Name: NHL Power Rankings: Stone, Fleury drive Golden Knights to top spot
Brand: nbcsports.com
SKU: nbcsports-com-1378
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

NHL Power Rankings: Stone, Fleury drive Golden Knights to top spot

preview

In this week’s edition of the NHL Power Rankings the Golden Knights climb to the top spot thanks to a six-game winning streak that has been driven by the two-way dominance of and the spectacular goaltending of .The Golden Knights look like a Stanley Cup contender for the fourth year in a row and might have their best team yet.Just behind them are the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, and surprising Panthers to round out the top-five.Where does your team sit?1. Vegas Golden Knights. Mark Stone is playing at an MVP level and Marc-Andre Fleury is playing at a Vezina level. Actually, Fleury might be playing at an MVP level at this moment as well.2. Tampa Bay Lightning.&nbsp;It is scary how good this team is at all levels. Even when you take an MVP and scoring champion away from their roster they still dominate everybody. No weakness here.3. Toronto Maple Leafs. Little slip up against Vancouver this week, but that will happen over the course of a season. The North Division still belongs to them.4. Carolina Hurricanes. The trade a lot of people forgot about a year ago, but he is at a point-per-game pace and already has 13 goals in 22 games this season.5. Florida Panthers. is starting to play better. That is good news. Also good news is the fact their stars (, ) are dominating.6. New York Islanders. They feasted on Buffalo and New Jersey this week, which is exactly what a good team is supposed to do. The second half schedule gets a little tougher.7. Washington Capitals. They need to get straightened out because he is too good of a player .8. Boston Bruins. has to be in the Norris discussion at this point. Still need to see a little more scoring depth at forward from this team.9. Colorado Avalanche. Their biggest issue right now is injuries, and they are starting to mount. and are stepping up in a big way, though.10. St. Louis Blues. Speaking of good teams dealing with injuries, say hello to the Blues. Getting back is a good start.11. Winnipeg Jets. is very quietly having a monster season for a Jets team that is very quietly having a strong season.12. Pittsburgh Penguins. is starting to heat up, and he seems to be developing some chemistry with . Their second half schedule is the softest of the teams competing for a playoff spot in the East.13. Minnesota Wild. They should be able to secure that fourth playoff spot in the West, and it will be fun to see on the playoff stage.14. Philadelphia Flyers. Still the most confusing team in the league. The results are fine, the process behind them is shaky. has regressed and they need that to change.15. Chicago Blackhawks. Not a great defensive team and the forward depth is a concern,.16. Edmonton Oilers. The three games against Toronto seemed like a good measuring stick for where they are. They are not close.17. New York Rangers.&nbsp; is starting to produce a little more and become more noticeable. Not every top pick is going to be an immediate superstar. It takes time.18. Montreal Canadiens. is quietly gaining ground in the goal scoring race.19. Arizona Coyotes. keeps getting better every year he is in the league and is becoming their top offensive playmaker.20. Los Angeles Kings. They are hanging in the race, but they see a lot of St. Louis, Colorado, and Vegas over the next month. Big challenge ahead for them.21. Calgary Flames. Darryl Sutter .22. Columbus Blue Jackets. John Tortorella gets the , but this seems like an uphill battle here for making the playoffs. They only have two head-to-head games remaining with Chicago — the team they are chasing — and a lot of games against Carolina and Tampa.23. Nashville Predators. The question is not whether or not they sell at the trade deadline, but how much they sell and how much of a change they are looking to make.24. Dallas Stars. Injuries are taking their toll on this team right now. Since starting the year 5-1-1 the Stars are 2-7-4 in the games since.25. Vancouver Canucks. They stunned Toronto in back-to-back games this week, but it is probably not enough to make a difference. They are still four points out of a playoff spot and have played five more games than the team they are chasing. That is going to be nearly impossible to make up.26. Ottawa Senators. There is a lot of young talent here, they play hard, they are fun to watch, and every once in a while they just show up and embarrass an unsuspecting opponent that was probably hoping for an easy game.27. San Jose Sharks.&nbsp;There is not much to like here in the short-term or long-term.28. New Jersey Devils. is coming along nicely, .29. Anaheim Ducks. Just not enough talent offensively to even pose a threat to opposing defenses or goalies.30. Detroit Red Wings. At the start of the season a reasonable expectation would have been seeing the young players improve and the short-term veteran acquisitions play well enough to boost their trade value. Not sure either is happening.31. Buffalo Sabres. Their fans deserve better than this.—Adam Gretz&nbsp;is a writer for&nbsp;. Drop him a line at&nbsp;&nbsp;or follow him on Twitter&nbsp;.The St. Louis Blues signed forward to an eight-year contract extension worth $65 million, the organization’s latest move to keep its top young players in the fold long term.General manager Doug Armstrong announced the deal two months to the day since the Blues extended forward for the identical contract terms. Each player counts $8.125 million against the salary cap from the start of the deal in 2023 through 2031.Kyrou set career highs with 27 goals, 48 assists and 75 points in 74 games last season. He had 47 points in his first 99 NHL regular-season games.Thomas is 23, while Kyrou is 24. St. Louis also has top four defensemen , , and Nicky Leddy signed for at least the next four seasons, and center is under contract for six more years.Armstrong has reshaped the Blues since they won the Stanley Cup in 2019, the first championship in franchise history. Cup-winning goaltender signed long term, while then-captain left in free agency in 2020.Two big questions still face the front office with key members of that title-winning team: Top center and winger are each set to be a free agent after this upcoming season. O’Reilly figures to be part of the long-term core, something that’s far less certain with Tarasenko, who requested a trade in the summer of 2021 but remains with St. Louis.DENVER — The Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche added more depth at forward by signing to a one-year, $2 million deal.The move comes on the heels of losing Nazem Kadri in free agency to Calgary. The Avalanche are banking that Rodrigues can help fill the void.Rodrigues arrives in the Mile High City after a season in Pittsburgh, where he set career highs with 19 goals and 24 assists. Rodrigues was the lone Penguins player to skate in every game last season.“We are excited to add a two-way player with Evan’s versatility to our group,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. “He is coming off his best offensive season and has shown he can play in a variety of roles and help a lineup in many ways.”It’s been a busy offseason for the Avalanche since beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final in June as they hoisted the trophy for the first time since 2001. Among the moves, they brought back defenseman , along with signing left wingers and . They also signed right winger to a contract extension, retained forward and traded for goaltender .The 29-year-old Rodrigues has played in 316 career NHL games in his time with Pittsburgh and Buffalo, the team that signed him as a free agent in April 2015. Before turning pro, he played at Boston University, where he helped the Terriers to the 2015 NCAA championship game before losing to Providence.After spending time hanging out with the Stanley Cup all summer, the Avalanche get back to work this week with rookie camp.OTTAWA, Ontario — The Ottawa Senators have locked up another one of their top young players.Center Tim Stutzle agreed to an eight-year, $66.8 million contract extension, the team announced.The deal, which carries an average annual value of $8.35 million and kicks in following the 2022-23 season, is the latest move by general manager Pierre Dorion to solidify Ottawa’s core.Selected No. 3 overall at the 2020 draft with the pick received in the trade with the San Jose Sharks, Stutzle has 34 goals and 87 points in 132 NHL games.The 20-year-old German finished second on the Senators with 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists) in 79 appearances in 2021-22.The Senators previously signed captain , center , winger and defenseman to long-term deals.“Tim is a dynamic offensive player who utilizes an exceptional blend of speed and skill to be a consistent difference-maker,” Dorion said in a statement. “He’s electrifying and has quickly become a fan favorite for good reason.”Ottawa, which has failed to make the playoffs since reaching the 2017 Eastern Conference final and has gone through a major rebuild, made news earlier this summer by acquiring forward in a trade the Chicago Blackhawks and signing veteran forward in free agency.The Senators, who finished with 73 points last season, also traded goaltender to the Toronto Maple Leafs before acquiring from the Minnesota Wild as his replacement.BROSSARD, Quebec — has agreed to a four-year, $13.45 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.The 21-year-old center, who was a restricted free agent, had 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 70 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season.Dach’s contract carries an average annual value of $3.625 million per season.In a corresponding move to get under the NHL’s offseason salary cap, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes told reporters star goaltender would be put on long-term injured reserve.The 35-year-old played just five games last season because of a knee injury after leading Montreal to a surprise berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.Price, who won last season’s Bill Masterton Trophy as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication, is heading into the fifth season of an eight-year deal that carries an annual cap hit of $10.5 million.“Carey’s knee has not responded to any kind of treatment and rehab that’s been attempted since he had the surgery after the (2021) playoff run,” Hughes said. “We’re not very optimistic that, short of some kind of intervention, that things will change.”Dach, meanwhile, was acquired by the Canadiens on July 7 for first- and a third-round picks at the 2022 NHL draft as part of Chicago’s rebuild that also saw dealt to the Ottawa Senators.Dach had 59 points (19 goals, 40 assists) in 152 games with the Blackhawks after being selected No. 3 overall in 2019.Powered by

In this week’s edition of the NHL Power Rankings the Golden Knights climb to the top spot thanks to a six-game winning streak that has been driven by the two-way dominance of and the spectacular goaltending of .The Golden Knights look like a Stanley Cup contender for the fourth year in a row and might have their best team yet.Just behind them are the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, and surprising Panthers to round out the top-five.Where does your team sit?1. Vegas Golden Knights. Mark Stone is playing at an MVP level and Marc-Andre Fleury is playing at a...

NHL Power Rankings: Stone, Fleury drive Golden Knights to top spot

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS