Sometimes it can be easy to forget that sports are, first and foremost, a business, and business can be brutal. This week we had more reminders of this, as we saw another head coach fired (more on that later) and the end to one of the more complex offseason trade sagas in recent memory. For those who don’t remember, after seeing his play decline in recent years, the New York Rangers attempted to trade Jacob Trouba to the Detroit Red Wings in a cap-clearing move, only to have the move blocked by his no-move clause.
Despite this trade not happening, it was clear that Trouba’s time in New York was short, culminating in an ultimatum this week. Essentially, the Rangers told their Captain to accept a trade to one of the interested teams of his choice, or be placed on waivers and be claimed by whoever saw fit. Given the situation, a trade was struck with the Anaheim Ducks, who took on the defender and his full salary in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen.
Needless to say, this was a very public and messy breakup between the team and player. However, that’s just how business goes sometimes.
On the ice, this week felt a bit standard. Many teams are right where I left them when I got on a plane for a long international flight after the American Thanksgiving holiday break. While there are a few big positive surges forward, most teams in the middle to bottom of the Rankings feel content where they are at, as they just aren’t winning consistently enough to push themselves forward. This makes me think we will see some more big off-ice changes before the end of the month, but no reason to get ahead of ourselves here. For now, let’s dig into Week 9 of THW’s 2024-25 NHL Power Rankings.
32-19: Flailing Blackhawks Fire Head Coach
32. Nashville Predators (Previously: 32)
31. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously: 31)
30. Detroit Red Wings (Previously: 27)
29. Montreal Canadiens (Previously: 30)
28. San Jose Sharks (Previously: 28)
27. Buffalo Sabres (Previously: 19)
26. Anaheim Ducks (Previously: 24)
25. Ottawa Senators (Previously: 29)
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously: 21)
23. New York Islanders (Previously: 20)
22. Seattle Kraken (Previously: 22)
21. Utah Hockey Club (Previously: 23)
20. St. Louis Blues (Previously: 26)
19. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously: 25)
It’s important to remember that there are different levels to a team being bad. When a team is bad on purpose, losing games can be seen as a good thing, as each loss brings them closer to their ultimate goal of a top draft pick. However, you can only be bad for so long before positive steps forward need to be shown even if you aren’t in the playoff hunt.
For the Blackhawks, the 2024-25 season was one of low expectations but things were expected to be slightly better. Through 27 games, however, it was still all bad on the ice.
So, despite having no real postseason aspirations, Chicago became the third team in just three weeks to fire their head coach. This felt like a bit of a last-ditch effort by general manager Kyle Davidson to turn the tide before his job gets called into question after his 2024 offseason signings have been disastrous. Perhaps a new voice in the locker room will help get things heading in the right direction again, but for now, the Blackhawks look like a listless team with some talent but no direction or belief in themselves.
Speaking of listless, wow are things bad at the bottom of the Rankings. The Blue Jackets lost four straight before a win Sunday, the Blackhawks and Red Wings have both lost five in a row, the Sabres six straight, and the Predators have now hit seven straight losses. Really, the only team down here showing any real fight are the Penguins, who are starting to look like a real team again after a bad start to the season. Perhaps they will claw their way out of the bottom of the Rankings in the coming weeks and into playoff contention?
18-12: Broken Rangers Need a Reset
18. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously: 18)
17. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously: 16)
16. Calgary Flames (Previously: 12)
15. New York Rangers (Previously: 13)
14. Colorado Avalanche (Previously: 15)
13. Edmonton Oilers (Previously: 14)
12. Boston Bruins (Previously: 17)
Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Rangers were one of the teams I felt confident would be in the top section of my Rankings from Week 1 onwards. Sure, they may have some dips in their play here and there, but even at their lowest points, I still thought they were just too talented to fall below the top 10 or so teams in the league.
After a string of mediocre play, however, the Rangers now find themselves in a bit of a tight spot. While they have played a fewer games than their rivals, they are squarely in the middle of the Metropolitan Division, and if they don’t capitalize on their games in hand, they could easily fall out of contention for a top-three spot. That’s not where I expected them to be at this point in the season, but if they win at least two of their next three games, they will be right back where I expected them to be, so they shouldn’t be in a panic just yet either.
Perhaps the Trouba trade and record-breaking extension for Igor Shesterkin will be enough to shake them out of their funk?
Also, can I just say that the rumors of the Bruins’ downfall were greatly exaggerated? With four straight wins and a 7-3-0 record in the last 10 games played, Boston have moved themselves back into contention for the Atlantic Division, and likely into the top part of these Rankings by next week. So, while firing your head coach often brings with it a brief bounceback in play, I feel like no one should be surprised if this level of play continues for the rest of the season.
11-1: Kings Reaching Next Level Play
11. Vancouver Canucks (Previously: 11)
10. Winnipeg Jets (Previously: 5)
9. Dallas Stars (Previously: 6)
8. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously: 3)
7. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously: 4)
6. Florida Panthers (Previously: 9)
5. Los Angeles Kings (Previously: 8)
4. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously: 10)
3. New Jersey Devils (Previously: 7)
2. Minnesota Wild (Previously: 1)
1. Washington Capitals (Previously: 2)
As an East Coast-based writer, it can sometimes be easy to overlook teams that play on the West Coast, as I simply am not able to watch their games as often due to their later start times. Due to this, I’ve tried to go out of my way to watch more West Coast games in recent years when possible, which has led me to find a lot to like about the Kings.
At times, they feel like a forgotten team in the Pacific Division, as they made the playoffs for three straight years, but first-round losses to the Oilers spoiled their strong seasons. Comparing this Kings team to the ones of years past would be underselling them, however. The Kings this year may not be offensive dynamos (the sit in the middle of the pack for scoring) but they are forth best in the league for goals against per game, and they simply are able to grind their opponents to dust behind a defensively responsible team structure up and down their lineup. They are a tough team, and I think they will be a real contender.
I also feel like I need to give the Devils their flowers because I have been underrating them a bit in recent weeks. As a team that played more games than everyone else to start the season, I often took their overall positioning in the standings as a bit of an anomaly that I thought might even out once other teams caught up to them in games played. However, they have maintained one of the best records in the league even as their games lead normalized, and with a 6-4-0 record in their last 10 games played, I can confidently call them a contender.
It’s also worth noting that the Panthers and Jets have stabilized after a stretch of poor play, and the Wild and Capitals are still at the top of the standings with identical 7-2-1 records in their last 10 games played. These teams are surprisingly great, and they just kept maintaining this level of play for the week.
Predicting the NHL’s Next Big Moves
With big changes happening weekly, I can officially say that we are in the middle of what is going to be a wild few weeks across the NHL. Teams seem to be very upset by poor starts to the season, as no one appears to be openly tanking for future draft capital as in recent years. This leads me to think another big move will be taking place before the end of the calendar year.
Related: Flames Should Do Everything Possible to Move Kadri to Maple Leafs
While this move could be any number of things, I’m going to plant my flag now that the next big changes will see the Red Wings fire their head coach, and have franchise icon Steve Yzerman moved to a new position within the organization allowing a new general manager to step in to try and right their ship. Detroit is a very proud hockey market, and their current state is simply unacceptable given their expectations entering the season. However, I don’t think you can fire someone like Yzerman given his importance to the franchise, so I would expect him to be ‘promoted’ out of the role of GM.
This is, of course, just a guess as to what could happen in the coming weeks. If it happens I’ll be sure to cover it in full on THW’s weekly Power Rankings!