We’re getting closer and closer to Christmas, the New Year, and the four nations tournament. The rosters for the tournament have even been announced, and you can feel the excitement grow as we get closer to February. The teams still have to play games before then though, as the NHL doesn’t wait for anyone.
Let’s take a look at how the teams are doing as we get closer to the second half of the season.
Who are the top teams in the NHL power rankings after week 9?
32. Chicago Blackhawks (Previous rank: 31)
I think I’m safe in saying the Hawks are somehow worse this year than they were last year. You could chalk it up to Connor Bedard’s sophomore slump and Taylor Hall playing so poorly that he was even a scratch at one point this season; there are a lot of excuses that can be pinned.
I think the truth of the matter is that the issues go a lot deeper than any one combination of players, and it’s possible the rebuild may have taken a wrong turn.
31. Nashville Predators (Previous rank: 28)
I wasn’t sure how the Predators were going to look this season, but I am pretty sure I didn’t expect them to look this bad. The only thing this season that all resembles the old Predators is Juuse Saros playing his butt off. Despite Saros’ best efforts, though, the Preds don’t even have double-digit wins yet this season.
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They, for whatever reason, shipped out Scott Wedgewood for Justus Annunen despite having similar numbers. Annunen still has yet to play a game for the Predators, whereas Wedgewood had a lights-out appearance for the Avs.
30. Montreal Canadiens (Previous rank: 32)
Despite an up-and-down NHL season, Sam Montembault still had the honor of being selected onto the Team Canada roster. For a young, budding goaltender, that’s gotta be a pretty big confidence booster.
He’s had a recent increase in play in his last three games as well, but I don’t want to jump the gun and say he’s completely back on track. Still, confidence is probably just what this young netminder needs right now to know that he belongs and get his game back.
29. Anaheim Ducks (Previous rank: 25)
I feel like every time I give the Ducks any sort of praise, they go out to prove me wrong. They’ve been up and down the rankings so many times these last few weeks that it’s made me dizzy.
That being said, they still show glimmers of hope every now and again, and maybe that’s enough to have some sort of belief that they are moving in the right direction.
28. Detroit Red Wings (Previous rank: 26)
Last season, Detroit was competing for a playoff spot for the entirety of the year. This season, it’s taken them 27 games to reach ten wins. This is what happens when you fail to address any of the flaws you had and actually build off your successes.
The NHL is not a league where you can coast into the next year and just expect to have success again. Teams learn how to beat you.
27. San Jose Sharks (Previous rank: 29)
Just when I thought the Sharks had finally figured out how to get moving in the right direction, they went and traded their number one goaltender, Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood. Blackwood was 6-9-3 this season with a 3.00 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
He was clearly a big reason why San Jose was performing better this year than they were last year. Trading him wasn’t the issue; they got Alexandar Georgiev in return. Their goalie tandem now consists of Georgiev, who has struggled mightily this season, and Vitek Vanecek, who hasn’t looked good in years.
Also Read: Power Ranking All 32 NHL Teams After Week 8 Games
26. Seattle Kraken (Previous rank: 27)
Despite a pretty entertaining win over the Rangers, the same issues with the Kraken still remain. I do think it’s time for the franchise to move on from Phillip Grubauer as well. He’s taking up a lot of cap space for a goaltender who hasn’t had a save percentage above .900 since 2021. The Kraken needs someone to support Joey Daccord, or they risk burning him out.
25. New York Islanders (Previous rank: 24)
The Islanders are still just chugging along. They’re doing enough every week to stay around that .500 mark without going too far above it or dropping too far below it. Of course, it helps when you have a goalie the caliber of Ilya Sorokin, giving you chances to win day in and day out, no matter the opponent.
24. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previous rank: 30)
The Penguins have been playing much, much better the last two weeks. They’ve pulled themselves back to the .500 range. I’m definitely not going to say that they’re going to turn their NHL season around, but at least they’re not throwing their arms up in the air and letting the league run over them without so much as a fight.
23. Buffalo Sabres (Previous rank: 21)
It’s hard to really take the Sabres at all seriously. I remember last season when we were all so excited to see them be a playoff team again. That didn’t work out, and now we’re all back to resigning Buffalo to the same fate: mediocrity. They’re cursed with it. It follows them wherever they go. Who knows if they’ll ever be able to escape it?
22. Ottawa Senators (Previous rank: 23)
The Senators aren’t really in that different of a position than the Sabres. Mediocrity haunts them like the Ghost of Christmas Past, and they consistently find ways to disappoint their fan base year in and year out, regardless of the talent they bring to the team. Like, what the heck did they do to Linus Ullmark? This guy was a Vezina-caliber goalie every single year, so now look at him.
21. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previous rank: 19)
The Jackets didn’t seem to have the steam to get too far over that .500 mark. That being said, keep an eye on them. They just have an aura around them this year, like they might do something special. Sean Monahan, especially, is playing like a man possessed, so who can really blame him?
20. Utah Hockey Club (Previous rank: Unchanged)
Utah does really well against the lower-tier and middle-of-the-pack teams. It’s the upper-tier and elite NHL teams they can’t seem to squat against. That’s going to be what prevents them from making the playoffs, too. You have to start winning those games, or you yourself will just be stuck in the middle of the pack.
19. Philadelphia Flyers (Previous rank: 18)
I’m glad to see the Flyers still doing somewhat well. This team was such a lovely surprise last year, and I was hoping that they wouldn’t regress back to the basement and would continue to strut their stuff. Speaking of strutting their stuff, Matvei Mitchkov continues to show that he was the right choice for the Flyers to draft.
18. St Louis Blues (Previous rank: 22)
The Blues continue to look improved under the tutelage of Jim Montgomery, and it’s honestly quite impressive. This team has shown me time and time again that they are not ready to accept a rebuilding era and have consistently made good decisions that successfully stave it off. At some point, though, those good decisions will have to lead to a playoff berth, or else that rebuild is coming whether they like it or not.
17. Calgary Flames (Previous rank: 13)
I’m really not sure what happened to the Flames. First of all, they are terrible on the road. They have a road record of 3-7-4 this NHL season, which is one of the worst in the league and the worst among teams currently competing for a playoff spot. Was this the implosion we were all waiting for? Have they finally used up everything they have, or is there more in the tank?
16. Boston Bruins (Previous rank: Unchanged)
Bruins fans can let out a sigh of relief as their team has seemingly figured out how to consistently win games again. Jeremy Swayman’s play has still been extremely concerning this year, but luckily, Jonas Korpisalo has picked up the slack a bit. Brad Marchand, love him or hate him, has proved himself worthy of wearing that C this year.
15. New York Rangers (Previous rank: 11)
Talk about implosions. The Rangers are their own worst enemy right now. To top it off, they traded Jacob Trouba away. A lot of fans are celebrating, given his tendency to take bad penalties and his massive contract, but he was still the captain nonetheless, and this move is indicative of something big on the way. The Rangers may realize something a lot of us weren’t really ready to accept yet.
14. Colorado Avalanche (Previous rank: 17)
The Avs have completely torn apart their goalie tandem. They were fed up. Justus Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev are gone. Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood are the new kids in town. Wedgewood looked really good in his first NHL game with Colorado, securing a shutout with 25 saves. Blackwood has yet to suit up, but if he could look good while playing for the Sharks, I’m sure the Avs are in good hands.
13. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previous rank: 15)
Despite the aging and slowing down, I think the Bolts are still one of my favorite teams to watch play. They just bring such an exciting energy to every game; plus, who wouldn’t love watching Nikita Kucherov play? The man has 37 points this season and consistently scores over 40 goals every year, I mean come on.
12. Vancouver Canucks (Previous rank: 14)
As good as Kevin Lankinen has been, I know the Canucks are praying for Thatcher Demko to return. Arturs Silovs has been unable to recapture the form he had in the playoffs, and the Canucks are forced to rely on their NHL rookie netminder. How long can he last under that sort of pressure?
11. Edmonton Oilers (Previous rank: 12)
I could sit here and go on and on about this team’s goaltending and lack of depth scoring and all of that. I tore them a new one about it every week. But I’m not going to this week. They know what’s wrong. They know their shortcomings. They’re either going to figure it out, or they’re going to get ripped apart.
10. Dallas Stars (Previous rank: 8)
Okay, so I’ll be the first to admit that this is not the Stars team we’re used to seeing the last few years. That being said, they’re still good. They’re still a tough out for any team. They just look more mortal than they have in the past. You could blame it on increased competition in the West, and that would ring true to an extent, but it’s not like they were facing bad competition last year.
9. Florida Panthers (Previous rank: Unchanged)
The Panthers seem to be on a week-in-week-out basis right now. Maybe they’ll refind their consistency when Bobvrosky returns from injury, but then again, he wasn’t exactly in top form even when he was healthy. As good as this team is, they just don’t feel like the same team that won the Cup last year.
8. Winnipeg Jets (Previous rank: 6)
The Jets continue to show their mortality as their red-hot start to the season slowly gets erased with every passing week. That being said, they’re still winning games. They still look like a good team. It’s not like they’ve completely imploded, and that’s a good sign for them! A lot of NHL teams completely fall apart once the streak ends, and Winnipeg has not done that yet.
7. New Jersey Devils (Previous rank: 3)
It’s hard to consistently rank the Devils in the top five because they don’t consistently play at that level. Also, a lot of the teams ahead of them just remain red hot at all times, so you know, it’s hard. The Devils have still rediscovered their magic so far this season, and we can’t take that away from them.
6. Carolina Hurricanes (Previous rank: 4)
The Hurricanes went from the top of the world to mortal in just a span of a couple of weeks. They are a prime example of how tough the NHL can be and how unforgiving it can be at the slightest misstep. However, with the Rangers’ recent implosion, Carolina is still in really good shape to finish in a high spot in the division.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previous rank: Unchanged)
The Leafs were playing well without Auston Matthews, and now that he’s back… well, they’re still playing well. Their goaltending has been shockingly solid this year, even when their defense hasn’t been. They look improved, and honestly, that’s a bit of a scary thought, given how well this team has played despite all their previous flaws.
4. Los Angeles Kings (Previous rank: 7)
After that blowout loss to the Sharks, the Kings had something wake up inside them. They have looked great against elite and bad teams. The defense has returned to that stifling defense we’re used to seeing from the Kings. Adrian Kempe’s scoring touch has returned, and of course, Anze Kopitar is STILL being Anze Kopitar. Let’s hope they can keep this up and actually win a playoff series this year.
3. Vegas Golden Knights (Previous rank: 10)
Vegas saw LA begin increasing their play and decided they weren’t going to let them catch up because they’ve been winning games and maintaining their spot ever since. It’s certainly nice to see from an NHL team that we know are capable of great things when they’re at their absolute best. They just need to stay at their absolute best.
2. Minnesota Wild (Previous rank: 1)
I know the Wild didn’t have long at the top, but don’t let their drop fool you. They are still a very good team. In fact, both one and two this week are absolute powerhouses, which is completely surprising given the state of both teams in the last couple of seasons. I’ve been expecting a regression or a fall apart any week now, but they just haven’t come. Maybe the Wild actually are legit?
1. Washington Capitals (Previous rank: 2)
This was deserved. You could feel it coming. They have been building towards it for the last couple of weeks. Washington has now announced that they are here to stay. They heard the laughter of last season when they made the playoffs despite all odds. “It was a weak division!” we all said. Well, they took that personally. Now look at them. Standing at the top of the hill looking down, waiting for a worthy challenge.
Also Read: Grading All 32 NHL Teams’ After Week 8 Games Of The 2024 Season
