The 2023-24 NHL season is moving quickly, and not just in terms of games played. Over the last week, we saw the next head coach firing, as the Minnesota Wild let go Dean Evason and assistant coach Bon Woods after a terrible start to their season. While this firing wasn’t a huge surprise, since the Wild were massively underperforming and lost seven straight games before the move was made, it’s still something few would have suggested as an early-season outcome for the Wild back on their first game.
If you would like to learn more about this coaching change, THW’s own Mariah Stark (Holland) has an excellent article which I will link below discussing why this move was made and what the new coaching staff can bring to Minnesota.
Related: Wild Fire Evason; Hope Hynes Brings Fresh Perspective
On the ice, the hockey world jumped back into the swing of things after American Thanksgiving caused a bit of chaos in the scheduling last week. Most teams saw a pretty heavy playing schedule, giving plenty of examples to look toward when making changes in the Rankings.
Also, we saw two of our first meaningful trades of the season this week, as the Vancouver Canucks sent forward Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks so they could clear enough cap space to acquire defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames. While this wasn’t a massive deal in terms of star power, it’s a meaningful move that could impact the rest of the Canucks’ regular season while they push for the playoffs.
With the off-ice news building each week, let’s take a look at THW’s Week 9 Power Rankings!
32-24: NHL’s Dead Cat Bounce
32. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously 30th)
31. San Jose Sharks (Previously 31st)
30. Seattle Kraken (Previously 26th)
29. Anaheim Ducks (Previously 28th)
28. Minnesota Wild (Previously 32nd)
27. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously 29th)
26. Buffalo Sabres (Previously 24th)
25. Montreal Canadiens (Previously 25th)
24. Edmonton Oilers (Previously 27th)
If you’ve studied economics or finance for any length of time, then you’ve inevitably heard the phrase “Dead Cat Bounce.” Essentially, this weirdly descriptive term is used when a declining stock or asset sees a short-lived rise in price before continuing to decline in value. Oftentimes, this is a sharp, positive rally before all of those gains are quickly shed. I’ve also heard this phenomenon called a “Fool’s Rally,” but I’m not here to teach an economics course.
I use this term because, as of right now, I’m unsure if some teams at the bottom of the Rankings have actually fixed their issues, or if they are just experiencing a Dead Cat Bounce after making changes to their coaching cores or leadership calling on their top players to perform or expect change. For example, the Oilers are 7-3 over their last 10 games played and are looking like a playoff team again after their coaching change, and the Wild won their next three games after their change.
However, there’s also a chance that this is nothing more than a Fool’s Rally where a team bands together before burning themselves out and falling back into the habits that put them in the position for a coaching change in the first place. So, I’m still playing cautious with some of these bottom teams that are playing well for another week.
Also, I just want to say that I feel sorry for any readers here who are fans of the Sabres. I believed that this was the year for Buffalo to take that next step, and I had them high in my Rankings to match my strong feelings about them at the start of the season. However, it feels like everything has gone wrong, and I now have to move them to the bottom section of my Rankings. Between Tage Thompson’s long-term injury, Devon Levi being sent to the AHL, and a general regression from their core players, it’s looking more and more like the playoffs will be an impossible task to reach once again.
23-23: Let’s Get Weird With the Rankings
23. Calgary Flames (Previously 23rd)
23. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously 14th)
23. St. Louis Blues (Previously 21st)
23. Nashville Predators (Previously 20th)
23. New Jersey Devils (Previously 22nd)
23. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously 18th)
23. Ottawa Senators (Previously 19th)
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been having a lot of trouble separating the middle section of the Rankings. Many of these teams show flashes of brilliance for a week, then follow that up with just horrid showings that make me question if they will actually be in the playoff hunt come the NHL Trade Deadline. Typically, I find a way to discern them from each other, but I never feel very strongly about any team in position 23-17.
Well, something about this week broke me while piecing together the Rankings. I couldn’t find many reasons to separate any of the teams in this section from each other, and I also wasn’t ready to drop them into the bottom section either. So, I came to a compromise and ranked everyone 23rd.
All this is to say that I don’t think any of these teams are good right now. The Lightning have lost four straight games and are floundering. The Devils, Penguins (goalie-goal notwithstanding), Blues, and Senators all are losing more games than they are winning, which means they are quickly falling behind in their divisionsional races. And, as mentioned earlier, the Flames are already selling their unrestricted free agents, which means they might be prepping for a full rebuild/retool at the trade deadline.
While I don’t plan on doing this for more than a week, I’m going to keep these seven teams together in joint 23rd place until any of them can showcase some sustained success. If they keep losing, I will filter them into the bottom section of the Rankings.
16-12: A Shrinking List of Good Teams
16. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously 16th)
15. New York Islanders (Previously 15th)
14. Washington Capitals (Previously 12th)
13. Arizona Coyotes (Previously 17th)
12. Detroit Red Wings (Previously 13th)
After struggling with mediocre hockey and long rebuilds, the Coyotes are playing some of their best hockey in years, as they are on a four-game winning streak against good opponents. While it’s often easy to write off Arizona as nothing more than a novelty in the desert, it appears that they may have finally put the pieces together to make a postseason push on the backs of their often-overlooked star Clayton Keller and a developing starting goaltender in Connor Ingram. I love how they are playing right now, and if they keep this up they will be winning a lot of games this season.
While things went well for Arizona this week, it was a bit more difficult for the Flyers. The team is in a bit of a rut, as they aren’t playing poorly, but they also aren’t playing well enough to win games consistently. They had a chance to put themselves into contention for the Metropolitan Division over the last two weeks, but they weren’t able to grab that opportunity. However, they are doing enough to stay in the postseason conversation, which means they will have to decide as an organization if they are going for it or selling their top assets in the coming months.
11-1: Stability At the Top
11. Vancouver Canucks (Previously 10th)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously 11th)
9. Florida Panthers (Previously 9th)
8. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously 8th)
7. Winnipeg Jets (Previously 3rd)
6. Colorado Avalanche (Previously 5th)
5. Dallas Stars (Previously 7th)
4. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously 6th)
3. Boston Bruins (Previously 4th)
2. Los Angeles Kings (Previously 2nd)
1. New York Rangers (Previously 1st)
I’m starting to like how the top of the Rankings are looking. While it’s always tempting to make changes for the sake of making changes, for the most part, I’m going to leave this section with just minor moves. The biggest fallers this week were the Jets, who struggled a bit after a really impressive stretch of wins. They, much like the Canucks, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Hurricanes, and Panthers have looked a bit average in recent weeks, but they still have played well enough for me to stay in the discussion for the top teams in the league.
At the top of the Rankings, I think any of the top six teams can make a real case that they are Stanley Cup favorites. Sure, they have had some perplexing losses to go with their big wins in recent weeks, but overall I still think these are the most complete teams in the league. They all have deep and balanced rosters, with talented offensive and defensive cores that can withstand the rigors of the playoffs. They also feature some of the best goaltenders in the league, which we all know can determine postseason success.
December Hockey Could Be Exciting Off the Ice
While December is typically a slower time of the year for the NHL off the ice, I’m expecting it to be a busier month than normal this season. Trade rumors are floating around for many teams at the top and bottom of the standings, and the Zadorov trade shows that teams are willing to make moves now if it benefits them instead of waiting until March.
Related: Hockey Insider Confirms Oilers’ Interest in Blue Jackets Players
However, the coming weeks will be key for those teams in the middle of the Rankings. All it takes is one good winning streak or bad losing streak to change their seasonal aspirations. That means December will be a key month both on and off the ice, making it one of the more exciting times to be a fan of NHL hockey.
