There are a lot of conversations to be had about the final weeks leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. For teams at the top of the rankings, the discussions often revolve around how they can improve for the short-term goal of winning the Stanley Cup. Sure, they can acquire a player that still has a term left on their contract, but in the cap-crunch world, rentals with retention are the name of the game.
For teams that are selling, however, the trade deadline can bring with it a mix of nerves and excitement. Much like any good mystery box, there is a chance that the moves made this deadline will help a rebuilding team take that next step back to relevance. Or, fans may be massively underwhelmed with the return on these deals, which is a letdown both for the trade and the loss of a favorite player worth trading in the first place.
Related: NHL 2022-23 Power Rankings: Week 19
The Power Rankings this week reflect a turbulent league, where teams are going on big winning and losing streaks. Some are finding their way into the playoff hunt, while others are getting knocked down the standings, piling up losses at an unfortunate time. So, let’s take a look to see how the rankings have changed.
All stats and records are current as of Feb 20th, prior to any games taking place.
32-21: Watching the 2023 Trade Deadline
32. Anaheim Ducks 17-33-6, 40 Points (Last Ranking: 30)
31. Chicago Blackhawks 18-32-5, 41 Points (Last Ranking: 31)
30. Columbus Blue Jackets 18-34-5, 41 Points (Last Ranking: 32)
29. San Jose Sharks 17-29-11, 45 Points (Last Ranking: 28)
28. Montreal Canadiens 23-29-4, 50 Points(Last Ranking: 27)
27. Arizona Coyotes 20-28-9, 49 Points (Last Ranking: 29)
26. Vancouver Canucks 22-30-4, 48 Points (Last Ranking: 26)
25. Philadelphia Flyers 22-25-10, 54 Points (Last Ranking: 23)
24. St. Louis Blues 26-27-3, 55 Points (Last Ranking: 25)
23. Ottawa Senators 27-24-3, 58 Points (Last Ranking: 24)
The trade deadline is kicking off early this year, so if your team finds itself in this section of the Rankings, it’s time to make those deals. While this may be sooner than expected, you will continue to see contenders spending their top assets to pick up those final pieces days or maybe even weeks before the deadline.
Ultimately, the on-ice product right now doesn’t matter. Fans should be excited to see new prospects getting their chance to prove themselves as NHL starters. This is part of the fun, along with the returns from the trades.
22-18: Franchise-Defining Decisions Ahead
22: Nashville Predators 26-22-6, 58 Points (Last Ranking: 20)
21. Buffalo Sabres 28-22-4, 60 Points (Last Ranking: 21)
20. Washington Capitals 28-24-6, 62 Points (Last Ranking: 14)
19. Detroit Red Wings 26-21-8, 60 Points (Last Ranking: 22)
18. Florida Panthers 28-25-6, 62 Points (Last Ranking: 18)
There are a lot of general managers in this section of the rankings who will have to make a really hard decision in the coming days. It’s not easy to admit that your team won’t make the postseason, especially when they are theoretically very alive, but at some point, it’s worth cashing out and selling instead of doubling down and buying for the chance of making it into the playoffs.
For some teams, their decisions may already be made. If you’re the Florida Panthers, missing the playoffs isn’t acceptable after they traded their 2023 first-round pick last deadline. This means they may feel the need to add and push to claim a Wild Card spot, even if they are still out.
The problem is, no team here is making the case that they should make the postseason. They are playing very middling, with some convincing wins and disappointing losses keeping their records average at best. So, if they want to make a push, time is running out.
17-11: Fighting for the 2023 Playoffs
17. New York Islanders 28-24-7, 63 Points (Last Ranking: 19)
16. Calgary Flames 26-18-11, 63 Points (Last Ranking: 15)
15. Pittsburgh Penguins 27-17-9, 63 Points (Last Ranking: 17)
14. Minnesota Wild 30-21-5, 65 Points (Last Ranking: 16)
13. Edmonton Oilers 30-19-8, 68 Points (Last Ranking: 7)
12. Seattle Kraken 32-18-6, 70 Points (Last Ranking: 12)
11. Winnipeg Jets 34-21-1, 69 points (Last Ranking: 9)
Winning is hard in the NHL. As the teams in this section have proven, you can play incredibly well for long stretches of time in the regular season, but one ill-timed losing streak can send everything crashing down. No team here is safe, but they are also in a really good spot to make the postseason.
It’s worth noting that I knocked the Edmonton Oilers down six spots this week, which was to correct how much I had been overvaluing them. I really thought that the team was back and that they were going to walk to first place in the Pacific Division on the back of their star players. Well, a four-game losing streak made me rethink exactly where they were going, especially those blown games against the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche.
There’s still a lot of talent at this point in the rankings, of course, and I would expect any of these teams to go on a run and get back into the top 10 shortly.
10. Dallas Stars
30-15-12, 72 Points
Last Ranking: 8
I’m starting to worry about the Dallas Stars. Despite holding onto first place in the Central Division, this is largely due to their 12 overtime losses, which is giving them a points buffer over the rest of their division. Once again, they gained two points this week, but this was in overtime losses to playoff teams, and they also suffered a bad loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets where they simply weren’t a factor in the game.
Can they turn things around? Yes. But the Stars look like a team that needs to make a change at the deadline in order to get over the hump.
9. Colorado Avalanche
31-19-5, 68 Points
Last Ranking: 10
Are they always perfect? No. However, the Avalanche keep finding ways to put up points and lock down their spot in the postseason. In reality, injuries will be the limiting factor for Colorado. If they can keep their full unit on the ice they will be fine, but the recent injury to Cale Makar should worry fans. I still believe that they will make the postseason without an issue, but time will tell.
8. Los Angeles Kings
32-18-7, 71 Points
(Last Ranking: 13)
Despite doubting the viability of the L.A. Kings in recent weeks, they are doing more than just holding onto their playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The Kings have been one of the hottest teams in the league, and they have finally pulled themselves into a positive goal differential for one of the few times this season, meaning that they might be getting their goaltending and defense sorted out.
Considering they are the favorites to land Jakob Chychrun in the coming weeks, they could get even better. For a team with so much young talent, that’s a scary thought.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
35-17-3, 73 Points
Last Ranking: 4
Whenever a team travels across the country for a West-coast swing, strange things happen. For the Tampa Bay Lightning, that included a 0-0 shutout draw to the Arizona Coyotes that ended in a shootout loss, followed by a 5-4 loss to the Golden Knights. By all accounts, not a perfect week for the Lightning, but they still pocketed a few more points and will return home this week so they should be fine.
6. Vegas Golden Knights
34-18-4, 72 Points
(Last Ranking: 11)
The Vegas Golden Knights are back. Just a few weeks ago there was serious concern that the Golden Knights could slide their way not just out of the Pacific Division lead, but all the way out of the postseason picture. Now, after five-straight victories, that concern feels a bit misguided.
It’s not that the Golden Knights are a perfect team, but they have all the parts to be a contender. While they may want to improve their goaltending given recent injuries or swing a deal to bring in a new veteran voice to the locker room, I definitely expect Vegas to be busy and pull off an unexpected deal that makes them even more of a pain in the postseason.
5. New Jersey Devils
36-14-5, 77 Points
Last Ranking: 5
It hasn’t been easy for the New Jersey Devils lately. Outside of their dominant win against the Penguins, they have looked less than perfect against some of the bottom-feeders of the league, including the Blues and Blue Jackets. They keep finding ways to wrack up points, though, so they are in a perfect place to add at the deadline and get even better.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
34-15-8, 76 Points
Last Ranking: 6
Let the good vibes flow if you’re the Toronto Maple Leafs. After seeing the Rangers make a big trade last week with the Blues, they went out and swung a deal to bring Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to Toronto. This is one of the biggest trades made by the franchise in decades and is a sign that they are all in on winning the 2023 Stanley Cup.
In all, this is a great team that got even better this week. They should be considered a favorite, but they will have to survive the arms race that is the Eastern Conference in order to prove their worth.
3. New York Rangers
33-14-9, 75 Points
Last Ranking: 3
Take what you will from their recent play, but the New York Rangers are 8-0-2 over their last 10 games. As a team, they are rolling in all zones of play, including scoring 11 goals combined in two games against the Canucks and Oilers.
Relate: Maple Leafs’ Trade Indicative of Price of Kane & Lafferty for Oilers
With the addition of Tyler Motte, the Rangers have only improved upon their depth. This is a scary team that should be taken very seriously for the Stanley Cup this season.
2. Carolina Hurricanes
37-10-8, 82 Points
Last Ranking: 2
Well, the 2023 Stadium Series game went about as well as the Carolina Hurricanes could have hoped. They beat the Capitals 4-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 57,000 people, and the stadium was rocking all night with perfect weather. It really couldn’t have been a better night for the franchise, which had to wait years to get the chance to host this game in the first place.
This was an endcap to another perfect week for the Hurricanes, who went 3-0-0. Really, the only drama for the team will be the trade deadline, as they are expected to be big players on the market.
1. Boston Bruins
42-8-5, 89 Points
Last Ranking: 1
Remember when there was concern that the Boston Bruins might be coming back to Earth? Well, that time has passed, as they won three-straight games this week, including dominant wins against playoff hopefuls that desperately needed the win. As always, the Bruins are a wagon this season, and the next question will be, how quickly can they reach 100 points?
Expect Big Change Before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline
Despite being close to two weeks away from the NHL trade deadline, I would expect the next big trade chip to fall long before March 3rd. General managers are ready to make these moves far sooner than normal, and with prices being high right now, it’s a good time to be a seller. So, expect these Rankings to change a lot in the coming weeks as teams add the final pieces to their roster in order to prepare for their postseason runs.