Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
Happy holidays. The NHL will take a break from Saturday to Monday, but even the short week has brought a significant shakeup to the Power Rankings, especially with the middle class.
Parity seems at an all-time high, and aside from five teams – Chicago, Anaheim, Philadelphia, San Jose and Arizona – everyone else is in contention for a playoff spot. Some teams’ chances are far more far-fetched than others (read: the Canucks), but it’s also been a tough season to gauge certain teams because they’ve been so streaky.
What do we make of the Devils’ most recent slide? When do we start to really write off the Flames? When will the Oilers learn how to build a hockey team? These are the burning questions we hope to see answered in the new year. Here’s the holiday wish list edition of the Power Rankings to take with a grain of salt.
(All fancy stats are 5v5 and courtesy naturalstattrick.com. CF% stands for Corsi For Percentage and xGF% represents Expected Goals For Percentage.)
1. Boston Bruins (25-4-2, +54. CF% league rank: 5, xGF% league rank: 3)
Wish list: Stop, you can’t have everything.
2. Carolina Hurricanes (20-6-6, +14. CF%: 1, xGF%: 2)
Wish list: More Pyotr Kochetkov because he’s worth the price of admission alone. Realistically, more scoring from everyone, especially Teuvo Teravainen and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (20-7-6, +28. CF%: 13, xGF%: 6)
Wish list: A fanbase that doesn’t panic and complain when they have a top-three record. Ah, who am I kidding?
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (20-10-1, +21. CF%: 15, xGF%: 10)
Wish list: A summer in which they don’t have to lose any depth due to the cap. Seriously.
5. Dallas Stars (19-8-6, +27. CF%: 11, xGF%: 16)
Wish list: Scrapping those awful neon jerseys and designating the 2017 draft as culturally significant in the Library of Congress. Also, just finding another line that can produce goals consistently.
6. Vegas Golden Knights (22-11-1, +18. CF%: 22, xGF%: 7)
Wish list: A happy, full life for Alex Pietrangelo’s daughter after a health scare, cap space so they no longer need to do the dreaded trades for “future considerations” (though it’s awesome drama) and wearing the gold helmets full-time (this one’s for me).
7. Winnipeg Jets (21-10-1, +27. CF%: 19, xGF%: 20)
Wish list: A healthy top six, designating their white jerseys as their home set and making sure Rick Bowness lives forever.
8. Minnesota Wild (18-11-2, +11. CF%: 16, xGF%: 12)
Wish list: Cap space and a lifetime ban on Kirill Kaprizov playing anywhere else.
9. Pittsburgh Penguins (19-9-4, +20. CF%: 17, xGF%: 5)
Wish list: A clean bill of health for the rest of the season for everyone, and considering the job he’s done again this season, please at least nominate Mike Sullivan for the Jack Adams.
10. New Jersey Devils (21-9-2, +27. CF%: 2, xGF%: 1)
Wish list: Better wingers for Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, and a merciful end to whatever the Devils have become during their six-game winless streak.
11. Washington Capitals (17-13-4, +5. CF%: 14, xGF%: 15)
Wish list: 801 goals (and counting) for Alex Ovechkin, and hopefully miraculous returns of Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and Connor Brown so at least we don’t have to watch Sonny Milano in the top six.
12. Buffalo Sabers (16-14-2, +18. CF%: 9, xGF%: 22)
Wish list: For the good vibes to never end, for a defense that goes more than two deep and for goalies who are neither too young nor too old.
13. New York Rangers (18-11-5, +18. CF%: 12, xGF%: 14)
Wish list: Trade backsies on that Pavel Buchnevich-Sammy Blais swap and, of course, breakout seasons from Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. It’s time, kids.
14. Colorado Avalanche (17-11-2, +10. CF%: 10, xGF%: 18)
Wish list: For Cale Makar to stop being so wholesome and sportsmanlike so his team can go on the power play and win more games.
15. New York Islanders (18-13-2, +12. CF%: 24, xGF%: 24)
Wish list: A high-end GPS with real-time exact co-ordinates for Mathew Barzal so he can actually find the net and wingers who actually know how to score as well.
16. Florida Panthers (15-14-4, even. CF%: 4, xGF%: 4)
Wish list: The Vanishing Spell on Sergei Bobrovsky. And probably Paul Maurice while you’re at it.
17. Los Angeles Kings (18-12-5, -7. CF%: 8, xGF%: 8)
Wish list: A shooter tutor because it’ll probably stop more pucks than whatever goalie they put in the crease, although shoutout to Phoenix Copley for holding the fort with five wins in six starts.
18. Seattle Kraken (18-10-3, +10. CF%: 7, xGF%: 13)
Wish list: A complete redo of the expansion draft, especially after the two summers where they signed goalies who ended up struggling.
19. St. Louis Blues (16-16-1, -18. CF%: 27, xGF%: 23)
Wish list: A goalie to fight Jordan Binnington and knock some sense into him. The hero we need. For all of us.
20. Edmonton Oilers (17-14-2, +4. CF%: 18, xGF%: 19)
Wish list: 16 other guys who can play better hockey.
21. Calgary Flames (15-12-6, +1. CF%: 3, xGF%: 9)
Wish list: The real Jonathan Huberdeau.
22. Ottawa Senators (14-16-2, -5. CF%: 6, xGF%: 11)
Wish list: Ryan Reynolds, a Disney+ reality show featuring Brady Tkachuk chugging beers in the stands when the Sens miss the playoffs for the umpteenth time and a season without any centers busting up their shoulders.
23. Detroit Red Wings (13-11-7, -10. CF%: 28, xGF%: 27)
Wish list: Defensive depth that doesn’t rely on Ben Chiarot for 20 minutes and a healthy roster including Jakub Vrana.
24. Montreal Canadiens (15-15-2, -20. CF%: 21, xGF%: 25)
Wish list: Someone who can put the puck in the net not named Cole or Nick, or perhaps a Costco Executive Gold Star Membership so they can pick up more Arber Xhekajs.
25. Nashville Predators (13-13-4, -17. CF%: 20, xGF%: 21)
Wish list: An $8-million banner to hang from the rafters of Bridgestone, because at least it’ll be visible, unlike their $8-million players.
26. Vancouver Canucks (13-15-3, -19. CF%: 25, xGF%: 26)
Wish list: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Building a Stanley Cup Contender and How Not to Alienate an Entire Fanbase By Making the Same Mistakes Again and Again.
27. San Jose Sharks (10-18-6, -24. CF%: 23, xGF%: 17)
Wish list: Black pants and helmets with their home teal set, and a panic room to lock up anyone in the organization who dares to even think about signing or trading for a 30-something veteran to a big long-term contract.
28. Arizona Coyotes (10-15-5, -28. CF%: 31, xGF%: 31)
Wish list: To be taken seriously, which means an NHL-sized arena whose main draw is the product on the ice and not the free mullets (awesome) or the brawls in the stands (not so awesome).
29. Anaheim Ducks (9-21-3, -59. CF%: 30, xGF%: 32)
Wish list: A DeLorean so they can fast-forward past Dallas Eakins.
30. Philadelphia Flyers (11-15-7, -27. CF%: 26, xGF%: 28)
Wish list: A GM who doesn’t make bad trades or sign players to bad contracts. Is it so impossible?
31. Columbus Blue Jackets (10-20-2, -43. CF%: 29, xGF%: 29)
Wish list: Six healthy defensemen.
32. Chicago Blackhawks (7-19-4, -48. CF%: 32, xGF%: 30)
Wish list: Connor Bedard, obviously, but also a trade offer for Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane they can’t refuse…
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