NHL Power Rankings: Trade Requests Threatening To Change The Balance Of Power

If the 2026-27 season was a movie, it would definitely be 'Trading Places'.

The NHL's bad habit of dropping its biggest bombshells on Friday evenings continued last week with Nikita Kucherov reportedly no longer willing to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning and requesting a trade.

Announced on Halloween eve, no less.

It must be difficult being a GM these days. Forfeiting salary doesn't seem to bother players as much as it used to, as Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin have showed while trying to force a trade.

Lowball and wait too long to negotiate an extension, as the Lightning did with Kucherov, and the player threatens to walk. Offer a blank cheque, as the Wild may or may not have done with Quinn Hughes, and still the player threatens to walk. 

These player movements – even the ones that end up being just pure rumor and conjecture – keep threatening to change the balance of power across the league.

With a rising cap environment, a Leo Carlsson offer sheet that threw every team's precious cap structure into chaos, and already several trades consummated to appease unhappy players, who knows what else that was buried in the past will surface this season. 

The one constant so far? The Carolina Hurricanes remain the best team in the league. 

Here is this week's power rankings. 

The formula to beat the Hurricanes? Hope your goalie steals the game. 

Anybody who thought Tristan Jarry and Matt Tomkins would go a combined 3-0-1, .962 SP, and 0.98 GAA at any point this season is a complete liar. 

It's going to be fascinating to see what the Wild do. This may be the best team they've ever had, but it might only last just one season depending on what Hughes chooses to do. Do they push all their chips in now or reload and consider that their best chance has yet to come?

Porter who? James Hagens is currently the leader in the rookie scoring race with 12 points in 16 games, followed by the Golden Knights' Trevor Connelly. Just like we all predicted.

It's been a roller coaster stretch for the Mammoth, who have alternated wins and losses over the past two weeks. They nearly blew a 2-0 lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins but somehow manage to pull through in the final moments. In the final minutes of a game, no team has more entertainment value than the Mammoth. 

In case you're wondering, Hellebuyck has won all three of his starts and the Devils are scoring at will. There's something to be said about playing more freely without having to worry about your goaltending not being able to bail you out. 

The Stars lost both home games in a tough test against Eastern Conference teams, but on the bright side they've yet to lose more than two games in a row this season. Jason Robertson is once again having a very strong season, but soon he may face the same questions as Kucherov and Hughes about his uncertain future. 

A really strong stretch where they won five in a row that was undone after blowing a 4-0 lead to the Jets. Closing out games have been a problem recently; in their past three losses, the Habs were either tied or held the lead entering the third period. 

Welcome back, Florida. The Panthers scored the best Hometown Remix jersey and with three wins in their past four find themselves back near the top of the standings again after an uneven 2-2-2 start. It’s an easy stretch coming up before a real litmus test game on Nov. 17 when they host the Oilers. 

The Avalanche are either blowing out their opponents or getting blown out themselves and it’s the double-edged sword of playing risky high-event hockey. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Avalanche are middle of the pack in both high-danger shot attempts for and against. Last season, they ranked first and eighth, respectively. 

Since Kucherov's trade request became public, he's notched five assists in two games. The Lightning hope to change his mind as the season progresses, but Kucherov's price tag will keep going up if he keeps doing this. Will the notoriously stubborn Lightning front office finally break the bank for their best player in franchise history?  

Not a good stretch for the Golden Knights recently, winning just twice in their past seven games. Entering Tuesday’s game against the Pens, Adin Hill and Carter Hart have a combined .865 SP after a strong start to the season. 

The Sabres swept through their road trip in California with relative ease and now begin a four-game homestand, including two games against divisional opponents, where they've been one of the best teams in the league over the past three seasons. These points are vital with the Sabres sitting seventh in the division. 

There seems to be some mystery with Mathew Barzal's timeline for return, who remains out indefinitely despite an earlier prognosis that expected him to miss just a few weeks. 

Are we going back to Philipp Grubauer again? He lasted just one season as the Kraken's starter but seems to have won back the starting job despite a .886 SP and 3.24 GAA. Until the Kraken figure out their goaltending and find a marquee forward, they’re just stuck in the mushy middle.

In a game with 11 goals, Alex Ovechkin had just two shots and failed to score. The league's all-time goals leader is no longer what he once was. Playing the third-most minutes among Capitals forwards is certainly an interesting choice. 

The absence of Linus Ullmark is showcasing how important he is to the Senators. Samuel Ersson and Jonas Johansson are a combined 2-5-1, .858 SP, and 4.12 GAA. 

What good is Stanley Cup experience if you can't even make the playoffs? Sergei Bobrovsky has struggled with a .885 SP and it looks like he may split the net with Anthony Stolarz.

If Bobrovsky has a quality start only 55 percent of the time – which is essentially what he did in his last two seasons with the Panthers – that's potentially just 20-something wins. 

Maybe Dylan Garand is the answer after all; he just needed a break. After losing six of their past seven entering Tuesday's game, Garand made 32 saves to get the Rangers back on track. 

A wagon or just a hot streak? The Flames are suddenly 7-3-0 in their past 10 thanks to some excellent goaltending, first with Devin Cooley and now with Dustin Wolf getting on track. 

Chris MacFarland continues to wheel and deal, remaking the team on the fly. It remains to be seen if he'll ultimately be a buyer or a seller because the Predators keep hanging around.

It's been a pretty tough schedule to start but they've also had impressive wins against the Canadiens and Avalanche before posting consecutive wins against the Lightning and Hurricanes.

Just when the Blues seem like they're gaining momentum, they get stopped dead in their tracks. Winning three in a row has been incredibly difficult for whatever reason. Last season, they didn't manage to win three in a row until the beginning of March. 

The Red Wings don't seem all that different with or without Larkin. They’re 6-3-1 after a rough start with two young players in the midst of a potential breakout: sophomore Emmitt Finnie and rookie Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. 

As a testament to how so many teams have been up-and-down this season, the Blue Jackets entered Tuesday 29th in goals per game, so of course they pumped the Avalanche for seven goals.

After a nine-game goal drought, Cutter Gauthier has scored eight goals in his past three games, including consecutive hat tricks. The Ducks are a highly entertaining team, but also highly inconsistent. Laurent Brossoit has become an unlikely answer in net. 

The Sharks have lost four of their past five and only managed to beat the worst team in the league thanks to a three-goal barrage in the third period. Macklin Celebrini continues to impress, but the rest of the team's young stars have not played up to expectations. 

The Kings are admittedly better — 3-3-2 after an 0-4-2 start — but is their ceiling high enough to make the playoffs? Weird stat: Darcy Kuemper has a winning record of 4-3-1 despite a .878 SP while Anton Forsberg is 0-4-1 with a .902 SP. 

Since Oct. 5, the Penguins are 3-8-2 with only one regulation win. How much longer before reality sets in and the Penguins amid they have to start selling? The clock keeps ticking. 

In the midst of a nine-game losing streak, rumors swirling about potential roster changes, and Scott Arniel’s seat getting red-hot, the Jets put together one of the gutsiest 'I'll-show-you' performances ever, scoring four goals in the dying minutes and securing an overtime win.

You can tell that locker room is tight and they'll play for each other. The lack of talent and depth is still a concern; Mark Scheifele (28:09) and Kyle Connor (27:50) played nearly half the game. 

When your captain calls you out publicly for being "soft," you know it’s bad. 

Admittedly, the schedule’s been pretty tough, but we're in Year 4 of the Connor Bedard era and the Blackhawks seem to be sliding backwards. During those four seasons, they remain the league's worst team and rank last in goals for per game. 

The Canucks are on track to be the worst team in the cap era with the highest goals allowed per game. The silver lining is they can actually score goals, so their games aren’t completely depressing. 

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