NHL Power Rankings: Reigning champion Panthers remain team to beat after draft, free agency

Panthers
Bill Zito just keeps working his magic. Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad are all still Panthers. Well, it’s either magic or all the winning and year-round sunshine. Regardless, Florida is primed for the first three-peat since the Islanders’ run in the early 80s. 8 47-31-4
2

Golden Knights
Is it any surprise that the Golden Knights wound up with the biggest prize on the market this offseason? Mitch Marner is now in a Vegas uniform, and he’ll play alongside Jack Eichel to form a terrifying duo. One more blue line addition should complete this juggernaut. — 50-22-10
3

Avalanche
It hasn’t been a crazy summer for the Avalanche, but they’ve handled their business quite nicely. Colorado re-signed Brock Nelson, and it upgraded on defense with a cheap one-year deal for Brent Burns. The Avalanche will once again be one of the favorites to hoist the Cup in 2025. 3 49-29-4
4

Stars
The Stars have some very real salary cap issues, but as things stand today, it looks like they’ll be battling with the Avalanche atop the Central Division. Jason Robertson remains on the roster for now, and Dallas needs to do everything in its power to avoid trading him. That would be a major loss for the organization. 3 50-26-6
5

Hurricanes
Count me among the fans of Carolina’s moves over the last week or so. The Canes signed Logan Stankoven to a very team-friendly contract, acquired K’Andre Miller from the Rangers and signed skilled winger Nikolaj Ehlers. Carolina is doing its best to close that gap with Florida in the East. 6 47-30-5
6

Oilers
Paying Trent Frederic almost $4 million to play bottom-six minutes was an interesting decision, and they tried yet again to fix their depth scoring by signing Andrew Mangiapane. Goaltending remains the biggest question, so we’ll see whether the Oilers find any answers at that position between now and October. 6 48-29-5
7

Lightning
The Bolts have been quiet this summer, but we’ll see how long that lasts. Even if it remains status quo for Tampa, this is still a very good team. If the Lightning can find a way to get better (and younger) on defense, then they will look pretty scary on paper going into 2025-26. 2 47-27-8
8

Maple Leafs
Even without Mitch Marner, the Leafs still have a talented lineup. Three members of the Core Four remain, and Matthew Knies is poised for another big jump. Beyond that, the acquisition of Matias Maccelli is one of my favorite low-key moves of the offseason. Still, Toronto just lost a perennial 100-point scorer, and the team is worse because of it. 7 52-26-4
9

Senators
Ottawa has yet to do anything really splashy, but the two under-the-radar moves it has made are really savvy. I’m a big fan of young defenseman Jordan Spence, who was underused in Los Angeles, and Lars Eller is an excellent fourth-line center. The Senators are coming for the top dogs in the Atlantic. 1 45-30-7
10

Mammoth
Expect me to be banging the Mammoth drum until the puck drops on opening night. I like the talent on this team, and that’s especially true after the deal for JJ Peterka. He’s capable of putting up 40 goals in this league, and while it does sting to lose Michael Kesselring, Utah’s offense just got a major boost. 6 38-31-13
11

Devils
As things stand right now, the Devils seemed poised to run it back. That may not necessarily be a bad thing. There is plenty to like about this squad, especially with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt leading the way. The question is whether New Jersey can get a full 82 games out of Hughes. 3 42-33-7
12

Capitals
Not much has changed for the Capitals, and that’s OK. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Washington is set to bring back most of the team that posted 51 wins and 111 points last season. I do suspect there will be some regression, but Washington will still be firmly in the Metro Division mix. 2 51-22-9
13

Jets
The Jets didn’t know what they had in Nikolaj Ehlers, and now he’s gone. On top of that, Winnipeg got much older with the signings of Jonathan Toews and Gus Nyquist, two players whose best days are behind them. Right now, it seems like the Jets may be in for a sizable step back after winning the Presidents’ Trophy. 10 56-22-4
14

Wild
I still have questions about how the Wild will score, and while the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko could help, he’s a player in decline. Minnesota probably isn’t done making moves with Marco Rossi on the trade block. If the Wild can move on from Rossi and land a true No. 1 center, it will be a great summer. If not, then the team may be destined for another first-round exit. 3 45-30-7
15

Canadiens
The Canadiens are a fascinating team in 2025-26 because they just made the playoffs with a minus-20 goal differential. That tells me they were fortunate to be in that position. On the other hand, Montreal is an exciting group. Lane Hutson is coming off a Calder Trophy win, and the team just swung a blockbuster trade for Noah Dobson. — 40-31-11
16

Kings
Missing out on Mitch Marner. Trading Jordan Spence. Signing Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin to big contracts. It’s hard to see the Kings as anything other than one of the offseason’s biggest losers so far. Los Angeles is probably still a playoff team, but a fifth straight loss to the Oilers is coming down the tracks. 12 48-25-9
17

Blues
St. Louis has upgraded its center depth with Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad, and there are still things to like elsewhere. The Blues just seem to lack enough high-end scorers to compete with the top teams in its own division. Perhaps Jim Montgomery’s defensive acumen can get this team to the postseason again. 4 44-30-8
18

Rangers
The Rangers essentially swapped K’Andre Miller for Vladislav Gavrikov. They got rid of a veteran player on a pricey deal in Chris Kreider. Mike Sullivan takes over behind the bench. It’s been a mixed bag for New York, a team that seems destined for the playoff fringes next season. 4 39-36-7
19

Canucks
Pius Suter is gone. Evander Kane has arrived. Brock Boeser has returned. All of those things feel surprising to different degrees, and it’s hard to evaluate these Canucks. Will they be closer to the 2023-24 squad that nearly went to the conference finals, or will it be a repeat of last year when they missed the playoffs by six points? The latter seems more likely. 1 38-30-14
20

Red Wings
The Red Wings went out and got the top goalie available on the trade market in John Gibson. They also added defensive specialist Mason Appleton to the forward group. Is that enough to end Detroit’s lengthy playoff drought? I’m pretty skeptical, so Steve Yzerman may need to take a big swing on the trade market over the next few months (see: Jason Robertson). 1 39-35-8
21

Ducks
Despite the addition of some veterans (Mikael Granlund and Chris Kreider), any meaningful improvements will have to be made internally. Anaheim needs players like Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Pavel Mintyukov to take big steps forward under new coach Joel Quenneville. 4 35-37-10
22

Sabres
I’m of two minds about the Buffalo Sabres. For one, they have some fun players in their forward group, and their young core of defensemen is quite impressive. Having said that, it’s also the Sabres. There are still big holes further down the lineup that I do not expect them to plug. This team can’t get out of its own way, so I won’t be predicting playoffs until I see it with my own eyes. 1 36-39-7
23

Bruins
Putting the Bruins at No. 23 feels a little generous. Outside of David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, how many players are there to get excited about? Maybe Hampus Lindholm. Maybe Jeremy Swayman. Boston may be in for a very long 2025-26 season. 6 33-39-10
24

Predators
The Predators have tinkered with their defense a bit, but it’s been uneventful outside of that. Positive regression alone should make Nashville better next season, but that would still put the team well out of a playoff spot. The Preds’ front office might be better served to set its sights on the 2026 offseason. 7 30-44-8
25

Blue Jackets
This may seem low for a team that just missed the playoffs by two points last season, but the Blue Jackets played well above expectations. A lot went right for Columbus, and the team still missed the playoffs. The acquisition of Charlie Coyle was a head-scratcher, and the Ivan Provorov extension might have caused some bald spots among the fan base. 6 40-33-9
26

Flyers
The Trevor Zegras trade was a smart move from the Flyers. Bet on a very talented young player whose value has never been lower. If Zegras hits in Philly, the team will have a star. If not, he’s in the last year of his current contract, so no harm done. Despite that, I still think the Flyers need at least one more year before they are back in the playoff conversation. — 33-39-10
27

Islanders
Times are finally changing on Long Island. Lou Lamoriello is out, and the roster has been shaken up. Most notably, star defenseman Noah Dobson is a Canadien, and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer will theoretically take his place. The change of direction might mean a tough year for the Islanders, but the future already looks pretty bright. 3 35-35-12
28

Flames
The Flames are another team that narrowly missed out on the playoffs, but they have taken a tumble in the postseason power rankings. Calgary was the beneficiary of some good puck luck, and the roster remains quite underwhelming. That’s especially the case if Rasmus Andersson gets traded in the coming weeks. 10 41-27-14
29

Kraken
Seattle has done stuff this summer, but how much of it has been good? Lane Lambert is now the coach, but his resume with the Islanders was very underwhelming. Mason Marchment is a good player, but how much does he move the needle? Ryan Lindgren struggled last year, and now he will play a big role on the Kraken’s blue line. 2 35-41-6
30

Penguins
One of the few teams clearly not trying to get any better for next season, the Penguins are very much playing the long game. Pittsburgh hasn’t made many major additions, and GM Kyle Dubas is surely dangling trade chips like Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. The Pens will be quite bad, but that’s by design. 2 34-36-12
31

Sharks
The Sharks are still going to be bad. But they might not be quite as bad. They have a trio of very exciting young forwards, and they added some veterans on the blue line. San Jose won’t be within spitting distance of the playoffs, but there should be competent hockey on most nights. 1 20-50-12
32

Blackhawks
Last year made it very evident that the Blackhawks’ rebuild still has a very long way to go. Even Connor Bedard struggled as Chicago cratered. Expect more young prospects to play bigger roles in 2025-26, and it will be interesting to see how many of them rise to the occasion and stick with the NHL club for most of the year. 2 25-46-11