Ranking which NHL teams will be the most fun to watch in 2024-25
At the start of the season, everyone wants to know who the best teams are. With so many moving parts on and off the ice, every team will play a little bit differently than they did last year, so it’s always a hotly contested debate as to which teams will be good when we haven’t seen the on-ice product.
But one topic that’s not discussed as often, and yet should be just as important to fans, is which teams will be the most fun to watch. The late ’90s and early ’00s New Jersey Devils taught us that a team being good doesn’t always mean that they will be fun to watch, and sometimes a team can be so disastrously bad that it makes it fun to watch.
Here at Daily Faceoff, we decided to look at which teams will bring the most entertainment and excitement to the game. Whether it’s because of a talented player, a deep team, or maybe just an interesting personality or narrative, Colton Davies, Hunter Crowther, Mike Gould, Tyler Kuehl and myself joined forces to evaluate which teams will be the most watchable during the 2024-25 season.
1. Edmonton Oilers
Colton: 1st
Hunter: 2nd
Mike: 7th
Scott: 1st
Tyler: 2nd
Colton: Connor McDavid. When you have that much aura, it’s impossible not to be No. 1.
Scott: McDavid alone gets you the top spot, but it’s the added pieces around them that also add to the fun. Leon Draisaitl is almost just as skilled (and bad defensively which means some fun the other way), Evan Bouchard has emerged as one of the best defensemen in the league, and they’ve got a good group surrounding them. That said, I wish the Jack Campbell era lasted longer, that was really fun.
Mike: Booooooooooooo! (Look, I’m a bit of a hater, I get it, but even I couldn’t find a way to knock the Oilers out of my top 10).
2. Colorado Avalanche
Colton: 3rd
Hunter: 1st
Mike: 9th
Scott: 2nd
Tyler: 1st
Scott: A roster that boasts Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar should be enough to entice you to turn on an Avalanche game, but what makes watching them even better is the fact that, no matter who they add, every player seems to play like them. Jared Bednar’s system does a good job of overwhelming teams with speed and skill, and it always makes for exciting hockey.
Colton: Anytime I watch the Avs they somehow have me say, “Holy shit.”
Mike: I dunno. I like watching the Avs, but I feel like they’ve lost a bit of their shine. I’m almost at the point where I’d rather see Cale Makar leave for a new challenge when he hits free agency in 2027.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
Colton: 5th
Hunter: 3rd
Mike: 2nd
Scott: 5th
Tyler: 6th
Hunter: The greatest goal scorer of the 21st century and two 90-point wingers. Mix in a slew of new additions, a new coach, the eyes of the hockey universe on them at all times and a never ending timeline on X of bad takes and hyperbole. What’s more watchable than that?
Scott: At this point, they also have that element of “Will they finally do it?” in terms of their playoff success. And if you want to hatewatch, then it’s “How will they screw this up?” That said, even as my fandom for the team wavers, I still keep coming back because it’s hard to not watch Auston, Mitch and Willy.
Mike: See, the Leafs are much more interesting to me than the Oilers or Avs. Maybe it’s because of their general haplessness. But I find there’s much more intrigue in seeing whether the Leafs will finally figure it out than in watching Edmonton or Colorado mindlessly toy with their disposable Round 1 opponents every year. The Leafs are almost endearing in how truly sadsack they can be.
Hunter: I wish I knew how to quit them.
4. Dallas Stars
Colton: 8th
Hunter: 7th
Mike: 5th
Scott: 4th
Tyler: 4th
Scott: The Stars were one of the more entertaining watches in hockey last year, largely in part to having such a deep team, especially up front. They didn’t lose too many of the pieces that made those games fun, Jason Robertson will look to improve, and Thomas Harley and Logan Stankoven will get even more ice time this season, so it’s possible that they might even be more fun to watch.
Colton: The Stankoven effect.
5. Vancouver Canucks
Colton: 2nd
Hunter: 11th
Mike: 1st
Scott: 10th
Tyler: 5th
Tyler: There’s always been something about the Canucks for me. Whether it be watching the Sedin twins, Roberto Luongo or this new wave of talent, they have always been such an intriguing team to watch. Now, with this team having expectations to be one of the strong forces in the Western Conference, a lot of us are going to be watching to see if the Canucks can replicate their performance last season.
Colton: As a BC-born kid myself: Tyler gets it.
Scott: I actually first really got into hockey during the 2011 run and was rooting for them before I knew that team was hated, so the Canucks always have a soft spot for me. The skill they have with Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser and company also makes for some great hockey.
Mike: I think the Canucks are the complete package from an entertainment POV. Right now, Quinn Hughes might be my favorite player to watch in the entire league. They have excellent forward depth, plenty of intriguing options on defense, and a goaltender who could easily win the Vezina Trophy someday.
6. Florida Panthers
Colton: 4th
Hunter: 6th
Mike: 3rd
Scott: 8th
Tyler: 8th
Hunter: Defending Stanley Cup champions, and I can’t envision them taking a step back. For a team that plays so many 3-2 or 2-1 games, they go into 2024-25 knowing they’ll get every team’s best effort. Plus they play a nasty style, and on any given night, you can bet there will be a scrum or an abundance of cross-checks in front of the net. Sign me up.
Mike: They would’ve been second on my list, but they let Ryan Lomberg go in unrestricted free agency. Unforgivable.
7. New York Rangers
Colton: 6th
Hunter: 4th
Mike: 10th
Scott: 6th
Tyler: 7th
Tyler: I think the Rangers would’ve been higher on the list prior to last season, but even though they won the Presidents’ Trophy last year, they didn’t have the same kind of flash as they had in the past. Yet, they still have that ridiculous and exciting talent on the power play, and Igor Shesterkin is more than capable of stealing the show.
Side note: With this being Sam Rosen’s final season, I’m certainly going to do my best to watch as much of him as possible.
Scott: Artemi Panarin alone makes them a great watch, and Adam Fox is just such a smart defenseman that it’s fun to see how he reads the game. That said, if Panarin is hurt for any measure of time, that definitely drops their rank here.
8. New Jersey Devils
Colton: 7th
Hunter: 10th
Mike: 6th
Scott: 3rd
Tyler: 9th
Colton: For me, the Devils have always been a fun team to watch. But with the likes of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes and more, this team is electric.
Scott: How far back does “always fun to watch” go, because I have some questions depending on the answer.
Mike: I liked Zach Parise when he was with them, but the Devils definitely haven’t always been fun to watch. Now? Absolutely.
9. Chicago Blackhawks
Colton: 10th
Hunter: 9th
Mike: 13th
Scott: 12th
Tyler: 11th
Hunter: CONNOR BEDARD.
Colton: CONNOR BEDARD.
Scott: I mean, yeah. It’s Bedard, and the fact that they’re still bad so it makes for some entertaining hockey.
10. Boston Bruins
Colton: 9th
Hunter: 16th
Mike: 8th
Scott: 14th
Tyler: 20th
Colton: Pasta, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, must I go on?
Scott: Depending on how the Jeremy Swayman saga goes, I think a lot of people don’t realize how much the Bruins relied on their goaltending last season. If Joonas Korpisalo is their guy to start the year, this could be a tire fire and it might just be entertaining to finally watch Boston’s downfall.
Hunter: Echoing Scott’s thoughts (Coming this fall to ABC: Scott’s Thoughts), I think a lack of Swayman and a cavalcade of injuries could cause the Bruins to miss the playoffs for just the third time in the 21st century. My God, wouldn’t that be swell?
11. Utah Hockey Club
Colton: 20th
Hunter: 8th
Mike: 19th
Scott: 9th
Tyler: 12th
Tyler: While this isn’t an expansion team, many people will be watching UHC like they are one. The team has an established core with Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse, and the people of Salt Lake City have seemingly taken a liking to them. They have a quality lineup that surely can stay competitive enough to be in the playoff conversation for some time. Also, who doesn’t want to point out where the blind spots are in their new home?
Scott: They’re also coming off a summer with a couple big additions, so this could very well be a team that has fun and is fighting for a playoff spot this spring. If they make a run, people will watch just to see them succeed.
Mike: I get it, sure, but let’s be real — if this was the exact same team, just in Arizona instead of Utah, they’d be in the bottom 10 of this list without a doubt. I like the players, but I think the post-relocation novelty is gonna wear off real quick.
Colton: I agree with Mike on this one.
12. Vegas Golden Knights
Colton: 14th
Hunter: 12th
Mike: 18th
Scott: 11th
Tyler: 14th
Hunter: For the first 12 games of 2023-24, the Vegas Golden Knights, fresh off their first Stanley Cup championship in just their sixth year of existence, were the most fun hockey club I’ve ever watched. They won 11 of those 12 games by a combined score of 50 to 24 and every night, you knew you were about to see an ass-whooping. They went through ups and downs through the season, but at their core, they’re a damn good team and very fun to watch. Jack Eichel? Alex Pietrangelo? Sin City? They’re almost always worth staying up for.
Mike: One thing is for certain: It’s always delightful to watch Vegas lose.
13. Carolina Hurricanes
Colton: 18th
Hunter: 14th
Mike: 15th
Scott: 15th
Tyler: 10th
Hunter: I can’t put my finger on this squad. Watching Sebastian Aho playing hockey is a privilege, and their home games have as unique an energy as any in the league. Seth Jarvis took a big step forward last season and should take an even bigger one in 2024-25. I don’t know if they’re quite a Stanley Cup contender, but if there’s a slew of games on, I usually click the one they’re in.
14. Detroit Red Wings
Colton: 24th
Hunter: 18th
Mike: 32nd
Scott: 7th
Tyler: 3rd
Scott: I see Mike has carried over his Red Wings hatred into this season. While I can understand why this team was so split, I think people are confusing good and entertaining. Are the Red Wings a complete hockey team? Of course not. But they have a lot of skilled players and young talent, and they also have a horrible defense core and questionable goaltending. That feels like the perfect ingredients for an entertaining hockey game no matter who they play.
Colton: They are the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NHL.
Hunter: I think that’s the meanest thing I’ve ever read, and I just re-read Blood Meridian.
Mike: The Red Wings irritate me to an extent I never previously thought possible. It is genuinely frustrating to watch them make one wrong decision after another, seemingly to no end. And that’s just off the ice. I simply do not enjoy watching them trip over themselves on a yearly basis. That likely won’t change until they thoroughly re-evaluate their organizational priorities.
15. San Jose Sharks
Colton: 12th
Hunter: 20th
Mike: 12th
Scott: 19th
Tyler: 22nd
Mike: I hope Macklin Celebrini can stay healthy for his entire rookie season, because as long as he’s playing, I’ll have a reason to check out the Sharks from time to time. I also really liked the Tyler Toffoli signing for them. It should be a much better year to wear teal in the NHL.
Scott: The Sharks are in a weird spot where they aren’t improved enough to be entertainingly good, but they’re also not “car crash you can’t look away from” bad either. It will be interesting to see how they look.
16. Montreal Canadiens
Colton: 15th
Hunter: 17th
Mike: 17th
Scott: 18th
Tyler: 18th
Mike: I was a lot more excited to watch the Canadiens this season before Patrik Laine got hurt in a meaningless preseason game. They should still be pretty fun to watch, especially if Juraj Slafkovsky takes another step (or two), but I was really looking forward to seeing Laine get into a rhythm right out of the gate. Here’s to a speedy and successful recovery.
17. Tampa Bay Lightning
Colton: 13th
Hunter: 26th
Mike: 21st
Scott: 13th
Tyler: 16th
Tyler: Like with the Kansas City Chiefs, I’ve grown tired of watching the Lightning being good for such an extended period of time. However, they always find a way to have a wild game here and there to keep them interesting. This season will be much different in Tampa, especially with Steven Stamkos no longer being around. The Bolts will still be good, and I’m sure a lot of us will be watching early on to see how they do without their former franchise player around.
Colton: I am here for the Kansas City Chiefs slander.
Scott: No Stamkos, but Jake Guentzel is an adequate replacement. But yeah, the Bolts have won enough.
18. Philadelphia Flyers
Colton: 25th
Hunter: 19th
Mike: 4th
Scott: 27th
Tyler: 15th
Tyler: The only things watchable about the Flyers at the end of last year were the Cutter Gauthier saga and whether or not John Tortorella was crazy enough to pull his goaltender against the Capitals. However, that will not be the case this year. Having seen Matvei Michkov play firsthand, I’m excited to see what he will do in his rookie season. Truth be told, this team has enough talent to make the playoffs, and with the excitement surrounding its newest star, I’ll be tuning in.
Scott: Michkov will certainly be entertaining, but the rest of the group surrounding it is about as middle of the pack as they get.
Mike: I dunno. Michkov seems pretty legit, I’ve always been a huge Travis Konecny fan, and there always seems to be more than enough drama around this Flyers team to make them a compelling watch. I might have them a bit high, but I think Michkov alone makes it a worthwhile rating.
19. Buffalo Sabres
Colton: 16th
Hunter: 13th
Mike: 14th
Scott: 24th
Tyler: 23rd
Colton: Man this team is electric to watch, You have a speedy Zach Benson, who scored that gross between-the-legs goal last season, Dylan Cozens will take another big step forward and of course, the question is, can Tage Thompson get above 40 goals or even hit the 50 goal plateau? This is a big season for Buffalo without Jeff Skinner or Matthew Savoie, both of whom are now Edmonton Oilers property. This could be a Norris year for Rasmus Dahlin too, so there is a lot to like about the Sabres.
Hunter: Every year, we wonder if one of the Sabres, Senators or Red Wings will finally take that step forward and become a playoff team. Every year, we’re left with three giant goose eggs. While I don’t expect the Sabres to break the trend, I do think a full season of Rasmus Dahlin and a motivated duo consisting of Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson makes them more palatable.
Mike: One big wild card for me: Jiri Kulich. If he makes this Sabres team out of camp, I think he’ll be electric to watch.
Scott: I would have had the Sabres top-five, top-10 last season. But after what we saw last year and the lack of any big additions this offseason, I just think there will be more interesting teams this year. I’m gladly willing to be proven wrong.
20. Anaheim Ducks
Colton: 17th
Hunter: 30th
Mike: 16th
Scott: 17th
Tyler: 17th
Scott: The Ducks entertainment value largely hangs on how good their young players are this season. Troy Terry, Alex Killorn, Dylan Strome, Cam Fowler, Radko Gudas and even Frank Vatrano fresh off a 37-goal campaign aren’t exactly the kind of names that draw you in, but if Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger can take steps this year, they will be a lot of fun to watch.
21. Ottawa Senators
Colton: 29th
Hunter: 15th
Mike: 26th
Scott: 16th
Tyler: 13th
Mike: My apologies to the good people in Bytown and the Glebe, but the Sens just don’t move me all that much. I do think Carter Yakemchuk is a fantastic young player, but I’m just not sure that I buy this Sens team as being better to watch than, say, the Sabres. I’d gladly watch them over the Red Wings eight days a week, though.
Colton: Go Yakemchuk!
22. Winnipeg Jets
Colton: 11th
Hunter: 23rd
Mike: 27th
Scott: 21st
Tyler: 19th
Scott: The Jets certainly have the talent to make for an entertaining game, but I have the Jets ranked lower because of how predictable they are every season. They start off hot, everyone thinks this year’s team will finally be the one that will take the next step, and then they falter in the second half and go out with a whimper in the playoffs. Translation: maybe get your Jets games in before Christmas.
Hunter: I wrote the Daily Faceoff preview for the Jets, and I came away with this: they’re a good team with strong defense and elite goaltending, and they can win playoff-style games. But if we’re talking watchability? Must-see television? Two-thirds of the league is well ahead of them.
23. Washington Capitals
Colton: 19th
Hunter: 31st
Mike: 11th
Scott: 20th
Tyler: 27th
Scott: I think the Caps are a largely improved team, but I don’t think that it will necessarily make them a fun team to watch. A majority of the intrigue to watch the Caps will come from watching Alex Ovechkin chase down Wayne Gretzky’s goal record. He’s 41 goals behind now, a total that is certainly possible for him to hit this year if he gets off to a good start. That said, you probably don’t need to get too into that chase until after the trade deadline. Until then, move along.
Mike: Ovi Watch is an undeniable factor. Once he gets into the high 880s, Capitals games will be must-see TV. After that? Snore.
24. Nashville Predators
Colton: 26th
Hunter: 5th
Mike: 23rd
Scott: 25th
Tyler: 30th
Mike: The NHL’s Twitter page has been trying for months now to get me hyped up to watch Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault team up in Nashville and I just can’t bring myself to care. Maybe it’s because it gives me flashbacks of when the Calgary Flames “won the offseason” by acquiring both Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri. Going all-in on veterans almost never works, does it?
25. Seattle Kraken
Colton: 28th
Hunter: 22nd
Mike: 28th
Scott: 22nd
Tyler: 21st
Mike: It’s tough to care about a team full of Oliver Bjorkstrands and Jamie Oleksiaks, but the Kraken have managed to make it work — at least from an attendance standpoint — over the past three years. I’m curious to see how long it stays that way in Seattle. Their pipeline is decent, if unspectacular, but their current roster is as plain vanilla as it gets. Surely the good people in the PNW deserve better than a roster headlined by Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, and roughly one billion other middle-six forwards.
26. St. Louis Blues
Colton: 21st
Hunter: 21st
Mike: 20th
Scott: 29th
Tyler: 31st
Scott: The Blues have a few entertaining players like Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich, Jake Neighbors is looking like a solid young talent and even Jordan Binnington creates some intrigue, although it’s mostly to answer the question, “Will he do something stupid tonight?” But overall, the Blues are just so meh that they don’t draw a lot of interest for me as an enjoyable watch.
Mike: I really like Dylan Holloway for this Blues team, but even he won’t be able to make this ship float again. Even at their peak of their most recent Cup window, the Blues were never all that close to being the most watchable team in the league. These days? Forget it.
27. Columbus Blue Jackets
Colton: 22nd
Hunter: 29th
Mike: 25th
Scott: 23rd
Tyler: 26th
Tyler: This team hasn’t been enjoyable to watch for a long time. The “Little Engine That Could” Blue Jackets team that we saw a decade ago is long gone. Yes, they have a couple of good players in Zach Werenski and now Sean Monahan, and Elvis Merzlikins is always capable of making a show-stopping save, but the unit as a whole is boring to watch. I hardly get excited when some of my favorite teams play them.
Scott: I think they have enough young talent that could turn them into an exciting team overnight if they take the next step. Plus, with all that’s happened to this team this summer, they could be a fantastic story if they make a surprise push for the playoffs.
28. Pittsburgh Penguins
Colton: 27th
Hunter: 27th
Mike: 22nd
Scott: 26th
Tyler: 24th
Colton: Unfortunately, you’d think a team of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson could keep you entertained, but last season was painful to watch. Had this list been created a decade ago, Pittsburgh would easily be a top-10 or top-five selection for me, but now, they have fluttered out and quite frankly, it’s hard to watch.
Hunter: Wild-card answer: If and when they fire Mike Sullivan, that new-coach boost could make them fun to watch again. But seriously – how the heck do you have so many Hall of Famers and produce a power play like that?
29. Calgary Flames
Colton: 23rd
Hunter: 28th
Mike: 24th
Scott: 28th
Tyler: 25th
Scott: I think their forward group is solid, and it’ll be interesting to see how Dustin Wolf plays in his first NHL season, but unless Jonathan Huberdeau has a resurgent season, I don’t see the Flames being all that watchable this year. Maybe there’s something that noted Flames enjoyer Mike Gould wants to sell me on?
Mike: I mean, I still have them 24th. I don’t see any way Huberdeau bounces back but I’m excited to see what Andrei Kuzmenko can do over a full season and it’s always worth watching guys like Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich. It’s a rebuild, whaddya want?
Colton: Connor Zary and Dustin Wolf will make this team watchable.
30. New York Islanders
Colton: 30th
Hunter: 24th
Mike: 29th
Scott: 32nd
Tyler: 29th
Colton: They suck.
Mike: To bring back a refrain from my tenure as Scott’s power rankings collaborator: “It’s the Islanders. Who cares?”
Scott: It’ll be interesting to see if their strong play after Patrick Roy became head coach carries over to this season, and I have no question that they’ll be a decent team. But it’ll be from bog-you-down, defensive style all while they get all of their offense from Mat Barzal and Brock Nelson. Even Noah Dobson would be fun on any other team but he just puts up points in the most boring way possible.
31. Los Angeles Kings
Colton: 32nd
Hunter: 25th
Mike: 31st
Scott: 31st
Tyler: 32nd
Mike: By now, I think we all know the story with the Kings. They’re fine in the regular season, they end up finishing higher in the Pacific Division than you’d expect, and then they get absolutely destroyed by the Oilers in the first round. Quinton Byfield had better turn into a superstar, because if he doesn’t, the Kings’ rebuild will have failed in truly spectacular fashion.
Scott: And this year they don’t even have the hilariously entertaining narrative of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade blowing up in their face.
Colton: The Kings used to be a fun team to watch, but they’re kind of like other teams based in Los Angeles, old.
32. Minnesota Wild
Colton: 31st
Hunter: 32nd
Mike: 30th
Scott: 30th
Tyler: 28th
Hunter: Ludunt ergo sunt: They play, therefore they are. They’re the team you forget about when you try to name all the NHL franchises on Sporcle. Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, the eventual Marc-Andre Fleury goodbye tour…and that’s pretty much it. If there’s no other game on, get out of the house and support your local Jr. B squad.
Mike: I’m only interested in watching the Wild trade Kirill Kaprizov to a better team.
Scott: What’s crazy is that the Wild had a game last season where they won 10-7, and this is still an accurate placement.
_____
POST SPONSORED BY bet365