It was largely a wash, with Kirby Dach coming in and Alexander Romanov heading out, with just a few veterans tossed onto the pile.
Opening-night expectations: 9/10. The Habs had been anticipated to be higher as a result of they may hardly be worse, however useless final wasn’t out of the query.
Goaltending scenario: 7/10. It had been a catastrophe in 2021-22 when Jake Allen was damage. They didn’t usher in any assist, though this time Allen was largely out there and Sam Montembeault regarded higher.
Coach issue: 4/10. Martin St. Louis had been a head-scratching rent when the Dominique Ducharme bubble burst, but it surely labored.
Deadline selloff: 3/10. In equity, they didn’t have a lot to maneuver, though some followers might need been hoping that any individual like Josh Anderson, Jonathan Drouin or Joel Edmundson could be dealt. As an alternative it was largely quiet.
Bonus factors: +2 for being that crew that began shutting everybody down halfway by means of the yr. To be clear, these had been reliable accidents. Nevertheless it was additionally a possibility to ensure everybody’s recovered for subsequent yr whereas additionally dropping just a few extra video games.
Whole rating: 30/50. This feels low for the Habs, who had been clearly targeted on a rebuild. Nonetheless, are you actually tanking in case your document improves by virtually 15 factors?
4. Anaheim Geese
Maintain on, they only received scored on once more.
Offseason strikes: 6/10. Not a lot, aside from signing John Klingberg in order that they may commerce him on the deadline. In any other case, they had been a rebuilding crew that didn’t attempt to get all that significantly better.
Opening-night expectations: 4/10. Not nice, however higher than you in all probability keep in mind them.
Goaltending scenario: 8/10. We’re now into Yr 4 of ready for John Gibson to regain his previous type, and this was his worst season but. Regardless of some commerce whispers, the Geese caught with him to the tune of over 50 begins, though given his contract they could not have had a lot alternative.
Coach issue: 9/10. We all know the change is coming. We’ve identified it since final yr. Pat Verbeek selected to let Dallas Eakins twist all season, even after the Geese received simply one in all their first eight. You work it out.
Deadline selloff: 5/10. They didn’t get as a lot as they’d hoped for Klingberg, and didn’t make a lot in the way in which of noise in any other case.
Bonus factors: +2 as a result of Verbeek did his promoting eventually yr’s deadline, then didn’t change any of these guys.
Whole rating: 34/50. This wasn’t a conventional tank from Day 1, but it surely rapidly turned clear that this crew was very dangerous, and Verbeek made the selection to allow them to keep that approach.
They freely tanked in 2014-15, and it didn’t repay. Second time’s the appeal?
Offseason strikes: 6/10. They did subsequent to nothing. Given how dangerous they’d been the yr earlier than, that wasn’t the worst technique on the earth, though the dearth of a Jakob Chychrun commerce was a shock.
Opening-night expectations: 10/10. They had been a really stylish decide to complete useless final.
Goaltending scenario: 7/10. From a tank perspective, this felt like a energy heading into the season, since there’s probability you’d by no means heard of Karel Vejmelka. However he was strong within the first half, particularly in November, which made you surprise in the event that they’d commerce him. They didn’t, though he cooled off down the stretch.
Coach issue: 5/10. André Tourigny was again for a second season after almost guiding the crew to useless final in 2021-22. A profitable junior coach with none actual observe document of NHL success, he was nearly good for a rebuilding crew.
Deadline selloff: 6/10. The massive transfer was lastly dealing Chychrun, though the return was disappointing, and it took months longer than it ought to have. Additionally they moved Shayne Gostisbehere.
Bonus factors: +2 as a result of there have been nights I’m unsure I may have named any Coyotes except for Clayton Keller but additionally -1 as a result of one way or the other Tourigny received this group to constantly overachieve.
Whole rating: 35/50. They tried. Sadly for his or her Bedard odds, that “they” included the gamers, who by no means appeared to purchase within the being as dangerous as all of us anticipated.
2. San Jose Sharks
Mike Grier changed Doug Wilson, signaling a change in path for a crew that been playoff-worthy for almost twenty years and didn’t appear to comprehend when that modified.
Offseason strikes: 6/10. The massive transfer was principally giving Brent Burns to the Hurricanes to liberate cap area.
Opening-night expectations: 7/10. Coming off a nasty 2021-22, the Sharks weren’t anticipated to be any higher, whilst we weren’t positive they might be a lot worse. (Spoiler: They might be worse.)
Goaltending scenario: 7/10. It was the James Reimer and Kaapo Kähkönen present just about all season, and the present was not good.
Coach issue: 8/10. They waited till late June to fireside Bob Boughner, spent 4 weeks in search of a alternative, then went with David Quinn, who’d by no means received a playoff recreation with a good Rangers crew.
Deadline selloff: 7/10. Grier pulled the set off on the apparent Timo Meier deal, however didn’t discover a option to transfer Erik Karlsson within the midst of a Norris-worthy season.
Bonus factors: +1 in recognition of the Sharks really having the fewest wins within the league. Rattling you, loser level.
Whole rating: 36/50. They weren’t as over-the-top about issues as another groups we may point out, however with a brand new GM with a mandate, the Sharks had a plan and so they caught to it.
1. Chicago Blackhawks
OK, perhaps there wasn’t a ton of suspense for prime spot.
Offseason strikes: 9/10. They traded Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach with out getting something again besides picks. Perhaps as importantly, they traded for Petr Mrazek. We’ll dock them one level for including Max Domi, however that was primarily to have deadline bait. By mid-July, everybody knew what was up.
Opening-night expectations: 10/10. Together with the Coyotes, the Hawks had been nearly everybody’s decide to complete within the basement.
Goaltending scenario: 7/10. Mrazek was a near-perfect “believable deniability” goalie, a man who might be anticipated to be dangerous however who’d had sufficient success that you may fake you had been attempting. Alex Stalock rising as a surprisingly reliable possibility was a troublesome break.
Coach issue: 6/10. They gave the job to a deserving Luke Richardson. First-timers are all the time a bit difficult because you by no means know what sort of affect they’ll have, however Richardson clearly understood that this was a yr for taking part in the youngsters.
Deadline selloff: 8/10. They bit the bullet and traded Patrick Kane, plus Jake McCabe and Domi. Not having the ability to transfer Jonathan Toews hurts a bit, however that wasn’t their fault.
Bonus factors: -2 for inexcusably beating the determined Penguins this week. I’m nonetheless unsure how that occurred.
Whole rating: 38/50. Give them credit score, I assume — they by no means hid what was taking place. Now we wait and see if it pays off.
(High picture of the Blackhawks’ Brett Seney and the Sharks’ Alexander Barabanov: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Pictures)
