I mean, they're not gonna lose every game. My assessment is that they are somewhere above-average true talent team, but going 0-5 is a bad start.
They were also just wildly overrated by the public and most pundits pre-season. Their offseason additions were flashy but not substantive. Stamkos is a negative contributor at ES and makes their team actively worse at ES. Marchessault is not the same player with Novak as his center vs. Eichel. Skjei was their only signing I rated decently.
I bet them to miss the playoffs before the season started.
Marchessault has been fine tbh, he's just had the luck of the rest of the team. Stamkos on the other hand is a totally different matter 5 on 5.
I still think the biggest issue right now is Brunette less so than the construction of the team. While we knew we were getting the older version of these guys that was supposed to be offset by the younger guys that were finally going to be playing. Problem is the young guys aren't playing. Brunette either has them on the bench, or he is limiting them to 5 -8 minutes a game.
Another issue is apparently someone didn't tell Brunette he is getting old Stamkos rather than young. Stamkos is seeing the most ice time he's seen since 2015-2016.
Finally Brunette for some reason or another thinks his 4th line is amazing or something. They have been on the ice for 11 of the 16 goals given up and yet he just keeps running them out there.
I was always way more pessimistic about this roster than most Preds fans, but Brunette is playing too his weaknesses instead of his strength's and it is flat out showing.