We've made it through to the second week of the 2024-25 NHL season, and of course, it's far too early to say anything for certain yet. But that's not going to stop us having initial thoughts on each team.

Even those with a mild take will agree the 0-4 Avalanche start raises a bunch of red flags, while the most optimistic fan will be wary of the 4-0 Calgary Flames.

The first look at these teams has given us so much to ponder already, so here's a hot take brewing for every NHL team after a small but real sample size of action.

Anaheim Ducks: They're Better Than You Think

The Anaheim Ducks are going to be better than we think this season, and I want to patent this hot take because I've been saying it since the day the 2023-24 season ended: They might make the playoffs.

Take Wednesday's win over the Utah Hockey Club. They beat a high-power, hot team and did it their way: via a bunch of goals.

They got two goals from budding star defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, two points from Mason McTavish, and one goal and two points from Leo Carlsson. The kids are more than all right, Trevor Zegras seems ready to prove himself, and there's more than enough help with the supporting cast.

Boston Bruins: Cole Koepke Is a Bargain and Important Piece

Cole Koepke is going to be a lineup mainstay.

The 26-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract with Boston at the start of NHL free agency, and he is now holding down one of the best fourth lines in the league.

Koepke has got two goals and five points in five games, matching the team lead in points and leading it with three assists.

Buffalo Sabres: They're Missing the Playoffs...Again

I love the people of Buffalo and the spirit of the city, but the Sabres are going to miss the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year.

They are losing in devastating ways, they bought out their third-highest scorer, and it's tough to see a way out of it all without putting too much pressure on the younger players.

Calgary Flames: Good Players Can Succeed There

We are rightly abuzz about Jonathan Huberdeau's hot start, but it shouldn't be a hot take to say someone capable of scoring a ridiculous amount is going to bounce back from a low career point.

Our hot take about the Flames is Anthony Mantha's inherent clutchness in reversing their reputation for being the place good players go to dry up.

Carolina Hurricanes: Relax, They're Fine

My hot take is that the Carolina Hurricanes will be just fine.

They defeated the big, bad Devils Tuesday, Seth Jarvis scored his first goal of the season, and Pyotr Kochetkov looked great in net.

While last season was probably their best opportunity to win the Stanley Cup, when has head coach Rod Brind'Amour ever liked doing things the easy way?

If Kochetkov steals the net, the hope is still alive.

Chicago Blackhawks: Teräväinen Is Going to Be Good Complement to Bedard

Teuvo Teräväinen is an extremely versatile two-way winger, who loves nothing more than passing despite his killer shot.

He's leading the Blackhawks with three goals and five points alongside Connor Bedard, who has one goal and five points.

If you don't know about Teräväinen, you're about to find out.

Colorado Avalanche: Depth and Goaltending Contributing to Awful Start

Colorado's shockingly bad start to the season isn't just about the 0-4-0 record. It's about the amount of senseless goals allowed, the goals they aren't scoring and the lack of heart in the team.

It's a tough scene when Cale Makar has eight points in four games and a minus-six rating, Nathan MacKinnon's got seven points and a minus-six rating, and Mikko Rantanen has four goals and a minus-five rating.

The goaltending has been atrocious and there's no depth.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Sean Monahan Will Have Terrific Season

It isn't right to put pressure on someone like Sean Monahan to have a career year or put up X amount of points after the death of his close friend and teammate, Johnny Gaudreau.

It's incredible that Monahan even finds the strength to play, as great as it is to watch him score.

That said, he's clearly not done being the clutch goal-scorer and teammate he is. That trade to the Jets reinvigorated him, and he's going to remind us all this year how valuable he is in the correct role.

Dallas Stars: We All Expected This

How does one construct a hot take about the most consistent team in the league?

I'm breaking my brain trying to say anything other than "Wow, this team is very good, and the young kids seamlessly entering the lineup make it even more impressive."

Congrats on the undefeated start, Dallas, but everyone saw this coming.

Detroit Red Wings: Talbot Is the Guy in Goal, but Wings Need More

I like what I'm seeing from Cam Talbot so far*

*I wrote this sentence before Thursday's game against the Rangers and I'm enjoying it with caution.

Meanwhile, Alex Lyon and Ville Husso were competing for a waiver assignment that the latter won after allowing four goals on 14 shots in his debut.

Even if Talbot is the guy in net for the Red Wings, I need Lyon to get it together and create a stronger overall tandem before I'm too confident in the team this season.

Maybe the Red Wings can go out and get one really good guy instead of seven sporadic players stacked up in a trench suit.

Edmonton Oilers: Everything is Fine...

Even before Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remembered who they were in that comeback win against the Flyers, everything was going to be fine.

The early-season woes were fixable, with star players slumping. Call us with concern when McDavid, Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard are all producing and the team can't win.

McDavid arrived on the goal-scoring sheet against the Predators Thursday, and looked like his usual self.

Everything. Is. Fine.

Florida Panthers: Sam Reinhart Isn't Overrated

Not only is Sam Reinhart not overrated, but last season's 58-goal scorer might also be underrated.

With both Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov out in the first few weeks of the season, Reinhart has kept the Panthers afloat with four goals and eight points in five games.

Los Angeles Kings: Paying for a Lackluster Offseason

The Kings did basically nothing to improve their roster over the offseason after buying out Pierre-Luc Dubois; and with Drew Doughty out, their defensive shortcomings are exposed.

They've got to put together a convincing streak soon, or it might be another first-round exit (or worse) this postseason.

Minnesota Wild: They Might Not Be the Mid-esota Wild Anymore

Wait, are the Minnesota Wild fun? They're sitting at 2-0-2 and six points, good for fourth in the Central.

Matt Boldy is off to a start that means business, with two goals and five points in four games. Filip Gustavsson isn't just contributing to the offense with his "goalie goal," but he's also got a 1.66 goals against average and a .948 save percentage to start the season.

Montreal Canadiens: Habs Might Have a Goalie

Sam Montembeault isn't a fluke, and he's reminding us of that each game this season.

He's currently leading all NHL goaltenders with 6.3 goals saved above expected, and he's managed to keep a Patrik Laine-less Montreal team competitive in all of his starts.

Nashville Predators: Defense Is Looking Suspect

The defense has been even worse than the offense as the Predators have embarked on this 0-4 start.

Sure, they only had eight goals in four games, but especially in that blowout loss against the Kraken, the defense has been all over the place.

Juuse Saros is great, but even he can't handle being left wide open for half a game.

New Jersey Devils: They Need More from Dawson Mercer

Dawson Mercer needs to live up to his scoring potential to truly elevate this Devils team to Cup contention.

The 22-year-old has endeared himself to the hockey world with his two-way game, but he flashed us a scoring edge and there is no going back on that.

Now that he's made it to the top six, we need to see a bit more than a goal and an assist in six games while the goaltending is doing its job.

New York Islanders: Sorokin's Back

Star goaltender Ilya Sorokin is back, and the Islanders' season is basically up to him.

This is a solid squad with a potential goaltending ace who could elevate them to a nice playoff run with a career year.

New York Rangers: Lafrenière Is Only Trending Upwards

Former No. 1 overall draft pick Alexis Lafrenière was highly criticized at the beginning of his career for taking a bit of time to get used to the NHL.

However, you'll recall the final stages of his development and the beginning of his career occurred during the hardest years of the pandemic, and he has been popping off since last season's playoff run.

His trajectory is going to remind us that patience and context matter before we write a high draft pick off.

Ottawa Senators: They Might Be Reaching Their Potential...Finally

Despite the chaos, this has been an ideal start for the Senators.

This has been a head-scratching team with unrealized potential for years.

Maybe it's cathartic that Brady Tkachuk and Co. are now beating brother Matthew and winning games 8-7.

Pittsburgh Penguins: It's the End of the Road for Tristan Jarry

We've seen just about enough out of Tristan Jarry at this point.

Let Joel Blomqvist cook in net until Alex Nedeljkovic returns.

Philadelphia Flyers: Michkov Is Going to Be a Star

Matvei Michkov is going to be the young star Flyers fans have wanted for years.

The only reason this is a hot take is because so much has gone wrong for so long on the Flyers' journey to claim a true star, but he's here, and he's scoring two power-play goals in one period.

San Jose Sharks: The Kids Are All Right

The Sharks have sustained a few overtime losses at the beginning of this season, but I think that's a great way for the "kids" to get their reps in and gain some experience.

This season isn't about the scoreboard for San Jose, it's about situational hockey.

Seattle Kraken: They Still Need a Consistent Scorer

It was hilariously on brand earlier this week when the Kraken put up seven goals from different individuals in their win over the Predators.

My hot take is that in order for them to have another deep-ish playoff run, at least three of those need to come from one consistent scorer next time.

St. Louis Blues: Time for a New Netminder?

The Blues never needed that post-Cup rebuild because they sneakily did it in front of our eyes, keeping Pavel Buchnevich, assembling a young core and finalizing it via Oilers offer sheets.

What do they need? A fresh start in net.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Point-Guentzel-Kucherov Is a Scary Line

Brayden Point is going to score just 10 more points than last season and just five more points than the season before and make it to the 100-point club.

I'm not endorsing the events leading up to this happening, but it's a gift to witness a Jake Guentzel-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov line.

Just watch the last five seconds of Lightning-Golden Knights Thursday and you'll catch my drift.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Good Start, but Let's Not Focus on Core Four Yet

We've seen a lot of defense, competent goaltending and supporting offense step up as the Leafs have started the season on a 3-1-0 run.

This is exactly how they gain confidence to go on a long playoff run.

Let's save the criticism for the core four for the playoffs.

Utah Hockey Club: It Will Fall Back to Earth

The Utah Hockey Club is going to cool off, and that's OK.

I bet it will still be in playoff contention and have a great chance to make it in when the time comes, but it doesn't need to be the best team out West.

Utah needed to give us an exciting start to the franchise, and it has done just that.

Vancouver Canucks: They Need More From Elias Pettersson

We're all looking to the glaring goaltending problem the Canucks are dealing with as they flail around to start the season, and that's valid.

But what if we told you we're also allowed to expect star center Elias Pettersson to step up and set the tone more than he has thus far?

It took the Canucks four games to finally win, but they broke through Thursday against the Panthers in overtime. Pettersson was nowhere to be found on the scoresheet.

They'll need more from EP40 if they want to do more than just squeak by this season.

Vegas Golden Knights: Mark Stone is an X-Factor

With Mark Stone leading the team at two goals and eight points in four games, maybe Vegas wasn't bending the rules to keep one of the best players in the league off its roster after all.

Washington Capitals: More Ovi Facts, More to be Astounded By

Alex Ovechkin becoming just the sixth player in NHL history to have 700 goals and 700 assists is almost as cool as breaking the goals record.

Winnipeg Jets: Hellebuyck Deserves a Cup Run

When it comes to the Winnipeg Jets, I believe Connor Hellebuyck should be able to fire one person—staff, management or player—per year until he gets the serious run at the Cup he deserves.