NHL Power Rankings for Every Team Not in the Stanley Cup Final
And then there were two.
The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers remain standing after a gauntlet that took the NHL's 32 teams through training camp, early-season jitters, trade deadlines and playoff pushes, and they'll begin play for the Stanley Cup Final this weekend in Miami.
So where does that leave the other 30?
Well, the remainder of the league finds itself in many places as the calendar advances into June, with some teams nursing recent postseason hurt, while others are knee-deep in planning for the draft later this month and the free-agency rush that begins July 1.
The B/R hockey team took that as a cue to get together in the (unofficial) early summer swelter and rank the teams not playing Saturday night in terms of where they stand when the focus is turned to the opening of the 2024-25 season in October.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the comments.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets
Previous Ranking: 29
There's room for at least some offseason optimism in middle Ohio thanks to the arrival of new general manager Don Waddell, who took the reins in Columbus just four days after resigning from a similar position with the Carolina Hurricanes.
29. Anaheim Ducks
Previous Ranking: 30
The Ducks will draft third as they prepare for a second season under head coach Greg Cronin, who became the ninth man behind the bench since 2000 when he replaced Dallas Eakins and finished 30th overall in 2023-24.
28. San Jose Sharks
Previous Ranking: 32
It's all about Macklin Celebrini in northern California, where the Sharks won the lottery and the No. 1 pick that will presumably net them the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner.
That alone is reason to believe in an uptick from last season's woeful 19 wins in 82 games.
27. Chicago Blackhawks
Previous Ranking: 31
The Sharks can ask folks in Chicago how it feels to land an impact player with the first pick, which is what the Blackhawks got when Connor Bedard's name was called last summer.
The (likely) Calder winner could get a running mate when the team picks second on June 28.
26. Montreal Canadiens
Previous Ranking: 26
There's not much work to do when it comes to retaining impact free agents already on the roster, so it's time for GM Kent Hughes to bring in someone who can spike optimism in Quebec, where the Canadiens have missed three straight playoffs since the 2021 Cup Final.
25. Seattle Kraken
Previous Ranking: 25
Will the real Seattle Kraken please stand up?
Are they the team that surged to 100 points and a second-round playoff berth in year two of the franchise or the one that dipped to 81 points and a playoff miss last spring?
New coach Dan Bylsma is charged with finding out.
24. Calgary Flames
Previous Ranking: 24
It can't be an easy time for Flames fans, who have to watch their bitter provincial rivals from Edmonton compete for the Stanley Cup against a Florida team that's powered in no small fashion by a couple of Calgary draftees in Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett.
23. Philadelphia Flyers
Previous Ranking: 20
Flyers fans could feel the same about watching Sergei Bobrovsky as Calgary backers do about Tkachuk and Bennett, but it's been awhile since that deal so we'll change focus.
Maybe a trade can be swung for young talent Martin Nečas, who's an RFA-to-be in Carolina.
22. Minnesota Wild
Previous Ranking: 21
It won't be an uber-compelling offseason in Minnesota, where the Wild are in the final days of their stay in dead-cap jail thanks to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.
What might be interesting come October is how often 21-year-old goalie Jesper Wallstedt sees the ice.
21. Utah Hockey Club
Previous Ranking: 28
Whaddya know? Maybe a change of scenery is what's been needed for the team formerly known as the Coyotes, who spiked seven spots from 28 to 21 without playing a game.
As for the team's next name, Michael DeRosa of The Hockey News is all-in on the Yeti.
20. Ottawa Senators
Previous Ranking: 27
Whether by draft or trade or free agency, it's all about the back end in Ottawa, where the Senators were porous at best while finishing with the league's fifth-worst goals-against average at 3.43.
Maybe defenseman Chris Tanev is a tire they kick again come July 1.
19. Pittsburgh Penguins
Previous Ranking: 18 (tie)
Their late-season run toward a playoff spot was intriguing, but it wound up as a second straight season of outside-looking-in irrelevance for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, who aren't likely to bounce much higher than the middle of the pack without a seismic deal.
18. St. Louis Blues
Previous Ranking: 18 (tie)
It's probably not worthy of inclusion on the "likely to happen" pile, but at least keep an eye on the Mitch Marner trade market and where the Blues might fit in it, given that he teamed with St. Louis forward Robert Thomas to win the 2016 Memorial Cup with the London Knights.
17. Buffalo Sabres
Previous Ranking: 22
The Sabres aren't involved in the Cup Final, but it will have a Buffalo feel given the presence of ex-Sabre Evander Kane on the Oilers and another six—Sam Reinhart, Kyle Okposo, Evan Rodrigues, Brandon Montour, Dmitry Kulikov and Rasmus Asplund—with the Panthers.
16. Washington Capitals
Previous Ranking: 16
A late surge got the Capitals to the playoffs, but it's all about the Alex Ovechkin countdown in Washington, where the "Great 8" will open the 2024-25 season just 41 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky's all-time mark at 894. He's scored at least 41 in 12 seasons.
15. New York Islanders
Previous Ranking: 15
GM Lou Lamoriello will have to be particularly busy in the next several weeks considering the number of imminent UFAs (eight) and RFAs (five) on the roster and barely more than $6 million available in cap space.
Can recent KHL signee Maxim Tsyplakov provide a jolt? We'll see.
14. New Jersey Devils
Previous Ranking: 23
There's reason to be bullish on the Devils, who have taken fans on a roller-coaster ride from 28th to third to 23rd overall across the last three seasons.
New coach Sheldon Keefe has an enviable level of skill on hand, but goaltending will need to be the primary offseason priority.
13. Detroit Red Wings
Previous Ranking: 17
OK, it's got to happen at some point for Steve Yzerman and the master plan, right?
The Hall of Famer has been suggesting good times are coming to Detroit since his arrival as GM, but patience is understandably thin now that the postseason miss streak is up to eight years.
12. Tampa Bay Lightning
Previous Ranking: 14
The Lightning have ceded playoff intrigue in Florida to their southern rival Panthers, which means the big news in Tampa surrounds the off-ice negotiations with Steven Stamkos.
The 34-year-old can be a UFA on July 1 and has played all 1,082 of his NHL games in blue and white.
11. Nashville Predators
Previous Ranking: 11
Seven free agents (six UFA, one RFA) and better than $26 million in cap space likely make for a busy offseason for GM Barry Trotz, who started things off by trading defenseman Ryan McDonagh and his $6.75 million cap hit back to Tampa Bay for two draft picks.
10. Los Angeles Kings
Previous Ranking: 13
It feels like a significant offseason for GM Rob Blake and the Kings, who were dumped from the playoffs by the Oilers for the third straight season.
Blake removed the interim tag from coach Jim Hiller and now has multiple free-agent decisions to make, including at goalie.
9. Toronto Maple Leafs
Previous Ranking: 12
The Maple Leafs dealt with pressing question No. 1 with the hire of former Cup-winning coach Craig Berube to replace Sheldon Keefe, so now it's on to Mitch Marner, who'll be eligible on July 1 for an extension on a deal that will pay him $10.9 million in 2024-25.
8. Vegas Golden Knights
Previous Ranking: 10
It was a plummet from Stanley Cup parade to first-round exit for the Golden Knights, who lost to Dallas in seven after winning the first two.
Will imminent UFA Jonathan Marchessault remain as an original member of the expansion franchise after a 42-goal season? Stay tuned.
7. Boston Bruins
Previous Ranking: 7
There's always an intense focus on the Bruins in the offseason, and it's no different this summer after Boston was bounced by the Panthers for a second straight season.
Eyes are particularly trained on goalie Linus Ullmark, who's entering the final year of his contract.
6. Winnipeg Jets
Previous Ranking: 5
The enigmatic Jets were all over the board in 2023-24 and actually spent some time atop the B/R rankings before finishing second in the Central and folding in the opening round against Colorado.
Forward Nikolaj Ehlers could be dealt to fill holes on a leaky blue line.
5. Vancouver Canucks
Previous Ranking: 6
It wasn't an ideal finish for the Canucks, who lost to Edmonton in seven games after finishing first in the Pacific and sweeping their season series, but it's quite a jump from missing the playoffs last spring.
That said, it could be different in October with eight UFAs on the docket.
4. Carolina Hurricanes
Previous Ranking: 3
The Hurricanes sated the elephant in the room when they re-upped coach Rod Brind'Amour, but they encountered an opening at GM when Don Waddell left for Columbus.
An immediate decision for Waddell's full-time successor will be what to do with RFA-to-be Martin Nečas.
3. Colorado Avalanche
Previous Ranking: 8 (tie)
The 2023-24 season ended with a second-round loss to Dallas, but the future appears bright for the Avalanche in the eyes of the betting types, considering DraftKings has them listed as a +1100 pick for the 2025 title, trailing only Florida, Edmonton and the Stars.
2. Dallas Stars
Previous Ranking: 1 (tie)
Well, that wasn't supposed to happen, was it?
The Stars lost a six-gamer to the Oilers after winning the Central and arriving as the league's second-best regular-season team.
The finale was the end of the line for veteran Joe Pavelski, who retired after 1,332 games and no titles.
1. New York Rangers
Previous Ranking: 1 (tie)
The curse of the Presidents' Trophy continued for the Rangers, who won it for the third time (of four) in franchise history without hoisting the Stanley Cup.
A third-round loss to Florida ended the hopes that the 30th anniversary of the Messier-led 1994 title team would be celebrated with a parade.