NHL power rankings: Surging Devils enter top 10 after Hellebuyck trade
With Scott Maxwell
The 2026-27 NHL regular season is in full swing, with all but two of the league’s 32 member clubs having played double-digit games across the first four weeks of the schedule.
To say the past seven days contained multitudes would be an understatement. We saw what will go down as one of the biggest mid-season trades in recent memory, along with an outdoor game, multiple extended winning and losing streaks, and yet another homecoming game filled with jeers and clever chants. Gotta love it!
To brighten up your Monday, Scott and I are back with another edition of our power rankings here at Daily Faceoff. We each have our own methodologies for coming up with our individual lists, but by the time we combine them to conjure up the final product, we’ve generally formed a strong consensus — and the only thing stronger than that is the power of friendship.
Where were we? Ah, yes, right: here’s the No. 1 team. Enjoy!
1. Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 9-2-2, +18
Last Week: 1st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st
Scott: The Hurricanes have gotten off to as good a start as any defending Stanley Cup champion. They’re first in the standings and have one of the best offenses in the league. We saw that at full fruition with their 6-5 shootout loss with one of the West’s best right now in the Oilers. Although the loss brings up another concern: Brandon Bussi. He just hasn’t been doing well this year, with his .865 save percentage being hidden by the Canes’ elite defense. Pyotr Kochetkov has at least done well, but Bussi’s struggles probably make losing out on Connor Hellebuyck sting just a bit more.
Oh, also Alexander Nikishin finally signed a contract, and the end result just leaves me thinking “all that for that?” The Canes were smart to hold out to get him down to that price, and I get that Nikishin would rather just get back to playing and kick the can down the road. But it really makes all the offseason drama feel like a nothingburger.
Mike: Shoutout to Juuso Valimaki, who scored his first NHL goal in literal years in that game against the Oilers. Dude has dealt with some of the worst possible injury luck as a pro. That one had to feel good.
2. Minnesota Wild
Record: 8-3-2, +11
Last Week: 3rd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 2nd
Scott: The Wild spent the week in the Northwest, and while the trip got off to a rocky start with an overtime loss to the Oilers (reasonably expected) and a regulation loss to the Flames (not at all expected). But Minnesota bounced back and finished off the week with wins over the Kraken and Canucks, and now they have points in five of their last six games. I wouldn’t have expected the Wild to have the second-best points percentage in the West in the early goings, especially with injuries to Brock Faber and Filip Gustavsson, but credit where it’s due, just about every player is playing up to their expectations.
3. Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 8-4-1, +9
Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 6th
Mike: Vegas is off to a really nice start, but I’m still waiting for Rasmus Andersson to pick up the pace in his first full season with his new club. His underlying numbers are downright terrible compared to most of his teammates, which represents a worrying continuation of a trend that started shortly after he was acquired from the Flames midway through last season. With an $8.5 million cap hit through 2033 and a full no-move clause, the Knights need Andersson to be a legit top-pair guy for them. As it stands, it kind of looks like the Flames made out like bandits in that trade.
Scott: I still can’t believe they looked at a combined $6 million between Kaedan Korczak and Zach Whitecloud playing excellent defensive hockey and decided to move both to acquire and retain Andersson, pay him $2.5 million more, and play significantly worse hockey. When the Golden Knights’ downfall finally occurs, this might be the first chapter of that story.
4. Dallas Stars
Record: 7-3-1, +12
Last Week: 9th (+5)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 3rd
Scott: Remember when the Stars were off to a slow start? Five straight wins have pretty much erased that, and they’ve had to knock off some pretty good teams during this stretch. The Blackhawks are the Blackhawks, but the Avalanche and Bruins are tough matchups, and even the Jets and Islanders are playing better than expected and wouldn’t have been easy games. Even Wyatt Johnston’s drought is finally over, as he scored his first two goals of the season on Thursday and Sunday. Things have gone back to normal in Dallas.
5. Utah Mammoth
Record: 8-4-0, +6
Last Week: 5th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 5th
Scott: The Mammoth have split their last four games, as after their blowout loss to the Oilers the Saturday before last, they beat the Penguins in a tighter affair than expected, lost to the Kraken and then edged out a win against a much tougher Lightning squad. That said, Utah has still been one of the more dominant teams on the ice: they’ve only lost the 5v5 expected goal battle once this season when adjusting for score effects, and that was in the loss to the Oilers. For the time being, they’re still looking strong.
Mike: Speaking of teams that probably should’ve gone harder after Hellebuyck …
6. Boston Bruins
Record: 9-2-1, +22
Last Week: 10th (+4)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 9th
Mike: The Bruins have been one of the best stories in the entire NHL to start the new season, with big wins over Nashville and San Jose putting them up to a 9-2-1 record. But it’s been tough sledding for Morgan Geekie, who has just one goal to go along with his eight assists through 12 games. Worryingly, the Bruins have gotten smoked during Geekie’s shifts at 5v5, generating just 42.88 percent of the expected goals — the worst mark of any B’s regular, via Natural Stat Trick. Geekie is a talented player with a lot more to give, and I’m confident he’ll figure it out.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 7-3-1, +4
Last Week: 4th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 7th
Scott: Last week I voiced my concerns with the Lightning’s power play, and how slow it’s looked this year, but in the past week, that’s picked up a bit as they’ve gone 25% in their last three games. The notable change? They swapped out John Carlson for Charle-Edouard D’Astous to quarterback the unit. I wonder how long that lasts, but so far the returns have been good, and he has added slightly more dynamism to the unit. It’s worked well for him as well, as he has four points in the last three games. Perhaps he’s this year’s Darren Raddysh.
8. New Jersey Devils
Record: 7-4-0, +4
Last Week: 19th (+11)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 4th
Mike: It’s tough to find a weak link on this Devils team so far, as they’ve shot out of the gate to a 7-4-0 start with remarkably strong underlyings. Still, as much as we don’t want to keep picking on the same guys, it’s hard to ignore that Timo Meier only has one goal through 11 games this season. With the Devils ransacking their forward depth a little in the Connor Hellebuyck trade, they’ll need Meier to pick up a bit more slack. Also — Scott! They traded for Hellebuyck!
Scott: I’ve loved what I’ve seen from the Devils so far this season, as they’ve dominated most teams in terms of creating and preventing chances. In fact, the only game they’ve lost the expected goal battle was against the Mammoth, a similarly dominant team in that regard. I’m excited to see what their ceiling is like with consistent goaltending, never mind the consistently elite goaltending that Hellebuyck provides (assuming he isn’t slow coming out of training camp). At the very least, I think this puts them on the same level as the Hurricanes in the East.
Mike: Hold your horses. This puts them on the same level as the defending champs … at the very least? Bold words.
Scott: What I mean is that I think they can compete with just about anyone in the playoffs now, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them beat the Canes in a seven-game series like I would most times (especially when they have the goaltending kryptonite that always defeated Carolina in past seasons). Are they sure-fire Cup contenders? We don’t know yet. But they’ve definitely leveled up their game.
9. Edmonton Oilers
Record: 8-2-1, +10
Last Week: 6th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 14th
Scott: I’ll admit that my model is a bit bearish on the Oilers. But I also don’t know if I’m ready to anoint them as the second-best team in the league like Mike is. Sure, if this was NHL 27 and you turned off line changes and stamina, and only ran out Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard with two other players and they played the whole game, the Oilers would be unstoppable. But this team does struggle when they aren’t on the ice, and any early signs of an improved defense have since faded. Their three-headed monster has been insane to start the year and they’re carrying the load so far, but they won’t be record-breaking good forever, and when that happens, I’d expect a bit more struggles. Oh, and their stable goalie option in Devon Levi is hurt, meaning they’re back to Tristan Jarry. Their 7-2 loss to the Leafs is a great example of all those issues culminating to one disaster game, and it may be a sign of what could be in store at points this season.
Mike: McDavid is on pace for over 200 points. I’ve taken more than my fair share of shots at the Oilers over the years — I still think they’re still a fundamentally broken team in so many ways — but it’s almost impossible against a guy who’s scoring at that rate.
10. Montreal Canadiens
Record: 6-3-2, 0
Last Week: 18th (+8)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 8th
Mike: It’s been a bit of a weird start to the season for these Canadiens, who might finally be starting to come around. Their weaknesses can largely be pinpointed to a few notable underachievers, including Jakub Dobes and Alex Newhook, but it’s especially difficult not to feel disappointed by Chris Kreider’s first few games in Montreal. The veteran winger has one goal and four points in 11 games, and during his shifts, the Canadiens have surrendered 30 high-danger chances at evens while generating just 16 of their own. Likewise, the Habs were heavily outshot at the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg on Sunday, but Jacob Fowler stopped 33 of 34 shots in a huge 2-1 win.
11. Ottawa Senators
Record: 8-4-0, +4
Last Week: 13th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 12th
Mike: The Senators put up a touchdown against the Rangers on Saturday, but it’s starting to feel like this might be the end of the line for Andre Burakovsky, who still doesn’t have a point in six games since returning from an injury that delayed his Sens debut. It seems like Burakovsky has been around forever, but he’s only 31 and not that far removed from being a critical support piece during Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup run. Nevertheless, it seems as though injuries have limited Burakovsky’s effectiveness to the point that he’s now been a healthy scratch twice in Ottawa.
12. Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 7-4-2, +9
Last Week: 25th (+13)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 17th
Mike: I don’t know about you, but Auston Matthews sure looks like he’s feeling 22. I know some folks in the center of the hockey universe wondered whether Matthews would ever get back to his previous heights after a couple of underwhelming seasons. But I already feel pretty darn certain that he’s going to score 50 goals this year. He sure showed McDavid and Draisaitl who’s boss in that 7-2 Leafs win in Edmonton on Saturday.
Scott: The Leafs still have plenty of reasons for concern, especially with their 5v5 play (which is why I have them as low as I do). But make no mistake, they’re fun to watch again, and Matthews is a big reason why.
13. Florida Panthers
Record: 6-4-2, -2
Last Week: 8th (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 11th
Mike: Right now, the Panthers are either getting a hat trick from somebody or they’re hardly scoring at all. This past week, it was a lot of the latter. They were embarrassed in Brady Tkachuk’s homecoming game in Ottawa and got shut out by the Penguins before just barely eking past … the Blackhawks? Seriously!? Eeeeeeyikes.
14. New York Rangers
Record: 7-5-1, +5
Last Week: 11th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 13th
Mike: I am 10,000 percent here for Alexis Lafrenière finally emerging from Artemi Panarin’s shadow to become a full-fledged star. Unfortunately, he’s being counteracted by this Rangers team’s god-awful defense, which cost them enormously in frustrating losses to both Ontario teams this past week. On a related note, that Pavel Dorofeyev trade is looking like it might be a bit of a turkey, although it’s tough to pin all the blame on him for his .838 on-ice SV% at 5v5.
15. New York Islanders
Record: 5-4-2, +3
Last Week: 12th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 10th
Mike: The Isles lost back-to-back games to finish the week, with the Stars doubling them up by a 6-3 final score on Sunday n—
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Mike: Well. I certainly didn’t expect that.
16. Colorado Avalanche
Record: 6-5-1, +9
Last Week: 7th (-9)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 16th
Scott: At first when I looked at the Avalanche’s slow start to the season, I expected it to just be regression from last year’s pace, even though they were still excellent under the hood. But there are some legitimate concerns with this team. Most notably, they’ve actually been outplayed and outchanced more often than not this season with a 47.89% 5v5 xG%, and their 2.97 5v5 xGA/60 is the ninth-worst. Hopefully this is just an early hiccup, because I don’t think I’ve seen them play like this since the pre-Cale Makar years.
Mike: It took 11 games for Nazem Kadri to score his first goal of his age-36 season. Doesn’t seem to bode particularly well.
17. Winnipeg Jets
Record: 4-4-3, -4
Last Week: 14th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 18th
Scott: The Jets finally got the 207-pound weight that rested on their shoulders to start the season that was the Connor Hellebuyck situation. The return was extremely underwhelming, as it looks like the Jets really went all in on getting NHL-ready names with the likes of Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad going the other way. But it’s done, and now Winnipeg doesn’t have to worry about it being the big storyline for the Heritage Classic. Instead, it was for their lifeless performance against the Canadiens! Montreal is obviously a much better team, but that doesn’t write off the Jets’ performance, especially since they’ve now lost five games in a row.
18. Seattle Kraken
Record: 7-4-1, +3
Last Week: 17th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 24th
Mike: Good news for Kraken fans everywhere: Calgary is on the schedule twice over the next two weeks. Seattle beat these Flames by a combined score of 12-2 in two games at the very start of the new season. Also, fun fact: Kaapo Kakko is now on pace for exactly 70 points, which would tie Jared McCann’s single-season Kraken scoring record. No, Seattle has never had anyone score more than 70 points in a season, why are you surprised?
19. Washington Capitals
Record: 6-4-0, +2
Last Week: 16th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd
Mike: It was cool to see Alex Tuch score the overtime winner for the Capitals in his first game against the Sabres since leaving Buffalo over the summer. Unfortunately, these Caps are starting to remind me a little too much of the 2022-23 Flames, another team that “won the offseason” by adding a bunch of veteran players who fell short of true stardom. I just don’t see the difference-makers on this roster — too many B-plus talents, not enough A’s.
Scott: Yeah, with each passing week, this team feels more and more underwhelming, particularly on the defensive side. I’d wonder if they regret moving John Carlson but he hasn’t exactly been a world-beater in Tampa, especially after losing his spot on the top powerplay.
20. Nashville Predators
Record: 4-3-4, -4
Last Week: 23rd (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 20th
Scott: The Predators continue to be about as average of a team as one would expect, but one place they aren’t getting an average performance is in net. Juuse Saros looks a lot better than recent seasons with a .908 SV% (11th among goalies with more than five starts), and that’s dragged down by two separate five-spots. Considering how hard he had fallen off the past three seasons, this is a good sign for a Preds team trying to gun for a playoff spot.
21. St. Louis Blues
Record: 5-5-1, 0
Last Week: 22nd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 19th
Scott: Mason McTavish’s hot start slowed down a bit last week, with just one goal in the three games the Blues played. Hopefully that’s just a couple off games for him and not a sign that he was lucky (he was generating a fair amount of chances to start the season so it likely wasn’t that). Even then, the Blues have bigger concerns: Robert Thomas has been close to invisible this season. Perhaps it’s him adjusting to the weight of being captain, but they certainly need more than six points in 11 games out of him.
Mike: I’m trying and failing to come up with something that sounds more boring than watching these Predators and Blues play against each other. Wait, what do you mean they’ve already done it once this year? And they combined to score seven goals? That doesn’t sound right.
22. Anaheim Ducks
Record: 5-6-0, -5
Last Week: 15th (-7)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 21st
Mike: If the Ducks are going to run with such a top-heavy group due to salary cap limitations, their top guys had better look the part. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a tricky start for Cutter Gauthier, who is sitting on just two goals in 10 games and has gotten killed at 5v5 so far. Jackson LaCombe has also suffered greatly against top-tier competition. These Ducks need more support, but they just can’t afford it.
23. Detroit Red Wings
Record: 4-4-3, -5
Last Week: 20th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 15th
Mike: With Alexander Nikishin signing a one-year deal with the Hurricanes on Sunday, Simon Edvinsson is officially the last RFA left standing. Meanwhile, the Red Wings have looked incredibly mediocre in his absence. Sure, they were riding a six-game point streak before Saturday’s loss in Calgary, but three of those games went to shootouts. Once they trade Dylan Larkin, expect the bottom to fall off the wagon.
Scott: Yeah, my ranking is solely based on their play right now and now what we should expect from them once Larkin and Edvinsson are shipped out. The fact that their ceiling is still a mid team doesn’t bode well for a team about to lose two notable pieces to their team.
24. Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 5-6-1, 0
Last Week: 26th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 22nd
Mike: The Penguins have one of the biggest groups of “I totally forgot about him” guys in the league. Sam Girard? Totally forgot he went to Pittsburgh. Hendrix Lapierre? Right, he’s there too. Andrei Kuzmenko? Sure, why not. Where else would Nick Robertson be tied for the team lead in goals? Where else would Ville Koivunen get the chance to hit the ice in overtime to beat the Predators, as he did on Saturday? Where else would Trevor van Riemsdyk and Ryan Graves both be on the IR at the same time? It’s gotta be Pittsburgh.
25. San Jose Sharks
Record: 6-5-1, -6
Last Week: 24th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 29th
Scott: Yes, I know, the Sharks are in a playoff spot right now, I shouldn’t have them this low in the rankings. But after getting a live viewing of them for their 3-1 loss to the Leafs, they just still look like a work in progress for me, especially when Macklin Celebrini is off the ice. Case in point: only three teams have multiple appearances in the bottom-10 of worst 5v5 expected goals performances this season: the Flyers and the Canucks (both bad teams), and the Sharks, including their 6-4 loss to the Bruins on Saturday when they had just a 21.57% 5v5 xGF%.
26. Buffalo Sabres
Record: 4-4-3, -10
Last Week: 21st (-5)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 25th
Mike: The following Sabres have noticeably struggled to put the puck in the net through the first 11 games of the season: Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Josh Norris, Jiri Kulich, Ryan McLeod, Konsta Helenius, and Peyton Krebs. Combined, those seven players have scored seven goals. Considering how good those players typically are, that’s not very many.
Scott: In hindsight, I should have been a bit lower on the Sabres going into this season. As bad as Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch’s contracts are, they were still notable pieces to the team, and Buffalo has seen enough players regress a bit this year that those two players’ impacts are missed, especially Tuch’s. Still, I think those moves were better for the long term, and even if the Sabres miss the playoffs this year, I don’t think it will take them 15 years to return again.
27. Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 4-5-0, -8
Last Week: 27th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 27th
Scott: What a sad state the Blue Jackets have been in this season. Zach Werenski has just six assists in nine games. Adam Fantilli has predictably struggled after a shortened training camp. Matthew Knies has gone pointless in nine straight games. Conor Garland has no points. Jet Greaves has an .883 SV%. Rick Bowness either wants to trade the entire team or quit. Columbus finally figured out how to make Kent Johnson good again (four goals, seven points), but that’s the only bright spot right now. Some of us entertained the idea of Bowness being the first coach to go this season, but a new hire would also be the Blue Jackets’ sixth head coach in the last four years. They need stability behind the bench at some point, and that might be a driving issue for their struggles these past few seasons.
28. Calgary Flames
Record: 4-6-0, -16
Last Week: 28th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 26th
Mike: As we all predicted they would, the Flames rattled off three consecutive wins this week. Their special teams have been shockingly good: Joel Farabee, Matt Coronato, Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin, and Zayne Parekh have combined to form what is suddenly the most dangerous power play in all of hockey, while their penalty kill has excelled in large part due to the emergence of little-known center Jonathan Castagna. Also, the 2004 throwback jerseys they wore against Detroit on Saturday might be the best-looking sports uniforms in the world.
29. Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 3-7-3, -18
Last Week: 32nd (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 28th
Scott: Are the Flyers good again? They rattled off three straight wins over the Senators, Avalanche and Sabres to finally end the winless start to the season, and none of these teams are slouches either, even if they all have their struggles. Even in their 5-4 loss to the Ducks, it looked like the Flyers had life again. At the very least, this stretch has been driven by the younger players: the only player above the age of 25 with more than one point during this stretch was Noah Cates. Matvei Michkov in particular looks like the player touted as one of the best in the 2023 NHL Draft right now, so it’s nice to see Rick Tocchet finally trusting him.
30. Los Angeles Kings
Record: 2-5-2, -11
Last Week: 30th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 30th
Scott: The Kings finally got their first two wins of the season last week, besting the Capitals and Islanders to start their five-game road trip. Those wins were unsurprisingly driven by Artemi Panarin, who had three goals and five points in the two games, although Adrian Kempe was also solid with two goals and three points.
The Kings need more out of the rest of their roster, but you also can’t blame most of them either. This team just isn’t equipped to play well, especially down the middle. They didn’t adequately replace Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield hasn’t stepped up to the plate just yet, and it makes that Phillip Danault trade all the more baffling when they could use a shutdown center of his caliber. It just all feels so poorly thought out by Ken Holland.
31. Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 3-8-0, -19
Last Week: 29th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 31st
Scott: I’m still waiting for this moment when the Blackhawks are going to be good this season, especially now that Connor Bedard is back. This isn’t on Bedard, as he’s been fine since his return with two goals and five points in five games. But the rest of the team is still ill-prepared for a playoff battle, and I’m just not seeing any signs of that changing right now, especially when they have the second-worst 5v5 xGF/60 AND xGA/60 in the league.
32. Vancouver Canucks
Record: 2-10-1, -23
Last Week: 32nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd
Scott: I did not realize that the Canucks have been on a 10-game losing streak after winning two of their first three games of the season. It helps that they’ve had some close games and are seeing some solid performances from the likes of Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Leevi Merilainen, but it still shows that this team is one of the worst in the league. At the very least, Canucks fans still know how to have fun, especially after Quinn Hughes came to town. I particularly loved the chirps towards the Wild about the defenseman not re-signing, I’m glad it wasn’t just a pile-on towards Hughes.
Mike: I do not remember the last time Scott and I agreed on the placement of three consecutive teams. What a wonderful world.
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