English
EspañolWednesday night’s action marked the first NHL hockey we’ve seen in nearly three weeks and by the time we get through a heavy 12-game slate on Thursday night, every team will officially be back in the swing of things.
Our attention was obviously elsewhere for most of February, as best-on-best men’s hockey returned to the Olympics in fine fashion. Seriously, the quarterfinal day that featured three overtime epics was a day of puck we’ll long remember.
Speaking of memory, we thought yours might need a little refresher in terms of where everybody stands just now as play resumes. While we did a league-wide “welcome back” piece on Monday to help tee things up, it’s worth using this edition of the power rankings to do a quick check-in with each team.
So, with playoff chatter growing in some towns, tank talk consuming others and all of it happening with a trade deadline that’s now eight days away, here’s a quick reminder of what’s up with all 32 NHL teams.
1. Tampa Bay Lighting (38-14-4) First off, deep sympathy and support to coach Jon Cooper and his family as Cooper mourns the passing of his father. As good as things have gone for Tampa — the Bolts have won 20 of their past 22 games — things might be getting even brighter as Brayden Point (who had two goals on Wednesday versus the Leafs) returns from injury. Remember, because Russia was not part of the Olympics, two of Tampa’s trophy contenders — Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy — just got a serious in-season rest. Kucherov had an absurd 17 points in six games heading into the break and came out of it with a three-point effort versus Toronto.
2. Colorado Avalanche (38-9-9) The Avs jumped right back into action by acquiring Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for fellow defenceman Samuel Girard on Tuesday. Colorado did win its final game heading into the break and its first one coming out, but the Avs are just 8-7-2 since the start of 2026.
-
-
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
3. Dallas Stars (35-14-9) Unfortunately for the Stars, the big news coming out of the break is that Finn Mikko Rantanen sustained a semifinal injury versus Canada that will keep him out of at least two weeks. That’s tough news for a team that still has an outside chance at the Presidents’ Trophy.
4. Carolina Hurricanes (36-15-6) The Canes took care of some business during the break, inking breakout goalie Brandon Bussi to a three-year extension. Carolina has loads of cap space, so keep an eye on them as the pieces really start to move ahead of the deadline. Will we finally get that Elias Pettersson trade with Vancouver?
5. Minnesota Wild (34-14-10) Could Bill Guerin just have himself a year by trading for Quinn Hughes, winning gold with Team USA, then return to his day job and deal highly regarded goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt for a stud forward? This guy knows how to keep things interesting.
6. Montreal Canadiens (32-17-8) The Canadiens are getting healthy, which could make for some tough lineup decisions. Kirby Dach returned just before the Olympic hiatus, and now Alex Newhook — who sustained a gruesome ankle fracture in mid-November — is ready to go, as the Habs try to pin down a playoff spot and possibly home-ice advantage down the stretch.
7. Buffalo Sabres (33-19-6) The big story in Buffalo will be whether or not the team comes to terms on a new deal with pending-UFA Alex Tuch before the trade deadline or if new GM Jarmo Kekalainen is comfortable letting things play out until the summer as Buffalo pushes to make the post-season for the first time since 2011.
8. Columbus Blue Jackets (29-20-7) Can they keep the charge going under new coach Rick Bowness? Columbus, which was the worst team in the East on Jan. 10, has won seven straight games and 11 of its past 12 to insert itself back in the playoff picture.
9. Boston Bruins (32-20-5) A year ago, GM Don Sweeney surprised some people by leaning into a sell position at the deadline. Now, the B’s could be looking to add to a club that’s holding down the final playoff spot in the East. Quite a turnaround in Boston.
10. Vegas Golden Knights (28-16-14) Vegas, which has a pretty clear path to the top spot in the Pacific, was quiet around the deadline one year ago. Any chance that happens two straight seasons?
11. Detroit Red Wings (33-19-6) A year ago, the Wings returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off break in a playoff spot, then went 5-11-1 from Feb. 22 to March 27. Detroit surely feels as though it’s on firmer ground this time out, but the Wings do have just three 60-minute wins in their past dozen outings.
12. New York Islanders (32-21-5) Matthew Schaefer’s rookie-of-the-year campaign resumes with many Canadians suddenly lamenting the fact the 18-year-old defenceman wasn’t in Italy to help break pucks out for his national team. The Isles have a real chance at home-ice advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs in what was almost universally viewed as a step-back season. That’s partially due to Schaefer, but mostly on the shoulders of Ilya Sorokin’s brilliance in goal. Speaking of, would you like to be the team that sees Sorokin in a best-of-seven?
13. Pittsburgh Penguins (29-15-12) A feel-good season certainly took an unfortunate turn with Sidney Crosby’s knee injury at the Olympics. Is there any chance the Pens can stay in a playoff spot for four weeks (or more) while Crosby heals?
14. Anaheim Ducks (31-23-3) Leo Carlsson wasted no time reminding everyone how good he is by recording three points in Wednesday night’s 6-5 comeback win over Edmonton. With Carlsson — who hadn’t played since Jan. 10 and missed repping Sweden at the Olympics — back in the fold, Anaheim has to get the hay in the barn and make the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
15. Washington Capitals (30-23-7) Pierre-Luc Dubois — who hadn’t played since Halloween — suited up in the Caps’ final game before the break and was in the lineup on Wednesday, as Washington won its second straight. After finishing atop the East last season, it’s now or never for the Capitals to make a playoff push.
16. Ottawa Senators (28-22-7) Ottawa was heating up before the break thanks to improved goaltending. The Sens allowed more than two goals just once in six games while winning five of those contests heading into the hiatus. The Sens come right out of the gate with two huge games, hosting Detroit and visiting Toronto.
17. Utah Mammoth (30-24-4) Logan Cooley, who had not played in nearly three months, made his return for Utah in Wednesday’s loss to Colorado. Keep an eye on Utah around this deadline, as the Mammoth have three 2026 second-rounders and would love to make the playoffs in Year 2 in Salt Lake City.
18. Seattle Kraken (27-21-9) Seattle is in an odd spot because, quite frankly, being a mid-team doesn’t preclude you from making the playoffs in a turbo-mid Western Conference. Right now, the Kraken sit in a wild-card spot and it’s hard to see them being too future focussed around the deadline when that’s the case…right? Still, Seattle bears watching in the next week if only because of the rumours around Shane Wright, the fourth-overall pick in 2022, being available in the right kind of player-for-player swap.
19. Edmonton Oilers (28-23-8) One game back, one blown lead for the Oilers in a loss to Anaheim that saw Tristan Jarry replaced by Connor Ingram in in the final period. Wash, rinse, repeat, unless the Oilers somehow manage to pull off another goalie swap.
20. Toronto Maple Leafs (27-22-9) After losing to Tampa Wednesday night, the Leafs have reached the tipping point where another ‘L’ will leave management with no choice but to sell. That decisive defeat could come as soon as Thursday in Sunrise versus the Panthers.
21. Florida Panthers (29-25-3) We’ve come back from the break to rumours that the Cats and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky could conceivably be headed for a split. That would be something. Any way you look at it, this is starting to feel like a gap year for the two-time defending champs.
22. Los Angeles Kings (23-20-14) Artemi Panarin made his Kings debut on Wednesday and recorded two apples in a 6-4 loss to Vegas. With Kevin Fiala out for the season, will the Kings double down and try to acquire more offence before the deadline?
23. San Jose Sharks (27-24-4) Kiefer Sherwood played just one game with the Sharks before the break after he was acquired from Vancouver. Can he be a meaningful part of a support crew for Macklin Celebrini as the Sharks try to keep their playoff push alive?
24. Nashville Predators (26-24-7) After months of trade talk, it seems like the Preds could be more in wait-and-see mode as they hang around the playoff picture. At the very least, don’t expect a fire sale in Tennessee.
25. Winnipeg Jets (23-26-8) It may seem crazy to you, but the Jets still think they can make the playoffs. And after watching Connor Hellebuyck in Italy, are you completely comfortable betting against them? If Winnipeg — which won on Wednesday — follows it up with a couple L’s, it will be interesting to see if the Cole Perfetti trade talk gathers any steam.
26. Chicago Blackhawks (22-26-9) The Hawks won’t be buying for a playoff push, but if there are hockey trades to be made out there, you have to think Chicago could be involved. Last March, the Hawks landed a goalie of the present and future when they got Spencer Knight from Florida in the Seth Jones deal. Are there any other sub-25 guys in the trade ether Chicago can target?
27. Philadelphia Flyers (25-21-11) The Flyers have been free-falling for six weeks and there seems to be real smoke around defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen ahead of the deadline. How are these for some boxes to check: Big, right shot, under contract for one year after this.
28. New Jersey Devils (28-28-2) You knew this was a bad year in Jersey, but after Wednesday night’s loss to Buffalo, the Devils have a worse points percentage than all but six teams in the entire league. A divorce with Dougie Hamilton could be imminent, and who knows what else is coming for this incredibly disappointing squad.
29. Calgary Flames (23-27-6) Winger Blake Coleman is almost surely out the door and there’s a chance Nazem Kadri could be, too, as Calgary enters crunch time for the in-season portion of its re-tool.
30. St. Louis Blues (20-28-9) If GM Doug Armstrong gets offers he likes, there could be no more interesting team around the deadline than St. Louis. We’re not just talking about pending-UFAs in their late-20s or 30s here; trading the likes of mid-20s, under-contract proven scorers like Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas is very much in play.
31. New York Rangers (22-29-6) The Rangers made their big move right before the break by dealing Artemi Panarin. The next big domino could be Olympic champ Vincent Trochek.
32. Vancouver Canucks (18-33-7) Tyler Myers seemed exempt from the trade talk in Vancouver, but suddenly a move involving the big defenceman feels imminent. Anything that isn’t under 25 or nailed down in B.C. could conceivably be trade fodder in the next eight days.
