The big takeaways from our massive NHL fan survey
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Greetings from right in the dead of summer: early August, aka the heart of the NHL’s offseason. Consider this your weekly hockey fix as we await rookie camps in, oh, about five weeks.
(Illustration by Will Tullos / The Athletic; photos by Bruce Bennett and JC Ruiz / Getty Images)
Survey Says
Your takes on burning NHL questions
All season, you’ve heard from our writers, reading several thousand of our hockey stories. And you heard from the players, coaches and NHL executives who often drive the news cycle in the sport.
But this week, we took a step back to hear from you, the fans, to gauge your perspective on the league, the sport and where everything stands as we head into 2026-27. The first two surveys with your responses — on the state of the game and predictions for the coming year — were released today by our guy Harman Dayal. Part 3 goes up tomorrow.
The one thing that stood out to me reading the results initially was that the majority of the more than 20,000 respondents were downright bullish on the NHL, with nearly 80 percent marking “hopeful” or “enthusiastic” when asked, “Which of the following best describes your feelings about the current overall state of the NHL?”
And only 22 percent of fans gave Gary Bettman a negative grade for the job he’s done as commissioner overall, which feels like a relatively recent development. (Maybe I’m wrong, but the annual “Booing of the Bettman” at the Stanley Cup Final and draft seems to be tamer of late.)
As for the prediction side of things, well, the other thing you’re all clearly bullish on is the Florida Panthers, who were picked as the most improved team, the most likely to return to the playoffs and the second-most likely to win the Stanley Cup.
You must really love that the Tkachuk podcast will be in person this season, I guess.
Meanwhile, three Canadian teams received the most votes for most unlikely to win a Cup in the next decade — try to guess which three before clicking — and fans were pretty heavily split when it came to the question of whether the league should pursue expansion.
There’s a lot more to dig into, such as gambling in hockey, the Department of Player Safety and changes fans would like to see. And if you missed the window to cast a fan survey ballot, you’ve got another chance to make your voice heard: Polling opened this morning for our annual front-office confidence survey. Vote here.
Thanks for writing a few stories for us this time around.
💡 MirTrivia Question
My next section is about the NHL’s “mushy middle,” so let’s tee that up with a question for you about the ultimate mushy-middle team.
Over the past decade, this club has the league’s 17th-best record (.561 points percentage) but has won just 11 playoff games and didn’t select in the top five in the draft once in that span. What team is it?
Hint: This franchise also hasn’t had a top-three pick — ever.
Answer at the bottom.
(Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
NHL’s Most Mediocre Teams
I guess we’re not giving Harman any days off in August, because he’s been busy lately. The other piece he wrote this week that caught my eye was his examination of the seven teams most “in danger of getting stuck in the mushy middle.”
Historically, being “mid” — yes, I’m up on my slang, fellow kids — is no-man’s land in the NHL, as you either want to be contending or rebuilding with the intention to contend. That’s certainly changed in recent seasons, as a lot of GMs (and their owners) are fearful of getting bogged down into an interminable cycle of stink if they go the teardown route. (Never go full Buffalo?)
It’s gotten to the point that, frankly, a ton of the NHL is mid, and it’s hard to pick out just seven teams that could get mired in the mush pit.
Harman’s choices for this exercise were, in no particular order: Los Angeles, Seattle, Winnipeg, the Rangers, Toronto, Detroit and Columbus. I can’t quibble with those picks all that much, as it is difficult to envision any of them becoming a top-six team in the league in the coming years.
Harman also offers up four honorable mentions — Nashville, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Boston — bringing us to 11 teams, or 34 percent of the league, as part of this midsummer midness exercise. And I think you can go even further, too.
Anaheim, for one, could certainly get stuck there now that it’s shed some talent and will be paying Leo Carlsson $18 million. The Islanders have a lot of positive momentum given just how amazing a rookie season Matthew Schaefer had, but they have an older roster and a lot of work to do to be better than average after a meh season. And we’ll see if the Flyers, who still have a ton of cap space and some interesting young pieces coming, are ready to take another step after looking overwhelmed in the playoffs against Carolina.
But it seems like we’re almost better off asking “Who’s not mid?” right now. The defending champion Hurricanes qualify, given their decisive 16-3 stomp through the league in the playoffs and the fact that they’ll return almost their entire roster. Old standbys Colorado, Edmonton, Dallas, Vegas, Tampa, Florida and maybe new-money contenders Buffalo, Minnesota or Montreal could be a step above the rest, too.
Everyone else? Well, there’s a lot of mid.
OK, I promise I’m done saying that word for a while. Sorry for the bad aura and being a bit sus. Guess it’s time to work on my newsletter rizz.
Coast to Coast
📽️ This is the story of how Sean Avery has successfully transitioned from his past of annoying Martin Brodeur (and everyone else in the NHL) to now annoying Matt Damon on one of the biggest movies in history.
📻 Is hockey on the radio dying out? Aaron Portzline investigates after the Blue Jackets became the latest team to abandon their broadcast in favor of a simulcast.
⛏️ Canadiens prospect LJ Mooney wasn’t taken until the 113th pick in the fourth round of the 2025 draft, but he has impressed at the University of Minnesota. Has Montreal found another hidden gem?
📰 The Leafs have continued to turn over basically their entire staff, with trainer-to-the-stars Andy O’Brien the latest to join Toronto.
✅ How about some very early World Juniors roster projections after the summer showcase wrapped up earlier this week? Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman and Max Bultman have you covered.
🎤 “The Athletic Hockey Show” How To Fix episodes feature two teams in similar spots this week: the Rangers and Blues, with beat writers Vince Mercogliano, Peter Baugh and Jeremy Rutherford. Plus, a new prospect series episode recaps the summer showcase and discusses the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
(Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
MirTrivia Answer
Other teams have had less playoff success over the past 10 years, with the Kings, Sabres, Devils, Kraken, Blackhawks, Coyotes/Mammoth and Red Wings all posting eight or fewer postseason wins.
But the answer to our trivia question today is the Calgary Flames, a team that has consistently refused to rebuild and as a result lived in the NHL’s mediocre middle for a long, long time. This season marks a turning point for the organization, however, as it takes a necessary step back. Now, the Flames look to make their first top-three pick in the franchise’s 46 years in Calgary, just in time for their new arena to open in the fall of 2027.
Hopefully they have some lottery ball luck. They’ll need it.
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