With opening night rosters now set for all 32 teams, we can begin to take our annual look at the makeup of each of the teams at the start of the 2022-23 season, including the average age for each of the opening night rosters. Average roster ages are dynamic (changing) values throughout the season, with call-ups, injuries, etc., but the values generally stay in the same approximate range for each team.
The following table below shows the average roster ages for each team at the end of last season (6/8/22) and the average team ages after yesterday’s 23-man roster deadline. This allows us to take a look at how off-season changes affected each of the teams.
In the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins got older, while the Capitals essentially remained the same. They are the two oldest teams in the league. The Islanders, Rangers and Blue Jackets got younger, while the Hurricanes, Flyers and Devils saw an increase to their average roster age.
There’s no debating that under Peter Laviolette, the team has favored experience over youth – Zdeno Chara over Jonas Siegenthaler, Marcus Johansson over Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, etc., but it’s not as simple as a comparison of ages. Often experience is indeed greater than youth, particularly when there is a “must win now” edict in place. The longer-term affects of that philosophy on a team are another story entirely.
On the positive side, consider that the top 6 youngest teams in the NHL last season missed the playoffs, while the six oldest teams made the postseason.
The Capitals open up their 2022-23 campaign Wednesday night when they host the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 7PM, and will broadcast nationally on TNT.
Age data courtesy of CapFriendly.
By Jon Sorensen
Rangers and Devils are going to be an issue for several years to come.
I would add Columbus to that for Metro.
Them going with experience over giving younger players a shot seems to be a recurring theme no matter the head coach
True. Some of the credit/blame definitely belongs in MacLellan’s lap.
He created the conflict that Lavi had to face. Do I keep MoJo or a prospect forward?
When GMBM signed MoJo for this coming season, the team had already seen AFJ tryout filling in for Hagelin, and compare that with MoJo’s work since returning. Lavi did too, and he had both AFJ and Leason last year in addition to camp. There was enough familiarity. They made their decision.
30 may have been old for for a professional athlete about 30 years ago when guys didn’t train and eat right year round, got drunk a couple nights a week and smoked. But these days this is just an old trope.
27 is the average age, so 30 is “old”, but I agree, players are in much better shaper, prepare better than previous decades.
the top 6 youngest teams in the NHL last season missed the playoffs” That’s why I want a gradual replacement, not a rebuild.
Last year, Tampa ran out of gas. I don’t remember how many games they played in the last 3 seasons but it was a lot. And they had even less time off than normal due to COVID. But they sold their draft picks and prospects and really didn’t have good prospects to call up. It would have been so good to be able to rest some vets last few games of the regular season, but they couldn’t. I think they will have the same problem this year.
Caps have better prospects. They could get a bit younger.
Players on opening night rosters by country:
Jon –
You might want to do another rackup of teams by height and/or weight. I have to believe that the Caps are among the biggest teams in the league, and will get even bigger when Wilson returns if they send McMikey down.
Being large doesn’t make up for being old, but it does signify a preference for the Caps as a franchise — they have been a heavy team for quite a long time.
Will of. It’s on the “to do” list. I try to do one each October, but as you mentioned, I’m even more curious this season.
The Caps drafting in the first round hasn’t worked out very well since 2012 when they took Forsberg and Tom Wilson. Vrana and Burakovsky contributed at times in the playoffs but ultimately neither became a fixture in DC. Samsonov didn’t work out. LuJo has been waived twice. There’s no sign of Alexeev. CMac can’t get on a regular line. Lapierre hasn’t been knocking down any doors.
These are not good results.
How does this look if you take Ovechkin out (he defies age) and Backs? And add in Milano, Aube Aleksyev, Stromer?