The trade deadline has come and gone and, now that teams have bolstered their lineups, it’s time for teams to start making their pushes for the playoffs. Just one problem though… there isn’t really much of a playoff race going on here, as only the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals sit outside of the playoffs but are within five points of a spot. In fact, a lot of the different tiers in the NHL seem so locked up, Mike Gould and I have agreed on the placement of 14 teams, including the top four and the bottom five. I think that might be a season high.

Mike and I continue to navigate through the results so far with another week of our co-op power rankings. I have my same old system in which I aggregate six stats (points %, 5-on-5 goal differential, 5-on-5 xGF/60, 5-on-5 xGA/60, power play xGF/60, and shorthanded xGA/60, all coming courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) to come up with a list that eliminates my own biases, along with a rule that no team can be above a team that’s more than five points ahead of them in the standings, regardless of where the aggregate places them. On the other hand, Mike goes off his own intellect and pure vibes, and together we find a way to combine it and meet in the middle.

1. Florida Panthers

Record: 44-17-4, +64
Last Week: 1st (0)
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 1st

Scott: The Panthers didn’t make the sexiest additions at the deadline this season, but they didn’t need to with the top-end talent they already had. Vladimir Tarasenko is a perfect complementary piece for this roster, and it’s already paid off with a two-goal performance in their 5-1 win over the Flames. Kyle Okposo is an addition I’m less sold on, as he’s had a terrible season, but if any team can get the most out of him, it’s this Panthers team.

Mike: Tarasenko sure looked like his old self in that big win over Calgary. Florida made out like bandits getting him from the Sens for such a low price.

2. Dallas Stars

Record: 40-17-9, +43
Last Week: 2nd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 2nd

Mike: I really liked how the Stars approached the trade deadline this year. They got their main piece of business dealt with and out of the way early, beating the market to acquire Chris Tanev from the Flames. But I suspect the biggest deadline addition of all for these Stars will end up being call-up Logan Stankoven, who looks like a franchise cornerstone in the making. Jim Nill has built a truly outstanding group in Dallas.

3. Vancouver Canucks

Record: 42-17-7, +56
Last Week: 3rd (0)
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd

Scott: Outside of a rumoured deal that would have sent the Canucks’ recent deadline addition in Elias Lindholm to the Bruins and brought Jake Guentzel from the Penguins in a three-team trade, it was a quiet deadline for Vancouver, which is a bit surprising considering how quiet Lindholm has been since joining the team. Not to worry though, they’ve still won four games in a row, so they’re keeping their distance on the rest of the Pacific division for now.

4. Boston Bruins

Record: 38-13-15, +43
Last Week: 5th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 4th

Mike: Look, I get the Bruins have their guy for now and the future in Jeremy Swayman. But what the heck was Don Sweeney thinking trying to send Linus Ullmark to the Kings in the days leading up to the deadline? That was the one widely reported rumor I just didn’t understand at all. You need two goaltenders to win in this league. And if it truly was Pierre-Luc Dubois who the Bruins were after in that deal … I think they dodged a bullet. Sometimes, it’s all about the moves you don’t make.

Scott: The Bruins really looked at Dubois and thought “I can fix him.”

5. Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 39-19-6, +39
Last Week: 7th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 6th

Scott: They finally did it. The Canes took a gamble and went after a rental addition at the deadline, and they went big by grabbing Guentzel from the Penguins, and that’s exactly the addition this team needs. He gives the team some extra finishing talent for the playoffs, and it only came at the cost of Michael Bunting and quantity over quality. It’ll be exciting to see his impact once he returns from his injury. They also added Evgeny Kuznetsov, which was a bit riskier in terms of the salary cap, but it could pay off if he returns to form. They’re currently on a three-game winning streak, with Kuznetsov a part of the latter two, so he hasn’t hurt them yet at least.

6. Edmonton Oilers

Record: 39-21-3, +42
Last Week: 10th (+4)
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 5th

Mike: The Oilers have become a difficult team to pin down. Sure, they beat the Penguins on Sunday, but everyone is beating the Penguins these days. But … back-to-back losses to Columbus and Buffalo? Really!? That’s not what you want to see from a team with this much star power. I don’t think the Oilers did nearly enough at the deadline, either, especially when you compare their moves to what Vegas and Colorado did. They’ll be a tough out, but still.

7. New York Rangers

Record: 41-18-4, +38
Last Week: 4th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 9th

Scott: The Rangers didn’t make quite the splash at the deadline like they did last season, but Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic certainly have the potential to improve their forward depth, which has been weak once again. They’ll have to hope that it does help, because their underlying numbers are turning back into the 2021-22 team that relied on Igor Shesterkin to go far, all in an Eastern Conference where a few of the other playoff contenders are starting to figure out their game.

Mike: Honestly, I liked this deadline for the Rangers way more than their last one. I was worried last year that the Patrick Kane trade would disrupt their chemistry and, well, it kinda did. I think the Wennberg and Roslovic adds were savvy, low-key moves, and ones that could foster longer-term partnerships with both players going forward.

8. Colorado Avalanche

Record: 40-20-5, +44
Last Week: 9th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 8th

Mike: You don’t often see a team with as safe a playoff spot as the Avs’ make such sweeping changes as they did leading up to the deadline, but as we’ve noted before, the vibes have been a little off in Colorado this year. They badly needed to upgrade on Ryan Johansen and did just that by bringing in Casey Mittelstadt from the Sabres. Replacing Bo Byram with Sean Walker might sting in the future but it’s a positive move for now, as are the additions of Yakov Trenin and Brandon Duhaime. And would you look at that: Colorado’s won three in a row.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 37-19-8, +30
Last Week: 6th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 7th

Scott: Outside of their middling defense, the Leafs have somewhat returned to their usual contending selves, with a lot of top 10 stats across the board, although that didn’t help them against the Bruins last week. At least they went out and addressed those defensive issues with… Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson, plus Connor Dewar for the penalty kill. Those three all played their first game together with the team on Saturday against the Canadiens, and they were slightly outplayed against a struggling Habs team, although they did come out with the win in the end. It should be interesting to see how this plays out, but my hopes aren’t high here.

Mike: I thought the Leafs had a completely disastrous deadline showing. Brad Treliving could never resist throwing away picks for depth players during his time in Calgary, and he hasn’t changed one bit since getting to Toronto. Good grief.

Scott: Part of me is convinced that Treliving got Dewar thinking he was getting Connor Bedard.

Mike: I’m honestly wondering if he mixed up Connor Dewar with Walker Duehr.

10. Winnipeg Jets

Record: 40-18-5, +40
Last Week: 8th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 10th

Mike: I absolutely loved the Tyler Toffoli trade for the Jets. To me, that’s exactly the move the Oilers should’ve made. Toffoli is a fantastic top-six winger who scores a ton of goals and can hold his own defensively — and, he’s a machine in the playoffs. That Jets forward group is sneaky deep and I like their chances to do some damage in the spring. I still just worry a little bit about their defensemen. I think a little Chris Tanev would’ve gone a long way for those guys. The competition in the Central is straight-up nuts.

Scott: I do quite like Colin Miller as a depth add for the Jets’ blueline though. His play isn’t the kind of thing coaches love, so it’s an interesting add for a team with Rick Bowness as their head coach, but he usually has pretty good numbers no matter where he plays in the lineup, so this could be a smart little move for them as well.

11. Nashville Predators

Record: 37-25-4, +10
Last Week: 11th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 12th

Scott: The Preds didn’t make any big splashes at the deadline, but they did make a couple buy-low additions by adding Anthony Beauvillier and Jason Zucker for fifth- and sixth-round picks. They also dealt Yakov Trenin to the Avs, but other than that, this team is very much the same and will look to keep themselves locked into the Wildcard race in the West, which has worked so far with a 10-0-2 record in their last 12 games.

Mike: I certainly didn’t love Zucker during his time in Arizona but I think the Preds did just fine taking a chance on him for a sixth-rounder. Just look at how Gustav Nyquist has fared since getting to Nashville. However many points you think Nyquist has this year, you’re wrong: he has more.

12. Los Angeles Kings

Record: 32-20-11, +23
Last Week: 12th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 11th

Mike: While I didn’t like the idea of an Ullmark trade for the Bruins, I would’ve loved it for the Kings, who still don’t really have a bona fide elite No. 1 guy between the pipes. Cam Talbot has performed admirably behind a well-structured defensive group but he’s clearly a stopgap for a Kings team looking to contend for a long while yet. Rob Blake didn’t do anything at the deadline — in fact, he hasn’t made a single trade since getting Dubois from the Jets. Wonder if he regrets that one yet.

13. Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 34-23-7, +16
Last Week: 13th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 13th

Scott: So on top of the fact that the Golden Knights will likely “flip the switch” and be the team we recognize with almost the exact same roster as last year’s Cup-winning team, they’ve now infused that team with one of the best defenseman at the trade deadline in Noah Hanifin, one of the most efficient goal-scoring wingers this season in Anthony Mantha, and another top-six center in Tomas Hertl. This team is operating like a Be a GM mode from the NHL video games, and I love it. I hope they don’t let the Wild catch up, because I really want to see this team fully healthy come playoff time.

14. New York Islanders

Record: 29-20-14, -9
Last Week: 19th (+5)
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 14th

Mike: A couple weeks ago, I wrote a column in which I took a closer look at the Eastern Conference playoff race. I didn’t even list the Islanders as a team that could challenge for a spot. Whoops! The Islanders have rattled off six wins in a row, seizing control of the final Wildcard spot away from the struggling Red Wings. Lou Lamoriello’s big move this year was to fire Lane Lambert and replace him with Patrick Roy. Otherwise, nada. Lou hasn’t made a single deal on deadline day in four years. Honestly, I respect that.

15. Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 33-24-8, -2
Last Week: 14th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 15th

Scott: The Flyers did what they set out to do this deadline and sold Sean Walker, along with bringing in a couple of projects in Ryan Johansen and Denis Gurianov and retaining some salary in the Hanifin deal to get another draft pick. The Erik Johnson addition is a puzzling one considering how rough he’s been this season with the Sabres, unless it’s a big-brained move by Daniel Briere to make the team worse under the guise of “adding a veteran” and get them out of the playoffs.

Mike: I’m so interested to see how the Flyers deal with Travis Konecny going forward. He has one year left after this one at a $5.5 million cap hit. He also spends his summers in Calgary with his young family. Just something to consider …

Scott: “How does this affect the Calgary Flames/Arizona Coyotes?” – Mike Gould on any hockey matter.

16. Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 34-25-6, +5
Last Week: 15th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 16th

Mike: The Bolts absolutely obliterated the Flyers on Saturday night, winning by a 7-0 score after honoring members of their 2004 championship team in a pre-game ceremony at Amalie Arena. Funny enough, the man who led the Lightning to that Stanley Cup win was ejected from Saturday’s game in his current capacity as Flyers head coach and ultimately received a two-game suspension for his wild antics on the bench. Classic Torts. Anywho … the Lightning haven’t had the greatest year but I’m fascinated to see whether their deadline additions of Anthony Duclair and Matt Dumba give them a bit of a spark down the stretch.

17. Minnesota Wild

Record: 31-27-7, -11
Last Week: 23rd (+6)
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 17th

Scott: The Wild did some minor selling by moving Brandon Duhaime, Patrick Maroon and Connor Dewar, but they were smart to keep the main group together because they’re still creeping around the playoff hunt. They’ve gained a bit of momentum on that front with points in four straight games, including a ballsy 4-3 win on Sunday against the Predators by pulling the goalie in overtime to help them out for the victory… something that would have cost them their overtime loss point if Nashville scored the empty netter.

Mike: I feel like I was one of the only people in the hockey world who actually knew about that rule before Sunday. It’d stuck with me ever since I read about it somewhere — perhaps in a Down Goes Brown blog? — maybe 10 years ago. I’m a sucker for obscure rules like that. On the subject, do yourself a favor and look up the NFL one-point safety.

Scott: I definitely knew of the rule, it’s just not one I think about often because it rarely comes up because who would pull their goalie in overtime, right?

Mike: Funny enough, it just happened three days ago in the BCHL. The Cranbrook Bucks pulled their goalie in overtime against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks … and lost. I tweeted about it that very night and pointed out how, in the NHL, Cranbrook would’ve forfeited their single point. I am not entirely sure if the BCHL follows the same rule, but that’s why it was already on my mind.

Scott: Actually, it does. I only know that because when making a sports score page with my other job for a client that wants the BCHL on it, I had to correct the standings because someone had given Cranbrook an extra point, assuming that their overtime loss still gave them a point.

Mike: You are ridiculous. But yep – I just checked the BCHL website and, you guessed it, Cranbrook’s loss went into the books as a regular ol’ L instead of an OTL. I think it’s important to include a risk factor in there so teams like Edmonton don’t game the system and throw McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, and Bouchard out there in OT with one point already in hand.

18. Washington Capitals

Record: 30-23-9, -24
Last Week: 21st (+3)
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 20th

Mike: I still can’t really crack this Capitals team. They keep winning! Given everything they’ve been through this season, I just can’t believe how close they are to entering the Eastern Conference playoff picture. It’s genuinely absurd to me. It was good to see Brian MacLellan recoup some value from Anthony Mantha after a very up-and-down tenure with the Caps. I also liked the Kuznetsov and Edmundson trades for them, and the Rasmus Sandin extension was a tidy piece of work. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Washington stack up this many draft picks! Nobody can ever replace Alex Ovechkin, but I have a feeling the Caps might be in position to bounce back quickly after he retires.

19. Calgary Flames

Record: 31-28-5, -6
Last Week: 17th (-2)
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 18th

Scott: While the Flames may not have gotten the returns they hoped for on some of their players, they did exactly what they planned to do going into this season and managed to move on from their top pending UFAs in Toffoli, Lindholm, Tanev, Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov. At least now when they win, it’s with the start of this rebuild, although with back-to-back blowout losses to the Panthers and Canes by a score of 12-3, I wouldn’t count on that.

Mike: The Flames badly need to bottom out and pick high in the draft this year and next. They’re only a couple points above top-10 pick territory. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them lose twice as much as they win down the stretch. After that, they need to look at moving Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane in the summer.

20. Seattle Kraken

Record: 28-24-11, -5
Last Week: 22nd (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 19th

Mike: The Kraken still look very much like an expansion team, what with their hodgepodge roster construction and relative lack of young star players, and they weren’t in a position to do much at the deadline. I liked them pulling a second-round pick for Alex Wennberg, though, and the Jordan Eberle extension made a fair amount of sense for both sides. The big test going forward in Seattle will be to get Matty Beniers and Shane Wright on track. The Kraken badly need those two guys to become top-six centers for the foreseeable future.

21. New Jersey Devils

Record: 31-29-4, -13
Last Week: 18th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 23rd

Scott: The Devils made a few moves at the deadline that seemed more geared toward helping them improve next season while not totally jeopardizing this season. They moved on from Tyler Toffoli and Colin Miller, while changing up their goaltending by adding Jake Allen and swapping Vitek Vanecek with Kaapo Kahkonen. While that’s not exactly the kind of goaltending that you would expect to save their season, it’s at least a couple of decent gambles to patch that hole up until the offseason, where they can re-evaluate their goaltending then. Losing Toffoli also hurts their playoff chances, but on the bright side, it’s given Timo Meier a bigger role with the Devils and may have finally revitalized the winger’s season. He now has goals in five straight, including a hat trick, and eight goals in his last eight games.

Mike: I can’t believe how Tom Fitzgerald let this season slip away on him. You’re really going to wait all the way until deadline day to address your goaltending … only to get Kaapo Kahkonen and Jake Allen? Seriously? And then you say you’ll still go big-game hunting in the summer? Unserious.

22. Detroit Red Wings

Record: 33-25-6, +10
Last Week: 16th (-6)
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 21st

Mike: We call this ‘regression to the mean.’ The Red Wings have now lost five straight games, but their overall play hasn’t changed very much from when they were winning seemingly every night. They’re still being outshot and outplayed by ridiculous margins nearly every game, but now, their sky-high team shooting percentage has also gone back down to normal. Yes, Dylan Larkin has missed a week to injury, but the Red Wings looked like a ticking time bomb even before they lost their captain. The good news: Larkin is expected back at some point in the next week or so. Even better: Detroit is looking at a pretty favorable schedule over the next little bit. But if they can’t figure out their glaring defensive issues, the Red Wings might not get back into the playoff picture.

23. Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 28-27-8, -4
Last Week: 20th (-3)
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 22nd

Scott: Looks like the Penguins have waved the white flag on this disappointing season. That was more or less made official when they dealt Guentzel within their division to the Canes. Michael Bunting is a solid add in return to help this team right now, since we already know he does well alongside top talent, but otherwise the return was underwhelming and more focused on bringing in high floor prospects that could help this team during Sidney Crosby’s window. Although maybe Sid doesn’t stick around long considering how he felt about the team moving on from Guentzel…

Mike: Sid’s going to be a Penguin for life but I really hope they figure out a way to get him back into the playoffs before he retires. He can only do so much. This Penguins team actually reminds me a lot of Connor McDavid’s first five years in Edmonton.

24. St. Louis Blues

Record: 32-29-3, -20
Last Week: 24th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 25th

Mike: The Blues’ singular trade leading up to the deadline was to send Malcolm Subban to Columbus for future considerations. They just couldn’t find a market for pending UFAs Marco Scandella, Kasperi Kapanen, and Sammy Blais. The biggest story surrounding the Blues leading up to deadline day concerned what they’d do with Pavel Buchnevich, who has one year left after this one at a $5.8 million cap hit. It stands to reason that Doug Armstrong and company might revisit that topic of conversation in the summer. For now, their task is to play out the string and continually assess whether what they have is good enough to win.

25. Buffalo Sabres

Record: 30-30-5, -6
Last Week: 25th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 24th

Scott: I’m going to call the Sabres a dark horse trade deadline winner because of their moves, as they made some additions by subtraction and moved on from a couple of veterans in Okposo and Johnson, who did more to hurt the team than help them. The Casey Mittelstadt for Bowen Byram trade is an interesting one, as they bring in someone with a much higher ceiling on their blueline (although it’s another left shot that joins Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, so it’s a bit crowded there) and they use Mittelstadt’s breakout season to do so, which might be a smart sell-high move, considering he’d been riding some percentages this season. And hey, it’s worked so far: they came back from 2-0 to win 3-2 in overtime against the Oilers.

26. Arizona Coyotes

Record: 26-34-5, -26
Last Week: 26th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 27th

Mike: The Coyotes ended up becoming sellers after losing every single game they played in February. Curiously, they didn’t retain any salary when trading Troy Stecher, Matt Dumba, and Jason Zucker, which severely limited the returns they got (particularly for the latter two players). With Coyotes ownership staring down a potential $70 million bill for the land they’re looking to buy in Phoenix this June, it’s understandable that they’d like to pinch as many pennies as possible. Whether they can actually close that deal remains to be seen. The biggest bright spots for the Coyotes in recent weeks have been Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley, who have improved by leaps and bounds and look like a potential 1-2 punch going forward.

27. Ottawa Senators

Record: 25-33-4, -20
Last Week: 27th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 26th

Scott: It looks like we’ll have to wait until the offseason to see what the Senators do with Jakob Chychrun, as they opted not to move him at the deadline. They did trade Vladimir Tarasenko for an okay but not great return, but now the focus is on what they do to shake up this team that seems to be stuck in the same loop every season. Actually, with seven straight losses, they aren’t even doing their typical late-season run to fool people into thinking they’ll compete for the playoffs next season. Consider me intrigued about what they’ll do this offseason.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 22-32-10, -40
Last Week: 29th (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 28th

Mike: I’ve been loving Alex Nylander’s renaissance arc with the Blue Jackets. That’ll go down as one of the biggest bright spots in an otherwise putrid season for this team. Columbus parted ways on deadline day with both Jack Roslovic and Andrew Peeke, the latter of whom went to the Bruins for the surprisingly high price of Jakub Zboril and a third-round pick. It’ll be interesting to see if the Jackets sell any more pieces once they get a new full-time GM. Until then, I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do next year if they can get full seasons out of Kent Johnson, Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, Adam Fantilli, and Damon Severson.

29. Montreal Canadiens

Record: 24-30-10, -49
Last Week: 28th (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 29th

Scott: The Habs didn’t make nearly as many moves as we thought they would at the deadline, with Allen being the only player shipped out last week, but they still had a solid deadline overall thanks to the Sean Monahan trade last month. With four losses in their last five games, they’ve started to work their way down the standings and potentially get a higher pick, although at this rate the Sharks and Blackhawks won’t get as many points by the end of the season as the Habs have right now.

30. Anaheim Ducks

Record: 23-38-3, -62
Last Week: 30th (0)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 30th

Mike: The Ducks did extremely well in selling Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick to the Oilers for a 2024 first-round pick. I’m also intrigued to see whether Jan Mysak and Ben Meyers can turn into anything for them. Of course, the biggest pieces of the Ducks’ future are mostly already there, with Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Pavel Mintyukov all making significant impacts this season. But the big story going into the summer will be how the Ducks manage Trevor Zegras, who is nearly a third of the way through a bridge deal that seemed destined to be traded from the moment he signed it.

31. Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 17-43-5, -95
Last Week: 32nd (+1)
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 31st

Scott: The Connor Bedard effect is back, giving the Hawks a bit of life every now and then with some excellent games, including a combined five points in their two wins over the Coyotes last week. Obviously the Blackhawks opted to re-sign most of their big name free agents this season, but you have to be a bit disappointed that the only future asset they’ve brought in this season was a fifth-round pick from Nashville for Beauvillier… a player that they acquired earlier this season for a fifth-round pick. They’ll still add to the roster next season with a top pick, but yeah… not the kind of deadline you’d hope for from a tanking team.

Mike: In fairness, what did Chicago really have to sell? This team is so bad. Maybe they could’ve gotten a mid-round pick for Colin Blackwell, who scored a hat trick against Arizona on Sunday. But the other big pieces here are, uh, Tyler Johnson, Jarred Tinordi, and Nikita Zaitsev. Woof.

Scott: Well if not for the extensions, you could have maybe gotten respectable returns for Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, and Petr Mrazek. I get not wanting to leave Bedard with nothing, but those probably would have been their best bets to get decent assets.

32. San Jose Sharks

Record: 16-40-7, -111
Last Week: 31st (-1)
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 32nd

Mike: Tomas Hertl is gone. Logan Couture might be done, or close to it. It’s tough to say whether these Sharks would beat the top AHL team. But the future is coming. Look at this group of young forwards: Will Smith, William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, David Edstrom, Quentin Musty, Filip Bystedt, and Cam Lund. The next step for this Sharks team is to add a few top-tier defenders in the draft. If they don’t get the chance to pick Macklin Celebrini this year, they should be able to snag someone like Artyom Levshunov, Sam Dickinson, Anton Silayev, or Zayne Parekh with their top pick. But before that, the Sharks need to get through the rest of this season. It’ll be a slog. But hey … at least they don’t have to watch their old No. 1 center play for their biggest rival. Right?

Scott: It was lowkey smart of the Sharks to add Vitek Vanecek for this year and next, at least from a tanking perspective. He’s definitely not going to win you too many games this season, and then next season he either continues to be bad and helps you for a top pick next season or he bounces back and gives you an asset to sell at the deadline.

Mike: I find it pretty funny that the Sharks decided to reunite the two main members of the 2022-23 New Jersey Devils’ goaltending tandem. I also enjoyed it when the Kings did the same thing with David Rittich and Cam Talbot, both of the 2019-20 Flames. What fun!

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