ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings, Week 25: Avalanche lead the pack as postseason looms

Hockey fans, the time has finally come. The last edition of ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings before the best postseason in all of sports. This time next week, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be underway to determine the champion of the league’s 109th campaign. Over six months since the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks kicked off the 2025-26 season back on October 7, it’ll be the Seattle Kraken and President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche concluding the 1,312-game slate this Thursday, April 17.

And mere days later, playoff hockey will be back for the first time since the Panthers defended their maiden NHL championship, going back-to-back by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in six hard-fought games back in June. It wasn’t quite as electric as the first matchup between the two back in 2024, which culminated in a terrific one-goal Game 7, but it was a thrilling series nonetheless.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — there are still a few things to be determined between now and Thursday. In the Western Conference, only six teams have clinched (the Anaheim Ducks are virtually a lock). But the final wild card berth is a dog fight featuring the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks. Only one of those squads can get in, and thus, the final days are going to be intriguing.

In the Eastern Conference, seven clubs have booked their spot. The Buffalo Sabres are heading back to the dance after 14 (!) campaigns out, along with a couple other Atlantic Division powerhouses in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. Joining them from the Metropolitan Division are the Carolina Hurricanes and resurgent Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Ottawa Senators are back in a wildcard spot for a second straight year.

The Philadelphia Flyers have the inside track to advance as the No. 3 seed in the Metro, but a recent hot streak from Alex Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals have them just a point back — but with only one game left. The Flyers have two, and can clinch as soon as Monday night on home ice against the visiting Canes, which would be electric considering how far out they were just a few months back.  The only other team in the running is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who would need to win their last game and hope that Philly and Washington don’t secure another point. It’s not looking good in Ohio.

We’ve reached the last four days of the regular season, and clearly, there is still a lot to determine. Although it’s the last week of the 32-team NHL Power Rankings, ClutchPoints will be back on Friday with a playoff edition once the final 16 clubs are confirmed. For the other half of the league, this will be goodbye — at least until 2026-27.

We’ve waited all year for this, and we’re ready to lock in for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Time for things to really get interesting. As always, thanks for reading CP’s PR’s throughout another phenomenal year.

Previous 2025-26 NHL Power Rankings: Week 24 | Week 23 | Week 22 | Week 21 | Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 18 |  Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

1. Colorado Avalanche (no change)

The President’s Trophy has been clinched, and for the Avalanche, it’s now time to break the curse. No team that finished first in the regular season has won it all since the 2012-13 Blackhawks, which is quite shocking if you think about it. But Colorado couldn’t care less about that, and they’ll spend the penultimate edition of the NHL Power Rankings, yet again, at No. 1. We’re seeing shades of 2021-22, when the Avs won the Central Division before marching to the Stanley Cup Final and winning it all for the third time in franchise history. There are a lot of great teams standing in their way — most notably the Stars, Oilers and Golden Knights — but when healthy, none are as potent as this roster. And the Nazem Kadri addition is huge. The Avs are one of a few teams with three regular-season games left, and they won’t have Jared Bednar behind the bench after he was taken to hospital after taking a puck directly to the head on Saturday. That’s not what you want to hear going into the playoffs, but he should be back leading the charge at Ball Arena next weekend. Spoiler alert: Colorado will probably be in a familiar spot when the playoff Power Rankings drops on Friday.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (+1)

It’s about time the Hurricanes get the respect they’re due in the NHL Power Rankings. Carolina has once again been one of the league’s premier teams in 2025-26 under Rod Brind’Amour, and they’re a point away from winning the Eastern Conference. They’ll have two opportunities to do that — in Philly on Monday and Long Island on Tuesday — although most of the top guys are being rested for at least the first half of the back-to-back. The Canes will be heavy favourites against either the Bruins or Senators in Round 1, and with no Panthers in the playoffs, this could be the best chance they have to get over the hump and return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. But who will be the Game 1 starter? Rookie Brandon Bussi is the hot hand, but veteran Frederik Andersen has been there before.

3. Montreal Canadiens (+1) 

What an absolutely magical season it’s been for the Canadiens. Cole Caufield isn’t a 50-goal scorer — he’s a 51-goal scorer. Nick Suzuki is a 100-point scorer, Juraj Slafkovsky is up to 73, Lane Hutson is at 78, and in his rookie year, Ivan Demidov will be a Calder Trophy finalist after putting up at least 62. Montreal is humming into the postseason, now winners of 11 of 13 games to hit a new high in the NHL Power Rankings in Week 25. There’s still a path to winning the Atlantic Division, but they’d have to beat a surging Flyers team on Tuesday, and get some help from the Sabres. Most likely, it’s going to be Habs-Bolts Round 1. At this point, it doesn’t matter who they play; this roster is young, confident and hungry. But losing Noah Dobson for two weeks stings; he might not be an option at all for the first round.

4. Buffalo Sabres (+1)

The Sabres stumbled for the first time in 2026 at the end of March, losing three games in a row and five of seven. But they’ve righted the ship in a big way, racking off three consecutive victories last week. That has them back at the top of the Atlantic Division, and they’ll remain there if they can beat the Blackhawks on Monday and Stars on Wednesday. One of those is not like the other, but Buffalo should be able to lock in and beat Chicago to keep their destiny in their own hands. Regardless, fans in Western New York are gearing up for playoff puck for the first time in 15 years, and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is: they are going to come out flying. But getting home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds would be massive, and for that reason, expect none of the top guys to get rested this week.

5. Dallas Stars (+1)

There’s the Stars team we are more used to seeing. After losing seven of nine games, Dallas has won three in a row, and locked up home-ice advantage against Minnesota in Round 1. They also beat them 5-4 on Thursday in what was a terrific preview to what should be one of the best first-round series in the National Hockey League. What they need is to get healthy; Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen will both miss the rest of the regular-season, and this just isn’t the same team without those two players. Either way, they’ve been there before, with three consecutive West Final trips under their belt. It’s going to be quite challenging to make that four with the Avalanche and Wild also locked in on making a deep run. All that means is that the next few weeks are going to be a lot of fun.

6. Tampa Bay Lightning (-4)

The Lightning will probably make me eat my words for dropping them so low in the penultimate NHL Power Rankings of 2025-26. But the five teams above them have just played much better hockey as of late, and Tampa is going to have a very difficult path in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After losing three of four games, they would need to win both of their last two tilts and get some help to win the division. The way Montreal and Buffalo are playing, they will probably finish where they are now, instead: third place in the Atlantic. And that means they would be starting the postseason on the road against a 100+ point team. Of course, you can’t count this club out, especially with the firepower it has. But without a series win since 2022, Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy are going to need to be special to get them back to the Finals.

7. Minnesota Wild (no change)

Just like they’ve been for the last couple of weeks, the Wild are spending the last regular-season edition of the NHL Power Rankings at No. 7 in Week 25. They haven’t done enough to get back into the top-six, but have been much better in April, with five wins in their last eight games. They will open Round 1 on the road in Dallas, and it goes without saying that that is an extremely difficult matchup. The Stars have been to three straight Final Fours, and have absolutely no plans to go out in Round 1. But the Wild have some serious star power, and Quinn Hughes is the X-factor they didn’t have before. Minnesota hasn’t won a series since 2014-15, but if they get great goaltending from Filip Gustavsson — which hasn’t been the case lately — there is a path to them winning. But first, a back-to-back against St. Louis on Monday and Anaheim on Tuesday, with most of the top players likely to rest before the trip to Texas.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (no change)

Sunday afternoon was, possibly, the final ever meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, who have been joined at the hip for 20 years. It was a bit anticlimactic, with the Capitals winning 3-0 and neither player scoring, although the Great Eight picked up an assist. He waved off Pittsburgh players afterwards who wanted to shake his hand, and responded to the ‘one more year’ chants from the home crowd by saying he would think about it. It’s impossible to know what decision he will make this summer, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Ovechkin played one more season with the full intention to retire at the end of 2026-27. Regardless of that, the Penguins are headed back to the dance for the first time in four years after a truly exceptional campaign. Nobody saw this coming, but hockey fans have been desperate to see Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang back in the dance, and they’ll get that chance in less than a week. And we couldn’t have asked for a better first-round matchup for Pittsburgh: either Philadelphia or Washington. Either way, appointment viewing.

9. Boston Bruins (no change)

After a truly horrible 2024-25 season, the Bruins have rebounded admirably this year. And they’ve banked a ton of points since the Olympics. But it’s been tough sledding over the past few weeks; Boston has lost five of six games, and are locked into a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. That means it’ll be a very tough Round 1 matchup either way, that will begin on the road against either Carolina, Buffalo, Tampa Bay or Montreal. They can beat all four of those teams if Jeremy Swayman steals some games between the pipes, but they won’t be the favourite. Adding James Hagens will help; the 2025 seventh overall pick signed his entry-level deal last week, and made his NHL debut in a 3-2 win over Columbus. He also managed an assist, and should be a great addition to the forward core as he is thrown right into the fire. The regular season finale is a visit from New Jersey on Tuesday night.

10. Ottawa Senators (+2)

It was touch-and-go for a while there, but after buckling down and winning five of seven games, the Senators are headed back to the dance for a second consecutive year. Linus Ullmark has turned the page after a challenging campaign, and looks poised to carry the load throughout the postseason. Ottawa finishes the year against Toronto on Wednesday, and if they win that and Boston loses to New Jersey, they’ll get the top wildcard berth and play one of the Atlantic Division’s big three (Buffalo, Montreal or Tampa). If that doesn’t happen, it’ll be Sens-Hurricanes in Round 1. Either way, it’s going to be a very difficult first-round matchup for this group. Still, they’ve played well enough down the stretch to have a chance against anyone, but will need Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson at full health.

11. Edmonton Oilers (-1)

The Oilers got some great news on Monday, as both Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl returned to practice. It’s unknown whether either will be an option for Game 1 of Round 1, but it’s a positive update nonetheless. With no Florida in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Edmonton knows this is the year. But the West is a gauntlet, and the way Vegas is playing, the Oil are probably going to need to beat both Colorado and Vancouver, and get some help, to win the division. But honestly, they would probably rather finish second and get home-ice advantage against a flailing Anaheim club in the first-round. After back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final with nothing to show for it, it’s championship or bust for Connor McDavid. And we fully expect him to be the best player in the postseason once again.

12. Philadelphia Flyers (+1)

What an incredible run it’s been for the Flyers. After losing 11 of 13 games in the month of January, Philly has looked like a completely different team since the Olympic break, and Rick Tocchet deserves a ton of credit in his first season in the City of Brotherly Love. The roster also deserves praise for the way it has handled adversity this year, and found a way to grind out points down the stretch. But the job isn’t done; the Flyers need to either beat the Hurricanes on Monday or Canadiens on Tuesday — both on home ice — to get in. Despite those being two of the top teams in the NHL, the Canes are resting a ton of top players, and Philly won’t get a better chance than in front of what should be a raucous crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena. And we’d be remiss not to mention Porter Martone; the 19-year-old has managed seven points in his first seven games in the show, and has been a difference-maker for a club that is oh-so-close to snapping a five-year playoff drought.

13. Utah Mammoth (-2)

For the first time ever, the Mammoth are headed to the postseason. We are only in Year 2 in Utah, but considering the Arizona Coyotes didn’t make the playoffs in each of their last four years in existence, it’s electric. The Delta Center is going to be absolutely rocking next weekend, although they’ve followed up a five-game winning streak by losing two games by identical 4-1 scores. With the top-three in the Central Division set, Andre Tourigny’s group is either going to finish in the first or second wildcard slot. They have a three-point lead on the Kings in that quest, and would love to stay where they are and avoid the powerhouse Avalanche in Round 1. We’re looking at two home games to end the year: Winnipeg is in town on Tuesday before St. Louis makes the trip to end the regular season on Thursday.

14. Vegas Golden Knights (+2)

Are we even a little bit surprised that the Golden Knights are 5-0-1 under John Tortorella? That’s just absolute chaos. A risky, risky move to make a coaching change this late, but Vegas is the most ruthless organization in the league, and it’s paying off in spades. The Knights look rejuvenated at the perfect time, and they’ve still got a chance to win the Pacific Division with two games left. They have a one-point lead on the Ducks and Oilers, and all three clubs have two games left. For Vegas, that’s Monday against Winnipeg and Wednesday vs. Seattle — both on the strip. They’ve already booked their ticket, with Jack Eichel sending them to the dance by scoring the overtime winner against the Avalanche in Colorado on Saturday. It’s been an up-and-down season for the 2023 Stanley Cup champions, but the way things are going, they will be a very, very tough out this spring.

15. Washington Capitals (+1)

We really thought the Capitals were out of it after they came out of the Olympic break playing under .500 hockey. But Alex Ovechkin said not so fast. In what could — but probably won’t be — his final couple of NHL games, Washington has gone on a tear, winning three games in a row and seven of nine. It’s still looking bleak, as the Caps are a point behind the Flyers with one less game to play. They are out of action on Monday and could be eliminated before they take to the ice for their final regular season tilt of 2025-26, a visit to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. But if Philly loses to Carolina, all bets are off, and Washington could still find a way to slide into No. 3 in the Metro at the last. If that happens, it would be a first-round series between the Penguins and Capitals, which would be an incredible scenario for hockey fans. It’s unlikely to come to fruition, but let’s see what the next 48 hours brings.

16. Anaheim Ducks (-2)

It took 17 NHL seasons, but John Carlson finally recorded his first career hat trick in a 6-1 drubbing of the Sharks on Thursday night. And that is literally the only positive thing we have to say about the Ducks right now. Outside of that victory, Anaheim has lost seven games — five of them in regulation — and at this point, they’re just lucky to still be in playoff positioning. They had a chance to clinch on Sunday night in the final game of Week 24, but instead lost to last-place Vancouver in overtime. We aren’t quite sure what is going on with them right now, but they are looking like first-round fodder if they can’t figure this out. And they only have two games to do it; a couple of road tilts against the Wild on Tuesday, and a desperate Predators club on Thursday.

17. Los Angeles Kings (+7)

What a couple of weeks it’s been for the Kings. It wasn’t long ago that they were approaching the bottom-five in the NHL Power Rankings, and fading in league standings as well. But behind some incredible goaltending from Anton Forsberg, and inspired play from Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe, LA has won four in a row and six of eight. They control their own destiny, and play three bottom-feeders to end the year in Seattle on Monday, Vancouver on Tuesday and Calgary on Thursday. It’s looking good. And Anze Kopitar deserves another playoff run; he played his final regular-season home game on Saturday, and gave a heartfelt speech to the crowd. The surefire Hall of Famer has shown his leadership qualities in April, and he’s not quite ready for his storied career to end.

18. New Jersey Devils (no change)

The Devils continue to play some pretty decent hockey late in the 2025-26 season, and it looks like they’ll be finishing right in the murky middle in the Eastern Conference. Not good enough to make the playoffs, not bad enough to get a high draft pick. Alas, the pieces are there, but the execution just hasn’t been. And that will lead to change, as New Jersey parted ways with general manager Tom Fitzgerald. He spent over a decade with the franchise, and despite the need for both sides to move on, he probably won’t be out of work for too long. The Devils will finish the season at No. 18 in the NHL Power Rankings, ahead of a few teams they are below in league standings, but not quite good enough to be one of the 16 getting to play some extra hockey this spring.

19. New York Islanders (-4)

What can you say about the Islanders? Crunch time, a new head coach behind the bench, and New York scores a grand total of one goal over the two most critical home games of their season. Just abysmal for an Isles team that had a playoff spot locked up, and just blew it. The last two weeks have been especially bad; New York has lost six of seven games, and scored just 11 times in that span. Ilya Sorokin deserves a ton of credit; he was run into the ground this year and still managed seven shutouts, along with one of the best stat lines of his career. Matthew Schaefer also deserves some praise; he tied Brian Leetch’s rookie record with his 23rd goal of the season, and has completely changed the trajectory of this franchise. He should win the Calder Trophy running away. Either way, fans in Long Island will have a bad taste in their mouths about how this campaign ended — and the lack of pushback from the roster at the end.

20. Nashville Predators (+2)

Barring a miracle, it’s either going to be the Predators or the Kings getting the final postseason berth in the Western Conference. And Nashville is staying alive, having won four of six, and picking up a point in five of those. It’s still an uphill climb; LA is a point ahead with a game in hand. But the Preds play both of their games on home ice, against two teams that have really been struggling as of late in San Jose on Monday and Anaheim on Thursday. They’ll need to win both and get some help, but considering it was just a few short months ago that they were 32nd in the NHL, this is a remarkable turnaround. By all accounts, it could be a photo finish that comes down to Thursday night. And we’re here for it.

21. Detroit Red Wings (-2)

An absolute nightmare in Motown. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season, and head coach Todd McLellan said shortly after that the team deserved the boos they got following a 5-3 loss to the Devils on Saturday. Detroit had all the makings of a playoff team in 2025-26, added Justin Faulk at the deadline, and then just fell apart. There’s really no excuses for this franchise anymore, and you’ve got to wonder if the Yzerplan is going to officially end this summer. Either way, there are a ton of questions without any answers to be found in Michigan. This club was 33-19-6 going into the Olympic break. Today? 41-30-9.

22. San Jose Sharks (-2)

The Sharks have stayed in contention right until the bitter end, and Macklin Celebrini and co. deserve a lot of respect for that. But the dream is, if not officially over, pretty close to it. San Jose is five points back of Los Angeles with three games left, and they’ve squandered their games in hand by losing three in a row and four of five. A shootout loss to last-place Vancouver on Saturday was probably the dagger. It’s going to take a three-game winning streak, and then some help, to get in. It’s just not going to happen, but it’s good to see that the youth revolution in California took a massive step forward in 2025-26. Celebrini should only get better, and he’s already a superstar. If they can get better goaltending next year, the Sharks should be right back in contention to break a long playoff drought that is about to hit seven years.

23. St. Louis Blues (-2)

There was still hope for the Blues after they won four consecutive games at the end of March, but that pace needed to continue. And it didn’t; St. Louis has lost four of seven since, and officially been eliminated from playoff contention. It’s an unsurprising result, but still discouraging for a Blues team that always loves to make things interesting at the end. Still, it was a good run, especially considering both Justin Faulk and captain Brayden Schenn were shipped out of town ahead of the trade deadline. It’ll be interesting to see if more players will be on the move this summer, but the roster is certainly getting younger, and that’s a good start.

24. Columbus Blue Jackets (-1)

Less than a month ago, the Blue Jackets were in a playoff spot and controlled their own destiny. Fast forward 10 games — eight of those losses — and Columbus is living on a prayer. There is almost no way they are getting in, especially as the Flyers are playing a Hurricanes team that is resting its entire top line on Monday night. It’s a horrible ending after the Jackets looked rejuvenated under Rick Bowness, until they didn’t. It’ll be another long offseason, the second in a row where Columbus will be oh-so-close to getting in. Maybe 2026-27 will be the return. There are a lot of things to like about this roster, and they should be back battling for a postseason berth at this time next year.

25. Winnipeg Jets (no change)

The Jets aren’t out of the race just yet, but they might as well be. Despite winning seven of their last 10 games, Winnipeg is five points back of Los Angeles with only three games left, and two of those are on the road against teams who have already clinched a spot in Vegas on Monday and Utah on Tuesday. Connor Hellebuyck will probably be between the pipes for both of those tilts, and it goes without saying, they are must-wins. It’s been an admirable stretch for the reigning President’s Trophy winners, but the Jets simply did not bank enough points earlier in the year. At 35-32-12, it’s not hard to see why they remain on the outside looking in with four days left.

26. Florida Panthers (no change)

The Panthers really knew how to win between 2023-25, and in 2026, they’ve shown they know how to lose just as well. The back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions have completely tanked since the Olympic break, dropping 14 games in that span and even falling below .500. Anyone who is not fully 100 percent healthy is getting sat, and you can’t blame Paul Maurice and Florida’s management for that — these guys have played a ton of hockey over the last three years. They are set to finish either 14th or 15th in the Eastern Conference, and that should lead to a high draft selection come June. Adding another good young player to a rested roster in 2026-27 should have the Cats right back in championship contention in right about a year from now. All that said, we will have a new Stanley Cup champion this spring.

27. New York Rangers (+1)

It’s the last dance for Jonathan Quick. The future Hall of Famer, who has won three Stanley Cups and more games than any other American netminder, will play for the final time on Monday against the Panthers in Florida. The 40-year-old will always be remembered for his heroics in 2012, when he carried an eighth-seeded Kings team to the pinnacle of the sport, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the process. He’s been a staple in the NHL for nearly two decades, and was decent on a lowly Rangers club in 2025-26. That’s a feel-good story in a campaign that has had very few of them in New York. The Blueshirts will likely finish dead last in the Eastern Conference, and along with Quick, there could be quite a few others changes coming on Broadway this summer.

28. Calgary Flames (-1)

The Flames have almost wrapped up their worst regular season in a decade, one that will see them miss the playoffs for a fourth straight time. At 33-38-9, nobody on this squad can look in the mirror and say they were happy with how they performed, except maybe Devin Cooley, who was surprisingly good in front of a consistently bad roster. Without MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri, who are both postseason bound with the Mammoth and Avalanche, respectively, it’s hard to see the 2026-27 season being much different. It could be a long couple of years in Alberta, but at least they are starting to stock the cupboards for the future.

29. Seattle Kraken (+2)

For the third consecutive season, the Kraken will not be participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s another hugely disappointing conclusion in the Emerald City, as Seattle made waves back in 2023 by winning 46 games before upsetting defending champion Colorado in a thrilling seven-game series — before taking Dallas to seven in Round 2. This club just hasn’t been the same since, despite signing Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour to long-term deals that are already aging horribly. Destined to finish either sixth or seventh in the Pacific Division, the winds of change are blowing through the Northwest, as the first general manager in team history in Ron Francis will step down this summer. It’ll be interesting to see if his replacement can get more out of this roster, one that is absolutely desperate for a single star player.

30. Toronto Maple Leafs (-1)

It took until game No. 79, but the Maple Leafs have finally fallen below .500. After suffering five losses in a row, Toronto has dropped to 32-34-14, and are on track to finish under .500 for the first time since 2015-16. An unmitigated disaster that already cost GM Brad Treliving his job, and could also lead to head coach Craig Berube getting the boot this summer. Maybe the most intriguing part of it all will be seeing if Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly are still on this roster come October. Regardless, next season is going to be absolutely critical in Leafland. Is this disaster of a campaign a one-off that can be fixed with a few better individual performances and a couple of savvy summer signings? Or are we headed for a full-scale rebuild in Southern Ontario? We are looking very forward to finding out.

31. Chicago Blackhawks (-1)

The Blackhawks are limping to the finish line, and it seemed as soon as it became clear they wouldn’t be competing for a playoff spot, the wheels fell off completely. Chicago has lost three in a row, eight of nine and 10 of 12, and Connor Bedard has scored just two goals in that span. And Spencer Knight, who is the goaltender of the future in the Windy City, has had a real hard time keeping the puck out of his net. The Hawks are finishing 31st in both league standings and the NHL Power Rankings, and that’s discouraging, as we really hoped we would see a step forward from this franchise this season. After getting another high draft selection in Buffalo in June, we’ll see if they can make that a reality in 2026-27.

32. Vancouver Canucks (no change)

Finally, the 2025-26 season has come to an end for the Canucks. Almost. After two more games — hosting the Kings on Tuesday and visiting the Oilers on Thursday — one of the worst campaigns in franchise history will cease for Vancouver. A campaign that saw Quinn Hughes get traded in his prime, Thatcher Demko get shut down in January, and Elias Pettersson continue to struggle mightily offensively despite making $11.6 million a year. A campaign that saw the team put together a mind-boggling minus-96 goal differential, which doesn’t even seem possible at this level. A campaign that proved that rebuilding on the fly for the better part of a decade is just not a sustainable business model. The silver lining is that management has committed to a full rebuild, meaning that after a couple of dark years in British Columbia, ideally, this club will be competitive again. You can’t say that about many iterations of this roster since the Sedins retired.

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