NHL Power Rankings: Decisions loom

I know last week I told you Power Rankings would be coming out every Friday, but after some slight tweaking of our content schedule, my weekly rankings will now be coming out every Thursday.

That’s nothing but a positive for those of you that are reading this, because it means we have a new regularly scheduled piece that took the rankings place on Fridays. So look forward to that.

Now that we’ve gotten the first Power Rankings out of the way, I’ll be putting a theme to this every week. The rankings are the rankings as I see them, but I’m going to be giving you different observations or thoughts about each team that all tie together, rather than just blandly explaining what kind of week each team had.

This week, in the spirit of it officially being trade deadline month, we’re going to look at what player (or players) to keep an eye for each team. This could be a player going out, or which player each team may be (or who I think they *should* be) targeting come March 21st.

So let’s get into it.

1. Colorado Avalanche (40-10-4 84 pts)

Last week – 1

They’re so far ahead of the pack, that they’re shaking up the lineup just for grins. I personally think it’s to see if you could plug in Giroux on that top line, should Sakic be able to land him come deadline day. If they could get that second line to click with Landeskog playing next to Kadri and Nichushkin, you could be looking at a top line of Giroux with MacKinnon and Rantanen. Woof. The Flyers captain is Colorado’s top target.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (37-11-5 79 pts)

Last week – 5

I mentioned it last week, the way this team has been building over the last few years reminds me so much of the Avalanche. I think they’re looking to round out their top 4 still, they’re getting great production and solid seasons out of DeAngelo, Skjei, and Slavin, but they need a little more depth. I’d be shocked if they didn’t make a run at John Klingberg.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning (35-11-6 76 pts)

Last week – 3

I think Tampa has the secret sauce pretty dialed in, I don’t expect them to do anything splashy, but I do think they’ll make another depth move similar to what they’ve done the last couple of years. Maybe a Marc Staal or a Calle Jarnkrok seem like the type of players TBL will be after.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs (35-14-4 74 pts)

Last week – 6

High-powered offense. Maybe the simplest way to describe this team. They need help suppressing other teams’ offense though. People may disagree with this, but I think they need some goaltending help. Everyone loves the Jack Campbell story, and so do I, but I really don’t know how much you can trust him to get back to his October – December level. I think a D-man is on their radar as well, but if they could make a goaltending swap, with say… oh I don’t know the Blackhawks? Mrazek + for Fleury? That makes this team really scary.

5. Florida Panthers (35-13-5 75 pts)

Last week – 2

Don’t have to be as wordy here, this team is really really good, and Klingberg makes a lot of sense given the current makeup of this D corps. Dallas would probably like to move him out East, and Florida has the salary cap space.

6. Calgary Flames (32-14-6 70 pts)

Last week – 4

They really already made their move by bringing in Tyler Toffoli, and they don’t have much space left on the salary cap. I could see them doing what they can to bring back Mark Giordano for one last kick at the can.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins (33-14-8 74 pts)

Last week – 7

As long as Sidney Crosby is wearing a Penguins jersey, expect this team to be “going for it.” They need some help on the back end, specifically on the right side. Like a lot of teams near the top of this list, they’re tight on cap space and will need to move money out to make anything of note work. Robert Hagg is a name that makes sense, fits what they need positionally, and with an AAV of just $1.6M, the Pens wouldn’t need to do a ton of money shuffling.

8. Boston Bruins (32-18-4 68 pts)

Last week – 11

What an interesting team Boston has been this season. Early in the year, it looked like the Stanley Cup window had closed. They didn’t know for sure what they were going to look like in net, and they started the season with just two players left over from their 2011 Stanley Cup team. Well they’re surging right now, and I think they’re officially buyers. Jakob Chychrun could be a name they’re interested in (who isn’t), someone who fills an immediate need, while also setting up the next wave for them. They could package in Jake DeBrusk, who requested a trade earlier this season, to make the money work. Maybe that’s a summer deal though. 

9. St. Louis Blues (32-14-6 70 pts)

Last week – 12

They’re in a division with the Avalanche, so any deep playoff run likely goes through Colorado, and they’ll need to add to give themselves a shot, but they’re also RIGHT up against the cap. I think they’d like to add a Pavelski-level player, but it’s probably more realistic to see them target a guy like Ben Chiarot to shore up their blue line.

10. Los Angeles Kings (29-18-7 65 pts)

Last week – 13

Who thought these guys wouldn’t be sellers at the deadline when the season started? Certainly not me. This is going to be such an interesting team to watch over the next three weeks, they’re a prime candidate to do something stupid based on unexpected results. They’ve been tied to Jacob Chychrun, but that’s a big move to pull off. There are rumors swirling that they could be interested in Flyers’ forward Travis Konecny. We’ll see if Philly wants to do that, with the way the season has gone for the Broad Street Bullies, I could see it.

11. New York Rangers (33-15-5 74 pts)

Last week – 9

Great goaltending can cover up a lot of mistakes, and that’s mostly what this season has been for the Blue Shirts. They’ll definitely want to add if they’re really going to try and make a run. I think they were in on JT Miller, but I’m more and more convinced he’s going to stay in Vancouver with the way things are trending there. Ben Chiarot is a name I could them adding, or if they really want to swing for the fences… John Klingberg.

12. Nashville Predators (30-19-4 64 pts)

Last week – 15

Ok, I’m gonna throw a bit of a curveball here. I think the Preds are at a real crossroads; how good do they actually think they are? Filip Forsberg is the big name to watch with Nashville. I think there’s a good chance he walks this summer if he’s not traded. Do they keep him as their own rental? Or do they try to get assets back for a player you know would be in high demand?

13. Vancouver Canucks (26-23-6 58)

Last week – 18

Things are going so much better in Vancouver than anyone would have predicted given the way the year started. I put them in a similar boat as Nashville relative to the deadline. I said it just a minute ago, JT Miller was the big name everyone thought was gone for sure, now I’d be willing to bet they just hold on to him and call that their deadline “acquisition.”

14. Washington Capitals (28-18-9 65 pts)

Last week – 10

Among the worst in terms of their cap situation. I think they’d like to add a depth defenseman, maybe like a Calvin de Haan, I’m just not sure they’d be able to pull it off in a way that makes sense. We’ll see though, people refer to this as “silly season” for a reason. Damn… I didn’t mean for that to rhyme.

15. Minnesota Wild (31-17-3 65 pts)

Last week – 8

They are in for cap hell starting next season. GM Bill Guerin has one shot to make a run at a Cup. It will almost assuredly be a player whose contract expires at the end of the season, and I think they’re going to try and make a big swing. I think they’re going to go at Joe Pavelski hard, assuming Dallas is out of it. Phil Kessel could be their plan B.

16. Anaheim Ducks (26-21-9 61 pts)

Last week – 14

Newly appointed GM Pat Verbeek will get his first chance to leave his mark on the organization this month, and it should be an interesting one. Like the LA Kings, the Ducks are overachieving this season, and find themselves in a surprisingly competitive playoff race. Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell, and Josh Manson are all set to be UFAs at the end of the season, and Verbeek will need to decide if he’s going to keep them to try and get into the postseason, or if he needs to unload to help round out this rebuild. 

17. Edmonton Oilers (30-21-3 63 pts)

Last week – 20

Goalie. They desperately need a goalie, and it seems incredibly obvious to every except Edmonton GM Ken Holland. They’ll have to get creative given their cap situation, but they should 100% be looking at a way to bring in Semyon Varlamov or Marc-Andre Fleury. I feel like they’ll talk themselves into not needing to do it since Mikko Koskinen has played decent for the last couple of weeks though.

18. Columbus Blue Jackets (28-25-1 57 pts)

Last week – 23

A recent surge has gotten them back into a position where you could make the argument that they’re not *completely* out of it, but it would take a miracle for them to actually squeak into the playoffs. Max Domi is the name to keep an eye on there.

19. Vegas Golden Knights (30-20-4 64 pts)

Last week – 16

I keep saying it, I’m almost positive they’ll get in, but the water continues to heat up for them. They’re absolutely maxed out in terms of bringing guys in. Now it’s just a matter of deciding how long they can survive with Mark Stone on the shelf. If they think they’ll need him before the playoffs start, one of Reilly Smith or Evgenii Dadonov are likely on the way out. Lots to decide in the next three weeks.

20. Dallas Stars (29-20-3 61 pts)

Last week – 17

I think they’ll move John Klingberg no matter what. It’s obvious he’s going to walk this summer, so they might as well try to get something for him. But other than that, I think they want to see where they are in the standings in the week leading up to the deadline. Joe Pavelski could fetch a real nice return should they decide they’re in seller mode.

21. New York Islanders (20-22-8 48 pts)

Last week – 24

We’re officially into the “sellers” portion of these rankings. Lou Lamoriello said he really believes in this core, despite a wildly disappointing year. If he makes any moves, it’ll likely be guys like Zach Parise or Zdeno Chara.

22. Detroit Red Wings (24-24-6 54 pts)

Last week – 19

Another team that is in the middle of a rebuild, and they’ll look to use this deadline to add to it. I would be surprised if they didn’t find a new home for defenseman Nick Leddy.

23. San Jose Sharks (24-24-6 54 pts)

Last week – 22

Tomas Hertl has been the name to watch all season. A hot start for the Sharks cooled the rumors a bit, but now with the way the season has turned out his name is right back into it. I think they’ll keep him if they truly believe they can re-sign him this summer. Ball is in Hertl’s court.

24. Winnipeg Jets (24-21-9 57 pts)

Last week – 21

So many intriguing names that could be up for grabs come March 21. I don’t think they’ll go crazy and burn it all down, but if they like the offers they get on a guy like Andrew Copp, they could use it as a way to re-tool on the fly.

25. New Jersey Devils (19-30-5 43 pts)

Last week – 31

I really think New Jersey thought this season was going to go differently than it has. We mentioned him as a potential target for the Avs last week on one of our shows, but Damon Severson is a guy who could fetch a nice little return for a team trying to figure out who they are.

26. Chicago Blackhawks (19-27-8 46)

Last week – 29

They have a new GM! Finally, after months of interviews, they settled on Kyle Davidson, who had been filling in as interim GM for a while now. It’s going to be really interesting to see what he does, the Hawks made it sound like they’re willing to sell off everything short of Patrick Kane and Johnathan Toews. Which is crazy to me, but whatever. Marc-Andre Fleury is the obvious choice to move in order to get some assets.

27. Montreal Canadiens (13-34-7 33 pts)

Last week – 25

If your name isn’t Cole Caufield or Nick Suzuki, have a bag packed by the door just in case.

28. Ottawa Senators (19-28-5 43 pts)

Last week – 27

They’re kind of like Detroit, in the middle of a rebuild, have a lot of exciting pieces, and they’ll just be looking to add some assets. Not a lot of super sexy moves to be made, let’s see what a guy like Michael Del Zotto can get them.

29. Philadelphia Flyers (16-27-10 42 pts)

Last week – 26

Claude Giroux.

30. Arizona Coyotes (14-35-4 32 pts)

Last week – 30

EVERYTHING MUST GO! Only four players under contract beyond this season. It’s going to be an absolute fire sale for the desert dogs. They should honestly just move the draft to Phoenix at this point, they’re going to have 1,000 picks anyway.

31. Buffalo Sabres (16-30-8 40 pts)

Last week – 28

They have a couple of right-shot defensemen that they’ll probably be able to drive the price up on. It feels like they’ve been sellers for the last decade. Oh… that’s because they have been.

32. Seattle Kraken (16-34-5 37 pts)

Last week – 32

Here’s their chance to do what they should have done at the expansion draft, weaponize their cap space, and acquire further assets. Mark Giordano, among others, should be heading somewhere else by the deadline.