NHL Power Rankings for Every Team Not in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final
It's title time in the NHL.
The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are doing battle for the second consecutive Stanley Cup Final. But just because they're again the last two teams standing doesn't mean the NHL's other 30 have vanished.
Indeed, the offseason began a little sooner than hoped for many and its arrival served as a valid reason for B/R's hockey writers to take a respite from the championship frenzy to consider where the pursuers rank compared to one another.
We followed a modified regular-season format for the balloting and awarded 30 points for a first-place vote all the way down to one for a 30th-place selection.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
30. Chicago Blackhawks
1 of 30
It's "welcome to the Windy City" for new coach Jeff Blashill, who gets a second NHL chance after going 204-261-72 across seven seasons with one playoff berth in Detroit.
Keeping Connor Bedard happy automatically becomes job No. 1 for the new boss, who will get another new young piece with the third overall draft pick this year.
29. San Jose Sharks
2 of 30
They're nowhere near the league's best team, but it might not be forever before the Sharks are no longer the worst, given the presence of Macklin Celebrini and the likely arrival of another impact player with the No. 2 pick this summer.
Better than $40 million in cap space gives general manager Mike Grier some room to work with as well.
28. Seattle Kraken
3 of 30
Will Lane Lambert be the answer in Seattle?
The journeyman NHL player was fired after just 127 games across parts of two seasons as head coach for the New York Islanders, but his subsequent gig as an assistant in Toronto may give the Kraken an inside track on acquiring Mitch Marner, who'd certainly provide a necessary jolt to a moribund offense.
27. Nashville Predators
4 of 30
OK, let's try it again in Nashville, where the Predators were expected to contend in the West but instead sank to 30th overall with a ship full of big-ticket veterans brought in by GM Barry Trotz.
Jonathan Marchessault is rumored to be leaving after one season, which could create room for a play for imminent free agent Mitch Marner.
26. Boston Bruins
5 of 30
Order No. 1 for the Bruins is to hire a new head coach after interim boss Joe Sacco was informed he'll not be getting the permanent gig.
Sacco, who played 738 games with five teams as an NHL player, was 25-30-7 with Boston after replacing Jim Montgomery, who was fired after starting the year with an 8-9-3 record.
25. Pittsburgh Penguins
6 of 30
All of a sudden, it's been three years since the Penguins made the playoffs and seven since they won a series.
Is Sidney Crosby going to spend the last two years of his face of the league career in irrelevance or can Pittsburgh hire a successor to Mike Sullivan and use $24.5 million in cap space to turn things around?
24. Philadelphia Flyers
7 of 30
There's no choice but to be giddy in Philadelphia, where the Flyers made the most logical hire in franchise history when they lured Rick Tocchet from Vancouver just a season removed from a Jack Adams Award.
The team's youngsters ticked up after John Tortorella was fired, and the rise ought to continue come 2025-26.
23. Buffalo Sabres
8 of 30
It's not good when articles come out labeling your hockey operations department a "hamster wheel," but perhaps the Sabres took a step toward altering perception by hiring former Columbus GM Jarmo Kekäläinen as a senior adviser.
Buffalo will pick ninth in the draft and has $23 million in salary-cap space to work with.
22. Anaheim Ducks
9 of 30
Say what you like about Joel Quenneville, but there's no argument the Ducks didn't get the most pedigreed coach available when they hired him to replace Greg Cronin.
Quenneville won three Stanley Cups in Chicago and has made the playoffs in 19 of 21 full seasons with the Blackhawks, St. Louis, Colorado and Florida.
21. Detroit Red Wings
10 of 30
Nine straight playoff misses and 13 seasons without a series win can't help but ratchet the heat on the GM, even if he was a Hall of Fame player with the franchise.
That's where Steve Yzerman finds himself with the Red Wings, who have $21 million in salary-cap room and are expected to be players in the free-agent market.
20. New York Islanders
11 of 30
The Islanders weren't far off the playoff pace in the Eastern Conference, and they'll presumably stride toward the cut line with whomever they grab with the top overall pick next month.
Either defenseman Matthew Schaefer or forward Michael Misa is expected to become the franchise's first No. 1 pick since John Tavares in 2009.
19. New York Rangers
12 of 30
Was Jacob Trouba right? The former Rangers captain said last year that the 2024-25 season was the "last crack" for an existing core of players, whose response was to miss the playoffs 12 months after winning the Presidents' Trophy.
Trouba was shipped to Anaheim in December, and more moves could be coming this summer.
18. Vancouver Canucks
13 of 30
It's already been an offseason of tumult for the Canucks, who missed the playoffs a year after winning the Pacific Division title and saw their coach walk out the door with a contract offer on the table.
Add in the likelihood that imminent free agent Brock Boeser is a "long shot" at best to remain in town, and there's work to be done.
17. Calgary Flames
14 of 30
GM Craig Conroy has some business to handle this summer after constructing a team that was the nearest playoff miss among the Western field.
Youngsters Connor Zary and Morgan Frost are restricted free agents due to have offers made, while the free market will have potential difference-makers available to bring to Alberta, too.
16. Columbus Blue Jackets
15 of 30
The most resilient team in 2024-25 has a chance to be a big player in the summer with more than $40 million in cap space to use.
Columbus has precisely one rostered forward (Sean Monahan) making more than $4 million for 2025-26 and could make a run at Marner to come in and become the No. 1 Blue Jacket.
15. Utah Mammoth
16 of 30
It's a good time to buy low on Mammoth stock given their five seasons without a playoff berth and an attractive cache of young talent.
Clayton Keller is a second-tier star, and both Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley have begun establishing themselves as quality NHL players. If a team in the current West mix dives, Utah will rise.
14. Montreal Canadiens
17 of 30
The Canadiens reached the promised land of the playoffs with a young core group and it's no stretch to suggest they'll make it a habit going forward.
A potential trade for Jason Robertson, who's got one year left on a deal in Dallas, would provide a hugely impactful talent if they can make the moving parts work. Stay tuned.
13. Minnesota Wild
18 of 30
The Wild were sneaky good when they were healthy in 2024-25. The problem, however, was that Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek played barely more than half the games.
Now, Kaprizov is entering his final contract year, and 23-year-old Marco Rossi is due a deal as a restricted free agent. GM Bill Guerin, you're on the clock.
12. St. Louis Blues
19 of 30
If you're a Blues fan and you like the roster, there's good news: With three imminent free agents, it's not likely to change.
St. Louis was red hot down the stretch and pushed Winnipeg to the absolute brink before bowing out in the first playoff round. The team is in the lower half in terms of average age, which should be a good sign.
11. Ottawa Senators
20 of 30
Brady Tkachuk and Co. ended a seven-year streak of playoff misses with a first-round series against Toronto.
GM Steve Staios is hoping to make it a tradition rather than a one-off proposition, so decisions made on four imminent unrestricted free agents are aged 30 or beyond will have some impact on the shaping of the roster.
10. New Jersey Devils
21 of 30
The Devils' recent moves paid off with a playoff berth in 2024-25, but a spate of unfortunate and untimely injuries harpooned a chance at a run.
Some lingering offseason intrigue, perhaps, comes via the banter that's out there about Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes and his stated desire to play with his brothers.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning
22 of 30
The Lightning maintained their run of relevance thanks in no small part to talented forward and MVP finalist Nikita Kucherov, who reached 120 points for the third time in his career.
It wasn't enough to beat the champs from metropolitan Miami, though, who bounced Tampa in Round 1 for the second straight year.
8. Los Angeles Kings
23 of 30
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Or, in this case, hire a guy who helped build 'em.
That's what the Kings did when they brought in Ken Holland, who will take over from Rob Blake as GM after he constructed an Edmonton team that rallied from an 0-2 deficit and eliminated Los Angeles for the fourth straight playoffs.
7. Vegas Golden Knights
24 of 30
The Golden Knights seemed ready for a deep run toward a second Cup in three years before the ride was abruptly halted by the Oilers in the Pacific Final.
The loss instead triggers decisions on the makeup of the roster, which has nine imminent free agents and less than $10 million in salary-cap space to work with.
6. Washington Capitals
25 of 30
The magical 2024-25 season was the Alex Ovechkin show thanks to the "Great 8's" pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record.
Next season, it may be about a victory lap for the Hall of Fame-bound Russian, whose retirement plans may have been leaked by an email from the Capitals' sales team to season-ticket holders.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
26 of 30
Different season, same ending for the Maple Leafs, who emerged from a Battle of Ontario against Ottawa in the first round and grabbed a lead against Florida before performing a familiar fold on the way to a Game 7 loss.
The defeat also starts the decision-making clock on Marner, whose exit would break up the "Core Four."
4. Winnipeg Jets
27 of 30
It was a sad and inglorious end for the Jets, who became the 31st of 39 Presidents' Trophy winners to not combine the league's best regular-season record with a Stanley Cup parade.
Instead, Winnipeg was beaten in the second round by Dallas in a series marked by the sudden death of Mark Scheifele's father.
3. Colorado Avalanche
28 of 30
It was playoff heartbreak of the most sudden variety for the Avalanche, who were two goals up and 19 minutes away from eliminating Dallas in Round 1 before allowing four straight goals and heading home for the summer.
It didn't help the mood when reports swirled that newly acquired Martin Necas "wasn't overly thrilled."
2. Carolina Hurricanes
29 of 30
It's getting to be a familiar mood this time of year in Carolina, when the Hurricanes were bounced in the conference finals for the third time in seven years and missed the Cup Final for the 19th time since winning it in 2006.
Regular season-wise, the team is tied with Colorado for the most points (519) since the start of 2020-21.
1. Dallas Stars
30 of 30
The Stars entered both the 2024-25 season and the playoffs as a Cup favorite, but they head into this summer as a burgeoning daytime drama, given the tension between coach Peter DeBoer and goalie Jake Oettinger after the latter was pulled in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.
Will both be in the locker room come October?
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