Points are the first statistic you look for in the NHL standings, but let's have fun and order the standings instead by the Simple Rating System (SRS). A team's average goal differential, plus their strength of schedule helps determine the SRS — beating good teams by wide margins gives you a stronger rating.
Each team listed below will have a number beside it, ranging from 2.40 to minus-3.24. The teams throughout most of the top half of the standings will have a number greater than 0, which is above average. And those with negative numbers are below average, while 0 is average.
Which teams are thriving in this metric, and who is lagging below expectations? You will see some with fewer points so far in 2023-24 surprise you with a higher SRS rating, and vice versa, so the results of ordering NHL teams by this metric are quite interesting, to say the least.
Ranking the NHL teams by Simple Rating System
- Colorado Avalanche – 2.40
- Vegas Golden Knights – 2.10
- Boston Bruins -- 2.02
- Detroit Red Wings -- 1.63
- Los Angeles Kings -- 1.41
- Dallas Stars -- 1.28
- Vancouver Canucks -- 1.01
- Philadelphia Flyers -- 0.88
- New Jersey Devils -- 0.58
- Arizona Coyotes -- 0.39
- Anaheim Ducks -- 0.38
- Ottawa Senators -- 0.35
- New York Rangers -- 0.35
- Nashville Predators -- 0.16
- Tampa Bay Lightning -- 0.07
- Columbus Blue Jackets -- minus-0.16
- Chicago Blackhawks -- minus-0.16
- Carolina Hurricanes -- minus-0.35
- Minnesota Wild -- minus-0.35
- Toronto Maple Leafs -- minus-0.38
- Florida Panthers -- minus-0.39
- New York Islanders -- minus-0.49
- Seattle Kraken -- minus-0.52
- Winnipeg Jets -- minus-0.66
- Buffalo Sabres -- minus-0.90
- St. Louis Blues -- minus-0.91
- Pittsburgh Penguins -- minus-1.04
- Montreal Canadiens -- minus-1.24
- Edmonton Oilers -- minus-1.33
- San Jose Sharks -- minus-1.51
- Calgary Flames -- minus-1.86
- Washington Capitals -- minus-3.24
Notice any surprises? Some teams, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, rank in the lower half of the standings despite sitting in the top quarter of the NHL standings. The Anaheim Ducks are the opposite, taking the eleventh spot in SRS, but they rank in the bottom quarter of the league in points.
(Information and data provided by Hockey-Reference)