NHL power rankings: Panthers, Oilers remain top Stanley Cup contenders as regular season begins
The regular season finally begins on Tuesday (if you don’t count the two games played in Czechia last Friday and Saturday), and that means it’s time for another season of power rankings at Daily Faceoff.
But it seems like the only consistency with these power rankings on a season-by-season basis is change.
No, it’s not to the format. We will be more or less keeping that the same. However, there is a personnel change. With my former power ranking partner Mike Gould’s final day at Daily Faceoff coming and going on Sunday, I was need of a new tandem mate. However, it’s not a total stranger, as Hunter Crowther will be stepping into the role on a full-time basis this season after filling in a couple times last season.
And now, as the preseason ends and the regular season begins, we will stick to the same tier-based process of the first power rankings of the year. Hunter and I tiered teams into five different categories (Cup Contenders, Playoff Contenders, In the Bubble, Longshots and Lottery Contenders), and for the teams we didn’t agree on, we split our disagreements down the middle into four sub-tiers between those main five (Cup Hopefuls, Playoff Hopefuls, Fringe Playoff Teams and Too Bad to be Good, Too Good to be Bad). Come next week, we’ll return to the standard process of ranking teams from 1st to 32nd.
Cup Contenders
Scott: Based on the roster we’re seeing to start the season, the Avalanche are still easily one of the best teams in the league. The firepower of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar alone is enough to carry this team, but I also appreciate that while most teams went big this offseason, they prioritized high-octane skaters and scorers, and have some younger players like Calum Ritchie and Ivan Ivan cracking the squad to provide some upside in their depth. If both Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog can return at some point this season, this team is going to be wicked come playoff time.
Hunter: Echoing Scott’s point on Landeskog, having him return to the lineup would be a major boost for this group. One thing I’ll watch through the season is how Casey Mittelstadt performs as Colorado’s No. 2 center. He had flashes during his time with the Buffalo Sabres, but now surrounded by talented wingers and playing for a team with a championship pedigree, there’s no telling how good he can be.
Hunter: Since they made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, Dallas has been one of the most consistently high-quality teams in the NHL, and that shouldn’t change in 2024-25. Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski dominated the Central Division last season, and with Pavelski retiring, Wyatt Johnston can now step into that role and grow as an offensive threat. Miro Heiskanen is a Norris Trophy-caliber defender and Jake Oettinger, when he’s on top of his game, might be the best in the league. The loss of Chris Tanev hurts their depth on the blueline, and it remains to be seen if offseason acquisitions Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin will be able to fill the void. Still though, expect the Stars to be playing hockey deep into spring.
Scott: And they also are just casually inserting Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque into their lineup full time too. That just isn’t fair, and yet what’s more unfair is that this group hasn’t won a Stanley Cup yet.
Scott: As long as the Oilers haven’t moved Connor McDavid, I can’t really deny them of Cup Contender status at this point, especially coming off of their Cup Final run last season. They didn’t exactly improve their goaltending depth, and they probably got worse defensively, but their offensive depth is probably the best it’s been in the McDavid era since his rookie season, especially in the top six. My only concern is that, as the oldest team in the league, fatigue may play a role in their season at some point, especially coming off a short summer.
Hunter: Two things I’m watching for this season: can the Oilers find a way to improve their blue line, and are we in store for an 80-point Jeff Skinner season? Part of me still thinks it was a mistake on the Sabres’ behalf to buy him out, but that’s old news. Skinner having the comeback season for the ages is the most predictable outcome and I can’t wait for McDavid to hand him the Stanley Cup next June.
Hunter: Ric Flair has said a lot of things, but beyond his signature “WOO!” the most oft-quoted line of his is, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!” That’s where we’re at with the Panthers, who won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history last season. They lost Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to free agency, but head coach Paul Maurice’s disciplined system demands complete buy-in, and their defensive style is among the most suffocating in the game. Throw in Selke Trophy-winner Sasha Barkov and all-world goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, combined with offense from the likes of 50-goal scorer Sam Reinhart, and there’s no reason this team can’t be the second Floridian team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Scott: While I am extremely suspect that Reinhart will get anywhere close to 50 goals again this year considering that his previous career high was 33, I think his underrated defensive ability will easily allow him to remain one of the Panthers’ top forwards. Also, even with OEL and Montour gone, they still have Gustav Forsling to carry their blueline.
Cup Hopefuls
Scott: Look, believing the Canes will win the Stanley Cup is starting to reach the point of the definition of insanity, but at this point, they will always be in the conversation. They still have yet to truly resolve their finishing problem (at least, on paper), so it wouldn’t be surprising if they’re out in Round 2 or 3 again this year, but they’ve been a consistently elite team since 2018, and I don’t see that changing this year.
Hunter: Injuries and goaltending and mediocre coaching and more injuries led to a disappointing 2023-24 season for the Devils. But a healthy Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, combined with July 1 signings Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon, instantly make New Jersey’s blueline one of the best in the Metropolitan. Jack Hughes is due for an MVP-level season, Jacob Markstrom is free from the clutches of the Calgary Flames, and adding Sheldon Keefe behind the bench guarantees them a level of regular-season success they’ve been starved for.
Hunter: Artemi Panarin is coming off one of the best seasons in modern Rangers history, and five players from last year’s group hit the 70-point mark. One of them was Adam Fox, who continues to be one of the game’s best blueliners. Igor Shesterkin is entering the last year of his contract, so this may be New York’s final chance to add pieces before they pay him $13 million or so a year. 2020 No. 1 overall pick (and Steven Ellis lookalike) Alexis Lafreniere really came into his own last season. Expect him to take another step forward.
Scott: The Rangers are incredibly talented, and the only reason I don’t have them as a Cup contender is their continued inability to drive play at 5v5. Whether you think that’s important or not, there’s a reason that their power play and goaltending only takes them so far in the playoffs before they get ousted by a team that can match them in those regards and best them at 5v5.
Playoff Contenders
Scott: The Preds were one of the surprise playoff teams last season, but I think everyone is very well aware of how good they’ll be this year thanks to the additions of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. I’m not ready to call them a Cup contender, but they’ll certainly be a tough out in the playoffs.
Hunter: Part of me wonders if we’re all falling in love with this Predators squad because of how busy they were on July 1. Don’t get me wrong, they made their team better and adding those pieces to a lineup that already has All-Star talents like Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi makes them the “sexy pick” in 2024-25. But the Central Division is deadly, and finishing with more points than the Stars, Avalanche and yes, even the Jets, is a tall task for any group.
Scott: Their adds were really good, but far from franchise altering, so I’m certainly keeping my expectations lower than for other teams in this group. That said, it feels like they should easily make the playoffs.
Hunter: Jake Guentzel is a helluva consolation prize for losing Steven Stamkos, but it feels like the Lightning are grasping at whatever straws are left from their three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances. Having Guentzel on a line with the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner in Nikita Kucherov, as well as new captain in Victor Hedman and elite netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy should get them in the big dance. Whether they do anything is another story.
Scott: I’m going to be honest, outside of a somewhat improved blueline, I’m not super sold that most of the moves that the Leafs made in the summer have made them significantly better than last season. We’ll see how it plays out during the regular season, but their biggest issue in the playoffs was depth scoring and that hasn’t really changed.
Hunter: I was bearish on the Leafs in the last few seasons, mostly out of growing up watching the team and continuously being disappointed, but also because I have a television and watch playoff hockey. But age be damned, the addition of Chris Tanev is worth the extra years they had to tack onto his deal to lower the annual average value (AAV). Who has been Morgan Rielly’s best defensive partner — Luke Schenn? Ron Hainsey? Adding Tanev could allow Rielly to showcase his elite offensive talent. As for depth scoring in the playoffs, perhaps a motivated Nick Robertson could be what the doctor ordered.
Scott: I will not take any T.J. Brodie slander in these power rankings. As bad as his final days as a Leaf were, he’s easily been Rielly’s best defense partner up to this point. You’re on thin ice, bucko.
Hunter: I think that last season was so bad that I completely forgot about his first two seasons in Toronto. I’ll take that one on the chin.
Hunter: Everyone and their aunt was surprised at how good the Canucks were from the beginning of the season through the playoffs, taking the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the second round. Quinn Hughes won the Norris Trophy and could be even better this season. J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser are offensive juggernauts. But unless goaltender Thatcher Demko gets and stays healthy, it’s hard to imagine them repeating last year’s success.
Scott: The Golden Knights didn’t exactly get a lot of attention for the step back their roster took this past summer, particularly up front. With Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Anthony Mantha, William Carrier and Michael Amadio out of the forward group, they recruited Victor Olofsson and Alex Holtz, as well as gave Pavel Dorofeyev more ice time, to fill the holes in their top nine. It’s an interesting gamble that could pay off considering how spread out they are in the lineup, but it definitely has me hesitating to call them a Cup contender.
Hunter: This team is run like how anyone reading this runs their NHL 25 lineup, and I get the sinking feeling that last season’s lack of results will lead to them making a trade for someone we’re not even considering, the same way they did with Thomas Hertl. Would we be surprised if they tinkered with Long-Term Injury Reserve, or traded one of their pricier tickets, or refused to extend Shea Theodore and brought on some top-line winger or defender with term? In Las Vegas, anything is possible.
Hunter: The Jets feel like they’re entering that 2010s San Jose Sharks era where every year, pundits pick them to win the Stanley Cup, but they always fall short. A defensive system led by Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck guarantees they’ll stifle offenses through the year, but for a team that struggled to score in their five playoff games last spring, they’ll need depth scoring beyond the usual suspects in Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.
Scott: I’m going to object to that Sharks comparison because those Sharks teams were elite but slightly below the level of Chicago and Los Angeles. The Jets are a shell of that, a team that constantly gives off the feeling that they’ll be really good, only to falter down the stretch and go down quietly in the playoffs.
Playoff Hopefuls
Hunter: Maybe this is the year the mighty Bruins finally fall flat on their faces and miss the playoffs … just kidding, Boston can be best described as “inevitable.” David Pastrnak is a freak of nature, and Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov were tidy signings that could thrive in the Bruins’ organization. Actually, everyone seems to thrive in Boston. They’re hockey’s equivalent to the Belichick-era New England Patriots, and that’s more than just geography.
Scott: I think Jeremy Swayman signing before the start of the season is huge for the overall scope of their season, because people didn’t quite seem to realize that their goaltending did a lot of heavy lifting for them. Replacing one of the best goaltenders in Linus Ullmark with one of the most inconsistent goaltenders in Joonas Korpisalo was already going to take a bite out of their ceiling; if they were without Swayman for any stretch of time, it’d be a disaster. That said, I’m not counting them out, because like Thanos, the Bruins are inevitable.
Hunter: Everyone can roll their eyes, but no one should look past the Islanders this season. Mat Barzal is still an assist machine and Noah Dobson is turning into one of hockey’s best two-way defenders. Bo Horvat is locked up long term and should still be productive for a few more years. It’s unclear if new addition Anthony Duclair can hit the 30-goal mark again. Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov may be the best goaltending duo in hockey, and they proved last season that they can drag this team into a playoff spot. I expect them to do it again in 2024-25.
Scott: I wouldn’t say that I have so much confidence in the Isles that they are a lock for the playoffs, but they’ll certainly be in the conversation as long as Sorokin and Varlamov play well. What I do have confidence in is that the journey there will probably be as boring as possible.
Hunter: I mean, they are constructed by Lou Lamoriello…
In The Bubble
Scott: I actually had the Wild as a playoff team because I think their goaltending last season was their biggest issue and will probably regress to the norm outside of Marc-Andre Fleury getting older. Their forward group can at least get wins even if it lacks a lot of high-end scoring, but their defense is as good as ever, especially as Brock Faber gets older. If Marco Rossi can finally step his game up and live up to his draft hype to give Kirill Kaprizov an elite playmaking center, watch out, but I get why Hunter is a bit more bearish on Minnesota.
Hunter: One thing I’ll give the Wild is that the loss of Jared Spurgeon for most of the season really affected their defense, even though it might have enabled Faber to blossom. Having him back and playing a full season would be a massive boost on their blueline. Across his three NHL seasons, Matt Boldy has averaged 69 points per 82 games. Let’s see if he continues increasing that production.
Hunter: I mean at some point, they have to make the playoffs, right? Right?! Go through their lineup, and there’s more than enough talent to play past mid-April: Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, a full season of Shane Pinto, a veteran Claude Giroux and at least three top-four caliber defenders in Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub. All that gives me permission to predict they’ll clinch one of the Wildcard spots. Oh, and they just added 2023 Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark from Boston, who alone should be enough to increase their point total from last season’s 78.
Scott: The Sens actually look like a team that should make the playoffs, which means I’m really excited to find out how the hockey gods decide to make them miss the playoffs this season.
Scott: The wild card with the Flyers is the impact of Matvei Michkov on the team. Outside of him, this is largely the same mediocre Philadelphia roster that played above their heads for most of the season until they lost their starting goaltender and faded down the stretch. If Michkov takes some time adjusting, I’d expect a similar story, but if he makes noise right away, this might give them a much-needed boost to put them in the playoffs.
Hunter: Travis Konecny remains one of my favorite players to watch and Owen Tippett looks like a created player in NHL 25. But their blueline isn’t good enough to make a dent in the Metropolitan or in the Wildcard race. But hey, maybe Ivan Fedotov steals the show?
Hunter: I just don’t see how this Penguins squad is an improvement from last year’s team that missed the playoffs. All of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are at least 37 years old, and 34-year-old Erik Karlsson’s health is a question mark. Is Anthony Beauvillier really going to be a difference maker? Will Jesse Puljujarvi take the league by storm? Is Michael Bunting going to be a 30-goal winger? Too many question marks to see them playing more than 82 games.
Scott: You can never truly count out a team with Sid, Geno, Tanger and EK65, but man does the rest of the roster try their hardest to make you count them out.
Scott: I don’t think the Kraken will be nearly as good as they were in their inaugural playoff season in 2022-23, but I don’t think they’ll be as bad as they were last season. I was critical of the Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour contracts in the long-term, but it will improve the team this year, and they have the same forward depth that will probably find their offense in the middle of what they’ve been the past two seasons, particularly their young star Matty Beniers.
Hunter: Sometimes, a change of scenery and a fresh coat of paint is all you need. The team acquired Mikhail Sergachev from the Lightning in a move their Arizona Coyote alter egos would never have made, and general manager Bill Armstrong seems like a whole new executive following the move. Clayton Keller, fresh off being named team captain, should take another leap as a top forward in the league, and they have enough high-skill youth that they’ll be fun to watch, regardless of if they’ll make the playoffs.
Scott: Nothing quite hits the spot like watching a team constantly held down by the shackles of a stingy owner finally get the chance to spend to their potential. Utah might not make the playoffs, but they’ll certainly be an interesting watch this year.
Scott: The Capitals had the worst offense of the playoff teams and didn’t exactly add any guaranteed offensive improvements this year, but I really like their defense and goaltending this year. I think overall, they’re better this year than they were last year, but I’m still not fully sold on them as a playoff team. Not like it really matters though, the real story this season is the fact that it’s reasonably possible that Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record by the end of the season.
Hunter: Andrew Mangiapane: “Am I a joke to you?” No, none of their additions is a guarantee or really jumps off the page, but Pierre-Luc Dubois is the ultimate coach’s project, or bad boyfriend — “I can fix him.” To quote Tobias Funke, “it might work for us!”
Fringe Playoff Teams
Hunter: Just like the Senators, the Sabres have plenty of young talent and are at the “will they or won’t they?” part of their pursuit of playoff hockey. A promising 2022-23 season was followed with a very disappointing campaign last year, and a shockingly low amount of offense. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch will need to find the gear that made them top producers a few seasons ago, Bowen Byram and Owen Power need to carve out their own progress on the blueline. The “new coach bump” theory will be put to the test with veteran bench boss Lindy Ruff.
Scott: We’re cheating a bit with ranking the Sabres because we’ve already seen two games, but I did not have a lot of confidence in the team after an uninspiring reunion with Ruff and buying out Jeff Skinner without replacing his offense, and the early returns show that I had the right amount of confidence in this team. It really feels like that playoff drought is going to hit 14 years already.
Scott: Were the Red Wings playoff chances decided on the final day? Yes. But at the same time, they relied a lot on luck to make that happen, and they did not make any drastic changes to the roster this year outside of swapping David Perron for Vladimir Tarasenko. They might see some improvement if they don’t give Moritz Seider the worst usage in the league, but they currently have him paired with Ben Chiarot again, so my confidence isn’t all that high.
Hunter: I’m just going to come out and say it — the league is better when the Red Wings are better. So watching Steve Yzerman be satisfied with mediocre veterans on the blue ine (e.g. Erik Gustafsson) and a lack of bottom-six depth up front is frustrating. Is 37-year-old Cam Talbot taking you to the promised land? Or soon-to-be 36-year-old Patrick Kane?
Scott: I’d personally consider the Kings a bubble team because, while they didn’t make any significant improvements, I wouldn’t say they got worse either, and may actually have a reliable starting goaltender if Darcy Kuemper returns to normal this year. Well, outside of losing Drew Doughty for a long period of time. I will say, I’m quite optimistic about how much the team seems excited to be abandoning the 1-3-1 system, so I think the Kings team we’ll see this year will be a lot different than last year, for better or worse.
Hunter: If Drew Doughty didn’t get injured, I would have pegged this group to clinch a Wildcard spot and get eliminated by the Oilers in the first round for the fortieth consecutive year — er, the fourth consecutive. But without the future Hall of Fame blueliner and his 25 minutes of ice time every game, I can’t see them banking points while he’s out of the lineup.
Scott: I really like Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke on their right side, so I would not be surprised if they manage to replace his minutes somewhat adequately. They are certainly the early x-factors for the Kings’ season.
Playoff Longshots
Scott: I actually like the Flames’ top nine forward group. Not in the sense that it’s an elite group, but I think it’s at least well-rounded and will provide them with enough offense to keep them out of the basement, even with the departures of Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane. How Dustin Wolf plays may make a big impact on where they find themselves this year, but without any true star power and a questionable blueline, I think this team would be better suited finishing near the bottom of the standings than in the playoffs.
Hunter: There’s a lot to like about the Blackhawks beyond Connor Bedard: Tyler Bertuzzi has looked comfortable on the young phenom’s wing, and the return of Teuvo Teravainen should boost the club’s offensive production. Alec Martinez and Brodie bring experience to a veteran-starved blueline, and that should give Seth Jones room to breathe. Alex Vlasic was a revelation last season, and should take another step towards being a reliable shutdown defender. Consider this “the year before the year.”
Scott: Yeah, they definitely aren’t going to be as bad as they’ve been the past two seasons, but they’re also nowhere close to having made enough improvements to make me think that this team will sniff the playoffs.
Scott: I’m very interested to see how this Habs team looks when Patrik Laine returns, but otherwise their forward depth still has plenty of question marks. The blueline isn’t that much better, as it’s mostly just Mike Matheson, but the upside of Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle certainly provides some intrigue. Montreal might take some steps forward, but I’d still be very surprised if they make the playoffs.
Hunter: Just like the Blackhawks, it feels like the season before the one where they really take a shot at the playoffs. Juraj Slafkovsky might not ever live up to being a No. 1 pick, but the ingredients are there for a legitimate top power forward. With Jake Allen’s departure, it will be a treat to see Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau duke it out for starts in the crease.
Hunter: There’s plenty of overused phrases, and “the mushy middle” has emerged as one of the newer ones. But that’s exactly how I’d describe the Blues, a team that’s not quite good enough to challenge for a deep playoff run, but not bad enough to secure a lottery pick. Robert Thomas is still the wild card for every successful fantasy hockey team, and Jordan Kyrou will still produce at a near point-per-game pace. But how much are we really expecting out of this offseason’s restricted free agent offer sheet signings in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg? St. Louis should start the rebuild, and they should have started it yesterday.
Scott: Mike Gould frequently said “It’s the Islanders, who cares?” when he was tasked with talking about the middling Isles last year, and I think we might have to pass that torch to the Blues this season.
Too Bad to be Good, Too Good to be Bad
Scott: I’m definitely not sold on this Ducks team as a playoff team, as even with the insane amount of young talent they have joining the system, I don’t know if they quite have the veteran depth surrounding them to properly insulate them to be competitive, much like we’ve seen over the past few seasons. That said, that young talent breaking out is what keeps me back from believing this team is a surefire lottery contender. They’ll likely finish closer to the bottom than the playoffs, but I don’t think it will be as decisive as the past couple of seasons.
Hunter: All things are possible with Radko Gudas as your captain. Besides, all that young talent will make them fun to watch, and their new uniforms put them among the Calgarys and Buffalos for the nicest jerseys in the game.
Scott: It’s hard to really nail down what to expect from the Blue Jackets in the wake of the tragic passing of Johnny Gaudreau. Not only are they without his and Laine’s offensive impact on the ice, there’s no way of predicting how his absence will affect the team mentally. It’s just as possible for it to act as a motivation for them to overperform just as it is to take a toll on them. That said, I think all of the young talent that they have in the roster is on the verge of breaking out, and the potential there is what keeps me from thinking of them as a pure lottery contender.
Lottery Contenders
Hunter: Look, it’s going to be a long season. But in sports, you sell two things: winning and hope, and right now, hope is what they’re selling in the Bay Area. 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini will provide some memorable SportsCenter highlights, we’ll keep an eye as to whether Yaroslav Askarov gets called up to start some games in the NHL, but for the time being, they’re an afterthought in the NHL.
Scott: The Sharks won’t be the “wasteland of joy” that I called them last season, but they still aren’t anywhere close to competing either. While I can at least see a universe in which every other team near the bottom surprises people and makes a fight for a playoff spot, it’s really hard to see that being the case for the Sharks. At least they’ll be fun this year, and not “car crash you can’t look away from” fun either.
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