The trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and things are starting to get a little tense in the 30 situation rooms around the NHL.
Most of the team’s scouting departments are either meeting this week, or have already met as each of the 30 teams try to figure out what to do with a severe lack of sellers on the trade market. It’s the Colorado Avalanche that are asking for a boatload of assets (young NHL player, prospect and first round pick) for players like Gabriel Landeskog or Matt Duchene, or the Arizona Coyotes that it seems haven’t even really reached that level of pre-trade activity yet with the players they will be selling.
So now the NHL buyers on the trade market are waiting for a few other teams like perhaps a Detroit or a Dallas to also decide they’re going to sell rather than buy, and start freeing up some valued assets to switch teams ahead of the March 1 trade deadline.
It’s not happening yet, and one wonders how many trades there really will be at the end of the day with the NHL expansion draft coming this summer. But that’s a story for another week of power rankings.
Without further ado here are this week’s power rankings:
1. Washington Capitals (39-11-6, previous ranking: 1) – The red-hot Capitals have won six games in a row and have outscored their opponents 30-12 over that span. They haven’t lost a game in February, so we should probably start the “peaking too soon” speculation in short order.
2. Minnesota Wild (37-13-6, previous ranking: 2) – The Wild are putting together a solid body of work, but they lost a playoff-style grinding 1-0 game to the Anaheim Ducks in their last contest. They’d better hope that’s not a preview of what awaits in the playoffs with a coach, Bruce Boudreau, that’s had some pretty early exits.
Boston Bruins
3. Pittsburgh Penguins (35-13-7, previous ranking: 4) – The Penguins more than survived their time without Evgeni Malkin, and now they’re off and running once again. The Metro Division bracket is going to be brutal in the postseason.
4. New York Rangers (37-18-1, previous ranking: 7) – King Henrik is riding a five-game winning-streak and the Blueshirts have won six in a row as they seem to be saying, "Hey, don’t forget about us” in the Metro either.
5. Chicago Blackhawks (35-17-5, previous ranking: 5) – I did not have Artem Anisimov and Marian Hossa tied for the team-lead in goals midway through February, but the Blackhawks have made things work this season. They’re making their move with a five-game winning-streak to move up the Central standings.
6. Columbus Blue Jackets (36-15-5, previous rank: 3) – The Blue Jackets have lost four of six games in the month of February, and their high-powered power play hasn’t been able to score in nine games. Boy, that epic winning-streak feels like a long time ago.
7. San Jose Sharks (34-18-5, previous ranking: 6) – The Sharks finally snapped a four-game losing-streak on a long East Coast road swing with a win in New Jersey, and now they’re happy to be back home once again.
8. Montreal Canadiens (31-19-8, previous ranking: 8) – The Habs are clearly hoping that the re-run of “The Claude Seasons” is much better the second time around. It’s a nice, cushy spot for a coach to be taking over a first place team, and Carey Price and Shea Weber give him some great pieces to install his system.
9. Anaheim Ducks (30-18-10, previous ranking: 10) – The Ducks had a nice win over the Wild, but they will lose Antoine Vermette after that wild slashing play with the linesman. What was Vermette thinking there?
10. Edmonton Oilers (30-18-8, previous ranking: 9) – The Oilers took their customary post-bye week loss to the Blackhawks, but then got back on the winning track with a slump-buster special against the Coyotes. Now the Oil should be ready to roll as Peter Chiarelli looks for some players to complement them on the trade market.
11. Toronto Maple Leafs (26-19-11, previous ranking: 12) – The Leafs looked a little shaky in back-to-back losses to the Blues and Sabres, but they completely stomped an Islanders team that had been playing much better under Doug Weight. That was impressive. The last loss to the Blue Jackets was not.
12. Ottawa Senators (29-19-6, previous ranking: 11) – It’s great to see Craig Anderson back for the Senators, and even better watching him get a shutout win over the Islanders in his first game back for Ottawa. Good things absolutely happen to good people.
13. St. Louis Blues (30-22-5, previous ranking: 15) – The Blues have won five games in a row, and really appear to be streaking after the coaching change. You know it’s noteworthy when even the goaltending has taken a complete 180 degree turn for the better.
14. Nashville Predators (27-21-8, previous ranking: 13) – Here’s something you don’t see every day: A team like Nashville getting a hat trick from Victor Arvidsson and still losing a game to the Florida Panthers last weekend.
15. Boston Bruins (29-23-6, previous ranking: 20) – The Bruce Cassidy Era has brought optimism back to Bruins country, and a three-game winning streak just ahead of their bye week has them pushing up the standings.
16. Los Angeles Kings (28-23-4, previous ranking: 19) – The Kings have won six of the last eight games, and the two losses were back-to-back 5-0 losses to the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boy, those East Coast swing road trips really bite for the West Coast teams.
17. Philadelphia Flyers (27-23-7, previous ranking: 14) – Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds are a combined minus-48 for the Flyers this season. It is amazing that they’re even close to a playoff spot, never mind hovering around a wild card spot.
18. New York Islanders (25-20-10, previous ranking: 18) – The Isles are 8-3-2 since moving from Jack Capuano to Doug Weight, and they’ve endured all of the questions about where John Tavares is going when he becomes a free agent. That’s not even counting the whispers swirling around their future mystery home when they finally leave the Barclays Center. But they keep hanging in there, and it’s a credit to them.
19. Florida Panthers (24-20-10, previous ranking: 17) – The Panthers have taken points in five of their last six games, and are finally making some semblance of a push with Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. Is it too little, too late for them?
20. New Jersey Devils (24-22-10, previous ranking: 21) – Cory Schneider has started six games in a row for New Jersey, and has taken points in five of their last six games while truly stepping up between the pipes. The Devils are making as big of a move as they’re capable of, which isn’t all that much right now.
21. Tampa Bay Lightning (25-24-7, previous ranking: 26) – The Lightning went into their bye week on a high note with a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets, but there is some serious issues with the Tampa Bay organization these days.
22. Carolina Hurricanes (24-22-7, previous ranking: 22) – The Hurricanes have lost two in a row and are dead last in the Metro Division, but they’ve also got a ton of games to play as compared to most of the Eastern Conference. Thanks compacted schedule!
23. Buffalo Sabres (24-23-10, previous ranking: 23) – A couple of nice divisional wins over the Leafs and the Senators, but the Sunday home loss to the Canucks stings a bit. Time is slipping away from the Sabres at this point.
24. Calgary Flames (29-26-3, previous ranking: 28) – We could talk about all kinds of observations about the Calgary Flames, and the season they’ve put together to this point. But they lost 5-0 on Monday night to the Arizona Coyotes. The. Arizona. Coyotes.
25. Vancouver Canucks (25-26-6, previous ranking: 27) – Alex Burrows said he’s watching ESPN for his sports highlights because he doesn’t want to watch anything where they might talk about hockey trade rumors. Solid logic by the biting bandit.
26. Winnipeg Jets (26-29-4, previous ranking: 25) – One has to wonder what kind of changes are in store for a Winnipeg Jets team that should be much better than they are at this point. It probably starts with Paul Maurice and then will go from there.
27. Detroit Red Wings (22-25-10, previous ranking: 24) – The Red Wings have lost five in a row, but the real unfortunate development for the Wings was the passing of beloved, longtime owner Mike Ilitch over the weekend. Sincere condolences to the entire Detroit Red Wings family for their big loss.
28. Dallas Stars (22-26-10, previous ranking: 28) – The Stars have lost two in a row and Lindy Ruff says he won’t be using Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn as distinct and separate centers up front. This is not surprising given the real lack of quality, all-around center play from Seguin over the course of his career.
29. Arizona Coyotes (19-29-7, previous ranking: 29) – Larry Fitzgerald tried his hand at hockey while fooling around at a Coyotes practice recently. That’s good news for the Coyotes franchise as they could use all the help they can get.
30. Colorado Avalanche (15-37-2, previous ranking: 30) – The 7-19-1 record at home? The minus-75 goal differential? The current four game losing streak for an Avs team that waved the white flag a long, long time ago? This team just stinks out loud.