Well, while the United States was celebrating American Thanksgiving, two NHL franchises were busily preparing for some holiday shopping. This week we saw the first blockbuster trade of the 2025 NHL season, as the Columbus Blue Jackets sent young defenseman David Jirichek and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick to the Minnesota Wild for defensive prospect Daemon Hunt, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick.
Overall, this is a shockingly big move, as the Blue Jackets are selling very high on one of the best defensive prospects in the world who was expecting to take on a major role in the NHL. Despite these expectations, Jirichek never seemed to find his place in Columbus, who moved him between the NHL and AHL over the past three seasons. Given his age this wasn’t a concern, but it felt like there was more for the player to give than roughly 50 NHL games over the last three seasons.
On the other side of the coin, the Wild paid a king’s ransom for a player with huge question marks and little experience outside his pedigree as the sixth-overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft. However, if Jiricek can reach even 80 percent of his potential, Minnesota will have a cost-controlled top-four defenseman for the next few years while they work through their cap crunch before giving him a big raise once that dead cap gets off their books.
Overall, I love the risk by the Wild, who are going for it now despite having limited cap space, but I can’t help but feel like the Blue Jackets did really well in this deal.
On the ice, we saw a lot of games played this week despite Thursday being a holiday for the league. Many of the results felt a bit uneven, as we saw teams putting up big scores one night, then getting hammered the next. I’m going to blame a bit of this play on the Turkey Day hangover, however, and see if it continues onto next week before making big changes on the Rankings if this bad play becomes a habit.
Please note: Travel plans have limited my ability to keep up like normal, which means this week’s Rankings will not be taking Sunday’s games into account before posting. I had to write it before going on an International flight, so my timeframes just didn’t line up for Sunday. I will do my best to take those results into account for next week, however.
32-21: Predators Running Out of Time
32. Nashville Predators (Previously: 28)
31. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously: 32)
30. Montreal Canadiens (Previously: 29)
29. Ottawa Senators (Previously: 27)
28. San Jose Sharks (Previously: 30)
27. Detroit Red Wings (Previously: 26)
26. St. Louis Blues (Previously: 25)
25. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously: 31)
24. Anaheim Ducks (Previously: 24)
23. Utah Hockey Club (Previously: 23)
22. Seattle Kraken (Previously: 19)
21. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously: 21)
I’m sure like many of you, I’ve been waiting for the Predators to get things going. There’s so much talent on their roster, between their Norris-Caliber Defenseman, big free-agent additions to bolster their offensive corps, and a top-ten goaltender in the net. On paper, you’d think you’d have the makings of a Stanley Cup contender.
Reality, however, has not been so kind to Nashville. Through 25 games, they might be the worst team in the league. With just seven wins to their name, they have the least amount of victories across the league this season, and if not for the gift of the loser point, they would comfortably be behind both the Blackhawks and Canadiens in the standings. At some point, you have to wonder if there is no choice but to make trades off the roster to try and recoup something from this flailing experiment.
It’s not all doom and gloom at the bottom of the Rankings, however. After setting a record of futility to start the season, San Jose is starting to see big scoring efforts from their rookie stars in the making. While they are a long way off from the playoff picture, I can’t help but be excited about their future, as they look like they will be a fun-bad team this year as they work their way to becoming a fun-good team in the future.
20-14: I’ve Been Sleeping on the Flyers
20. New York Islanders (Previously: 18)
19. Buffalo Sabres (Previously: 16)
18. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously: 20)
17. Boston Bruins (Previously: 17)
16. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously: 22)
15. Colorado Avalanche (Previously: 14)
14. Edmonton Oilers (Previously: 15)
So, I’m not afraid to admit when I’m behind on a team, as it’s easy to get stuck in your perception of where a franchise may be in terms of rebuilding versus actually competing. To me, the Flyers looked like a prime rebuilding team heading into the season, as they had a lot of holes in their roster which seemed like a good reason to sell off any loose parts this season. However, after a 7-2-1 run over their last 10 games played, Philadelphia may be looking to buy rather than sell.
I’m not going to start saying they are ready to go on a run to the playoffs just yet (this is the team that melted down to miss the playoffs last season, after all) but it appears that there could be a lot more for the Flyers to give this season than I expected. And who knows, maybe they will be one of the surprise teams forcing their way into the postseason after this hot stretch of play?
Heading in the opposite direction, the Islanders just look a bit sad on the ice this season despite some expectations heading into it. They aren’t a bad team, per se, but they just haven’t been inspiring either. With a 3-4-3 record over their last 10 games played, and a bevy of blown third-period leads, you have to ask if their ceiling will be playoffs or trade bait. Many in the league are hoping they will decide to sell, in case you were wondering.
13-1: Wild Taking Over the NHL
13. New York Rangers (Previously: 8)
12. Calgary Flames (Previously: 9)
11. Vancouver Canucks (Previously: 12)
10. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously: 5)
9. Florida Panthers (Previously: 11)
8. Los Angeles Kings (Previously: 13)
7. New Jersey Devils (Previously: 7)
6. Dallas Stars (Previously: 6)
5. Winnipeg Jets (Previously: 3)
4. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously: 2)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously: 1)
2. Washington Capitals (Previously: 10)
1. Minnesota Wild (Previously: 4)
Not only did the Wild pull off the first big trade of the 2025 NHL season, but they’ve somehow pulled even with the Jets in the standings, who are finally coming back to reality after their historic start. While I think you can argue that the Maple Leafs are still the best team in the NHL right now, I’m giving Minnesota the edge this week after three wins over the last handful of days.
I also have to give more flowers to the Capitals, who took over first place in the Metropolitan Division despite being without Alexander Ovechkin for a number of games. The team has now won seven straight on the road, and are absolutely a contender if they can keep things moving in this direction. If Ovechkin can come back from injury and keep scoring at his record-setting pace, they might just be unstoppable.
Trades Already Moving the NHL
While the Wild and Blue Jackets stole the trade headlines with their blockbuster deal, another small trade went down between the Avalanche and Predators involving their backup goaltenders. Both teams are struggling with their goaltending depth, so this swap could be what they need to steady their backup and hopefully allow their starters to thrive once again.
Related: Maple Leafs, Tavares Consider Clever Deal to Combat Cap Issue
With two trades of various impact taking place this week, and two head coaching firings the week prior, I can say that it feels like midseason is coming early across the league. Teams seem ready to push their way into contention or make the changes necessary to do so. Given everything so far, I wouldn’t be shocked if another big swing happens before Christmas.