The\u00a0NHL has its contenders, its basement dwellers and then the forgettable, often-overlooked mushy middle.<\/p>\n
The mushy middle is home to teams that aren\u2019t good enough to be Stanley Cup contenders but not bad enough to collect picks in the top 5-10 range, where you\u2019re most likely to draft future stars. The Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings are prime examples of teams recently stuck in this mediocre territory. There\u2019s nothing wrong with being middle-of-the-pack for a year or two, especially if you\u2019re trying to accelerate from a tear-it-down rebuild to being playoff-competitive again, but eventually everybody wants to escape this no-man\u2019s-land.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s pretty straightforward to identify teams that will probably land in the mushy middle this coming season. But the more interesting question is which teams might find themselves stuck here over the medium-term future for the next three to four seasons. I went through every NHL team\u2019s roster, cap situation, prospect pool and more to identify clubs likely destined for this reality.<\/p>\n
The teams we\u2019re going to highlight in this \u201cmushy middle\u201d aren\u2019t all equal. Some of the franchises on this list actually have a decent chance to make the playoffs next year (they\u2019re on the list because their ceiling to go on a deep run and their future outlook is limited), whereas others are in far worse positions where the postseason isn\u2019t even a realistic ambition. Even within this list, you\u2019d prefer some \u201cmushy middle\u201d situations over others.<\/p>\n
Is Zach Werenski really committed to the Blue Jackets?<\/p>\n
Aaron Portzline and Sean McIndoe<\/p>\n
Without further ado, let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n
The Kings have already been stuck in mediocrity for a while, as they\u2019ve suffered five consecutive first-round playoff defeats, which included a four-game sweep at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche last spring. It\u2019s difficult to see how they can shake up the status quo and elevate their ceiling.<\/p>\n
L.A. has one of the oldest rosters in the NHL, with 14 players who are 30 or older. An\u017ee Kopitar\u2019s retirement has left a gaping need for a bona fide top-six center to play behind Quinton Byfield. The Kings\u2019 blue line is too old, slow and limited at breaking the puck out, as Joel Edmundson, Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci are redundant stay-at-home defensemen. Their prospect cupboard is very thin \u2014 colleague Scott Wheeler ranked them as the No. 27 pool in the NHL in March<\/a> (before this year\u2019s draft). Elton Hermansson is the only Kings prospect who cracked Wheeler\u2019s top-100 drafted NHL prospects ranking<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n The Kings still have enough drivers to contend for a playoff spot in a weak Pacific Division. They\u2019ve got lots of talent on the wing with Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala (we didn\u2019t get a chance to see Panarin and Fiala in the lineup at the same time because the latter got injured at the Olympics), Mats Zuccarello and Alex Laferriere. Byfield and Brandt Clarke also have breakout potential.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s hard to see them as anything more than an average team at best. Playoff success feels especially unlikely because Panarin, their best player, is a notorious underachiever in the playoffs and proved it again, recording zero five-on-five points in four games against the Avs.<\/p>\n Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n You need elite talent to have success in today\u2019s NHL, which explains why the Kraken are stuck in purgatory.<\/p>\n Seattle doesn\u2019t have a single forward who would be considered a top-line player on a Cup-contending team. They lack a true No. 1 center, a star winger and a bona fide No. 1 defenseman. Jordan Eberle, who turned 36 in May, was their leading scorer last year with 55 points, which says all you need to know. They\u2019ve always had capable depth (they seem to love loading up on middle-six forwards), which has helped them avoid being truly awful, but outside of a fluke 100-point season in 2022-23 where they made the playoffs and won a round, they\u2019ve been stuck as an uninspiring, below-average team, recording between 76 and 81 points in each of the last three seasons.<\/p>\n It hurts that neither of their early top-five picks, Matty Beniers and Shane Wright, has developed into an elite player. As a franchise, they haven\u2019t fully bought into rebuilding, which has resulted in chasing middling veterans in free agency in past years.<\/p>\n I like Seattle\u2019s prospect pool a lot \u2014 Chase Reid, Jake O\u2019Brien and Berkly Catton are A-grade prospects \u2014 but the club\u2019s current roster is so bereft of impact talent that I don\u2019t see how they become a true contender anytime soon. This feels like a team that\u2019s destined to finish in the 20s of the league standings for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets<\/p>\n Winnipeg is only a year removed from winning the Presidents\u2019 Trophy in 2024-25, and injuries were a big reason why the team missed the playoffs last season, but the franchise\u2019s trajectory is in jeopardy.<\/p>\n The Jets were the NHL\u2019s oldest team last year, and it showed in how slow and uncreative they looked night to night. The loss of Nikolaj Ehlers was a devastating blow to the Jets\u2019 middle-six offensive attack, as they essentially became a one-line team. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn\u2019t been able to make a marquee acquisition to fix that weakness this summer.<\/p>\n There\u2019s still a path for them to make the playoffs next year \u2014 they have elite players at every position with Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck \u2014 but how can they possibly challenge for a Stanley Cup in a Central Division that features three juggernauts in Colorado, Minnesota and Dallas? Even Utah has leaped ahead of Winnipeg with tantalizing young up-and-coming talent.<\/p>\n