I'm going to look at players from each team in the Western Conference and see what skaters have dropped or gone up a tier or two this season (2024-25) compared to last season (2023-24).

These are tiers I've just made up for this article so please don't confuse this with other Tiers you have seen here on Dobber or elsewhere.

Tier One – Is reserved for Superstars (100 points plus for forwards and 75 points plus for defenders). (Connor McDavid; Cale Makar).

Tier Two – A top-line forward who can put up 75-95 points, and/or can contribute with hits, blocks and faceoff wins. On defense, usually reserved for a top-four defender who has 55-75 points, and/or very good peripheral stats like 100 hits and 100 blocks. (Robert Thomas; Mackenzie Weegar)

Tier Three – A top-six forward who can put up 55-75 points and be a responsible player without the puck. On defense, this tier is for top-four defenders who put up 35-55 points and/or is a beast without the puck. These are both very much above-average players. (Matt Duchene; Thomas Harley)

Tier Four – A third line forward, who puts up 35-55 points and contributes in other areas like the penalty kill. On defense, these are defenders who can slide up or down the pairings but are better suited between the fourth, fifth and sixth defender. These skaters are slightly above average NHLers. (Adam Lowry; Brayden McNabb)

Tier Five – A third or fourth line forward who is well above replacement level and has established a role in the NHL. On defense, this is typically a sixth defender who is above replacement level and who averages 15-17 minutes per night. These are average NHL skaters. (Teddy Blueger; Cam Fowler)

Tier Six – This is for slightly below average forwards and defenders who are in little danger of losing their NHL jobs this year. (Alex Iafallo; Luke Schenn)

Tier Seven – This is for bubble NHL players, who are right around the replacement level and are fighting to keep their jobs. (Jakub Lauko; Travis Dermott)

The description in each tier is meant to describe where the player is at in terms of production and perhaps where they are at in terms of development. It is not meant to set a ceiling or floor on each player.

Anaheim Ducks

Up

Jackson LaCombe (22-6-4-10) has stood out for me going from Tier six in 2023-24 to Tier four. He should benefit with Cam Fowler being traded to St. Louis.

Brock McGinn (22-4-3-7) has gone from Tier seven to Tier six. He needs to play at this level to stay in the NHL as a regular. He is a veteran of 530 NHL games, so knows that 2023-24 wasn't good enough.

Down

Radko Gudas (29-0-3-3) has gone from Tier four to Tier six. The hits (89) and blocks (66) are still there, just not at the level of 2023-24. Gudas is 34 years of age, and is unlikely to go up anymore.

Calgary Flames

Up

Matt Coronato (26-7-6-13) and Kevin Bahl (31-1-10-11) have both gone from Tier six/seven to Tier five.

This isn't to call Coronato an average player by any means, only that he is performing at an average NHL level at this point. He's progressing and moving up.

Bahl has elevated his play, much to the delight of the Flames. His ceiling is perhaps Tier five.

Down

Jake Bean (18-1-2-3) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven. Bean will need to improve his play to remain a regular. He's been a healthy scratch in Calgary a few times already.

Martin Pospisil (31-2-8-10) has gone from Tier four to Tier five. His SOG per game has gone from 1.9 to 1.4 and his hits have gone down by about one per game.

Yegor Sharangovich (24-6-2-8) has gone from a borderline Tier three skater to Tier five. He missed the first few weeks of 2024-25 with an injury, so could need some time to find his game. 31 goals and 59 points is looking like a stretch now.

Andrei Kuzmenko (28-1-9-10) has gone from Tier four to Tier seven. Kuzmenko is quickly playing himself out of Calgary and perhaps out of the NHL.

Chicago Blackhawks

Up

Alex Vlasic (31-2-14-16) has gone from Tier six to Tier four. The big rearguard has increased his production and has nine power play points in 2024-25 and has been quarterbacking the first unit of the PP for the past 12 games (12-2-7-9).

Down

Ilya Mikheyev  (29-3-5-8) has gone from Tier five to Tier seven. He could find himself bought out before 2025-26 if he doesn't find some spark that he used to have.

T.J. Brodie (28-1-6-7) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven. $3.75 million AAV for two years is pretty steep for a defender who plays 16 minutes per game. Brodie could find himself a healthy scratch sooner than later.

Philipp Kurashev (28-3-2-5) has gone from Tier four to Tier seven. I'm not sure that the Blackhawks could even trade Kurashev at this point.

Colorado Avalanche

Up

Ross Colton (15-10-1-11) has gone from Tier five to Tier three, albeit playing just 15 games and he is in tough to keep the ice time he had with Artturi Lehkonen, Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin all back in the lineup. He had a great thing going, before he got hurt.

Down

Devon Toews (28-1-12-13) has gone from Tier three to Tier four. He was a surprise inclusion on the Team Canada roster for me. I'm sure his game will improve as the year progresses.

Josh Manson (24-1-5-6) has gone from Tier four to Tier six. Could he be slowing down a little at 33 years of age?

Logan O'Connor (32-4-3-7) has gone from Tier five to Tier seven. His production has been cut in half from 0.44 pts/g to 0.22. He plays close to 15 minutes per game and can't produce like a fourth-liner.

Dallas Stars

Up

Mason Marchment (28-12-15-27) has gone from Tier five to being a borderline Tier two candidate. Marchment has seen his production go from 0.65 to 0.96 points per game while his SOG/g has gone from 1.9 to 2.5.

Down

Jason Robertson (29-7-12-19) has gone from Tier two to Tier four. There are some concerning stat lines for Robertson. Since 2022-23, he's lost over a minute per game, his PP% has gone from 66.3 to 55.2 and his SOG/g has gone from 3.8 to 2.4 and his shooting percentage has gone from 14.7 to 10.1.

Matt Dumba (19-0-1-1) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven. The decline of Dumba might have reared its ugly head in 2024-25. He's battled some injuries, but his play has been well below average. $3.75 million in 2025-26 is not looking like a good deal for Dallas.

Edmonton Oilers

Up

Connor Brown (30-5-7-12) has gone from Tier seven to Tier five or six. The injury that Brown sustained in 2022-23 still affected him in 2023-24 and his play suffered as a result. He's been much better in 2024-25 and has rejuvenated his career in Edmonton.

Brett Kulak (30-5-5-10) has gone from Tier six to Tier five. Kulak has seen his ice time increase to 19:36 per game, which is the most he has played in his career (528 NHL games). His hits are down (11) but his five goals are very close to his career high of six.

Vasily Podkolzin (30-3-8-11) has gone from Tier seven to Tier six. Podkolzin needed a fresh start in 2024-25 and got it with Edmonton. He has had 63 hits and has averaged a career-high of 13 minutes per game.

Down

Adam Henrique (30-2-7-9) has gone from Tier four to Tier five. Henrique is almost 35 years of age and his production has dipped in 2024-25 to 0.3 points per game, down from 0.62 in 2023-24.

Zach Hyman (25-8-5-13) has gone from Tier two or three to Tier four. I have no doubt he will get back to at least Tier three. Hyman has five goals in his past five games on 18 SOG, which is a good sign that he has turned his struggles around.

Los Angeles Kings

Up

Alex Laferriere (30-12-10-22) has gone from Tier six to Tier four. Laferriere has matched his goals from 2023-24 which took him 81 games and has one fewer point as well. His ice time has increased from 13:13 to 16:04 and he has played 57.3% on the PP.

Joel Edmundson (28-4-5-9) has gone from Tier six/seven to Tier five. Edmundson had struggled in each of the past three seasons with Montreal, Washington and Toronto. He appears to have found a home in Los Angeles.

Alex Turcotte (25-3-8-11) has gone from Tier seven to Tier six. The 5th overall pick from 2019 has finally played himself into a regular NHL role in 2024-25.

Down

Quinton Byfield (30-4-9-13) has gone from potentially a Tier three skater to Tier five. On the surface, it looks like Byfield has been struggling in 2024-25, but the Kings are having him kill more penalties and take more faceoffs and improve his overall game.

Kevin Fiala (29-10-8-18) has gone from Tier three to Tier four. His points per game have gone from 1.04 to 0.89 to 0.62 since 2022-23.

Trevor Moore (28-6-12-18) has gone from Tier three to Tier four. Moore (82-31-26-57) had a career year in 2023-24, so might struggle to duplicate.

Minnesota Wild

Up

Jake Middleton (29-5-8-13) has gone from Tier five to Tier three to this point. Middleton was placed on the IR, so his great start to 2024-25 might have to wait.

Marco Rossi (30-11-14-25) has gone from Tier five to Tier three. He has improved his points per game from 0.49 to 0.81.

Down

Yakov Trenin (29-2-1-3) has gone from Tier five to Tier seven. Trenin has been playing more like a fourth liner in 2024-25 than a third-liner and could find himself under 10 minutes per game.

Ryan Hartman (25-4-3-7) has gone from Tier three to Tier five. Hartman's offense has hit a wall but his SOG/game is still around 2.4. His shooting percentage is at 6.3 which is well below his career average of 10.4.

Joel Eriksson Ek (22-5-8-13) has gone from Tier two to Tier three. Eriksson Ek had increased his points per game seven straight seasons from (0.21/g to 0.83/g) until 2024-25 where it sits at 0.59/g.

Nashville Predators

Up

No one

Down

Cole Smith (31-2-3-5) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven.

Mark Jankowski (23-1-5-6) has gone from Tier five to Tier seven.

Michael McCarron (23-2-2-4) has gone from Tier five to Tier seven.

Ryan O'Reilly (28-7-10-17) has gone from Tier three to Tier five.

Brady Skjei (31-2-7-9) has gone from Tier three to Tier six.

Colton Sissons (30-2-0-2) has gone from Tier five to Tier seven.

Filip Forsberg (31-9-11-20) has gone from Tier one/two to Tier three.

Steven Stamkos (31-8-8-16) has gone from Tier two to Tier five.

Gustav Nyquist (30-6-5-11) has gone from Tier three to Tier six/seven.

The number of Predator skaters on the downside, speaks to the struggles of the Nashville team after such high hopes.

Smith, Jankowski, McCarron, Sissons and Nyquist have all played at a level one could argue was replacement level.

Newcomers, Skjei and Stamkos have struggled on their new team and both were given pretty big contracts.

Forsberg and O'Reilly have struggled to produce as well.

One would think that the Predators have too much talent to not turn this around sooner than later.

San Jose Sharks

Up

Jake Walman (28-5-17-22) has gone from Tier five to Tier two/three. Walman set a career-high in points with 22. He has been a great fit for the Sharks.

Mikael Granlund (31-11-21-32) has gone from Tier three to Tier two. Granlund now has 92 points in 100 games as a member of the Sharks. His career points per game is 0.68 in 850 NHL games.

William Eklund (32-5-20-25) has gone from Tier fix/six to Tier three/four. Eklund continues to progress and is looking like a pretty good choice at 7th overall in 2021.

Down

Mario Ferraro (33-2-4-6) has gone from Tier four to Tier six. Ferraro was probably asked too much of in 2022-23 and 2023-24 to play 22-23 minutes per night. He is better suited as a 3rd or 4th defender on a club rather than the 1st or 2nd. Unfortunately, he is playing his way to become the fifth or sixth defender on the Sharks.

Seattle Kraken

Up

Brandon Tanev (32-7-7-14) has gone from Tier six to Tier four. Tanev struggled in 2023-24 and has been much better in 2024-25.

Ryker Evans (30-3-12-15) has gone from Tier six to Tier three/four. Evans has settled into the top-four in Seattle very well.

Down

Will Borgen (32-1-1-2) has gone from Tier five/six to Tier seven. After two fairly solid seasons with the Kraken, Borgen might be playing himself out of a job in Seattle after 32 games in 2024-25.

St. Louis Blues

Up

Philip Broberg (20-2-10-12) has gone from Tier seven to Tier three/four.

Dylan Holloway (32-10-9-19) has gone from Tier six in Edmonton to Tier three/four in St. Louis.

The two signings from Edmonton are sure looking good now.

Down

Alex Toropchenko (30-1-4-5) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven. The big Russian brings physicality to this roster but chipped in with 10 and 14 goals the two years prior. This year he has really struggled to chip in any offense.

Matthew Kessel (26-0-3-3) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven. He has been a sixth or seventh defender in 2024-25 but has been below average.

Cam Fowler (19-0-4-4) has gone from Tier five to Tier six/seven. He lost the power play in Anaheim and the young players were progressing to the point where the Ducks could trade Fowler. He should have more support in St. Louis, but the power play might be elusive still.

Justin Faulk (30-1-7-8) has gone from Tier three/four to Tier five. Faulk has produced just four points at even strength in 2024-25.

Mathieu Joseph (20-2-2-4) has gone from Tier five to Tier seven. Joseph has not found his time going well in St. Louis. He's signed for 2025-26 at $2.95 million so should receive some patience from the Blues.

Utah Hockey Club

Up

Logan Cooley (30-7-19-26) has gone from Tier five to Tier three. Cooley is emerging as the number one center in Utah.

Ian Cole (30-1-7-8) has gone from Tier six to Tier four. Cole has reacted well to elevated minutes (20:57) in Utah. Whether he can maintain that for 82 games is another story.

Michael Kesselring (30-4-11-15) has gone from Tier six to Tier three/four. Kesselring appeared to be just a throw-in with the trade from Edmonton that sent Nick Bjugstad and Cam Dineen to the Oilers. He could emerge as the key to that deal.

Down

Juuso Valimaki (24-2-1-3) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven. Valimaki has played his way into a bubble NHL player.

Lawson Crouse (30-4-3-7) has gone from Tier four to Tier six. Crouse had between 20-24 goals in each of the past three years. He is going to struggle to get there in 2024-25.

Matias Maccelli (30-3-7-10) has gone from Tier four to Tier six/seven. With the progression of Cooley and the health of Barrett Hayton, Maccelli has struggled in a reduced role. His time in Utah might be short.

Vancouver Canucks

Up

Kiefer Sherwood (29-8-6-14) has gone from Tier five to Tier four. The 181 hits in 29 games sure helps but the 14 points is even better for Sherwood. He's been excellent.

Jake DeBrusk (29-14-9-23) has gone from Tier four to Tier three. DeBrusk has a career-high of 27 goals. He has 11 goals in his past 11 games with the Canucks.

Conor Garland (29-8-16-24) has gone from Tier four to Tier three. Garland has earned his ice time in 2024-25 which is 19:32 compared to 14:32 in 2023-24. He has won a job on the first unit of the PP as well.

Down

Elias Pettersson (29-8-18-26) has gone from Tier two to Tier three. His SOG per game has gone down since 2022-23 from 3.2 to 2.5 and now to 1.9. He might not get to Tier one, but he should get back to Tier two at some point.

J.T. Miller (19-6-13-19) has gone from Tier one to Tier two. He missed 10 games and hasn't been himself in 2024-25.

Nils Hoglander (29-2-3-5) has gone from Tier five/six to Tier seven. Hoglander had 24 goals in 2023-24. He has played himself into forcing the Canucks to trade or waive him.

Vegas Golden Knights

Up

Ivan Barbashev (31-15-15-30) has gone from Tier four to Tier two/three. Barbashev is having a career-year.

Brett Howden (30-11-1-12) has gone from Tier six/seven to Tier five. Howden has set his career high with 11 goals after just 30 games and has elevated his game when he was at a pivotal point in his career with Vegas.

Down

Nicolas Hague (20-1-2-3) has gone from Tier six to Tier seven. Hague has seen his ice time go from over 18 minutes per game to just over 16 in 2024-25 and he has struggled to be a regular.

Winnipeg Jets

Up

Neal Pionk (32-4-20-24) has gone from Tier four to Tier three. Pionk had an expected offensive outburst with 17 points in his first 16 games. He's cooled down a little since then (16-1-6-7).

Dylan Samberg (21-3-3-6) has gone from Tier six to Tier five. Samberg has seen his ice time elevated from 15:38 in 2023-24 to 20:17 in 2024-25.

Down

Dylan DeMelo (32-0-5-5) has gone from Tier five to Tier six/seven. DeMelo has struggled in 2024-25 playing in the top four. The Jets will need him to turn it around.

Thank you very much for reading and if you have any comments, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15