NHL Power Rankings: One Key Figure Who's Pivotal To Each Team's Success

Welcome back to The Hockey News' NHL power rankings. Every Wednesday, we'll rank all 32 teams based on their weekly performance.

The 2024-25 NHL season is now fully underway, with the Florida Panthers raising their championship banner Tuesday in their home opener.

This week’s NHL power rankings highlight a key figure on each team who will be key to their team’s success. Remember, a good start is important – by the time American Thanksgiving rolls around, we’ll have a pretty good idea of which teams will make the playoffs.

1. Florida Panthers (Last season: 52-24-6, +68 goal differential. Last week: 1)

The Panthers’ defense was particularly strong last season, but there’s also where most of their roster turnover happened. It was an interesting decision to start the season with Adam Boqvist as the quarterback on their top power-play unit, though he left in the season opener against the Bruins after taking a puck to the face. Contenders must have good special teams, and the Panthers' power play ranked eighth last season. With a win against a conference rival in their season opener, the Panthers look like they have a great chance of defending their championship.

2. Edmonton Oilers (49-27-6, +57. Last week: 2)

Defensive depth was a problem, which puts a lot of pressure on Ty Emberson. He was very good on one of the worst defensive teams in the cap era with the Sharks last season. Stuart Skinner, too, needs to be consistently reliable.

3. New York Rangers (55-23-4, +53. Last week: 3)

Alexis Lafreniere took a huge leap forward, and maybe this is the season he becomes a superstar. Along with the return of a healthy Filip Chytil, the Rangers are potentially returning with a deeper team than the one that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season.

4. Dallas Stars (52-21-9, +64. Last week: 4)

Mavrik Bourque is not expected to play in the season opener, but along with Logan Stankoven, they’re providing quality depth to an already impressive roster. Remember the ‘two kids and a goat’ line that served the Red Wings (Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg with Brett Hull) so well? Now, it’s Stankoven and Bourque with longtime captain Jamie Benn.

5. Colorado Avalanche (50-25-7, +50. Last week: 5)

With several key top-six players missing, all eyes are now on rookies Calum Ritchie and Nikolai Kovalenko. The Avs will rely on their usual horses, but they can’t win without a strong supporting cast, either.

6. Vancouver Canucks (50-23-9, +56. Last week: 6)

Adding Jake DeBrusk and Daniel Sprong gives the Canucks one of the most formidable groups on offense. Without Thatcher Demko to start the season and without another star blueliner outside of Quinn Hughes, they’ll need their offense to power them through some tough stretches.

7. Carolina Hurricanes (52-23-7, +63. Last week: 7)

The Hurricanes stood pat following the departure of key players, which puts more pressure on Rod Brind’Amour to get the most out of this group. Can he afford to keep a balanced attack, or will he have to start relying heavily on his top line?

8. Toronto Maple Leafs (46-26-10, +40. Last week: 7)

The spotlight is always hot in Toronto, but it can’t get any hotter for Mitch Marner. With an expiring contract, the Leafs and Marner must decide what’s best for their respective futures. Remember, winning cures everything, but it’s been very elusive for the ‘Core Four.’

9. Winnipeg Jets (52-24-6, +60. Last week: 10)

With a new coach comes new expectations. Will Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers finally get more ice time and the trust of their coach? Can Gabriel Vilardi stay healthy? The Jets have a good team, but now, it’s about going deep into the playoffs.

10. Boston Bruins (47-20-15, +43. Last week: 8)

Maybe Jeremy Swayman could’ve squeezed a few more dollars out of the Bruins after they were shellacked in their season opener in Florida, but the most important thing is he’s signed. The Bruins’ Cup window is right now, and it seems pretty clear a lot of their hopes will hinge on his play.

11. Nashville Predators (47-30-5, +21. Last week: 11)

After being cast aside by their longtime franchises, it’s revenge tour time for Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. Andrew Brunette’s Preds are set up to be a high-end offensive team, and we shall see if adding a pair of 40-goal scorers can push them into the NHL’s elite tier.

12. Tampa Bay Lightning (45-29-8, +23. Last week: 12)

Whether it’s fair, and like it or not, the Lightning will be judged by the Steven Stamkos era, where they won two Cups, and the post-Stamkos era, where they added Jake Guentzel and shipped out Mikhail Sergachev. This team has GM Julien BriseBois’ stamp all over it now, and all eyes are on him after some franchise-altering moves.

13. Vegas Golden Knights (45-29-8, +22. Last week: 13)

We can wax poetic about how the Golden Knights’ structure can make any goalie look good – I guess Logan Thompson begs to differ – but Adin Hill needs to stay healthy, and Ilya Samsonov must be more consistent.

14. Los Angeles Kings (44-27-11, +41. Last week: 14)

Anze Kopitar is 37 years old, and Drew Doughty is 34 and out with a fractured ankle. The time is now for the Kings’ promising group of prospects to step up, starting with Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke.

15. New Jersey Devils (38-39-5, -19. Last week: 17)

We know what the Devils are capable of, but they were undone by injuries and woeful goaltending last season. Jacob Markstrom looked fantastic in Czechia at the NHL Global Series games against Buffalo. If he continues this pace – he won’t go 82-0, though – the Devils are set to be the NHL’s most improved team.

16. Washington Capitals (40-31-11, -37. Last week: 15)

The Capitals had one of the worst goal differentials ever for a playoff team, and adding Jakob Chychrun and Logan Thompson should shore up that defense. That may be the biggest factor in their team’s success and not Alex Ovechkin’s historic chase for Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record.

17. New York Islanders (39-27-16, -17. Last week: 16)

Forgetting about the immense pressure on Ilya Sorokin and his eight-year contract – literally, I hope his back holds up – Maxim Tsyplakov can add some much-needed depth scoring, especially since top-six forward Pierre Engvall is not, well, a top-six forward. (Someone forgot to tell Lou Lamoriello in 2023).

18. St. Louis Blues (43-33-6, -11. Last week: 19)

The Blues added Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg via offer sheet, both of whom scored a point in their season opener, but I think this team’s in a holding pattern until they decide who will join Robert Thomas (one assist, 19 faceoff wins) and Jordan Kyrou (two goals) as part of their young core going forward. It’ll be interesting to see if Thomas can take his game to an even higher level. They have yet to have a 100-point (or even 90-point) player in the cap era.

19. Detroit Red Wings (41-32-9, +4. Last week: 18)

I have sooo many questions. Attach a second-round pick to trade Jake Walman, use valuable cap space to sign depth defenseman Erik Gustafsson and then waive Justin Holl? Along with Kevyn Adams in Buffalo, Steve Yzerman’s among those on the hottest seats.

20. Minnesota Wild (39-34-9, -12. Last week: 20)

Marco Rossi is set to open the season as their top center. The Wild think highly of him, and he skipped representing Austria in Olympic qualifiers over the summer to train in Minnesota. The last time Rossi did this, he went from one assist in 19 games to 21 goals and 40 points in 82 games.

21. Utah Hockey Club (36-41-5, -18. Last week: 24)

No pressure on being the first-ever captain of the franchise or anything, but Clayton Keller will be the guy leading this team into a new era. They’re off to a great start and look like a team that could be good for years to come.

22. Pittsburgh Penguins (38-32-12, +4. Last week: 21)

Kyle Dubas made a huge swing acquiring Erik Karlsson last season and whiffed, but they have two more strikes with Sidney Crosby signed through the 2026-27 season. If Karlsson’s not the difference-maker who can help Crosby, it’s hard to say who will be.

23. Philadelphia Flyers (38-33-11, -26. Last week: 22)

John Tortorella’s right, Matvei Michkov isn’t the savior… because he’s only 19 years old. But, someday, he might be. The Flyers have a solid group of young players, but Michkov stands out from the rest with his elite talent.

24. Ottawa Senators (37-41-4, -26. Last week: 25)

It’s not like the Senators did any of their goalies any favors last season, but the pressure’s on Linus Ullmark to backstop this talented team to the playoffs. With a new owner, GM, coach and plans for a new downtown (!) arena… expectations are only going to keep getting higher.

25. Seattle Kraken (34-35-13, -19. Last week: 26)

Matty Beniers is facing a ton of pressure to be the No. 1 center the team envisioned when they drafted him second overall in 2021. He needs to bounce back from a huge sophomore slump.

26. Buffalo Sabres (39-37-6, +2. Last week: 23)

There’s panic, and then there’s the this-is-fine-meme panic. The Sabres are teetering close to the latter if they aren’t there already. There’s a ton of pressure on Kevyn Adams, who has assembled an enviable cast of young players, but they need to win, like, last week.

27. Montreal Canadiens (30-36-16, -53. Last week: 27)

We know Martin St-Louis can coach at this level despite not having any professional head coaching experience before joining the Canadiens. They’ve won at least 30 games in each of the past two seasons. Now, he must prove they can do a lot more.

28. Calgary Flames (38-39-5, -18. Last week: 28)

What does GM Craig Conroy do next? The Flames are in purgatory – clearly not good enough to compete but still not bad enough to be in the lottery. Honestly, they may be the most uninteresting team until November or December, when we get a better idea of Conroy’s master plan.

29. Anaheim Ducks (27-50-5, -91. Last week: 29)

There’s no shortage of high-end prospects to watch on the Ducks, but it’ll be interesting to see how Trevor Zegras responds after missing most of 2023-24 with injuries. At his best, he’s a puck wizard with eye-popping playmaking ability, but he’s been a fixture in NHL trade rumors and seems to be getting leapfrogged all the time.

30. Chicago Blackhawks (23-53-6, -111. Last week: 30)

When you’re the No. 1 pick, there’s no hiding from the spotlight, no matter what you do. Connor McDavid scored 100 points in his second season, so the bar’s set pretty high for Connor Bedard. Besides, he’s put in the work.

31. Columbus Blue Jackets (27-43-12, -63. Last week: 31)

It’s a healing year for the Blue Jackets, and much of the on-ice burden will fall on young Adam Fantilli. He was limited to just 49 games last season, and he’s just scratching the surface of his immense potential.

32. San Jose Sharks (19-54-9, -150. Last week: 32)

His name is Macklin Celebrini, but I’m not sure how much celebrating the Sharks will be doing this season. The top prospect for 2025, by the way? Boston College freshman James Hagens.

Correction: The author byline has been corrected to Jason Chen.

Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.