Super 16: Avalanche, Wild move up power rankings
Top 6 remains unchanged, Islanders enter at No. 16
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By
NHL.com @NHLdotcom
The Minnesota Wild are also up three spots to No. 11 and the New York Islanders are back in the Super 16 at No. 16. They dropped out last week after being No. 16 two weeks ago.
The top six teams are the same as last week, and the Vegas Golden Knights are again No. 8.
The Dallas Stars dropped two spots to No. 9 and the Winnipeg Jets tumbled four spots to No. 13.
This is the last Super 16 before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
As a reminder, to come up with the Super 16 each week, the 13 voters put together their own version of what they think the rankings should look like. A point total assigned to each with the team selected first is given 16 points, second 15, third 14, and so on down the line.
Here is the Super 16 with some thoughts on the ranked teams from each of the voting staff members:
1. Boston Bruins (48-8-5)Total points: 208Last week: No. 1
"I've officially run out of words to describe this team. It's like they can do no wrong. Lose a lead in the third period to the Calgary Flames while also giving up 57 shots? No problem, they'll come back to win in overtime. Trade for a defenseman in Dmitry Orlov who has scored three goals in 43 games this season? He'll score two in a single game. And they traded for gritty forward Tyler Bertuzzi on Thursday. I don't know who it was who sold his soul this season -- Don Sweeney? Cam Neely? Charlie Jacobs? -- but the Bruins are, simply, a force." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
2. Carolina Hurricanes (39-12-8)Total points: 193Last week: No. 2
"The Hurricanes hope having some familiar faces around can help Jesse Puljujarvi unlock his untapped potential after acquiring the 24-year-old forward in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Puljujarvi, the No. 4 pick with the 2016 NHL Draft, skated on a line with new Hurricanes teammate Sebastian Aho and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine to help Finland win the 2016 World Junior Championship and led the tournament with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in seven games. Carolina forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and goalie Antti Raanta are also from Finland, so Puljujarvi should be comfortable off the ice, and coach Rod Brind'Amour's aggressive forechecking system should suit his game well. The Hurricanes made a similar low-risk move acquiring defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere from the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, which could pay off in the playoffs." -- Tom Gulitti, Staff Writer
3. New Jersey Devils (40-15-5)Total points: 174Last week: No. 3
"The Devils bolstered their lineup with the addition of forward Timo Meier in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. Meier should provide even more strength and offensive production among New Jersey's top six down the stretch. I have the Devils No. 5 in my Super 16 this week but, warning, depth in goal will be put to the test after Mackenzie Blackwood was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Feb. 21, with a lower-body injury. Akira Schmid will back up Vitek Vanecek for now; the latter played an NHL career-high 42 games (39 starts) last season. He's played 39 (36 starts) in 2022-23, and coach Lindy Ruff wants to make sure his No. 1 goalie is healthy for the postseason. The Devils continue to thrive on the road (22-4-3) and are starting to take advantage of home ice, winning eight of their past nine to improve to 18-11-2 at Prudential Center." -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (38-16-8)Total points: 166Last week: No. 4
"
Luke Schenn
. Jake McCabe. Erik Gustafsson. Ryan O'Reilly. Noel Acciari. Sam Lafferty. When all these trade acquisitions play in the same game together for the first time with the Maple Leafs, it will mean 33 percent of Toronto's non-goalie active lineup roster (six of 18 skaters) changed in 11 days. Whether it works or not, we'll see. The Eastern Conference is tough. Credit to general manager Kyle Dubas for taking a shot. This definitely will be a tougher team to play against. The pressing question: Will their goaltending hold up in the playoffs?" -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
5. Tampa Bay Lightning (37-19-5)Total points: 148Last week: No. 5
"Well, Julien BriseBois did it again. The Lightning general manager identified a hole -- bottom-six forward -- and filled it with arguably the best player on the market for that role. Here comes Tanner Jeannot, a gritty, in-your-face power forward with a bit of scoring punch. Sound familiar? See Blake Coleman and Corey Perry, among others, who have been brought in at past deadlines to make the Lightning a stronger team in the playoffs. The cost, which some believe to be exorbitant, to pry him away from Nashville, is irrelevant. Tampa Bay has everything it needs to make a run at a fourth straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning have the best, most-seasoned goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy, one of the best defenseman in Victor Hedman and an elite set of top-six forwards, anchored by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Plus, they now have forward depth that will be the envy of most teams in the tournament this spring. Watch out for the Lightning."-- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial
6. New York Rangers (35-18-9)Total points: 147Last week: No. 6
"The Rangers are complete now with the addition of forward Patrick Kane. The 34-year-old will be making his Rangers debut against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. He will skate on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. Panarin and Kane were a formidable duo with the Chicago Blackhawks seven years ago. Kane won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and Panarin the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year when they played together in 2015-16. The Rangers won't be completely whole until defensemen Ryan Lindgren (upper body) and K'Andre Miller (suspension) are back in the lineup, but they have made some eye-popping moves to acquire Kane and, previously, forward Vladimir Tarasenko. They're set up to go on a long run, but so are a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
7. Colorado Avalanche (34-20-5)Total points: 139Last week: No. 10
"The Avalanche had won six straight and were 7-0-1 in their past eight prior to a 7-5 loss to the Devils on Wednesday. Pretty incredible, considering captain
Gabriel Landeskog
(knee) remains out, and defenseman Cale Makar (head) played one game in that stretch. Center Nathan MacKinnon has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in a nine-game point streak. Forward J.T. Compher has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) and forward Mikko Rantanen 11 points (seven goals, four assists) over the past nine games." -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
8. Vegas Golden Knights (36-19-6)Total points: 118Last week: No. 8
"One of the best teams in the League since the All-Star break, Vegas is peaking at the right time. The team game and goaltending has been excellent. Two valuable pieces have been added before the playoffs in forwards Ivan Barbashev (from the St. Louis Blues) and Teddy Blueger (from the Pittsburgh Penguins). The Golden Knights are trying to maintain first place in the Pacific Division. It didn't look like they would be able to going into the All-Star break, but they have played much better coming out of it." -- Robert Laflamme, LNH.com senior writer
9. Dallas Stars (33-16-13)Total points: 97Last week: No. 7
"The Stars have been slumping lately and their hold on first place in the Central Division is tenuous. In talking with general manager Jim Nill on Tuesday, recent losses won't change the Stars course of action at the deadline, which is to add depth at forward. Close games have also not gone their way. The Stars have 13 overtime/shootout losses this season, tied for most in the League with the Calgary Flames. The Stars are getting great goaltending from Jake Oettinger, but they're not getting consistent play otherwise. Their core of forwards Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin helped get them to where they are this season, and they'll have to help push them past this slump as well." -- Tracey Myers, staff writer
10. Los Angeles Kings (35-20-8)Total points: 89Last week: No. 11
"It's going to be incredibly hard for Kings fans to say goodbye to Jonathan Quick after everything he did for the franchise, but in the here and now, Los Angeles upgraded in goal and on defense Wednesday with the additions of Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov. We'll see if the Kings do anything else before Friday at 3 p.m. ET, but they should be a formidable opponent when the Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway." -- Brian Compton, managing editor
11. Minnesota Wild (35-21-6)Total points: 80Last week: No. 14
"The Wild are on a roll of late, going 6-0-1 in their past seven games and 7-1-2 in their past 10. But they still are struggling to put the puck in the net. They have scored two or fewer goals in eight of their past 10 games but have gotten by with extraordinary defense in that stretch (1.60 goals against per game), including a perfect penalty kill (22-for-22) and excellent goaltending from both Filip Gustavsson (5-0-2, 1.50 goals-against average, .949 save percentage) and Marc-Andre Fleury (2-1-0, 1.64, .932). However, it's the offense that needs to come. Forward Kirill Kaprizov has scored eight of their 18 goals in the 10-game stretch. They added forwards Marcus Johansson and Gustav Nyquist in separate trades Tuesday, but what kind of offensive punch they get from that is unclear. Johansson had 13 goals in 60 games with the Washington Capitals this season. Nyquist had 10 in 48 games with the Blue Jackets, but could miss the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury." -- Rosen
12. Edmonton Oilers (33-21-8)Total points: 60Last week: No. 13
"The acquisition of defenseman Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators on Tuesday filled a big need. The Oilers can't just depend on their offense to carry them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so finding a way to cut down on the 3.28 goals and 31.6 shots on goal allowed per game entering Wednesday was a necessity. Ekholm certainly will make Edmonton harder to play against with his size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and his reach. He also drove play more than you might expect; the Predators had 52.5 percent of the shot attempts at even strength when Ekholm was on the ice, tops among Nashville defensemen. And they dealt from a position of strength to get him, with defenseman Tyson Barrie part of the package going to Nashville. Barrie was the point man on the top power play in the NHL, but with the development of defensemen Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg, it's unlikely that unit misses a beat. If the Oilers do nothing else before deadline, they are better prepared for the postseason with Ekholm." -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor
13. Winnipeg Jets (35-24-2)Total points: 45Last week: No. 9
"The Jets have hit a rough patch, losing six of their past seven games (1-5-1). On the bright side, they are still in a favorable position to make the playoffs and have the cap room to beef up their roster before Friday's deadline. So far, they have done it by trading with the Predators for Nino Niederreiter -- a career middle-six forward, who can be relied upon to deliver physicality, net-front presence, an upbeat personality and 20-plus goals. Although the 30-year-old didn't get on the score sheet in his Jets debut Tuesday, a 6-5 shootout loss to the Kings, he quickly made his presence felt with five hits." -- Paul Strizhevsky, staff writer
14. Seattle Kraken (34-21-6)Total points: 42Last week: No. 12
"The Kraken have slipped of late, but control their destiny with 22 games remaining and have a small cushion for their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth in their second season. They don't have a superstar, but have done it by committee, with 12 players scoring at least 10 goals this season and eight with at least 30 points. Martin Jones has been a nice story with 23 wins but to me, if the Kraken expect to make a playoff run, they'll need to bolster up in goal. Jones had a 2.93 goals-against average and .892 save percentage and Philipp Grubauer has a 3.10 GAA and .893 save percentage. That should be their focus prior to the deadline." -- David Satriano, staff writer
15. Pittsburgh Penguins (31-21-9)Total points: 32Last week: No. 15
"The Penguins have won three games in a row after losing four straight. The deadline is nearing and they're a bubble team in a heated wild card race in the Eastern Conference. They're a win-now team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang still the three biggest parts. And on Wednesday they made a move they think will help push them forward into the playoffs. Adding Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators gives Pittsburgh a versatile forward who can play on the wing on any of its top three lines and should provide an upgrade in depth scoring, which has been a problem for the Penguins all season. They opened the salary cap space Wednesday by trading Blueger to the Golden Knights, and sending forward
Brock McGinn
and defenseman
Mark Friedman
to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Granlund had 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) in 58 games with the Predators this season after getting 64 points (11 goals, 53 assists) in 80 games last season. He's a creative distributor who should play a lot and help on the power play. But Pittsburgh has to establish some consistency to be a playoff lock." -- Rosen
16. New York Islanders (31-25-8)Total points: 13Last week: Unranked
"The Islanders are 3-1-1 in their past five games and 8-3-3 in their past 14. They have put themselves in a position to be a playoff team. The addition of center Bo Horvat has been crucial. He has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 12 games since New York got him in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. The Islanders added forward
Pierre Engvall
in a trade from the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. He's an important addition because they need speed on the wings and Engvall will bring that. He's 6-foot-5 so his reach will help too. The Islanders could still do more before the deadline to bolster the lineup, likely with the addition of more speed. That's what they should do if they want to both get in the playoffs and feel they can be a contender in a loaded Eastern Conference." -- Rosen
Others receiving points:Buffalo Sabres 11, Ottawa Senators 6
Dropped out:Detroit Red Wings (No. 16)
HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Colorado Avalanche; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Seattle Kraken; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Buffalo Sabres
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Seattle Kraken; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Buffalo Sabres; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins
NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Colorado Avalanche; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. Seattle Kraken; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Buffalo Sabres
TOM GULITTI
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Colorado Avalanche; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. Seattle Kraken; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. New York Islanders
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Dallas Stars; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Edmonton Oilers; 11. Winnipeg Jets; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Buffalo Sabres
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Dallas Stars; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Seattle Kraken; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Buffalo Sabres
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Tampa Bay Lightning; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Edmonton Oilers; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Seattle Kraken; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins
TRACEY MYERS
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Los Angeles Kings; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Seattle Kraken; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins
SHAWN P. ROARKE
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Edmonton Oilers; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. Buffalo Sabres; 15. Winnipeg Jets; 16. Ottawa Senators
DAN ROSEN
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Dallas Stars; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Buffalo Sabres
DAVID SATRIANO
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Los Angeles Kings; 8. Colorado Avalanche; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Dallas Stars; 12. Winnipeg Jets; 13. Edmonton Oilers; 14. Seattle Kraken; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Ottawa Senators
PAUL STRIZHEVSKY
1. Boston Bruins; 2. Carolina Hurricanes; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. Seattle Kraken; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Edmonton Oilers; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Buffalo Sabres
MIKE ZEISBERGER
1. Boston Bruins; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Toronto Maple Leafs; 4. Carolina Hurricanes; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Colorado Avalanche; 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Seattle Kraken; 16. New York Islanders
