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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 |