Post by Beans (BOS) on May 16, 2016 12:37:24 GMT -5
Current Ranking (Previous Ranking) | Team | Comments |
1 (1) | St. Louis Blues | The iBlues have held top spot in the power rankings all season but their grip on number 1 has never been so tenuous. 1-4 in their last 5 games, including blowouts against non-playoff teams in New Jersey and Winnipeg. Also see immediately below. |
2 (4) | San Jose Sharks | Currently on a 10-2 run over their last 12 games, the iSharks have never been closer to taking over the top spot. Though they’ve played 2 more games, Isaac’s squad is only 2 points behind the iBlues in the Presidents trophy race. |
3 (3) | Ottawa Senators | The iSenators struggled to begin the year but have been lights out since and are now running away with the once-competitive Atlantic division. A quiet trade deadline may have been the best move for GM Robott who is currently enjoying a 16-4 run over the last 20 games. |
4 (2) | Philadelphia Flyers | You know why the iFlyers are the favorites to win the East this season? Because they only have 2 players with negative possession stats (Victor Arvidsson and Tanner Kero) and their stars are possession driving machines (Giroux, JVR, Couturier, Voracek and Chara). And if all else fails they have 3 (‼!) goalies putting up incredible numbers this season in Rask, Metsola, and Campbell. |
5 (12) | Pittsburgh Penguins | Not sure what is more impressive: (a) Sidney Crosby has 81 points in 74 games with a below average PDO or (b) Crosby has a +22 Corsi rating. Actually, there could be cause for concern for the notoriously streaky iPenguins: they’re 4-6 in their last 10 games following their 13-0 run. |
6 (13) | Detroit Red Wings | The Ryan Getzlaf trade continues to pay dividends (70 points in 74 games) but the real surprise has been Nathan Beaulieu’s (acquired for a 2017 3rd round pick) emergence on the blueline (7-34-41 in 74 games). At 11-4 over their last 15 games, the iWings are one of the teams getting hot at the right time of year. |
7 (7) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 15-10 over their last 25 games, the iLightning have been one of the best teams over the second half of the 16-17 iNHL season. Steven Stamkos may pace this group offensively (35-35-70, +4 in 73 games) but we think Victor Hedman is the real team MVP (13-34-47 in 67 games, +22 in 67 games). |
8 (14) | New York Islanders | This is our darkhorse pick this playoff season. John Tavares has put this team on his shoulders and carried it to what looks to be a certain playoff spot this season (and himself to #1 in league scoring with 95 points in 75 games) and Ryan Strome (82 points) and Josh Ho-Sang (61 points) provide explosive offensive depth while leaders like Marian Hossa and the Sedins keep producing as well. |
9 (5) | Washington Capitals | GM Gil Martin was active at the deadline, adding Jakub Silfverberg, Ian Cole and other experienced talent to his group for a playoff run. The results haven’t been there on a consistent basis yet (7 wins in their last 13 games), but we’re also sure that no one wants to meet up with the iCapitals in the first round. |
10 (9) | Calgary Flames | We are surprised the iFlames aren’t higher but they’re just 10-10 over their last 20 games despite some really nice trade deadline moves by GM Joe and they have a -3 goal differential on the season. |
11 (16) | Nashville Predators | 14-6 over their last 20 games, the iPredators are catching fire at the right time and could be poised for a surprisingly long playoff run. |
12 (15) | Vancouver Canucks | Kurt and the iCanucks continue their steady march up the power rankings. The iCanucks are the only team to improve their power ranking in each edition this season. |
13 (10) | Boston Bruins | This team is faltering at the wrong time. GM Beans’ decision to sacrifice depth (Granlund, Silfverberg, Theodore, Jokipakka, Namestnikov) for more speedy offense and draft picks (Matt Duchene, Washington 1st Round Pick) looks like it could backfire significantly this season. |
14 (8) | New Jersey Devils | The iDevils have been undone by injuries but have held on admirably in the tough Metro division. They had a chance to close in on a potential playoff spot until they went 0-8. Since then, they’ve been a decent 7-5, but the injuries and resulting inconsistency have been too much for the iDevils this season. |
15 (26) | Arizona Coyotes | The biggest riser in this edition of the power rankings, the iCoyotes are barely around .500 in their last 15 games (7-8) but are riding high after acquiring hometown phenom Auston Matthews in the biggest blockbuster of the season/deadline. Combined with Dylan Strome, Max Domi, and Jesse Puljujarvi (the 2nd best player in the 2016 draft), the Auston Matthews era in Arizona figures to be an explosive one. |
16 (17) | Minnesota Wild | The iWild continue to defy gravity. They have a -18 goal differential yet sit higher than Nashville (+30) and Chicago (+16) in the Central. Breakout seasons from Nino Niederreiter (30-29-59 in 75gp) and Erik Haula (16-31-47 in 75gp) are big reasons why. |
17 (6) | Chicago Blackhawks | At one point, the iHawks were the clear alternative to the iBlues in the Central division. Now they’re 4th and battling with Nashville and the Wild for the right to avoid Isaac and the iSharks in the first round. GM Ranek has voiced his frustrations with his team and many around the iNHL expect at least one major move out of Chicago in the offseason. |
18 (18) | Montreal Canadiens | The iHabs are enjoying a modest 3 game winning streak in the midst of a season decimated by injuries. Embracing his team’s misfortune, GM Matt made perhaps the shrewdest move at the deadline by acquiring an injured OEL from the iFlames shortly after prying Tyson Barrie out of iColorado. Going forward, the iHabs D will feature insane depth – 3 Norris candidates in OEL, PK Subban, and Mark Giordano. |
19 (21) | Los Angeles Kings | The iKings climb the power rankings even as their GM embraces losses. 21-year-old Joni Tuulola (29 points in 53 games) looks like a future star in the iNHL. |
20 (11) | New York Rangers | Like the iHawks, the iRangers looked poised not long ago to make a run at the playoffs. Since then they’ve been wildly inconsistent – winning 4 in a row, losing several in a row, winning 2, losing 2 more. The up and down play has left them in the dust in the competitive Metro but GM Mike can probably take some solace in looking at his team’s mediocre PDO numbers and surmising that bad luck had a role to play in the inconsistency. |
21 (22) | Colorado Avalanche | Gone are Duchene, Matthews, and Landeskog so it’s officially Nathan MacKinnon’s team in iDenver…for now. GM Ryan has a plan and he’s sticking with it – will he be the next Kurt and prove everyone wrong? |
22 (21) | Hartford Whalers | We genuinely have no idea why the iWhalers aren’t doing better. They are a pretty strong possession team, they have two big centers that are putting up points (Barkov, Bjugstad), their goaltending is in decent shape, and they have defense (Ekblad, Big Buff, Gudbranson, Marc Methot). The additions of Landeskog and Varlamov at the deadline also seemed like good deals. We bet the iWhalers would start winning if GM Steve decided to blow it up. |
23 (20) | Edmonton Oilers | More was expected of the iOilers this season, including a potential playoff run. However, things have gone south, particularly in the last 25 games (7-18). On the bright side, Loik Leveille is justifying all the hype surrounding him following his selection in the 1st round of last year’s draft – he leads the iOilers in scoring with 12-34-46 in 74 games (Taylor Hall has played the same number of games and has 46 points as well). Combined with Seth Jones (11-29-40 in 74 games), the iOilers could have their top pairing set for the next decade. |
24 (25) | Buffalo Sabres | GM Kris signalled that his team is going to be going for it from now on and we expect the iSabres to be one of next season’s most improved teams. This deadline’s big move was landing superstar-in-the-making Sam Reinhart to complement face-of-the-franchise Jack Eichel. The core in iBuffalo going forward includes a nice mix of speed, scoring, and grit in the form of Eichel, Reinhart, Beau Bennet, Michael Dal Colle, Patrick Laine, and Gabriel Gagne. |
25 (23) | Toronto Maple Leafs | Brendan Leipsic (43 points) has outscored RNH (40 points) and Andreas Johnson (37 points) is not far behind. Either the Maple Leafs have hidden depth or RNH needs to get on his horse. On the bright side, Morgan Reilly (8-26-34 in 60 games) and Stuart Percy (11-20-31 in 75 games) seem to be coming along nicely. |
26 (27) | Winnipeg Jets | A tough season for the iJets got tougher with the formal resignation of former GM Dax. On the bright side, this team is loaded with young, high-end talent so whomever takes over will be back in contention in short order. |
27 (29) | Carolina Hurricanes | Trading Elias Lindholm was an unusually big move for GM Eric but with prospects developing nicely, the iNHL could be taken by storm as the Canes potentially pivot towards winning now and playoff contention. Interestingly, both Ryan Murphy and rookie Damon Severson have outscored star d-man Justin Faulk. |
28 (24) | Dallas Stars | In short order, GM Jacob has overhauled the hodgepodge of veterans and middle-tier prospects he inherited from previous regimes. The iStars have had a tough season on the ice but have acquired the pieces necessary to grow into a contender in 3-4 season (or earlier if they use their newly acquired picks/prospects in trades). |
29 (30) | Columbus Blue Jackets | Not much going on in Columbus this season but William Nylander has been a revelation, posting 26-32-58 in 72 games this season. Rumors of iNylander to Philly will be sure to heat up. |
30 (28) | Anaheim Ducks | The iDucks season has been either a tremendous success or tremendous failure, depending on your perspective. Of course, they’ve been near the bottom of the standings all season, but the iDucks have also gained tremendous flexibility going forward by shedding a number of burdensome contracts and acquiring a number of attractive prospects and players on the cusp of taking the next step (Pastrnak, Kevin Roy, Despres, Brandon Pirri). Nolan Patrick would be a nice fit here too. |