We approach a key moment in the hockey calendar, MLK day, I figured I would keep it simple this week and provide a power rankings with the league divided into tiers. Hope you enjoy! 

 

NHL Power Rankings

1. Vegas Golden Knights
2. Washington Capitals
3. Winnipeg Jets
4. Dallas Stars
5. Colorado Avalanche
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
8. Minnesota Wild
9. New Jersey Devils
10. Florida Panthers
11. Tampa Bay Lightning
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. LA Kings
14. Calgary Flames
15. Columbus Blue Jackets
16. Vancouver Canucks
17. Boston Bruins
18. Montreal Canadiens
19. Pittsburgh Penguins
20. Ottowa Senators
21. Detroit Red Wings
22. Saint Louis Blues
23. Utah Hockey Club
24. New York Rangers
25. Anaheim Ducks
26. New York Islanders
27. Philadelphia Flyers
28. Buffalo Sabres
29. Seattle Kraken
30. Nashville Predators
31. Chicago Blackhawks
32. San Jose Sharks

Breaking it Down

The Contenders

Vegas Golden Knights: The best team in the league on a night to night basis. Not to mention an incredible home fortress and vibe.

Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin and depth scoring, plus great goal tending. That’s the recipe to make a deep run into May.

Winnipeg Jets: The best goaltender in the world and maybe of the past decade in Connor Hellebuyck, that’s what carries this team. Kyle Conner and Mark Scheifele lead the way for the scoring and everyone else chimes in. Still haven’t won anything in the playoffs, but this could be the year.

Dallas Stars: Deep as they come, and top heavy as they come all at the same time. Jake Oettinger isn’t even playing his best hockey yet.

Colorado Avalanche: Wildly inconsistent but this is perhaps the deepest Avs roster since the cup runs. They don’t have much to work with at the trade deadline but at least it looks like they have found a goalie.

Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid and his quest for his first Stanley cup continue, massive goaltending questions.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Antithetical to every Maple Leafs team of the last decade, hard, gritty, deep. The curse is long and you shouldn’t expect anything crazy but if they don’t get out of the first two rounds this year, it will be a missed opportunity.

Florida Panthers: Still studs, still scorers and still with a great goalie duo. The sky is the limit for the defending champs.

So Close

Tampa Bay Lightning: Look no further than Tuesday night against the Hurricanes. A last second goal and a goaltending performance that reminds the league that the Big Cat is in fact a legend of his time. Don’t let Vassy get hot. The window is wide open.

Carolina Hurricanes: Young fantastic goalie in Pyotr Kochetkov, around him a classic Ron Brindamore team, gritty, fast, deep. Can they finally get over the hump?

Minnesota Wild: If Kirill Kaprizov gets healthy. Skies the limit.

Los Angeles Kings: Very solid goaltending from vet and Stanley Cup Champion Darcy Kuemper paired with insane defensive structure and three electric scorers. Does that work in the playoffs? This team needs to get through Edmonton still I have my doubts.

Picking and Choosing

Columbus Blue Jackets: Given the tragedy of the Gudreau brothers this team has responded incredibly well. They beat the bad teams and that’s a huge step in a young team’s development. If they add some vets in the summer this can be a playoff team next year, if they buy at the deadline, hell maybe this year.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are willing this team forward. Credit Mike Sullivan as well, they’re getting close but they keep losing in OT. They play Ottowa, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Buffalo over the coming weeks. They need to start getting two points to keep hanging around.

Utah Hockey Club: Losing Dylan Guenther really hurts. I’m just not sure they have the fire power to keep up. They need to win at home over the next seven games to get back into the mix.

Vancouver Canucks: The vibes are so bad. Bad enough that they’re on the brink of trading two core players and starting over. I feel bad for Canucks fans and worst for Quinn Hughes, you’re wasting an all time player.

CBB Games to Watch

Duke Notre Dame: How high can Cooper Flagg soar?

Louisville Pittsburgh: Is the Ville really back, they’ll need a win on the road to fully convince me.

Baylor Arizona State: It’s been a tough month for the Bears and they head to Tempe where ASU gets its first real Big 12 test.

Villanova St, John’s: How back is Villanova?

Uconn Georgetown: How back is Georgetown? How worried should we be about UConn?

Washinton Michigan: Danny Sprinkle v Dusty May, the two hottest names in this last coaching cycle, excited to see how this plays out. Can Washington keep it competitive?

Boise State Utah State: Whose the best team in the Mountain West?

SDST New Mexico: A must win for both teams but more so for New Mexico who is drifting awful close to falling out of the tourney convo. The Mountain West appears it’s a three bid league.

Alabama Texas AM: Are the Aggies a final-four contender?

Kentucky Mississippi State: Can Mark Popes squad recover from a road loss at Georgia and keep a losing slide to one? That’s what blue bloods do, can Mark Pope Kentucky do it?