NHL Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands After the 2022 Trade Deadline
No matter how your team views the onset of spring, it is in an eventful stretch in the NHL.
Weeks of rumors came to an end with the arrival of Monday afternoon's trade deadline, leaving some teams fully stocked for a deep postseason run and others counting down to draft day in July.
In the meantime, there are still games to be played as races for the top and bottom playoff rungs in the Eastern and Western conferences enter the final few weeks—setting up for a compelling tournament.
Speaking of the West, the Colorado Avalanche put together another week of successful hockey, winning three of four games to maintain their positions in both the division and atop B/R's power rankings.
But not everything remained so stable.
Read on to see how the rest of our weekly 32-to-1 collection shapes up, and as always, we encourage viewpoints—supportive or dissenting—in the comments section.
Nos. 32-26: Canadiens, Coyotes, Kraken, Senators, Flyers, Devils, Blackhawks
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32. Montreal Canadiens (Last Week: 32nd)
A win and two OT losses meant four standings points for the retooled Canadiens, who said goodbye to defenseman Ben Chiarot and forward Artturi Lehkonen in a pair of noteworthy deals that highlighted new general manager Kent Hughes' busy first trade deadline. "We will continue to advance. Anytime we can advance the timeline here to putting a playoff contending team on the ice. We'll do it," Hughes said.
31. Arizona Coyotes (Last Week: 30th)
A two-game win streak entering the week quickly became a three-game skid on the other end as the Coyotes dropped decisions to Pittsburgh, San Jose and Seattle. That said, GM Bill Armstrong had an eye on future success with trades that yielded three players, two draft picks and future considerations from Tampa Bay, Washington, Winnipeg, Minnesota and Dallas. Armstrong didn't pull the trigger on would-be deals for defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Phil Kessel, however, because the right offer never came. "You gotta remember at some point in time, when teams are going for the Cup, they're not going to break apart their team to give you the pieces that you need sometimes in a fair deal," he said.
30. Seattle Kraken (Last Week: 31st)
A home win against Detroit and a triumph at Arizona made it three victories in four games for the Kraken, who acquired some young players and a substantial collection of draft picks while parting with Marcus Johansson, Mason Appleton, Jeremy Lauzon, Mark Giordano, Colin Blackwell and Calle Jarnkrok in trades with Minnesota, Washington, Winnipeg, Nashville, Toronto and Calgary. "We didn't do all this to draft and develop and be good five years from now," GM Ron Francis said. "We did this to give us the tools to try and be better next season. And that’s what our goal is between now and the start of next season."
29. Ottawa Senators (Last Week: 29th)
One win in four games was difficult enough for the Senators but the rough week was made worse by the fact that Ottawa scored just five goals while allowing 13. The business way from the ice was more productive, at least in the eyes of GM Pierre Dorion, who swung five deals on Monday alone to close a hectic stretch. "Don't judge us on what we have right now. Judge us on the roster when the puck drops and we've had our training camp," he said. "That's fairer to say. Up front, it's about giving guys opportunities. We've set ourselves up. The team we have now is not the team we’re going to have when the season starts."
28. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 28th)
It’s suddenly a new era for the Flyers in the absence of longtime captain Claude Giroux, who was sent to Florida for 2017 first-rounder Owen Tippett after playing in his 1,000th career game with Philadelphia last Thursday. The team was 1-2 in three games following the deal, and the deadline day itself featured lower-profile deals that sent defenseman Justin Braun to the New York Rangers and forward Derick Brassard to Edmonton for draft picks. "At this point we’re carrying 18 (skaters) and two (goalies) so I think we were happy moving those two players and picking up a third and fourth round pick,” GM Chuck Fletcher said Monday. "We have 20 games left to play so I think we’re in a good spot."
27. New Jersey Devils (Last Week: 26th)
Fans of the red goal light have been particularly pleased with Devils games lately as New Jersey allowed 18 goals while dropping games in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver before returning home to score seven times in a Tuesday defeat of the New York Rangers. New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald did swing a minor deadline deal that brought in goalie Andrew Hammond from Montreal, but he held on to rumored targets and impending free agents Pavel Zacha and P.K. Subban. "I wasn't forcing to move anybody," he said. "If a team wanted one of our players, in particular our UFAs, I was going to listen to them, for sure. If it made sense for us and it made sense for the player because they may have a chance to win a Stanley Cup, I wouldn't have asked them. I think they would have thanked me."
26. Chicago Blackhawks (Last Week: 25th)
The Blackhawks lost two straight to extend a skid to three games entering the start of a western trip Wednesday night in Anaheim, but the news was made at deadline time with the deal that sent goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to Minnesota just eight months after he arrived in a swap with Vegas. Chicago also sent forward Ryan Carpenter to Calgary and Brandon Hagel to Tampa Bay but didn't move forward with discussed deals for Dominik Kubalik and Calvin de Haan. "You always wish you could do a little bit more," GM Kyle Davidson said. "But that's also with the understanding that you can’t force anything. You can't make something materialize that you want. There has to be some give and take with other teams, and that just wasn't present. I'm really happy with the things we did accomplish here the last several days."
Nos. 25-21: Sabres, Red Wings, Ducks, Sharks, Islanders
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25. Buffalo Sabres (Last Week: 27th)
A five-goal loss in Edmonton was a rough way to start the week, but the Sabres bounced back nicely with a shutout win in Calgary and an OT triumph in Vancouver to complete the western swing. There wasn't a lot of headline-making by GM Kevyn Adams at the trade deadline, and Buffalo gets particularly busy on the ice with 15 games in a 26-day stretch that began with Pittsburgh's visit on Wednesday. "It's like playoffs for me. The weather's changing, and we're playing later than you would normally in an NHL regular season," coach Don Granato said. "The weather's changing to the point where it begins to feel like playoff time. And then we have a playoff-type schedule every other day."
24. Detroit Red Wings (Last Week: 24th)
A win at Vancouver and another at home against Seattle finally gave the Red Wings some positives in a March that had begun with just one win in seven games. Elsewhere, it was deadline business as usual for GM Steve Yzerman, who unloaded three impending free agents and another player in deals with Los Angeles, St. Louis and Dallas. Newly arrived forward Oskar Sundqvist scored a goal in his first game with the team, a 6-3 defeat of Philadelphia on Tuesday. "He's strong on his stick," coach Jeff Blashill said. "Because of that he's a good two-way player that has ability to play on the penalty kill and the power play. We've talked about the need to get better defensively and adding a good 200-foot player will help."
23. Anaheim Ducks (Last Week: 21st)
Two home losses. Three goals scored. Nine goals against. Not exactly a banner week for the suddenly low-flying Ducks, who are a league-worst 4-11-2 since the beginning of February after early playoff contention in the Western Conference. So it’s no surprise Anaheim was busy at deadline time, unloading Josh Manson to Colorado, Richard Rakell to Pittsburgh and Hampus Lindholm to Boston. The deal with the Bruins brought back defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, defenseman John Moore, a 2022 first-round draft pick, a 2023 second-round draft pick and a 2024 second-round draft pick. "I was hired to run the team and that’s how I went into it, to try to make the team better," GM Pat Verbeek said. "We're going to go down a different path and try to build this team and give this team a real chance. When we get to the level that I want to get to, it's going to be deep. We’re going to have lots of players to develop."
22. San Jose Sharks (Last Week: 23rd)
It was two up, two down for the Sharks, who began their week with at Los Angeles and home against Colorado before answering with wins against visiting Arizona and at Calgary. As for trade-related action, San Jose held onto coveted forward Tomas Hertl with an eight-year contract extension before he hit free agency and brought in goaltender Kaapo Kahkohnen from Minnesota after the Wild acquired Marc-Andre Fleury from Chicago. "It wasn't anything just to address what's going on now with injuries," assistant GM Joe Will said. "We had an opportunity to acquire a 25-year-old, up-and-coming goaltender and that’s a player that we looked at quite extensively through expansion last year."
21. New York Islanders (Last Week: 22nd)
It's too little, too late for a team still nearly 20 points out of a playoff spot, but a three-win week for the Islanders included defeats of the New York Rangers, Dallas and Ottawa around a 2-1 loss in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the lack of activity at the deadline was viewed as a positive by the core players, who'd helped engineer two deep playoff runs before this season’s setbacks. "We believe in this group," defenseman Scott Mayfield said. "It's nice to see that vote of confidence from management as well."
Nos. 20-16: Blue Jackets, Canucks, Golden Knights, Jets, Oilers
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20. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last Week: 20th)
Nine goals scored in two wins. Twelve goals allowed in two losses. It's another week on the 2021-22 rollercoaster for the Blue Jackets, who got in on the trade deadline action with a late Monday deal that ultimately sent forward Max Domi to Carolina and netted college defenseman Aidan Hreschuk. Still, it was light work for GM Jarmo Kekalainen, who'd been expected to use the team's available cap space to enable some transactions. "We could have brokered a deal with our cap space if the offer was right," he said. "But it's also, there's a certain monetary value that we put on picks and that has to be met as well. So it has to be worth our while with the pick that we would be getting for not only the cap space but the cash amount we’d be taking."
19. Vancouver Canucks (Last Week: 17th)
A three-game skid heading into Wednesday's game at Colorado did not come at a good time for the Canucks, who were five points out of the West's final wild-card playoff spot. On the trade front, Vancouver acquired 25-year-old defenseman Travis Dermott from Toronto for a third-round pick in 2022 and sent Travis Harmonic to Ottawa for a third-round pick in 2022. "Vancouver has been my team in the past," Dermott said. "I've always kind of had the Canucks in the back of my mind, but I never really thought that I'd be here. But I'm super excited to be here now, and I'm just super excited to meet the boys and get everything started."
18. Vegas Golden Knights (Last Week: 18th)
The momentum gained from home wins against Florida and Los Angeles was quickly snuffed out by consecutive shutout losses on the road in Minnesota and Winnipeg. As a result, Vegas entered Wednesday night's games a point out of the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference, jeopardizing a streak of postseasons since the team reached the NHL. And the lone deal the Golden Knights made at the trade deadline was voided thanks an issue with the no-trade clause in the contract of forward Evgenii Dadonov, who was bound for Anaheim with a conditional second-round draft pick in 2024 in exchange for defenseman John Moore and the contract of injured forward Ryan Kesler.
17. Winnipeg Jets (Last Week: 19th)
The Jets are 7-3-1 in March—tied for the league’s second-best record in that stretch entering Wednesday’s games. They're three points out of the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference and eight points away from third place in the Central Division and its guaranteed berth. At the deadline, Winnipeg sent forward Andrew Copp to the New York Rangers, brought back Mason Appleton from Seattle after losing him at the expansion draft and got Zach Sanford from St. Louis. "It's a tough situation to be in," GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said. "There's a level of consistency that we’re still striving to achieve. For a period of time there we couldn't score and we were losing the one-goal games. We have 10 overtime losses and those catch up to you. If you get five of them going the other direction, you're in a much different spot. You’ve got to play those 82 games to earn that right, and we've got 19 left to show ourselves."
16. Edmonton Oilers (Last Week: 15th)
The Oilers swept five games in a homestand before taking to the road and losing in OT at Colorado and in regulation at Dallas on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. At the deadline, GM Ken Holland never found the big move he was looking for and instead settled for lower-profile deals that brought depth defenseman Brett Kulak from Montreal and depth forward Derick Brassard from Philadelphia. As for the need for a goalie, he suggested the status quo would be sufficient. "When both goalies are healthy, I'm comfortable with our goaltending," Holland said. "The goaltending has been really designed so they're sort of 1A and 1B. I’m comfortable that when we’ve got the tandem together, they give us good goaltending."
Nos. 15-11: Kings, Stars, Capitals, Predators, Blues
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15. Los Angeles Kings (Last Week: 14th)
Two wins in three games helped the Kings solidify their second-place standing in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of Edmonton entering Wednesday and just six points behind first-place Calgary. Los Angeles was relatively silent on the trade front at the deadline—bringing Troy Stecher in from Detroit for a seventh-round pick—but ominous news came down when GM Rob Blake said injured defenseman Drew Doughty (out since March 7) may be done for the season. "I think we'll exhaust every option possible," Blake said. "I mean, he's out there skating now but not participating in drills and things. That'll be an assessment with the doctor in the next few days to understand the next step to see if he can come back and play."
14. Dallas Stars (Last Week: 16th)
Three wins in four games marked a good week for the Stars, and it got even better thanks to Tuesday's 5-3 home win over Edmonton, which vaulted Dallas over Vegas in the chase for the West's final wild-card position. "We're never satisfied with where we are," forward Jason Robertson said. "But tell you what, these games are special. These games are fun to play in. It's a privilege to be on such a team that allows you to be in these tight games."
13. Washington Capitals (Last Week: 11th)
A win streak that had grown to four ended with consecutive losses to visiting Dallas and St. Louis for the Capitals, who are a pedestrian 15-13-5 at home but a solid 20-7-5 on the road. At the deadline, GM Brian MacLellan brought back forward Marcus Johansson, who played seven seasons in Washington and has bounced around the league with five teams since 2017. He returned in a deal that sent forward Daniel Sprong, a 2022 fourth-round draft pick and a 2023 sixth-round pick to the Seattle Kraken. "He knows where he's going, he knows how to get around and he knows everybody in the room, and that's a completely different feel from walking into a locker room where you don't know anything, you don't know anybody and you don't know how to get to the rink," coach Peter Laviolette said of Johansson.
12. Nashville Predators (Last Week: 12th)
The Predators won twice, lost twice, scored 17 goals and allowed 17 goals in a wild week on the ice. Off the ice, there were no major adjustments made to a team that's leading the West's wild-card race, but that also means forward Filip Forsberg remained in Nashville and is headed toward free agency this summer. "We are going to continue to work quietly with Filip and his representative towards a contract that pays him equitably while giving the organization the flexibility to build and maintain a roster to compete for the Stanley Cup," GM David Poile said.
11. St. Louis Blues (Last Week: 10th)
Two losses at home and another at Columbus were a difficult way to start the week, but the Blues bounced back in some measure with a 5-2 win at Washington on Tuesday and improved to 3-4-3 in March. The team acquired defenseman Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski from Detroit on Monday. "You've gotta worry about your two points each night. In the previous 10 [games], I don't believe we've been great," forward Brayden Schenn said. "We've gotta get a whole lot better in the last 20 games here."
Nos. 10-6: Wild, Rangers, Bruins, Maple Leafs, Lightning
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10. Minnesota Wild (Last Week: 13th)
Not only did the Wild win three straight games during the week to create a five-point playoff cushion in the wild-card race entering Wednesday's games, but they made the biggest deadline move by bringing in Marc-Andre Fleury from Chicago for a conditional draft pick. Ironically, Cam Talbot—the starter whom Fleury will presumably replace—stopped 28 shots in Minnesota's 3-0 win over Vegas in the first game after the trade was announced. "We've been a team that's getting put in this position for the way we've been working all season," forward Marcus Foligno said. "To have [GM] Billy [Guerin] trust us and believe in us and make the trades that he's made, it's exciting."
9. New York Rangers (Last Week: 7th)
The Rangers played four times, won twice and scored nine goals in a weird week that included wins over powerhouses Carolina and Tampa Bay and losses to New Jersey and the New York Islanders. Still, the team's 14 points in March were just two off the league's best total heading into Wednesday night. Consequently, a busy trade deadline for GM Chris Drury yielded forward Andrew Copp from Winnipeg, forward Tyler Motte from Vancouver and defenseman Justin Braun from Philadelphia. "These deals were just done in a way to try and help the team as much as we can right now," Drury said. "There were obviously a lot of balls in the air leading up to the deadline. I'm excited with what we were able to do and getting the players we were able to get."
8. Boston Bruins (Last Week: 9th)
It was another two-wins-in-three-games week for the Bruins, who entered Wednesday's games at 7-2-1 for the month—good for second-best in the league. GM Don Sweeney backed up that performance with a pair of significant moves, getting defenseman Hampus Lindholm from Anaheim for two players and three picks and giving forward Jake DeBrusk a two-year, $8 million extension. "I don't look at it as a negative situation. Anytime that you can play for a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup, it's a positive," said DeBrusk, who'd gone public with a trade request earlier this season. "That's why you play the game. I'm comfortable with these guys, I grew up with this team."
7. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last Week: 5th)
The Maple Leafs defeated Carolina to sweep a brief two-game homestand before heading on the road and dropping a 6-3 verdict at Nashville prior to Wednesday night's home game with New Jersey. In trade action, Toronto acquired veteran defenseman Mark Giordano from Seattle to shore up the blue line but failed to get a goaltender amid a March stretch in which the team had allowed 4.11 goals per game heading into Wednesday—second-worst in the league. TSN's Darren Dreger tweeted that GM Kyle Dubas had discussed a trade with Chicago for Marc-Andre Fleury, but the deal didn't materialize. "I'm disappointed that conversation is public," Dubas said. "I've never had that before where specifics like that have been made public. And I think, frankly, it's probably a conversation to ask [Chicago GM] Kyle Davidson."
6. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last Week: 4th)
A 3-2 loss in Carolina kicked off a four-game road trip for the Lightning on Tuesday and was the latest negative in a challenging month in which the two-time defending champions are just 5-6. They were six points back of first-place Florida in the Atlantic Division and just one up on third-place Toronto heading into Wednesday. Still, the champs made multiple moves at the deadline to acquire Brandon Hagel from Chicago, Nick Paul from Ottawa and Riley Nash from Arizona. "I like the group that we have right now," GM Julien BriseBois said. "And I like the group that we have right now more than I like the group that we had on Thursday, which is why we made the decisions that we've made."
Nos. 5-1: Flames, Penguins, Hurricanes, Panthers, Avalanche
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5. Calgary Flames (Last Week: 6th)
The Flames had the best record over the last two months heading into Wednesday night's games, but it wasn't a great week after home losses to Buffalo and San Jose. The defeats were just the fifth and sixth on home ice this season for Calgary. The loss to the Sharks ended a 14-0-2 run at home for goalie Jacob Markstrom. "It's a long season, there are going to be ups and downs for sure, but you move past it and get back to work tomorrow," Calgary goalie coach Jason LaBarbera said.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last Week: 8th)
Wins in three straight games continued a good month for the Penguins in which they'd gone 6-2-1 in nine games heading into a Wednesday date at Buffalo. Newly acquired forward Rickard Rakell made his Penguins debut in Tuesday's 5-1 win over Columbus. "When you get a caliber of player like that," forward Jake Guentzel said, "it shows they want to win and kind of puts us all on notice that we have something special here."
3. Carolina Hurricanes (Last Week: 3rd)
What better way to end a four-game losing streak than by beating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. That's what the Hurricanes did Tuesday after dropping games against Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington and the New York Rangers. And the team was busy off the ice, too, acquiring Max Domi from Columbus and signing forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an eight-year extension that'll pay him $4.82 million per season through 2029-30. "We're all confident he's going to continue to grow his game, continue to learn and put up bigger numbers than even what he's doing right now," GM Don Waddell said.
2. Florida Panthers (Last Week: 2nd)
The Panthers are 2-1-1 through the first four games of what will be a seven-game road trip before they return to Florida, but the real news was made off the ice with deals that brought in defenseman Ben Chiarot from Montreal and center Claude Giroux, a veteran of 1,000 NHL games, from Philadelphia. "He has demonstrated his elite leadership and work ethic during his tenure in Philadelphia, and we are thrilled to be able to welcome a player of his caliber to our lineup," GM Bill Zito said of the longtime Flyers captain.
1. Colorado Avalanche (Last Week: 1st)
A desultory 1-2 road trip was erased by four straight wins for the Avalanche heading into a Wednesday visit from Vancouver. Colorado loaded up at the deadline with deals that brought defenseman Josh Manson from Anaheim, forward Artturi Lehkonen from Montreal, forward Andrew Cogliano from San Jose and forward Nico Sturm from Minnesota. "At the end of the day, the team just wants guys to come in and compete and work for this as hard as they've been working for it," coach Jared Bednar said. "And I think we got that with these guys."
.png?w=600 "Winners & Losers From 1st Day of the Playoffs")
