NHL Power Rankings Articles - Page 2

With the last Monday of 2024 falling the day before New Year’s Eve, we decided at ClutchPoints to change up the NHL Power Rankings a little bit this time around. Although capturing the week-to-week progress of each team is the usual goal of this exercise, we’re looking at the big picture on the verge of […]

For maybe the first time since the 2024-25 National Hockey League campaign kicked off three months ago, it’s going to be a relatively quiet week. The NHL will shut down entirely for three days beginning on Tuesday, with no games on the slate for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Boxing Day. Of course, it’s a […]

Exactly 164 days ago, the Florida Panthers captured their inaugural NHL championship, defeating Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers in one of the most thrilling Stanley Cup Finals in recent memory. After opening up a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, the Cats allowed the Oil to march all the way back, with the storied […]

The last time NHL players competed against each other internationally, it was back in 2016 during the outstanding, best-on-best World Cup of Hockey. Canada came out on top in a thrilling final eight years ago in Toronto, and after nearly a decade of waiting, they’ll continue vying for hockey supremacy against Finland, Sweden and the […]

With the fourth Thursday of November — and Thanksgiving — firmly in the rearview mirror, we have officially entered the holiday season. And in the latest edition of ClutchPoints’ weekly NHL Power Rankings, that looks a lot different for a lot of teams. For the continuously floundering, 7-12-6 Nashville Predators, it’s not going to feel […]

For the second straight season, the defending Stanley Cup champions are in the midst of a delayed title hangover. In 2023-24, the Vegas Golden Knights won 11 of their first 12 games before losing eight of 11 and being usurped from the top spot in ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings. This time around, the Florida Panthers […]

The Nashville Predators were supposed to be the big winners of the NHL’s free agent frenzy this summer. After a terrific second half of the 2023-24 campaign and a subsequent tough first-round playoff loss, general manager Barry Trotz got right to work trying to transform a strong roster into a potential Stanley Cup contender. The […]

The Winnipeg Jets are on an unholy tear in 2024-25. The Central Division juggernauts set a National Hockey League record with 14 wins in their first 15 games this season, an unbelievable run that has immortalized the entire organization. No other NHL team has jumped out to a start quite as dominating as this, and […]

The NHL Global Series Finland was a smashing success — unless you’re a fan of the Dallas Stars. The excitable crowd at Nokia Arena in Tampere were treated to two thrilling games, with a total of 16 goals scored in just 120 minutes of hockey. It was the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers coming […]

After 16 NHL seasons, two Stanley Cup championships and 555 goals in a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey, Steven Stamkos will make his highly-anticipated return to Amalie Arena on Monday night. The franchise legend was supposed to spend his entire Hall of Fame career with the Bolts, but the hockey gods had different plans this summer. […]

Not counting the 2024 Global Series Czechia, it’s been exactly 13 days since the 2024-25 National Hockey League campaign kicked off in Seattle on October 8. And although it’s still extremely early, the chaos brewing in ClutchPoints’ weekly NHL Power Rankings is palpable. Some teams are absolutely shattering preseason expectations — like the Calgary Flames […]

What an incredible feeling it is to be back watching NHL hockey on a daily basis. And what a thrilling first seven days of the 2024-25 season it’s been — not counting the Global Series Czechia — with multiple noteworthy feats being seen across the league. Arranging the second edition of the NHL Power Rankings […]

Hockey fans, we finally made it to NHL opening day. It’s been exactly 107 days since one of the most thrilling Stanley Cup Finals in recent memory concluded, with the Florida Panthers avoiding the epic collapse in Game 7 and defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 to capture their first ever championship. It was elation for […]

Hockey fans, the time has finally come. The final NHL Power Rankings before the best postseason in all of sports. This time next week, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be well underway to determine the champion of the league’s 107th season. Over six months since the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators kicked off the […]

There were long stretches during the 2023-24 NHL season when it looked like both Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins would miss the postseason for the second straight year. The last time the Caps and Pens missed back-to-back playoffs, neither The Great Eight nor Sid The Kid had anything to do with […]

The NHL’s Hart Trophy — awarded yearly to the player voted most valuable to his team — has consistently been the most controversial piece of hardware given out every June. That’s because, unlike the NBA, we aren’t talking about a league MVP. We’re talking about the player most valuable to his squad. So there is […]

Last season, the Boston Bruins clinched the President’s Trophy before the end of March. One of the greatest regular-season teams of all time took just 75 games to earn the top spot in NHL standings — tied for the fourth-fewest contests to reach the mark since the trophy was introduced in 1985-86. The B’s were […]

It’s been just over a week since the NHL trade deadline, and it’s already starting to become very clear who the big winners were in 2024. If you watched the battle of the league’s two best players on Saturday night — a thrilling Connor McDavid vs. Nathan MacKinnon showdown — you’ll know that one of […]

The 2024 NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and although we didn’t set any records this time around, it was another entertaining day in the National Hockey League. After 19 trades went down a year ago, there were 23 swaps made on March 8, 2024, and 39 in the 96 hours leading up to […]

There were a few blockbuster deals that highlighted 2023 NHL Trade Deadline season, but it’s hard to call the day itself truly chaotic. Most of the big trades happened long before Mar. 3, 2023 — like Bo Horvat going from the Canucks to the Islanders, Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko getting shipped to the Big […]

Patrick Kane returned to the place where he won three Stanley Cups on Sunday, for the first time in his career playing an NHL game at the United Center not for the Chicago Blackhawks. And probably the greatest American-born player of all time delivered in the clutch yet again, calling game 1:43 into overtime to […]

It’s hard to remember a National Hockey League outdoor game that was as thrilling — or had more goals — than Sunday’s tilt between the New York Islanders and Rangers at MetLife Stadium. The former is subjective, but the latter isn’t; the 11 goals scored in the contest is the most in the history of […]

Exactly two weeks after the National Hockey League produced one of the better All-Star Weekends in recent memory, the league will again look for fireworks at the NHL Stadium Series in East Rutherford, NJ in Week 18. Four Metropolitan Division teams with playoff aspirations will take to the field (ice) at MetLife Stadium, the home […]

The National Hockey League’s 2024 iteration of All-Star Weekend was, actually, a lot of fun. The ASG will never be for everyone, and a lot of hockey fans probably took a break from the sport for a couple of days, along with all of the players who weren’t selected to participate. But the NHL made […]

For the first time in over a decade, the 2024 NHL All-Star Game will be played north of the border. Next weekend, the premier players from across the National Hockey League will descend on the place where the first ASG game took place over 70 years ago: Toronto, Canada. And the league is looking to […]

For the first time since 2015, Patrick Roy is back in the National Hockey League. The four-time Stanley Cup champion was hired as the next head coach of the New York Islanders after Lou Lamoriello fired Lane Lambert on Saturday. It’s been a brutal stretch on Long Island — the Isles have lost eight of […]

Cheering for one of the seven National Hockey League teams north of the border has not been a lot of fun over the last 30 or so years. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens captured their league-leading 24th championship in 1993. The Vancouver Canucks would lose to Mark Messier […]

The National Hockey League announced the first batch of 2024 All-Stars on Thursday night, selecting one player from each of the 32 teams. Twelve additional skaters will be included in the festivities in Toronto next month, with their fates decided by an All-Star Game fan vote that ends on Jan. 11. By the end of […]

The Seattle Kraken won the first National Hockey League game of the New Year, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 at the 2024 NHL Winter Classic in Washington on Monday. And they made history in the process, with Joey Daccord recording his second shutout of the season, and the first ever at the Winter Classic. […]

Just under six months ago, the Florida Panthers completed their cinderella run through the Eastern Conference, sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes to advance to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final since 1996. After needing every single win to even advance to the postseason, it was a thrilling performance to first beat the NHL’s best-ever regular-season team […]

Welcome to the 1,500 club, Alexander Ovechkin. The Great Eight accomplished the feat in Dallas, TX on Thursday night, registering an assist on a Dylan Strome goal at Capital One Arena to become the 16th player in NHL history to hit a millennium-and-a-half. He made it 1,501 on Sunday, and the next number he’s eyeing […]

It’s Week 9 of the 2023-24 National Hockey League season, and we are finally done living in a world without Patrick Kane. The three-time Stanley Cup champion will debut with his third Original Six team sometime this week after signing with old buddy Alex DeBrincat and the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 28. Speculation abounds, […]

With the fourth Thursday of November — and Thanksgiving — firmly in the rearview mirror, it’s officially the holiday season. And in ClutchPoints’ weekly NHL Power Rankings, that looks a lot different for a lot of teams. For the free falling, 5-10-4 Minnesota Wild, it’s not going to feel like Christmas at all. In the […]

William Nylander concluded a phenomenal 2023 NHL Global Series in style on Sunday afternoon, becoming the first European player to score an overtime winning goal in his home country to help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota Wild in Stockholm. There were no shortage of storylines in Sweden over the last week, but it […]

In October of 1997, the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks kicked off the NHL Global Series with back-to-back games in front of 10,500 spectators at the Yoyogi Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Since that contest — which was won for the Canucks by Pavel Bure — there have been 37 other international regular-season contests, spanning six […]

The 2023-24 National Hockey League season is off to a roaring start. But don’t take my word for it — let the evidence speak for itself. There were 114 goals scored on Saturday in the NHL, smashing the previous league record. If you ask any hockey fan what makes the game exciting, it’s not a […]

The National Hockey League wrapped up its third week of 2023-24 with the campaign’s first outdoor game. The sellout crowd of 55,411 spectators at Commonwealth Stadium in Alberta were treated to a Heritage Classic featuring the then 1-5-1 Edmonton Oilers and 2-5-1 Calgary Flames. Connor McDavid returned from injury, which is great news for all […]

It’s been exactly two weeks since the 2023-24 National Hockey League campaign kicked off in Tampa Bay on Oct. 24, and although it’s still extremely early, there has been a ton of movement in Week 3 of our NHL Power Rankings. Who expected the Philadelphia Flyers to be leading the Metropolitan Division at any time […]

What an incredible feeling to be back watching NHL hockey on a daily basis. And what a thrilling first six days of a new season, with multiple noteworthy feats being seen across the league. Arranging the second edition of the NHL Power Rankings was a tricky affair, as some teams have three contests under their […]