The National Hockey League 2026-7 season just started. However, the novelty of the season doesn’t change the fact that these three teams, two of which we thought might be pretty good, are going to have a tough season. Most pundits thought the Detroit Red Wings would be bad, but things might be worse. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers, however, were thought to be pretty good. Not so, as they have problems of thier own.
This article will examine these three teams and the start of the 2026-7 National Hockey League season. It is early in the season, but there is good reason to think the types of problems these teams have are structural and could persist through this season and maybe beyond. Do you think these problems will persist for these teams?
National Hockey League Fortunes of the Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings might be in the worst shape of all of the teams in the National Hockey League. There are two massive problems. First, they do not have a General Manager. Shawn Horcoff is the interim general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, appointed on September 15, 2026. He was promoted following the departure of Steve Yzerman. The Yzerplan was pretty famous, and though it looked like it might succeed about a quarter of the way through last season, it never did. Detroit again missed the National Hockey League playoffs last year.
The second major problem is that their former captain and best player, Dylan Larkin, is not playing. He has been stripped of his captaincy and has demanded a trade. The 30-year-old has spent 11 seasons with Detroit, his entire National Hockey League career. He has scored 643 points. He has a narrow no-trade clause that severely limits the Red Wings’ opportunity to trade him. He has recently expanded his list to just six teams.
National Hockey League Fortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs
There is a different type of structural problem in Toronto with the Maple Leafs. They expected top overall draft pick Gavin McKenna to be a great, maybe electric, goal scorer. They paired him on a line with superstar John Tavares, whom he lives with. They have been coddling and pampering the former star at Penn State. Unfortunately, though three games he has no points, is a minus three, has been removed from his line, benched, and generally looks confused.
McKenna is only 18 years old, and he has only played three National Hockey League games, so he might turn things around as he gets more experience. However, he has not come out of the gates quickly, like past top draft picks. Compare his production, for instance, to Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders, who was the top overall draft pick the year before, and was the unanimous rookie of the year.
National Hockey League Fortunes of the Philadelphia Flyers
McKenna might be a bust; however, the problems in Philadelphia might be worse. The Flyers have two losses and two overtime losses. They have scored 5 goals, given up 17, and generated only 5 high-danger chances. Last year they were a surprise playoff team and had a spark plug rookie in Porter Martone, but he is pointless so far this season. They are not playing good defense right noe and are not playing good offense either. They seem to be plotting back to earth.
Conclusion: It Gets Late Early
Yogi Bera famously quipped, “It gets late early.” He was talking about the shadows in left field at Yankee Stadium, but it applies to these teams. Their problems have the potential to last all season, but just a few games into this National Hockey League season, these teams are already falling behind. The playoff race has already begun.
Don't stop here
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