NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands After the 2025 Draft and Free Agency
It's summertime in the NHL.
The Stanley Cup has been hoisted, a new crop of players has been drafted and a handful of high-profile free agents have changed addresses. So what better time to reassess where things stand than now, about two months before training camps reopen for the 2025-26 season?
The B/R hockey team was up to the challenge, and its members took a look at the recent transactions to issue its latest set of Power Rankings as the league retreats into cottage mode for the next several weeks.
The panel awarded 32 points for a first-place vote all the way down to one point for a No. 32 pick. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
32. Chicago Blackhawks
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The Blackhawks are far closer to the salary-cap floor than its ceiling, so the quest to add firepower alongside Connor Bedard is apparently still pending.
But something of a jolt may arrive courtesy of Swedish import Anton Frondell, who was ranked as the No. 1 international skater by NHL Central Scouting when Chicago grabbed him third overall at the draft. The 6'1", 204-pounder has been compared to New York Rangers forward J.T. Miller and likened to a "military tank" by one scout.
31. San Jose Sharks
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Last summer's top overall pick yielded Macklin Celebrini, and this year's No. 2 yielded playmaking forward Michael Misa, who lit up the OHL with 62 goals and 134 points in 65 games last season.
Put it all together and there are lots of reasons to believe in the Sharks a few years down the line, but there's not much to be thrilled about in the meantime.
30. Buffalo Sabres
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The Sabres haven't reached the playoffs in more than a decade and did little via free agency to enhance optimism for 2025-26.
In fact, their biggest transaction was a trade that sent forward JJ Peterka to Utah in exchange for a defenseman in Michael Kesselring and a winger in Josh Doan.
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29. Nashville Predators
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Maybe it's a case of shell shock for GM Barry Trotz, whose consensus offseason win last summer resulted in a disastrous regular season that ended with a 30th overall finish.
Trotz was relatively hands-off this time around beyond getting Nicolas Hague in a trade with Vegas after he'd agreed to a four-year, $22 million contract.
28. Pittsburgh Penguins
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Call it a work in progress for the Penguins, who've got nearly $16 million in cap space but didn't do much beyond adding 30-year-old winger Anthony Mantha on a one-year, $2.5 million contract after he played just 13 games with Calgary in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, no fewer than nine players on the roster are a year away from unrestricted free agency, meaning GM Kyle Dubas could be busy working the phones with calls from would-be trade partners.
27. Seattle Kraken
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The Kraken wrapped up July's first week with nearly $11 million in cap space, though they didn't use it to make any impact signings beyond getting defenseman Ryan Lindgren on a four-year, $18 million deal.
Winger Kaapo Kakko, who scored 10 goals in 49 games after a trade with the Rangers, is without a contract and eligible for an offer sheet as a restricted free agent.
26. Boston Bruins
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The Bruins are getting back to their grinding, hard-to-play-against roots with the arrival of new coach and ex-Bruin Marco Sturm, as evidenced by the trade that brought Viktor Arvidsson from Edmonton and coinciding acquisitions of Sean Kuraly and Tanner Jeannot.
That said, none of the new guys is likely to move the needle much when it comes to offense, which Boston desperately lacked while finishing 29th of 32 teams in goals scored (222) in 2024-25.
25. Anaheim Ducks
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Goalie John Gibson is gone to Detroit after parts of 12 seasons with the Ducks, presumably leaving the full-time gig to Lukas Dostal, who made a career-high 49 starts in 2024-25 but is a restricted free agent and a potential target for an offer sheet.
As for additions, 33-year-old winger Mikael Granlund was the biggest prize, landing a three-year, $21 million deal after scoring 22 goals while splitting last season with San Jose and Dallas.
24. Philadelphia Flyers
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He never quite lived up to video game cover boy status in Anaheim, but center Trevor Zegras arrives for another chapter of his career with the Flyers after a trade that cost Ryan Poehling and two draft picks.
Still just 24, Zegras had consecutive 23-goal seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23 but has subsequently scored just 18 times while being limited by injuries to just 88 games.
23. Detroit Red Wings
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Anything regarding the Red Wings prompts conversation about the master plan of GM Steve Yzerman, which has yet to end a now-nine-year playoff drought.
The Hall of Famer and Cup winner went out and grabbed the trade market's most-coveted goalie in Gibson and he also brought in depth-boosting players Mason Appleton from Winnipeg and 36-year-old James van Riemsdyk from Columbus.
22. New York Islanders
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The Islanders and their fans felt all the feels with the selection of defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the opening pick of the draft, and the expectation is that he'll be producing on Long Island for years.
His arrival coincided with the sign-and-trade exit of Noah Dobson to Montreal, along with deals that brought in Maxim Shabanov and Jonathan Drouin for one and two years, respectively.
21. Columbus Blue Jackets
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The Blue Jackets were all in on the emotion when Meredith Gaudreau announced their first pick at the draft, but things cooled down considerably when no front-line defender or prolific winger arrived via free agency.
That left GM Don Waddell to retain one of his own by giving blue liner Ivan Provorov a seven-year, $59.5 million deal that seemed excessive. Elsewhere, it was depth players in and depth players out in a series of lower-profile moves.
20. Calgary Flames
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The biggest move made by Calgary is a non-move at this point, with neither a contract extension signed nor a trade orchestrated for defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who's entering the final season of a deal paying him $4.55 million annually.
Also in limbo at the moment is restricted free agent Connor Zary, a 23-year-old forward who's scored 27 goals in his first 117 NHL games.
19. New York Rangers
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Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov made the biggest splash in midtown Manhattan via free agency, coming over from the Los Angeles Kings on a deal that'll pay him $49 million over seven years.
His arrival coincides with the exit via trade of would-be restricted free agent defenseman K'Andre Miller, who's off to Carolina after a sign-and-trade transaction. Will Cuylle, a 23-year-old winger, got himself a deal, too, signing a two-year, $7.8 million contract.
18. Vancouver Canucks
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How you feel about the Canucks going forward depends on how you viewed them throughout 2024-25.
Vancouver retained Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Thatcher Demko to maintain its status quo, and picked up feisty winger Evander Kane via trade from Edmonton. Will those moves be enough for new coach Adam Foote? Time will tell.
17. St. Louis Blues
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The Blues didn't make a lot of big headlines, but GM Doug Armstrong was plenty busy between the team's playoff elimination by Winnipeg and the first week of free agency.
A play for Noah Dobson didn't come through, but they did get Nick Bjugstad and Pius Suter as free agents, acquired Logan Mailloux from Montreal in a trade that cost them Zack Bolduc, and got a surprise when waived defenseman Nick Leddy and his $4 million cap hit for 2025-26 were claimed by San Jose.
16. Utah Mammoth
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The Mammoth grabbed lefty center Caleb Desnoyers from the Quebec major junior league with the fourth pick of the draft, a day after they sent Kesselring and Doan to Buffalo for 23-year-old winger Peterka, who scored 55 goals in his final two seasons with the Sabres.
Days later, Utah shopped for bargains in free agency with deals that brought in goalie Vitek Vanecek (one year, $1.5 million), defenseman Nate Schmidt (three years, $10.5 million) and forward Brandon Tanev (three years, $7.5 million).
15. Minnesota Wild
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The Wild finally got out of the salary cap purgatory prompted by the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise four years ago, but the financial freedom didn't result in success on swings taken toward Brock Boeser and Brock Nelson.
Plan B became veteran sniper Vladimir Tarasenko, who arrived in a June 30 trade with Detroit. The 33-year-old winger has played for four teams since leaving a long-term relationship with St. Louis two years ago but hasn't approached the goal-scoring numbers he'd achieved with the Blues.
14. Los Angeles Kings
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Well, you certainly can't say that new GM Ken Holland wasn't active.
The veteran from Detroit and Edmonton got busy with deals that brought in Joel Armia, Corey Perry, Anton Forsberg, Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin on July 1, but it's hard to claim that the Kings are instantly better than the first-round playoff losers they've been in each of the last four seasons. Quantity or quality? We'll see.
13. Montreal Canadiens
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The biggest deal the Canadiens made was not in free agency, but instead via a sign-and-trade that netted defenseman Dobson from the Islanders.
His eight-year, $96 million deal means he'll be manning the blue line for many years alongside Calder Trophy winners Lane Hutson and others, spiking optimism for the future for the bleu, blanc et rouge.
12. Ottawa Senators
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There's a lot of optimism about the Senators after they reached the playoffs in 2024-25 thanks to a core of young, talented players and a high-end goalie.
The fact that they didn't make a lot of big free-agent moves was no surprise, instead adding depth with extensions for Nick Cousins and Claude Giroux, signing Lars Eller and trading for Jordan Spence.
11. Washington Capitals
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The Capitals were a surprise team throughout the 2024-25 regular season but it didn't translate to the playoffs, where they were dumped in Round 2 by Carolina.
A chase for Nikolaj Ehlers fell short and middle-sixer Andrew Mangiapane is gone to Edmonton, too, leaving the adds of Declan Chisholm and Anthony Beauvillier as the most substantive moves in a relatively tame summer in the U.S. capital.
10. New Jersey Devils
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You can't be surprised by Devils fans wondering what might have been had Jack Hughes stayed healthy for the stretch run and into the playoffs.
Going forward, GM Tom Fitzgerald added forward depth with Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov as free agents and retained Cody Glass on a two-year, $5 million deal after he finished the season with seven points in 14 games after arriving from Pittsburgh.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning
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The Lightning finished seventh overall and were a popular dark horse pick entering the playoffs before running into their defending champion in-state neighbors and exiting in five games.
They haven't done much in terms of ground-shaking moves since the season ended, with an extension for Yanni Gourde and deals with Jakob Pelletier and Pontus Holmberg buffeting the forward group. But it's all about the holdovers for Jon Cooper and Co.
8. Winnipeg Jets
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The Jets are the sentimental champs of the summertime thanks to the deal that brought multiple Cup champion and Hall of Fame lock Jonathan Toews to his hometown after a prolonged absence due to illness.
But they took a hit with the loss of Ehlers and the eight seasons of 20 or more goals he'd provided since he was picked ninth overall in 2014. Will the one-year deals that brought in forwards Gustav Nyquist, Tanner Pearson and Cole Koepke for a combined $5.25 million offset his exit? Stay tuned.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
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It was the worst-kept secret in the NHL that Mitch Marner seemed motivated to leave Toronto for new scenery, so the fact that he chose to head west to Vegas was no particular shock.
And the fact that they got 28-year-old forward Nicolas Roy as part of a sign-and-trade transaction kept it from being a total loss. Matthew Knies and John Tavares are staying put thanks to new deals, too, so coach Craig Berube will get a chance to work his locker room magic with a mix of new and holdover DNA.
6. Dallas Stars
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The Stars have been on the cusp of Cup contention on the way to three straight losses in the Western finals and they'll be in the mix again given the personnel.
Still, Dallas will be a fascinating watch to see how new coach Glen Gulutzan handles goalie Jake Oettinger, whose abrupt removal from the elimination game against Edmonton was among the factors that cost then-coach Pete DeBoer his job.
5. Colorado Avalanche
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The Avalanche were one of the league's best teams heading into the 2025 playoffs and they remain so now that the summer has arrived, thanks to the presence of stars like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
So they'll remain a factor in the West even with the losses of Jonathan Drouin and Ryan Lindgren, and they may have pulled off a free agency coup with the $1 million add of defenseman Brent Burns from Carolina. If the 40-year-old fits in with the scheme, it could be a significant steal.
4. Edmonton Oilers
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The Oilers have been kings of the Western Conference for two straight postseasons but it seems a longer shot that they'll get to three in a row.
The proximity of the salary cap forced the dumps of Evander Kane to Vancouver and Viktor Arvidsson to Boston, not to mention the defection of free agents Corey Perry and Connor Brown. It'll take some creative in-season moves by GM Stan Bowman to get Edmonton back into the thick of the contender discussion again.
3. Carolina Hurricanes
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They may not have outright won the off-season but the Hurricanes certainly made some noise by picking up free-agent Ehlers from Winnipeg and swinging a trade that netted Miller from the Rangers.
There's still a chasm between them and the three-time defending Eastern champions from Florida, but there's no question GM Eric Tulsky felt the urgency to act.
2. Vegas Golden Knights
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The team that grabs the highest-profile free agent on the market is typically crowned an off-season winner and it's no different for the Golden Knights, who brought Marner into the fold for eight seasons at $12 million apiece.
It's a typical move for big-swinging GM Kelly McCrimmon, whose agenda now includes an extension for Jack Eichel, whose current eight-year, $80 million deal expires at the end of the 2025-26 season.
1. Florida Panthers
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Who else would you rather be than the two-time defending champs?
Not only are they in the midst of another revelry-soaked summer but GM Bill Zito managed to keep the most important pieces of the championship puzzle assembled as they prepare for a run at the league's first three-peat since 1982.
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