NHL Power Rankings Heading Into Week 6 of 2016-17
NHL Power Rankings (Heading into Week 6) – New York Rangers continue to light the lamp, securing top spot once again. Edmonton starts to fall after a four-game losing streak. Winnipeg makes another big leap, while the Kings plummet after collecting a single point in four games.
Welcome back to our weekly NHL power rankings! We’ve added a slight twist to our countdown moving forward as we introduce a collaboration between Matt Duscharme and Ryan Ritchie.
Heading into week six, the New York Rangers still sit atop our NHL power rankings after continuing to score with frequency, now up to with 72 goals through 17 games. The Edmonton Oilers finally take their first tumble after two weeks at number five, this coming after a four-game losing streak. Columbus continues to climb the charts now with an 8-4-2 record and looks ready to be a top 10 team if they can continue their hot play over the next seven days. The Winnipeg Jets also continue to make massive leaps as they can continue to surge in the Central Division.
Looking at the biggest fallers, Buffalo finds themselves near the basement once again after a tough seven day stretch. But the most significant drop of all was the Los Angeles Kings. Just one week after Peter Budaj single-handedly carried them out of the bottom of the standings, they sunk like a rock once again.
Among the headlines over the last seven days, we’ve got both injuries and trade rumors to discuss.
On the injury front, Johnny Gaudreau, Steven Stamkos, Darren Helm, and Taylor Hall are all expected to miss a decent chunk of time. Most of the teams are fairly well equipped to handle such a significant loss, although the Flames will need a little extra help from guys like rookie Matthew Tkachuk.
A pair of trade rumors also emerged over the last seven days. It sounds as though Ottawa is willing to move netminder Andrew Hammond now with Mike Condon in the fold. This could be one of the easier deals to make in 2016-17. We also learned that Coyotes GM John Chayka is willing to trade impending UFA Martin Hanzal. Arizona is requesting a young center preferably in return (but listening to offers on all quality forwards). This might be a tougher deal to make as we’ve seen the recent history of what happens when you ask for something similar in return.
Nonetheless, we’re nearing the quarter-mark of the 2016-17 season. We have yet to see a single coach relieved of their duties or a major trade of significance. It’s a bit eerie compared to past years, but you’ve gotta think that expansion and close parity are combining factors. Don’t be surprised if the floodgates open once that first major deal comes across the wire. Will it be Marc-Andre Fleury, or maybe Jacob Trouba? who knows. We’ll have to wait and see.