NHL Power Rankings – August 2024

#1 Florida Panthers

July Ranking: 1

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as the Panthers remain the No. 1 ranked team in the month of August too. People might say they almost lost to the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final, but that doesn’t mean anything. There’s no reason why the current champion shouldn’t be the top team during the offseason. Sam Reinhart will play for Florida in 2025 , which was a huge signing. Dmitry Kulikov will also stay, thus making sure this defense won’t undergo big changes.

#2 Edmonton Oilers

July Ranking: 2

Yes, the finalists are sitting at No. 2. They seem to have gotten better, and we have to see how it all meshes together in the season. Until then, it’s highly likely that the Oilers will stay at No. 2 for the next couple of months. Losing Ken Holland looks like a bad thing at first glance, but the team’s front office is doing quite well this summer. Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique will be here to stay, so we’re expecting big things out of Edmonton.

#3 New York Rangers

July Ranking: 4

We are bumping the Rangers one spot in this month’s rankings. They are still pretty much the same team that almost beat Florida in the playoffs. It’s a solid organization that will be a contender for the Cup this season too.

#4 Vancouver Canucks

July Ranking: 5

Vancouver struggled with staying healthy in the playoffs and they still almost beat the Oilers. Now, they added Jake Debrusk and Daniel Sprong. Don’t sleep on this team. If they are healthy, they are a threat, and don’t be surprised to see them contending for the title in 2025.

#5 Dallas Stars

July Ranking: 3

Dallas made some questionable moves on defense and the pairings right now look something like Harley/Heiskanen, Lindell/Lyubushkin, and Smith/Dumba. This is not as good as what they had in the playoffs, so deservedly, the Stars are moving down two notches in our rankings.

#6 Colorado Avalanche

July Ranking: 7

This Nathan MacKinnon Colorado team always looks a bit underwhelming on paper, but they do have the ability to outperform other teams when it matters most – the playoffs. If they don’t make a couple of good moves over the next month, they might cede their 6^th place to Nashville.

#7 Nashville Predators

July Ranking: 6

The team definitely looks better, but what’s most important is that now free agents like Nashville as a destination. The Predators managed to sign Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos in July. Additionally, Brady Skjei bolstered this lineup. Watch out for the Predators right from the start of the regular season.

#8 Carolina Hurricanes

July Ranking: 8

Carolina’s biggest move so far this offseason was changing their GM. Eric Tulsky will now look for ways to push the Hurricanes past the second round. His first move was to sign coach Rod Brind’Amour to a long-term deal. We would have ranked Carolina higher, but they did lose defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce.

#9 Vegas Golden Knights

July Ranking: 11

We are moving the Golden Knights into the top 10 mainly because of the good moves they made on their defense. Historically, they have been a solid team. They do have a bunch of injuries to take care of, so right now, we are still not sure if the team is a serious contender. An argument can be made, however, that their battle with the Dallas Stars in the playoffs had a chance to have a different outcome.

#10 Boston Bruins

July Ranking: 12

Everyone expected the Bruins to be bad last year after they lost so much talent from their roster. Now, they signed Elias Lindholm at center, which should give the team a big boost. Linus Ullmark was traded, which means the team will count on Jeremy Swayman to protect the goal going forward.

#11 Toronto Maple Leafs

July Ranking: 9

The Maple Leafs remained quiet throughout July, and as the saying goes, “if you don’t get better, you’re getting worse’.’ We are moving them down two spots because of that. Still, new head coaching hire Craig Berube should inject a bit of championship energy into the team. They also didn’t lose any key players on defense.

#12 Tampa Bay Lightning

July Ranking: 10

We have to move Tampa Bay down a bit because of the risky moves they made. Yes, those moves might pay off later, but as things stand in the offseason, it looks like the Lightning took a step back. Steven Stamkos wasn’t signed to a deal as the team decided to give the nod to Jake Guentzel. It’s a gutsy decision, and we don’t know if it will work.

#13 New Jersey Devils

July Ranking: 15

We got a couple of moves here and they all played a role in us bumping the New Jersey Devils two spots. Brett Pesce came from Carolina, and the team also signed Jacob Markstrom to be the starting goaltender. Another key defensive signing is Brenden Dillon. This team should be in playoff contention during the upcoming season.

#14 Winnipeg Jets

July Ranking: 14

Not a lot of moves to talk about here. We just have to highlight that the team looked very good at times during the 2023-24 season, but there are too many unknowns going forward.

#15 New York Islanders

July Ranking: 16

The islanders take the No. 15 spot in our ranking mainly because the Kings went down a bit. We still don’t know how coach Patrick Roy will run the team as he joined in midseason. Yes, the team performed better under him, but we’ll see what happens after Roy has had one full offseason to prepare his lineup.

#16 Los Angeles Kings

July Ranking: 13

Three first-round exits mark the last three playoff appearances by the Kings. All three losses were handed to them by the Edmonton Oilers. Too many questions here, especially when it comes to goaltending. We gave the team a month to make good moves, but nothing happened. They are moving down three spots.

#17 Detroit Red Wings

July Ranking: 17

The Red Wings should be in playoff contention in 2024-25 and improve compared to last season. They just missed making the playoffs this past season, and it all falls on the shoulders of Vladimir Tarasenko to change this. Well, not only him but Lucas Raymond too. If the offensive output of Detroit improves, we might see them in May.

#18 Washington Capitals

July Ranking: 20

Nobody expected this Capitals team to be in the playoffs last season, but they made it. It is apparent that Ovechkin’s main objective now is the goal-scoring record as he already has a title. This should also motivate the rest of the team, and after a couple of good moves this summer, we can expect to see them battling hard for a playoff spot.

#19 Minnesota Wild

July Ranking: 19

Cap space is the issue here. The Wild couldn’t really sign anyone, and it looks like they will stay where they are – out of the playoffs. It seems like the team will count on young players to make a leap, but until we see it, we won’t believe it.

#20 Pittsburgh Penguins

July Ranking: 18

The Penguins are among the teams that give us a hard time predicting their performance in 2024-25. They could make the playoffs, but their short bench might be a deciding factor. They could surprise all of us, but their age might be a problem. They could explode, but their issues in goal might be bigger than expected. All of that being said, the Penguins take the 20^th spot in our rankings.

#21 Philadelphia Flyers

July Ranking: 22

The Flyers added Matvei Michkov at right wing, which earned them a bump in the rankings. The grit the team showed last season in many games was impressive, and depending on how well they start this fall, we might bump them even more.

#22 Ottawa Senators

July Ranking: 24

The core that this team has is nothing to scoff at. Now, David Perron is with the team after signing as a free agent. Linus Ullmark arrived after a trade with Boston. Both players bring their veteran experience with them, so watch out for that team in 2024-25.

#23 St. Louis Blues

July Ranking: 21

The Blues won the Cup only five years ago, but it already feels like it’s been ages. It doesn’t seem there is a clear direction when it comes to the development of the roster. Yes, the Blues signed some depth pieces but nothing to talk about. It doesn’t look like this team will push for a playoff spot.

#24 Buffalo Sabres

July Ranking: 23

There are fans of the game who have yet to see the Sabres play in a playoff game. It’s been 13 years since their last postseason appearance, and right now, it doesn’t look like this streak will come to an end.

#25 Utah Hockey Club

July Ranking: 28

We don’t have the Utah Hockey Club last on our rankings simply because we think the move away from Arizona was a good one. It should give the team a bump. But also, they added John Marino along with Mikhail Sergachev, so who knows – we might see some good stretches by this organization in 2024-25.

#26 Montreal Canadiens

July Ranking: 27

Not many moves to highlight, but it is true that the young core of the team is there. After another season under their belt, this team might gain the confidence to push them over the edge and make the playoffs. We are definitely not sleeping on Montreal.

#27 Seattle Kraken

July Ranking: 26

Even though there’s a new sheriff in town – coach Dan Bylsma – we still don’t know how well the team will perform on offense. A couple of free agents decided to sign with Seattle (center Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Brandon Montour), but we aren’t too excited about the situation the Kraken are in.

#28 Calgary Flames

July Ranking: 25

This team will almost surely struggle in 2024-25. Markstrom is now gone, and we don’t see a lot of help coming. It looks like it’s time to reset, reposition and possibly rebuild this team in Calgary and simply plan for the future. They will win games, but not that many.

#29 Chicago Blackhawks

July Ranking: 30

We like the moves the team made over the last month or so. Connor Bedard will now have some new teammates to help him in his sophomore year. Teuvo Teravainen comes in at center along with Tyler Bertuzzi at left wing and Alec Martinez as a defenseman. We foresee further improvement of the Blackhawks’ power ranking position going forward.

#30 Columbus Blue Jackets

July Ranking: 29

Even though the direction of the team might be the right one, new GM Don Waddell will have a lot on his plate.

#31 San Jose Sharks

July Ranking: 32

Tyler Toffoli at right wing, defenseman Jake Walman and a bunch of good draft picks will surely give this team a boost. The offseason moves look good on paper, but we have to see how all this comes together during the season.

#32 Anaheim Ducks

July Ranking: 31

The problem here is that some of the young players regressed over the 2023-24 season. You never want to see that, and turning it around might take more than expected.