NHL 2024-25 Power Rankings: Week 17

Well, after weeks of speculation, rumors, and a bit of drama, the hockey world has the conclusion to one of the bigger off-ice storylines of the 2024-25 season, as the Vancouver Canucks finally traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers in another Friday night blockbuster. In this move, Vancouver receives Filip Chytil, defensive prospect Victor Mancini, and a 2025 first-round pick (more on this later) where the Rangers receive Miller, Erik Brannstrom, and defensive prospect Jackson Dorrington.

While the ripples of this move are massive, don’t get me wrong, it feels a bit expected after the Mikko Rantanen deal shocked the league last week. This move has been telegraphed for weeks now, and it felt like after the big trade last week, the Canucks were running out of dance partners other than New York. However, their return can be seen as a bit underwhelming given the caliber of player traded, but that is often what happens when your hands are tied.

This wasn’t the only meaningful trade to go down this week, as the 2025 Trade Deadline might as well have been February 1st at this rate. Normally I would discuss these trades at the top of the Rankings, but this week I’m going to disperse them throughout the article, as they help build a narrative for just how crazy things have been in recent days.

So, with big trades behind us, let’s have some fun with Week 17 of THW’s 2024-25 NHL Power Rankings!

32-23: Vancouver Makes Second Impactful Trade

32. San Jose Sharks (Previously: 32)

31. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously: 31)

30. Nashville Predators (Previously: 23)

29. Anaheim Ducks (Previously: 28)

28. Utah Hockey Club (Previously: 25)

27. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously: 29)

26. Seattle Kraken (Previously: 27)

25. Buffalo Sabres (Previously: 30)

24. St. Louis Blues (Previously: 21)

23. Vancouver Canucks (Previously: 26)

If you’re a fan of the Canucks, I hope you didn’t grow too attached to the first-round pick you received from the Rangers, as Vancouver pitched that out the door mere hours after acquiring it in a deal with the Penguins. In this move, they acquired Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor for Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, prospect Melvin Fernstrom, and the aforementioned first-round pick.

For the Canucks, I appreciate the sentiment of this trade, as they brought back a solid depth forward and a great top-four defenseman while shedding two contracts they regretted signing this offseason, but you also have to wonder if it was worth losing that first-round pick already? For Pittsburgh, Pettersson was one of their last big trade assets remaining, and pulling back a first-round pick was a great return in this deal, but you’re also acquiring two players under contract through the 2026 season, which will give you less flexibility moving forward and didn’t feel necessary. So, not a clear win or loss on either side, just a bit of an interesting trade with the potential for positives and negatives for both sides.

Marcus Pettersson Pittsburgh Penguins
Marcus Pettersson, formally of the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Outside the trade market, the bottom of the Rankings are getting a bit more interesting, but mostly just to see which team can get the longest losing streak. The Blues and Utah HC have largely had their seasons collapse after glimpses of hope, leading to four-game losing streaks and what felt like a must-win matchup between the two teams this Sunday. In this slog of mediocrity, St. Louis broke their losing streak, sending Utah HC to five straight losses. Overall, it’s been a rough stretch for the NHL’s newest team, both on the ice and off it.

22-11: Flames and Flyers Make Meaningful Trade

22. Montreal Canadiens (Previously: 16)

21. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously: 24)

20. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously: 20)

19. New York Rangers (Previously: 15)

18. Detroit Red Wings (Previously: 18)

17. Calgary Flames (Previously: 14)

16. Los Angeles Kings (Previously: 10)

15. New Jersey Devils (Previously: 12)

14. Boston Bruins (Previously: 17)

13. New York Islanders (Previously: 22)

12. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously: 13)

11. Ottawa Senators (Previously: 19)

In the middle of the Rankings this week, we saw a trade that I was originally expecting to be the big deal of the week. In this move, the Flames added Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, forward Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick, which were sent to the Flyers.

Overall, I like this deal for both sides, as Calgary acquired some needed depth to their lineup, while the Flyers added a player who can help now on the ice and in the locker room, along with some draft capital. Now, is this a massive move? No, but it has the potential to be impactful for all parties involved.

Morgan Frost Philadelphia Flyers
Morgan Frost, formally of the Philadelphia Flyers. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

On the ice, the middle of the Rankings is filled with streaks. Going up are the Islanders who were on a seven-game winning streak that ended Sunday and the Red Wings, who pulled down six big wins of their own. You also can’t give enough credit to the Senators and Blue Jackets, who have shaken off their early-season funk and have put themselves firmly into playoff contention with recent winning streaks of their own.

On their way down, the Rangers and Canadiens both saw some of their recent magic fading away, as they hit the proverbial wall. Two of my contenders just a few weeks ago have also heavily regressed recently, as both the Devils and Kings have struggled to find consistent wins while fighting through injuries and just plain old bad luck. All four of these teams will need to get right quickly or hope that the upcoming break will be enough to reset their recent struggles.

10-1: Stars Bolstering Roster After Injuries

10. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously: 7)

9. Minnesota Wild (Previously: 8)

8. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously: 9)

7. Colorado Avalanche (Previously: 11)

6. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously: 6)

5. Edmonton Oilers (Previously: 2)

4. Florida Panthers (Previously: 5)

3. Dallas Stars (Previously: 3)

2. Washington Capitals (Previously: 1)

1. Winnipeg Jets (Previously: 4)

Not to be outdone in the big trade department, the Stars wasted little time to help address a rash of injuries gripping their roster in recent weeks. In their deal, they acquired Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the Sharks for a 2025 first-round pick and a conditional fourth that could become a third if they reach the Stanley Cup Final.

After so many big deals over the last week, it felt kinda nice seeing a more traditional trade go down. For the Stars, they got a great middle-six forward in Granlund and needed defensive depth on their blue line with Ceci. For the Sharks, they sell high on two players they acquired largely as a cap dump by other teams. Simple, clean, win-win for both franchises overall.

Mikael Granlund San Jose Sharks
Mikael Granlund, formally of the San Jose Sharks. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

On the ice, the Stars may be surging up the Rankings, but no one can top the Jets right now. In one of the best games of the season, Winnipeg and Washington had a true battle of the Titans on Saturday, which led to a 5-4 overtime victory. We can only hope to have a Stanley Cup Final this exciting in June.

Trades Shaking the NHL

As we predicted, the Four Nations Face-Off is acting as a bit of a premature trade deadline for the NHL this season. Teams are vying for positioning all over the league, as the cutoff to get into the postseason for both conferences remains surprisingly slim. Any team can make it in, which may drive trade prices up in the coming days before the break.

Related: Top 20 2025 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents

However, blockbuster trades were the name of the game all over the sports world this week. With big moves in the air, one can only wait with bated breath as the next trade call takes place!

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