The week after the NHL Trade Deadline always feels a bit off, almost like a holiday hangover. This time of the season always feels like returning to work, but you’re trying to figure out how to fit all of the pieces of a puzzle back together. You have weeks of excitement and buildup to a big day, but then it quickly passes, and you have to go on about your daily life despite some new people hanging around the office.
With all of this movement taking place, teams are still working hard to figure out where these new players fit. No matter how talented a player is, it takes time to fit them into a line-up and get them up to full speed with their new (or returning) roster of players.
So, all this to say, sometimes in the post-trade deadline world, you will see the phenomenon where a previously great team struggles, and a selling team goes on a winning streak on the back of AHL call-ups who have waited their entire lives to make the most out of this opportunity. Oftentimes, these winning streaks are a bit of fool’s gold due to playing backup goaltenders on off-nights, but they can still make you ask… where was this all season?
It’s also worth remembering that the playoffs are roughly one month away. Expect there to be some chaos in the coming days as teams jockey for position at the top and bottom of the standings, meaning there’s a lot to gain with each win and loss.
So, let’s keep things moving forward and jump into Week 20 of THW’s 2025-26 NHL Power Rankings!
32-15: NHL’s Pacific Division Continues to Disappoint
32. Vancouver Canucks (Previously: 32)
31. Toronto Maple Leafs (Previously: 31)
30. Calgary Flames (Previously: 26)
29. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously: 29)
28. Nashville Predators (Previously: 18)
27. Los Angeles Kings (Previously: 28)
26. San Jose Sharks (Previously: 25)
25. Seattle Kraken (Previously: 24)
24. Edmonton Oilers (Previously: 17)
23. Winnipeg Jets (Previously: 23)
22. New York Rangers (Previously: 30)
21. Washington Capitals (Previously: 20)
20. New Jersey Devils (Previously: 19)
19. Florida Panthers (Previously: 27)
18. St. Louis Blues (Previously: 21)
17. Philadelphia Flyers (Previously: 22)
16. Vegas Golden Knights (Previously: 16)
15. Anaheim Ducks (Previously: 8)
Every week throughout the 2025-26 NHL season, I continue to be let down by the Pacific Division. This should be a fun division filled with established Stanley Cup Contenders like the Golden Knights, Oilers and Kings, balanced out by emerging but inconsistent young teams like the Ducks and Sharks. Instead, we just have an absolute mess where none of the teams have played well, leading to a situation where a Division Winner may have a worse record than a Wild Card Team.
The Oilers have one of the worst goaltending situations in the league right now, the Kings fired their head coach two weeks ago, and the Golden Knights just seem mediocre despite having such a stacked roster. Plus, after the Ducks were shut out on Saturday and blew a game again the Maple Leafs, I moved them to the bottom of the Rankings along with every other team in the Pacific. With all of this, the Pacific Division has a lot to prove before the playoffs start.
Now, for teams that are worth watching post-trade deadline, the Rangers and Blues have both been on fire in recent weeks. New York have won four-straight games and are being driven by Alexis Lafrienere, who has scored 11 points in seven games so far in March and looks like the first-overall pick they selected back in 2020. For St. Louis, an unexpected breakout of nine points in four games from Jimmy Snuggerud and superb goaltending from Joel Hofer has helped the team go 7-2-1 in their last 10 games played.
It’s a shame this is all happening now, as it is far too late for either of these teams to make a run at the postseason. All this will do is hopefully give some momentum to build upon into the 2026-27 NHL season, and push down their draft lottery odds. But for the moment, enjoy the fun as it’s been tough watching these franchises for most of the season.
Also, I have to mention the knee-on-knee hit from Ducks captain Radko Gudas that seriously injured Auston Matthews, knocking the Maple Leafs captain out for the rest of the season, and probably longer. This is just a bad situation all around that you never want to see happen. Emotions are understandably high in Toronto, and this sort of injury can alter the future of a franchise if not handled properly.
14-6: Red Wings Feeling Genuine Concern
14. Detroit Red Wings (Previously: 11)
13. Utah Mammoth (Previously: 9)
12. Pittsburgh Penguins (Previously: 12)
11. Tampa Bay Lightning (Previously: 6)
10. Boston Bruins (Previously: 15)
9. Ottawa Senators (Previously: 14)
8. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously: 13)
7. New York Islanders (Previously: 10)
6. Montreal Canadiens (Previously: 7)
For most of the 2025-26 NHL season, the Red Wings were playing well enough to not only make the playoffs for the first time in years, but potentially win the Atlantic Division. Detroit started to falter a little bit heading into the Olympic break, but they still seemed fine until Dylan Larkin suffered an injury that will keep him out for at least two weeks. Without Larkin, Detroit lost three of their last four games and suddenly sit on the playoff bubble with Columbus in control of their destiny.
Unfortunately, Red Wings fans saw this same story happen before in the 2023-24 season, when Detroit came up a point short of the postseason. Now, Detroit still has plenty of time to get their season back on track and hold onto a Wild Card spot, but there’s real drama here I wasn’t expecting a few weeks ago.
Overall, the middle of the Rankings have been performing worse than expected since returning from the Olympic break. I moved the Lightning down to this section, as they have been an ice-cold 3-7-0 in their last 10 games played, which is worse than Detroit. The Mammoth have lost four straight, the Blue Jackets are heavily relying on the loser point to keep up in the playoff race, and the Bruins are doing just enough to keep their heads above water.
Really, only the Islanders are hot in this section, with a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games played. With their deadline moves already paying dividends, it looks like this New York team is destined for the playoffs after missing in 2025. This applies to the Senators as well, who have posted a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 and are much closer to the playoffs than you might expect.
5-1: Stars Overtaking the NHL’s best
5. Minnesota Wild (Previously: 4)
4. Colorado Avalanche (Previously: 5)
3. Buffalo Sabres (Previously: 3)
2. Carolina Hurricanes (Previously: 1)
1. Dallas Stars (Previously: 2)
Throughout the 2025-26 NHL season, the Stars have been one of the more inconsistent top teams in the league. There were times back in December when they just looked uninterested in regular-season hockey, which felt somewhat fair given that they had the second-best record in hockey but were locked into second place in their division due to the NHL’s playoff format.
The Stars have been a machine since their last regulation loss on Jan. 22nd, however, as they have gone 15 games with a point. In any other division, they would be the top-seed, but the Central Division is still the best the sport has to offer so they are in second place. Given their recent play, though, they may catch the Avalanche, something that felt impossible until very recently.
Outside the Stars, the Hurricanes and Sabres are continuing to dismantle the rest of the NHL. Buffalo are 9-1-0 in their last 10 played, where Carolina are 7-3-0. Both franchises are juggernauts in the Eastern Conference and are looking to pull away from their Divisions. Also, Colorado have still been playing great hockey, but they lost two games this week, which feels unacceptable for a team that just didn’t lose until recently.
Sprint to the 26 NHL Playoffs
Time is short for the 2025-26 NHL regular season. Many teams are approaching the 15 games remaining milestone on their calendars, and with the condensed schedule, those 15 games are going to fly by.
Related: Auston Matthews’ Injury Gives Him Time to Weigh Future
Expect teams in the playoff picture to start putting things together, as their new acquisitions find their place in the lineup. The next two weeks are a dress rehearsal to prove that you belong in the playoffs, and not hoping for lottery balls to fall your way. I’m excited to watch as teams on the bubble become increasingly more desperate to claim their playoff spot, which will lead to some fun hockey!
