1. Utah Hockey Club (16 points, 8-1-0 last week) – Utah finished Week 1 atop of the standings losing only a single game (to my Kraken 😎). They won some big games against Pittsburgh, Vegas, and Carolina. K3wlsieve led the charge with 8 goals and 22 points through 6 games. Despite being first, both parts of their special teams are below league average. They seem like a very deep team at the moment, but can they carry this momentum for another five weeks? -Cxshyutah3

2. New York Rangers (14 points, 6-1-2 last week) – The Rangers had a really solid week, picking up points in all but one of their games. The line of Foncce, Txske, and henny_16 is quite electric. They pressure the puck and don’t give you any room to breathe. Beahrzy and BROLLZ28 are a stout defensive pair and JonhVG1124 is really sound positional goalie. The Rangers have an all-around solid team, and I expect them to stay in the top 5 all season. -Simpsonrangers5

3. Ottawa Senators (12 points, 6-3-0 last week) – It’s far, far too early in the season to start handing awards out, but it’s easy to argue that no player has been more valuable to his team through one week than Yung96 was for Ottawa. Yung leads the Banter in points and contributed to five wins for a team that has talent from top to bottom. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on how this Sens team performs in marquee matchups moving forward, as two of their losses this week were against the two teams ahead of them in the Takes, in New York and Utah respectively. All that said, xSundin deserves his flowers for building a very solid roster with cap room to spare. -TDKsenators4🤣1🍿1

4. Chicago Blackhawks (11 points, 4-2-3 last week) – The S1 Cup champs started their season with a decent week that I think they can be happy about. They spent very little of their cap during the bidding process, so to have 11 guys each with a cap hit under $5M and still get league-average production is very good in my opinion. I think they have a great group at the moment, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a few studs to really bolster this roster. -Cxshyblackhawks3

5. San Jose Sharks (12 points, 6-3-0 last week) – This looks like a really high-powered offensive team. They lead the league so far with 5.6 goals a game, and scored at least five goals in each of their wins. San Jose pairs that offense with a really good defense as well. This could be the team standing at the top when the season is done. -Simpson(edited)sharks4🥺2

6.@St. Louis Blues (12 points, 6-3-0 last week) – Sports fans know the old adage that says defense wins championships. This squad will put that to the test. St. Louis blew almost $35m on their top three defensemen and their goalie tandem and they lead the league in goals allowed as a result. I don’t expect that to change anytime soon, as even the losses were tightly contested games for the Blues. This management group made up of two forwards will have their work cut out for them to improve their offense with minimal cap, but this is a team designed to grind out wins that may not truly shine until the playoffs. -TDKblues7

7. Montreal Canadiens (11 points, 5-3-1 last week) – Montreal is another team that had an average start to their season. DJRalphyD 96 helped lead the team in the right direction, recording 6 goals and 18 points in 6 games. This team took the fewest penalties this week with only two through the first nine games. I personally don’t know many guys on this squad, so I’m unsure how this team will perform in the coming weeks. If they can continue what they’ve got going on, this could be an exciting team to watch come playoffs. -Cxshycanadiens5

8. Buffalo Sabres (11 points, 5-3-1 last week) – DuK3ofKR0N1TR0N has built a very solid team in Buffalo. Led by R3dNckV1k1ng and ANGRY BEES, these Sabres could play spoiler to some teams later in the season. Through one week, they have six guys with 10 points or more, and two with at least 20 points. I expect them to move up the standings and be sitting in a solid spot after Week 2. -Simpsonsabres2

9. Vegas Golden Knights (10 points, 5-4-0 last week) – The Golden Knights are a team born and built to play a run and gun style, and that’s exactly what they’ve done so far. The offense is certainly there, as Fox_I14I has built a formidable forward core that will certainly push the tempo and likely produce in every game they’re in, but there are some warning signs. Vegas has allowed a bunch of shots and taken more penalties than any other team in the Banter. It’ll be a challenge to find some structure and dependability on the defensive end for a team that is just barely at the roster minimum without much cap room at the time of this writing. -TDKgoldenknights1

10. Colorado Avalanche (9 points, 4-4-1 last week) – Colorado’s another team with a mid week to start the season. This team did pretty good in bidding; they paid for some top guys and it’s paying off. EZWORK92, silkyperry, and BurntWaffle62 had a combined 27 points worth of production Wednesday night. When the entire team is on the same page, they seem destined for greatness. If they can keep their coordination in check they can be a serious contender come playoff time. -Cxshyavalanche2

11. Philadelphia Flyers (10 points, 5-4-0 last week) – Regular Takes readers will remember PrecutClub as someone I shouted out last season as a solid ECU for Pittsburgh. At $3.5M, Precut got a promotion from Banter Intern to frontrunner as the steal of Season 2 bidding. He’s leading the league in goals and points through the first week of the season, shooting the lights out at 38%. If Philadelphia can tighten up on the backend they’ll be a threat moving forward this season, and that should be their priority. No team spending almost $20M on goaltending should be in the bottom five in goals allowed. -TDKflyers3

12. Carolina Hurricanes (8 points, 4-5-0 last week) – Carolina notably had some very bad goaltending in Week 1 (sorry TDK 😘). Torvechkin has had to drag this team through each of their four wins. He scored 13 goals and 23 points through his six games. Seeing Torvechkin having 10 assists confuses me a lot. Has the goaltending been that bad that Tor has had to actually pass the puck so they can win games? If anyone has insider info on this pls let me know. Anyways, I believe the Hurricanes have had a very underwhelming performance for the prices they paid for some of the guys on their squad, although I know the vibes are immaculate in Carolina. I expect them to be better next week. -Cxshyhurricanes1😂4rulesrizz1

13. Edmonton Oilers (6 points, 3-6-0 last week) – Not a ton to say about Edmonton here. This team is lead by StoneHandsHere, Glitch Jathen, and WASNTME on offense. Defense and goalie seem to be the problem here initially. I expect to see Edmonton making trades, waiver claims, and moves in FA bidding to address those needs. -Simpsonoilers3

14. Pittsburgh Penguins (6 points, 3-6-0 last week) – Pittsburgh has been very inconsistent so far. One game they’re getting blown out, the next they’re putting up big numbers. Make it make sense! You’ve got the #2 power play and the #3 penalty kill, so if this was a 4s league they’d be one of the top teams. -Simpsonpenguins2

15. Detroit Red Wings (8 points, 4-5-0 last week) – Codinov has been worth every last bit of his $10M contract so far for the Wings. Detroit’s 4-2 with him on the ice and winless without him. It’s indicative of a team that looks like it could struggle to get on the scoresheet in the early going. The Wings have struggled in the dot so far, ranking last in the league by faceoff percentage while only rostering one true center. Detroit really should make an effort to find a talented pivot. The right fit could help shore up the defence and the faceoff numbers while also helping to distribute the puck to an excess of talented wingers. -TDKred_wings2❤️‍🔥1💀1🖕1

16. Seattle Kraken (5 points, 2-6-1 last week) – Outside of a 9-6 defeat at the hands of Ottawa, this team isn’t getting blown out, despite their record. Seattle’s had a lot of one and two-goal losses early in the season. On paper, it seems that there is very little chemistry with this team. If they can get that figured out, the Kraken will shoot up the standings. -Simpsonkraken1

17. Toronto Maple Leafs (4 points, 2-7-0 last week) – There’s little argument that Leafs have gotten off to the ugliest start of the BAHL season. Not only is Toronto last in the league in goals scored, goal differential, and points, they managed to go all of Thursday night without scoring a single goal. There’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about this squad; the management team of dtizz87 and Cartzy9I combined for only one game played in Week 1. This is a team that has more than enough talent to dig themselves out of an early hole, but they’ll need to strive for more consistency out of the supporting cast, fast. -TDKmapleleafs2

18. Vancouver Canucks (6 points, 3-6-0 last week) – I didn’t expect Vancouver to start off hot. So far, their goaltending has been absolutely terrible, averaging 5.3 goals against per game. I don’t think you’ll win very often if you have to score six or more to have a lead. Vancouver’s offensive production hasn’t been very good either, so it’s doubtful they’ll be able to win all that many games with their current formula. Having said all of that, I do expect them to perform better next week. -Cxshycanucks2😂3💩2
Once again, wanna thank @xSimpson59x and @Flipz Daddy for helping out this week and the rest of this season, and I want to thank YOU for playing in the BAHL for our second season! It’s been an electric start and we couldn’t do it without you. Good luck to everyone this week!