Super 16: Flames among major surprises in power rankings to start season

Yes, it's early in the regular season, but it's never too early to start weekly power rankings, and here you have the first Super 16 of the 2024-25 regular season with some major surprises.

The Calgary Flames, who did not even receive one ranking point in the preseason Super 16, are No. 7 because of their four-game winning streak to start the season.

Their Alberta rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, who were No. 2 in the preseason Super 16, are No. 16 only because of a late comeback and overtime winner from Leon Draisaitl on Tuesday, giving them their first win in four games.

The Colorado Avalanche, No. 6 in the preseason, are not ranked. Neither are the Nashville Predators, who were No. 7. But the Utah Hockey Club (No. 10), Minnesota Wild (No. 12) and Ottawa Senators (No. 15) made it in this week.

This is the first Super 16 of the regular season. How it changes through the season to the last one we do in April will be interesting to follow. And it will definitely change, probably dramatically from week to week until November.

As a reminder, to come up with the Super 16 each week, the voters put together their own version of what they think the rankings should look like and a point total is assigned to each, with the team selected first given 16 points, second 15, third 14, and so on.

Here is the Super 16:

1. Dallas Stars (4-0-0)

Total points: 237
Preseason rank: No. 3

"I expect the Stars to again be among the best in the NHL this season. Two of their four wins are shutouts against the New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken behind Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith. Rookie forward Logan Stankoven, who was excellent when recalled late last season, has five assists in four games. The balanced scoring, which the Stars have had under coach Pete DeBoer in his time there, continues. Forward Tyler Seguin (lower body) is day to day and defenseman Mathew Dumba (lower body) is week to week, so we'll see how that affects things coming up. But so far, so good for Dallas." -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

2. New York Rangers (2-0-1)

Total points: 198
Preseason rank: No. 4

"Of course, the biggest story around the Rangers is goalie Igor Shesterkin. In case you haven't heard, he can be an unrestricted free agent after this season. He already has one shutout, 6-0 at the Pittsburgh Penguins on opening night, and looked sharp against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, making 31 saves in a 4-1 win. There is a ton of talent on the Rangers, but they go as Shesterkin goes, and right now, he's trying to show how much he's worth." -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

3. Florida Panthers (3-2-0)

Total points: 176
Preseason rank: No. 1

"The Panthers are who we expected them to be coming back from winning the Stanley Cup last season. They have had ups and downs through the first five games, losing to the Buffalo Sabres and Senators, teams that did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. But they have already defeated the Boston Bruins twice, playing the heavy, opportunistic hockey that allowed them to march through the postseason. Forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness) are out, but the Panthers are still a dangerous team with opportunistic scorers, elite defenders and world-class goaltending." -- Shawn P. Roarke, NHL.com senior director of editorial

4. Winnipeg Jets (3-0-0)

Total points: 175
Preseason rank: No. 13

"The Jets could not have hoped for a better start. Their 6-0 season-opening domination of the Oilers in Edmonton gave them a huge confidence boost and no doubt helped them earn comeback overtime wins in each of their next two games against the Chicago Blackhawks and Wild. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is already making an early case for the Vezina Trophy with Winnipeg holding its first three opponents to one goal or fewer for the first time in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history. With that said, the Jets knew ahead of time they had to hit the ground running and build an emergency fund of points right away. None of their seven opponents during the Oct. 11-26 stretch made the playoffs last season. It will get much harder after that." -- Paul Strizhevsky, staff writer

5. Vegas Golden Knights (3-1-0)

Total points: 173
Preseason rank: No. 12

"The Golden Knights rolled to three straight wins to begin their season before starting a three-game road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals and former goalie Logan Thompson (24 saves) on Tuesday. There have been plenty of positives, though. The top line of Ivan Barbashev (three goals, four assists), Jack Eichel (two goals, six assists) and Mark Stone (two goals, six assists) has been dominant combining for 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in four games. With eight points each, Eichel and Stone are tied for the most through four games in Golden Knights history. The forward depth will be tested after Victor Olofsson, who scored three goals in his first four games, injured his left leg Tuesday." -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

6. New Jersey Devils (4-2-0)

Total points: 156
Preseason rank: No. 11

"The pieces are gradually coming together for the Devils to begin the season and that's why I have them No. 9 this week. The offseason acquisitions are making considerable contributions, including forwards Paul Cotter, Stefan Noesen and Tomas Tatar, defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic and, perhaps most importantly, goalie Jacob Markstrom. It'll be interesting to see what the organization opts to do when injured defensemen Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce are healthy enough to return, since Kovacevic and rookie Seamus Casey have been significant pieces to the good start so far." -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

7. Calgary Flames (4-0-0)

Total points: 144
Preseason rank: NR

"Calgary was not projected to challenge for a spot in the playoffs and seems to have taken that personally to start the season. The Flames are off to a 4-0-0 start for only the third time in franchise history and first since 2009-10. Jonathan Huberdeau is leading the way offensively with six points (three goals, three assists) in his first four games. The forward's production has dropped since he was traded to Calgary by Florida on July 22, 2022, but he is off to a strong start this season. Goalies Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar are also playing well in place of Markstrom, who was traded to the Devils on June 19. Whether the Flames can maintain their current level remains to be seen but they are one of the League's biggest surprises early on." -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

8. Toronto Maple Leafs (3-1-0)

Total points: 138
Preseason rank: No. 9

"Who could have predicted Auston Matthews would go without a point through the Maple Leafs' first three games and they would still have success? Believe it or not, they went 2-1-0 in that span with their only loss on opening night, 1-0 to the Montreal Canadiens despite 48 shots on goal. It's a small body of work, sure, but there are signs that the players are adapting to coach Craig Berube's north-south, four-line style. Berube likes a productive fourth line and Toronto's version, led by former Panthers forward Steven Lorentz, has done exactly that. Most importantly, they gave up just five goals in the first three games and should be encouraged that ex-Panthers goalie Anthony Stolarz has the makings of a No. 1 goalie while Joseph Woll (lower body) continues to battle injuries." -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

9. Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0)

Total points: 127
Preseason rank: No. 14

"I think one has to be impressed by the Lightning after their first two games. They've allowed just two goals after a 4-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, and Nikita Kucherov has picked up where he left off last season by scoring four times. Remember, this is a team that lost a big piece of its foundation when Steven Stamkos left for the Predators as an unrestricted free agent. It's early, yes, but Tampa Bay looks primed to maintain its annual presence as a force in the Eastern Conference." -- Brian Compton, managing editor

10. Utah Hockey Club (3-1-1)

Total points: 106
Preseason rank: NR

"What a start for Utah. The NHL's newest franchise won its inaugural game against the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 after a blue-carpet arrival, a Shaboozey concert, a flyover and a ceremonial puck drop featuring Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen. Then it went to New York and won two games in overtime, defeating the New York Islanders 5-4 and the Rangers 6-5, before losing to the Devils 3-0 and 5-4 in overtime at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. Can Utah ride the momentum of this inaugural season all the way to the playoffs?" -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

11. Boston Bruins (3-2-0)

Total points: 97
Preseason rank: No. 5

"The most important thing the Bruins could have done to start the season wasn't winning games or looking like a playoff team. It was signing Jeremy Swayman. Now that the goalie is back in the fold with an eight-year contract, the Bruins can set about getting themselves into the form that should, inevitably, lead back to the playoffs. Are there kinks to work out? Yes. Does the defense look as good as anticipated? No, but this is a team built for April, May and June, not October. The Bruins will settle in." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

12. Minnesota Wild (2-0-2)

Total points: 60
Preseason rank: NR

"The Wild have points in all four of their games and are coming off a 4-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, when goalie Filip Gustavsson scored a goal. What's most impressive is they've scored 11 goals this season by eight different players. If they can get more scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, they could compete for a playoff spot after missing out last season." -- David Satriano, staff writer

13. Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-0)

Total points: 55
Preseason rank: No. 10

"How do you rank or grade a team that has played two games? You do it by reputation and expectations more than results, which for the Hurricanes have been mixed. They lost 4-1 to the Lightning and defeated the Devils 4-2. Though both teams are ranked ahead of Carolina in this Super 16 and in my personal one too, the Hurricanes through two games are pretty much exactly what I thought they'd be. They're going to play a strong, consistent overall game, but scoring will not come easy, and their goaltending will be suspect at times. They have five goals from five different skaters and 12 players with one point, nobody with two. That's both good and bad. It speaks to their depth, but it also speaks to their lack of a gamebreaker. That could help and haunt Carolina all season." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

14. Los Angeles Kings (1-1-2)

Total points: 40
Preseason rank: No. 15

"I put the Kings at No. 8 in my Super 16 because they were two pucks away from a 3-0-0 start to the season. Opening with seven games on the road is a challenge, and add in the injury to No. 1 defenseman Drew Doughty, and you have a recipe for disaster. Instead, they won in Buffalo and lost in overtime to the Bruins and Ottawa Senators in the wildest game in quite some time. Anze Kopitar, as usual, is leading them but they're getting big-time contributions from forwards Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere and defenseman Brandt Clarke. The Kings lost 6-2 at the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, so will that strong start be sustainable? We'll know soon enough." -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

15. Ottawa Senators (2-1-0)

Total points: 33
Preseason rank: NR

"It's always the same story with the Senators. They want to get out of a long rebuild and push for the playoffs. Can they do it this year? Linus Ullmark is a legit No. 1 goalie and will help a lot. Offensively, the Senators have a lot of weapons including Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Claude Giroux, Drake Batherson and Josh Norris. At defenseman, they will need a healthy Thomas Chabot all season to be in the mix. Travis Green is entering his first season as coach. He will need to implant a good structure defensively." -- Jean-Francois Chaumont, journaliste principal LNH.com

16. Edmonton Oilers (1-3-0)

Total points: 30
Preseason rank: No. 2

"Oh my goodness turned into oh thank goodness when Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime to give the Oilers a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The Oilers were less than four minutes away from an 0-4-0 start until Evan Bouchard scored at 16:18 of the third period to tie the game 3-3. Maybe the finish and Draisaitl's goal 56 seconds into overtime kickstarts them in the right direction, but so far there's been a lack of energy and urgency until late against the Flyers. The Oilers have seven goals in four games. They're hanging on in the Super 16 on reputation and potential. Let's see if they can change the narrative before next week. Their next three games are against similarly underperforming Nashville (0-3-0), Dallas and Carolina." -- Rosen

Others receiving points: Vancouver Canucks 19, Colorado Avalanche 15, New York Islanders 14, Pittsburgh Penguins 12, Seattle Kraken 12, St. Louis Blues 9, Montreal Canadiens 5, Nashville Predators 5, Philadelphia Flyers 5, Washington Capitals 3

Dropped out from preseason Super 16: Avalanche (No. 6), Predators (No. 7), Canucks (No. 8), Islanders (No. 16)

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

AMALIE BENJAMIN

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Florida Panthers; 3. New York Rangers; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. Vancouver Canucks; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Colorado Avalanche; 13. Utah Hockey Club; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Calgary Flames

JEAN-FRANCOIS CHAUMONT

1. Dallas Stars; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Florida Panthers; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Edmonton Oilers; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Winnipeg Jets; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Utah Hockey Club; 14. Colorado Avalanche; 15. Nashville Predators; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins

BRIAN COMPTON

1. Dallas Stars; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. Winnipeg Jets; 5. Tampa Bay Lightning; 6. Utah Hockey Club; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Florida Panthers; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Seattle Kraken; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Boston Bruins

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Tampa Bay Lightning; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Calgary Flames; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. Utah Hockey Club; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. New Jersey Devils; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Boston Bruins; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. New York Islanders

TOM GULITTI

1. Dallas Stars; 2. New York Rangers; 3. Florida Panthers; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. Calgary Flames; 8. Carolina Hurricanes; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. New Jersey Devils; 11. Utah Hockey Club; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Boston Bruins; 14. St. Louis Blues; 15. Washington Capitals; 16. Edmonton Oilers

ADAM KIMELMAN

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Florida Panthers; 4. New York Rangers; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Minnesota Wild; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Los Angeles Kings; 9. Calgary Flames; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. Vegas Golden Knights; 12. Utah Hockey Club; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Boston Bruins; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Seattle Kraken

MIKE G. MORREALE

1. Florida Panthers; 2. Dallas Stars; 3. Vegas Golden Knights; 4. Tampa Bay Lightning; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Boston Bruins; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Calgary Flames; 11. Winnipeg Jets; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Edmonton Oilers; 16. Washington Capitals

TRACEY MYERS

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. New Jersey Devils; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Florida Panthers; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. Utah Hockey Club; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins

BILL PRICE

1. Florida Panthers; 2. Dallas Stars; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Calgary Flames; 8. Winnipeg Jets; 9. Utah Hockey Club; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. New Jersey Devils; 13. New York Islanders; 14. Vancouver Canucks; 15. Philadelphia Flyers; 16. Edmonton Oilers

SHAWN P. ROARKE

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Florida Panthers; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Edmonton Oilers; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. Toronto Maple Leafs; 12. Carolina Hurricanes; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Utah Hockey Club; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Nashville Predators

DAN ROSEN

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Calgary Flames; 3. New York Rangers; 4. Florida Panthers; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Utah Hockey Club; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Carolina Hurricanes; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Montreal Canadiens; 16. Ottawa Senators

DAVID SATRIANO

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. New York Rangers; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Utah Hockey Club; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Florida Panthers; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Toronto Maple Leafs; 14. Philadelphia Flyers; 15. Carolina Hurricanes; 16. New York Islanders

PAUL STRIZHEVSKY

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Florida Panthers; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Calgary Flames; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Tampa Bay Lightning; 8. Utah Hockey Club; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Toronto Maple Leafs; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Boston Bruins; 14. Seattle Kraken; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Los Angeles Kings

DEREK VAN DIEST

1. New Jersey Devils; 2. Dallas Stars; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. New York Rangers; 6. Utah Hockey Club; 7. Winnipeg Jets; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Florida Panthers; 10. Boston Bruins; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. Montreal Canadiens; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Seattle Kraken

MIKE ZEISBERGER

1. Dallas Stars; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. New York Rangers; 4. New Jersey Devils; 5. Winnipeg Jets; 6. Calgary Flames; 7. Utah Hockey Club; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Florida Panthers; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. Boston Bruins; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Carolina Hurricanes; 16. Edmonton Oilers