It wasn’t that long ago that everyone believed that the Edmonton Oilers were dead in the water. Plus, what about the Los Angeles Kings? A team that was once a league-wide darling is now teetering on the cusp of a playoff spot.
And don’t even get me started on the Vancouver Canucks and everything they’ve accomplished this season.
As the NHL’s All-Star break finally begins — and the calendar turns to February — it’s clear this season has not gone the way many expected it to. A big reason for that is thanks to the NHL’s Western Conference, where chaos reigns and 16-game win streaks are somehow the norm now.
Outside of the big names, teams like the Winnipeg Jets and Arizona Coyotes have outperformed expectations, leading to surprise playoff pushes and more competitive games. Others, like the Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild, have disappointed and will have to look inward to find the heart of their problems.
There’s lots of hockey still to be played, but the end is starting to come into sight. The trade deadline is a handful of weeks away and with it brings power shifts and a clearer focus on the playoffs ahead. As the NHL takes a much-needed break from the action, here is how we see things across the league in our February 2024 power rankings.
Last ranked: 32
The Sharks put together a three-game win streak (!!!) in late January. While that was a nice respite from the misery that has been San Jose’s 2023-24 season, spring can’t get here soon enough for the Sharks.
Last ranked: 31
Connor Bedard’s injury really took the wind out of the Blackhawks already vapid sails. Hopefully we’ll see Bedard back on the ice for Chicago before the trade deadline in early March, because he’s been the most exciting part of this Blackhawks roster by a long shot.
Last ranked: 30
You have to wonder if Jarmo Kekäläinen’s time as general manager of the Blue Jackets is coming to a swift close. Columbus has continuously underperformed and its biggest offseason moves from last year — hiring Mike Babcock (who was fired 10 weeks later) and trading for Ivan Provorov — look worse and worse by the day.
Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP
Last ranked: 28
Things continue to go from bad to worse for the Senators. A 7-2 loss to the Rangers where the Senators allowed New York to score five straight second period goals might be the apex of their suffering this season. The 2023-24 season has been an extremely disappointing one for the Senators, who will probably see sweeping changes across the board this summer in an attempt to fix their glaring issues.
Last ranked: 29
While the Ducks continue to underwhelm in their game-to-game results, the team did get a big win last month in obtaining current college prospect Cutter Gauthier from the Philadelphia Flyers. Anaheim’s future looks bright, especially if they can pick up another top prospect in this year’s draft, but this current iteration of the team remains quite poor.
Last ranked: 27
Montreal fans have been getting restless as of late, as the Canadiens’ rebuild hasn’t shown signs of major growth in recent months. Juraj Slafkovsky seems to be finding his footing and Sean Monahan is having a nice season (13 goals and 35 points in 49 games), but things are happening at a slower pace than fans were expecting. The Canadiens might not be living up to expectations this season, but it feels like it’s still a bit too early to panic about the rebuild overall.
Last ranked: 25
What could have been a promising December turned into a catastrophic January for the Wild, as the team went 5-8-1 over the course of the month, sinking any hope of a positive swing to start 2024. The Wild just haven’t looked right all season long and with the trade deadline looming, you have to wonder if Minnesota will look to sell off some pieces to retool for next season.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Last ranked: 26
If the Oilers can storm back to make a triumphant return to form, why can’t the Flames? Things looked promising to start January, but Calgary ended the month on a 7-6-0 clip, which just isn’t good enough to get them back in the playoff race. Plus, there’s also the Jonathan Huberdeau elephant in the room, as the forward has just six goals and 26 points in 48 games for the Flames. Connor McDavid he is not.
Last ranked: 24
The Sabres are well and truly out of the playoff race. January may not have been as disastrous as December was — with the team going 7-4-0 last month — but it cemented Buffalo’s fall from playoff hopeful to NHL bottom feeder. With Tage Thompson not playing at superhuman levels anymore and their goaltending taking a dip, regression was inevitable, but it’s still disappointing to see.
Last ranked: 19
Is it time to start worrying about Alex Ovechkin in his quest to best Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record? Because I’m starting to worry. Ovechkin has just nine goals in 44 games this year, putting him 63 away from tying Gretzky as the best scorer in the NHL. Ovechkin’s contract runs to the summer of 2026, but with the way he’s slowed down this year, it’s fair to start wondering if he’s just running out of gas. Much like the Capitals, as they too haven’t had much to give this season as the NHL’s third-worst scoring team with 112 goals on the year.
AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes
Last ranked: 18
Patrick Roy has his hands full getting the Islanders back into shape after Lane Lambert was fired in January. New York has never been a scoring machine, but their minus-23 goal differential heading into February isn’t going to cut it against their peers fighting for a wild card spot. Given the Islanders’ roster construction flaws in a league where scoring continues to rise, one has to wonder how hot Lou Lamoriello’s general manager seat gets this offseason.
Last ranked: 13
After putting themselves in wild card contention, the Coyotes disappointed in January with a 4-8-1 record, dropping them at least five points back. It’s fair to say the Coyotes were playing above their weight for a little while and have regressed back to their true selves, but they’ve made some great strides this year. It seems like Arizona’s promised young core is finally coming together like they had hoped.
Last ranked: 23
The Blues closed out January with a five-game win streak, enough to put them back in the playoff conversation. All season long, the Blues have struggled with putting out consistent winning performances and now that they’ve strung some victories together, they’ve played closer to their true talent level. Time will tell if the Blues have enough gas to hang with the Western Conference wild card contenders, but January was a good start.
Last ranked: 22
We may have put the kibosh on the Kraken a bit too soon. Sure, Seattle isn’t playing up to last year’s second-round standard, but they’ve been playing much more inspired hockey for nearly two months now. The Kraken have gone 11-4-1 since December 20, though a recent swoon has them looking a bit shaky once more. Still, the Kraken have put themselves back in playoff contention in a tight Western Conference wild card race with this stretch of play.
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Last ranked: 17
The Penguins are in real danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight season, something they haven’t done since the mid 2000s. The most frustrating part is the Penguins stars are playing well, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continuing to shine in their sunset seasons. Even Tristan Jarry is having an excellent year in net! Outside of the Penguins main stars, however, there’s absolutely no spark and that’s why they sit out of the playoff race as February begins.
Last ranked: 16
The Devils were only able to string a pair of wins together once during January on the first two games of the month. An inconsistent start to 2024 along with major injuries to Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton have the Devils scrambling for answers. Even if the Devils do manage to claw their way into a playoff spot, it’s clear this team isn’t as complete as it was once believed during their run last season.
Last ranked: 6
In one fell swoop, the Kings have nearly plummeted out of the Western Conference playoff race with their mind-boggling skid. Since December 28, the Kings have gone 2-8-6, bottoming out completely as they cling to a wild card spot. Goals have been hard to come by during this stretch, as the Kings have been outscored 56-36 over this 16 game span. There’s still time for the Kings to turn the ship aro