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My last round of power rankings was mid-November. Since then we’ve seen a few players sign with new teams, the formal 2021 NHL Season format come out and a handful of players have opted out to play the start of this season in anticipation of the Monday deadline. I figure it’s time to check-in and update them.
Here are my 2021 NHL power rankings heading into this week’s season start.
2021 NHL Power Rankings (January)
Rank | Prev. Rank | Team | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | Prev. Rank | Team | Notes |
1 | 3 | Colorado Avalanche | Easy path for Colorado in the West (as of now) |
2 | 1 | Tamp Bay Lightning | |
3 | 2 | Boston Bruins | The East Division is going to be a gauntlet |
4 | 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Helloooo Joe Thornton |
5 | 4 | St. Louis Blues | |
6 | 6 | Washington Capitals | The East Division is going to be a gauntlet |
7 | 7 | Vegas Golden Knights | |
8 | 8 | Philadelphia Flyers | |
9 | 9 | Vancouver Canucks | |
10 | 10 | Nashville Predators | |
11 | 11 | Pittsbugh Penguins | |
12 | 12 | Calgary Flames | |
13 | 14 | New York Islanders | |
14 | 16 | Buffalo Sabres | Early practice looks optimistic from them |
15 | 13 | Dallas Stars | Ben Bishop and Tyler Seguin out to start the season is a hit |
16 | 17 | Carolina Hurricanes | |
17 | 20 | Edmonton Oilers | Jesse Puljujarvi is looking good… |
18 | 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Internal strike a distraction? |
19 | 18 | Florida Panthers | |
20 | 19 | Winnipeg Jets | |
21 | 21 | New York Rangers | |
22 | 22 | Montreal Canadiens | |
23 | 23 | New Jersey Devils | |
24 | 24 | Minnesota Wild | |
25 | 28 | Los Angeles Kings | Early practice shows some slight optimism |
26 | 26 | Chicago Blackhawks | |
27 | 27 | Arizona Coyotes | |
29 | 25 | San Jose Sharks | All signs tell me they are ready to bottom out here |
30 | 29 | Ottawa Senators | |
31 | 30 | Anaheim Ducks | |
32 | 31 | Detroit Red Wings |