October 23, 2024
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — How about that Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday night? The NHL put all 32 teams on the ice and 95 goals were scored – and not all of them by the Canucks in the first period in Chicago!

There have been some fun surprises early this season, especially in Calgary and Winnipeg where we were sold on a rebuilding/retooling year and both teams are off to terrific starts.

On the other hand, the raised eyebrows in Nashville and Colorado as two teams many saw as potential Central Division winners got off to incredibly slow starts.

Have we reached hot seat season for coaches yet? Will trades happen sooner than later this season? And how quickly will your favorite team be eliminated from the postseason?

Let’s kick off the 2024-25 season of TFP Power Rankings with a bang. As always, feel free to let me know where I’m right and what I got terribly, horribly wrong.

32. San Jose Sharks

All of the excitement around Macklin Celebrini scoring on opening night faded quickly when he was placed on IR. He hasn’t returned, and the excitement has been absent with him.

31. Nashville Predators

I don’t think anyone expected the new and improved Nashville Predators to be one of the last teams in the NHL to win a game, yet here we are.

30. Philadelphia Flyers

The struggle bus has been parked in Philly early this season. The Flyers have had moments from Matvei Michkov but the roster depth simply isn’t there yet.

29. Montreal Canadiens

Habs gonna Habs.

28. Edmonton Oilers

New season, same script. A slow start in Edmonton shouldn’t get the coach fired this year, but any prolonged struggle could open the door for some roster moves.

27. Chicago Blackhawks

Yeah, the Blackhawks have lost two straight in ugly fashion on home ice. But they beat the Oilers in Edmonton so, as long as the two teams have the same point percentage, Chicago gets a higher rank this week.

26. Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby is transcendent. Allowing 35 goals in eight games isn’t going to get a team into the playoff picture.

25. Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo is one of the teams that wanted to take a step forward this year and has simply been exactly what we’ve seen from this franchise for the past decade.

24. Colorado Avalanche

Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon started the season on time. The rest of the team?

23. Columbus Blue Jackets

With the unimaginable heartbreak before the season and list of injuries since the puck dropped a couple weeks ago, being .500 is a success in Columbus.

22. New York Islanders

14 goals in six games isn’t good. It’s also not surprising for the Islanders.

21. Detroit Red Wings

Not exactly the start they hoped for from Patrick Kane and Co. as the Red Wings want to change their story into a playoff team.

20. Boston Bruins

Are the Bruins really a .500 team at this point? And, if that’s the case, how long will they wait to start making changes?

19. St. Louis Blues

Philip Broberg has lived up to his offer sheet, but the Blues can’t ask him to score every night. St. Louis is averaging under three goals per game.

18. Anaheim Ducks

Most people expect the Ducks to be back in the lottery this spring. So, starting the season 3-2-1 is a nice surprise. We’ll see if it lasts.

17. Seattle Kraken

After a disappointing finish outside of the playoff picture last year, the Kraken have been slightly better early this season.

16. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have allowed 25 goals in seven games, which is a big number. But they haven’t played a game in Los Angeles yet! Even Bronny and his dad have played a game in LA already!

15. Toronto Maple Leafs

Yes, the sky is already falling in Toronto. The Leafs are 1-2-0 on the road and that’s enough for there to be weeping in the streets. (They’ll be fine.)

14. Florida Panthers

Maybe a little bit of a Stanley Cup hangover? They’ve missed a few guys from games early this season. They extended Paul Maurice, so there’s no cause for concern in Florida.

13. Carolina Hurricanes

The Canes haven’t sprinted out of the gates, but their win in Edmonton on Tuesday night was a reminder of what this club can do.

12. Utah Hockey Club

This club made all the moves this summer – literally! An overhauled blue line has helped them start well in their new home with new jerseys and new owners.

11. New Jersey Devils

The Devils have already played nine games, the most in the NHL (Washington is still at five entering Wednesday). While the surface level numbers are okay, there’s concern around the start from Dougie Hamilton.

10. Vegas Golden Knights

We’re not used to seeing the Golden Knights allowing three goals per night (their current pace) but they’re doing what they’ve done since the organization was born. Just win, baby!

9. Ottawa Senators

After years of terrible starts, it appears the Senators might have figured something out. Maybe Brady watching his brother lift the Stanley Cup provided the right summer motivation?

8. Tampa Bay Lightning

Ho hum, Steven Stamkos leaves, and the Bolts don’t miss a beat. Just another year in John Cooper’s world and we’re all just living here.

7. Vancouver Canucks

A slow start to the season might have finally seen the dam break in Chicago on Tuesday night when the Canucks put four goals on the board in the first period. They have the firepower to make a lot of noise this season, and they’re doing it without their top goaltender.

6. Washington Capitals

There were lots of questions about what these Capitals would look like after their busy offseason. And, to their credit, the new-look roster has performed well early.

5. Dallas Stars

They paid their goaltender and they’re winning games. Everyone expects the Stars to be at/near the top of the Central Division in April and they’ve started their road to that conclusion well.

4. Minnesota Wild

There are four teams remaining in the NHL that have yet to suffer a regulation defeat, so they get to stack up the top four spots in our first power rankings of the new season. The Wild are off to a terrific start.

3. Calgary Flames

Calgary has allowed 15 goals in six starts and has a plus-nine goal differential. In what might have been seen as a rebuilding year six weeks ago, the Flames have made an early statement.

2. New York Rangers

The Rangers have a league-best plus-19 goal differential and they’ve started the season 4-0-0 on the road. Ordinarily that would be enough for the No. 1 rankings, except the Jets are flying high.

1. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets are perfect in six starts. The only team that doesn’t have a regulation or overtime loss on their regulation is an easy choice for the top spot this week.