Month: February 2025

It’s been a fun first half of the season. The Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals have the most points and the best records in their conferences. Alexander Ovechkin gets closer to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals scored record each week. The MVP race is a toss-up and every playoff spot is up for grabs in the eastern conference. There should be a wild finish to the second half of the regular season. Here’s the top takes, questions and answers as the Four Nations tournament takes place.

Is there any consistent, great team or does it vary by month?

It’s hard to choose which team is the best this season and too soon to say. While Winnipeg’s easily the best and most complete team, their previous playoff blunders makes analysts second guess how good they’ll be when it matters most. Washington’s the top team in the eastern conference, but this will be Spencer Carbery’s first season he coaches a team into the playoffs. Vegas, Florida, Carolina, Dallas, Edmonton and Toronto had some slumps the first few months. It’s likely most of the playoff contenders are waiting for rivals to slip up once play resumes and make a more determined push. We’ll find out which teams are for real in the March power rankings.

It seems the MVP race is cluttered, but is there a clear Jack Adams (coach of the year) set of finalists?

Most pundits believe Washington’s Carbery, Winnipeg’s Scott Arniel, and either Ottawa’s Travis Green or Vegas’ Bruce Cassidy will be the Jack Adams nominees. The Senators are the only team of the four mentioned to not be in the top three of their conference. Therefore, the winner could be chosen by how well their team does in the playoffs.

My three are different. The Jack Adams award should be for the best coach regardless of talent. Columbus’ Dean Evason should be first. No one had the Blue Jackets near the eighth seed, especially once their best player was tragically killed in the offseason. New Jersey’s Sheldon Keefe has excelled where predecessor Lindy Ruff fell short and the Devils defense has improved in every aspect. Finally, I’ll take St. Louis’ Jim Montgomery as the third option. As readers know from previous rankings, Montgomery was fired from Boston one month into the regular season and hired a few days after by the Blues. The Bruins haven’t fixed the offensive issues after firing him, but St. Louis is eight points out of the eighth seed and is one of the most underrated teams in the league after hiring Montgomery.

If I had to pick one of the three choices given, Dean Evason’s the easy winner for coach of the year.

How many big trades will there be once play resumes? Will there be any teams selling to re-build?

The eastern conference (more on them later) is loaded with star players and depth that won’t sniff the postseason. By contrast, the western conference has a few surprising playoff favorites that disappointed. It’s unknown which team starts the upcoming trade frenzy, but Nashville, New York and Pittsburgh are big names to watch. The first two have stars they can unload for additional cap space and draft picks. I expect a lot of teams in both conferences to make moves the last week of the trade deadline given how close most are in the standings.

Speaking of close teams, what’s going on with Vancouver? Are they a favorite to go far in the postseason? Is there any way they can get back to last year’s form?

This is the best question asked so far. Real hockey fans wondered how Vancouver played lifeless once the regular season began. That’s uncommon for Rick Tocchet coached teams. It turns out assistant captain J.T. Miller and the most talented player on the team Elias Pettersson had a rift behind closed doors. While Pettersson is their most coveted player, Miller spent six seasons holding the Canucks together no matter the problems. At one point during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was the only player on the team to not fall ill. His leadership kept Vancouver a contender even when Pettersson struggled to score.

Team president Jim Rutherford made the situation worse when he told the media that no matter what happened in negotiations, there were only short-term solutions. A few analysts thought dealing both players to separate teams could be a good move. There wouldn’t be a bias to either and it would help the Canucks re-group some talent without causing a fuss. This is Vancouver, so they did the opposite and dealt an assistant captain to a team that also backstabbed player leadership within the last few months.

There are more issues like the fragile goaltending situation when Thatcher Demko continued to miss time and came back around the holidays. The defense has regressed and captain Quinn Hughes struggled. Now Hughes is out due to an undisclosed, lower body injury. The Miller-Pettersson issue was one more thing to deal with and the organization hasn’t handled these issues well. If you want to feel bad for anybody, it should be Rick Tocchet. This is the second time he’s coached a team where upper management’s botched trades and roster talent.

It’s definitely a sad topic to read on. However for every low, there’s a high. Vancouver might have it rough, but some of the younger teams and eastern conference squads look really good. Which of these teams are for real and will make the playoffs?

There’s a trio of good, young teams and they’re all in the eastern conference. New Jersey, Ottawa and Detroit are the hottest names to play against for any playoff contender. From new coaches to defensive additions and scoring depth, all three should make the postseason with how well they play compared to Boston, Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers. Montreal is a close fourth, but they’re still re-tooling the roster and played tired after a long winning streak. It’s likely they miss the playoffs.

To take it further, I see this question as which of the three teams will go further in the postseason. Most likely, Detroit draws the winner of the metropolitan or atlantic division, and be easily eliminated (unless that hilariously becomes Ottawa). It then comes down to which veteran teams draw the Senators or Devils. The reigning champion Panthers and the rising Maple Leafs would struggle more with New Jersey while Ottawa could keep it close with almost every team. I’d go with the Devils because of their combined experience and how they’ve fixed more long-term mistakes this season.

Here’s the second power rankings of the year. This will be the third and last time you see this notification in the regular season. Here’s where all 32 teams objectively stand going back to January. Some have tiebreakers based off of how they’d perform on a neutral site.

#32 San Jose Sharks (last ranking: 31)

Three teams are all but eliminated from playoff contention. San Jose is one and they’ve been dreadful since the calendar flipped to 2025. At least they got all their trades done early so there’s nothing to pay attention to the rest of the season.

#31 Chicago Blackhawks (last ranking: 32)

Chicago’s the second team easily eliminated. Unlike the Sharks, the Blackhawks need to make more moves. The goaltending duo of Petr Mrazek and Arvid Soderblom will be in high demand and Chicago must decide how deep they should go into their rebuild. They’re not competitive in the standings so it wouldn’t surprise many to see the Blackhawks veterans land on playoff favorites.

#30 Buffalo Sabres (last ranking: 30)

If you had Buffalo as the third team, congratulations. The Sabres are the only eastern conference team that won’t sniff the postseason given how many points they have to get after playing 54 games. It’s ok to wonder if owner Terry Pegula will let go of coach Lindy Ruff after the season. Ruff did a subpar job at best and it could be the end of his long coaching career if Pegula decides to move on.

#29 Nashville Predators (last ranking: 29)

By now, you’ve figured I won’t quit on Nashville because of who their general manager is, the roster he put together, and how there’s something to salvage. While I’m not changing that view, the Predators probably won’t make the postseason because they have 45 points after 54 games. What will be interesting is how Nashville plays when they come back from break. Will the Predators finally get it together and become the team no one wants to play, or will GM Barry Trotz pull the plug and get creative in trades and roster decisions before the playoffs? These could be the most pivotal two weeks for the franchise this decade.

#28 Seattle Kraken (last ranking: 27)

It’s jaw-dropping how Seattle’s taken a few steps back after their postseason run two years ago. The steal of their first full roster was goaltender Philipp Grubauer after a trade with Colorado. Grubauer was put on waivers at the end of January. General manager Ron Francis has spectacularly failed to make the Kraken competitive and many will look at his expansion draft blunders in a different light because of it.

#27 Anaheim Ducks (last ranking: 25)

Until last week, Anaheim won 20 of 21 games this season when they scored three or more goals a game. The defense is ok but the offense is the league’s worst. That’s a shock.

#26 Pittsburgh Penguins (last ranking: 20)

Since both New York teams improved after the last rankings, attention returns to Pittsburgh and coach Mike Sullivan. The Penguins have the second worst defense and two 20+ goal scorers. One has to wonder when there’s a coaching change this year.

#25 Philadelphia Flyers (last ranking: 23)

Give credit to coach John Tortorella for making Philadelphia competitive this season. The Flyers were predicted to be a bottom-dwelling team from start to finish (despite how Tortorella gets the most out of his rosters), and this is easily the worst in the metropolitan. It took four months for Philadelphia to run out of gas, but the Flyers are respectable given how hard they compete every week despite the lack of talent.

#24 Montreal Canadiens (last ranking: 22)

Montreal had an impressive winning streak to close out 2024 and extend into 2025. Unlike Detroit, Ottawa and New Jersey, the Canadiens don’t have the depth or experience to maintain long winning streaks late in the regular season. There’s a lot for Montreal to feel good about, but the roster needs more work. They’ll have an interesting offseason.

#23 St. Louis Blues (last ranking: 23)

If there’s any case for Jim Montgomery winning coach of the year in St. Louis, look at the team stats versus where they are in the standings. The Blues are a bottom ten team in a lot of categories on every side of the puck (led by second worst penalty kill). Yet they’re out of the eighth seed by eight points. If St. Louis makes the playoffs, it forces analysts and voters to try and give Montgomery a case for the award.

#22 Utah Hockey Club (last ranking: 21)

To follow up from last month’s analysis, Nick Schmalz’s season slump makes forward Dylan Guenther a focal point in Utah’s offense. Guenther’s tied for the team lead in goals with 20 and tied for third most points on offense with 41. He’s only played 44 games. Dylan Guenther will be a key player in the Hockey Club’s rise.

#21 New York Islanders (last ranking: 26)

The strangest part about New York’s seven game winning streak wasn’t how great the team felt, it was conversation about how center Mathew Barzal is a bust after needing another surgery on his left kneecap and how general manager Lou Lamoriello wants to trade defenseman Noah Dobson. The Islanders could be one of the hottest teams in the league, but management again found a way to mess up the good mood.

#20 New York Rangers (last ranking: 28)

It’s been a rough season for the players in New York. That’s why Jonathan Quick’s 400th career win (the most for a U.S. born goaltender) is a season highlight. General manager Chris Drury could reward Quick for reaching that milestone by trading him once the Four Nations tournament ends.

#19 Boston Bruins (last ranking: 14)

General manager Don Sweeney’s almost out of moves after hiring former Stanley Cup champion team captain Zdeno Chara to a front office position. The firing of Jim Montgomery looks worse each week and Boston’s fallen behind Detroit and Ottawa. The Bruins should move assets near the trade deadline since there’s not enough on the team to make this year’s playoffs.

#18 Calgary Flames (last ranking: 17)

Whatever Calgary’s doing this season works. The Flames won’t go away despite the offensive and penalty killing woes. A three game losing streak somehow means they’re three points back of the eighth seed and Vancouver. Go figure.

#17 Columbus Blue Jackets (last ranking: 18)

If you need anymore convincing of how Dean Evason is coach of the year, look at defenseman Zach Werenski. Werenski’s tied with Hall of Famer Bobby Orr for the fourth longest home point streak in NHL history with 21. He also leads Columbus in assists and total points. There will be a lot of close award races but the Norris trophy (won by the best defenseman) is Zach Werenski’s to lose.

#16 Detroit Red Wings (last ranking: 24)

General manager Steve Yzerman picked the right interim coach. Todd McLellan’s hiring brings necessary discipline, accountability and freedom for Detroit to do what they want on every side of the puck. At one point the Red Wings had a 50% power-play and a 71% penalty kill. They’ve tallied impressive wins and put playoff contending teams on alert with their re-awakened vigor.

#15 Ottawa Senators (last ranking: 15)

We’ve finally reached the point where Detroit and Ottawa will be close in the standings and rankings for a while. Both teams made Tampa Bay play at a Stanley Cup caliber level this past week despite the losses.

On the Senators end, they were impressive until their Sunshine State roadtrip. Ottawa’s not a Stanley Cup contender, but they’ll be hard to beat four times in a best of seven series should the defense not revert to bad habits.

#14 Vancouver Canucks (last ranking: 19)

If we put the loss to Dallas aside, Vancouver’s 3-1 after trading J.T. Miller January 31st. The lone loss against a resurgent Red Wings is fine. Shutting out Colorado and winning a heavyweight game against Toronto are plusses. A painful chapter closed and this is where coach Rick Tocchet can finally bring the best out of his players.

#13 Los Angeles Kings (last ranking: 9)

I get why Los Angeles fans could be upset but this ranking should show how good the other 12 teams are this year. The Kings are tied for the league’s best scoring defense and could be a sixth seed at best by April. Another example of how the NHL is the best sports league in North America and a cruel one.

#12 Colorado Avalanche (last ranking: 13)

The same applies with Colorado. The Avalanche don’t have the depth but coach Jared Bednar’s still got them as a top six seed. The goaltending duo of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood will be fun to watch the next few months.

#11 Tampa Bay Lightning (last ranking: 11)

I personally think both coach Jon Cooper and starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy took the upcoming games against Ottawa and Detroit personally given how Tampa Bay’s been stuck in the middle of the eastern conference most of the season and lost to both teams a few times in 2024. What better way to pull ahead before the trade deadline than smacking around two division rivals with confident coaches leading their teams back to playoff contention? The Lightning will be deadly the second half of the regular season.

#10 New Jersey Devils (last ranking: 7)

Some New Jersey fans might be disappointed the Devils are ranked this low, but a good number might not be once I reiterate something NHL Network analyst Mike Johnson stated January 19th after a 2-1 loss to Ottawa. A lot of New Jersey’s early season success was from a power-play that got the Devils to quick leads. Five-on-five is the biggest area New Jersey has to fix. Despite injuries and illnesses, they can’t rely on the power-play to score and get early leads with the playoffs two months away. The Devils could make a move at the trade deadline.

#9 Toronto Maple Leafs (last ranking: 5)

On the contrary, while many Toronto fans might feel confident, a good number are nervous about how the Leafs could at best win the atlantic division or at worst, fall behind against Tampa Bay, Ottawa and Detroit. The Maple Leafs can get past the Lightning, but they’ve struggled against the Senators and Red Wings. A first round matchup against either young team could lead to a surprise exit given how both Ottawa and Detroit play physical and care-free.

#8 Minnesota Wild (last ranking: 6)

They won’t win the central division but Minnesota’s impressive. Unfortunately that’s enough to get them a four or five seed in the postseason. It’ll be interesting to see if the Wild make any trades before the deadline to shore up their third and fourth lines.

#7 Edmonton Oilers (last ranking: 10)

If one of my coach of the year candidates didn’t seem passable, know Kris Knoblauch was fourth on my list. He knew back in October this was like running a marathon, and he managed the minutes of Edmonton’s best players well. Not only is forward Leon Draisaitl a leading MVP candidate, the Oilers are tied for both the pacific division lead and the second seed in the western conference.

#6 Vegas Golden Knights (last ranking: 1)

The reason Edmonton hasn’t run away with the pacific division or the second seed is because Vegas played better the first four months. The Golden Knights have the second best power-play despite a slow January. Expect Vegas to go on a winning streak when play resumes. It’ll be a fun division race to watch.

#5 Carolina Hurricanes (last ranking: 8)

Although Carolina’s 3-3 since trading for forward Mikko Rantanen, the Hurricanes did well in January. They surpassed New Jersey as expected and scored four or more goals in six games the last month and a half. Now they need to put together a winning streak of at least five games.

#4 Dallas Stars (last ranking: 12)

Trading for forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci were big moves. However analysts leaked Dallas is trying to trade for a big name player before the deadline. If the Stars land this supposed player, they could be the favorites to win the Stanley Cup (depending on who they draw in the playoffs of course).

#3 Washington Capitals (last ranking: 4)

Washington has the second best offense in the NHL and the first line is among the best. Center Dylan Strome is the team leader in assists and points while the captain Alex Ovechkin leads in goals. This is easily the best Capitals team since Barry Trotz wasn’t re-signed.

#2 Florida Panthers (last ranking: 3)

Much like Tampa Bay, Florida played some of their best hockey this season right before the break. The Panthers proved they’re saving their best for the second half of the regular season after a shutout against Los Angeles, a narrow win against St. Louis and a thrashing of Ottawa.

#1 Winnipeg Jets (last ranking: 2)

The most realistic answer to the first question asked at the beginning of this article is this ranking. The league’s best is the one with two eight game winning streaks in one season. That’s incredible since no one predicted this before October. Winnipeg’s also tied for first in scoring defense and has the best offense and power-play.

One could also say this ranking answers the second question asked earlier. Despite the cases for Dean Evason winning coach of the year, Scott Arniel is lauded for getting the Jets to play at a better competitive level and could get a unanimous win for the Jack Adams. All Winnipeg has to do is play like this in the postseason.