In a special edition of our weekly NHL power rankings, the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues are the cream of the crop. We also take a look at what each team should be hoping to find underneath the Christmas tree.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s already Christmas season. Christmas is a time for celebrating with your families. And in a special edition of our NHL power rankings, the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues have a lot to celebrate. They’ve proven to be the best of the best and I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d wager there’s a good chance they’ll square off in the Stanley Cup Final.
This week’s edition of our power rankings will be a little bit different. Usually, I say something smart, snarky, and/or funny about each team. But this time, I’m going to take a look at what each team is hoping Santa leaves for them underneath the Christmas tree.
Before I begin, for you new readers, I’d like to go over what I look at in these rankings because I like being transparent and honest. I factor in things like overall record, underlying stats, and strength of schedule. Part of my decision making is also just my intuition or my gut feeling.
As always, feel free to voice your opinion in the comment section. December is a month of holidays for many different religions. Regardless of which holiday you celebrate, I hope you have a happy one.
NHL POWER RANKINGS
The Red Wings are looking to find a reason for hope underneath the tree. They need something to cheer for because, frankly, there hasn’t been much of anything to cheer for this season for them.
The Devils’ top Christmas wish is for some gosh darn goaltending. They’d also like for P.K. Subban to find his scoring touch again.
It appears this year’s “Tickle Me Elmo” for NHL teams is good goaltending because the Sharks have asked Santa repeatedly for it.
The LA Kings are hoping to find a time machine for Christmas because they’d love to go back in time to the 2018 offseason and start rebuilding.
The Ducks would love to get a mulligan on their expansion draft decision. Letting go of Shea Theodore is something the team heavily regrets.
I think it’s safe to say Ottawa Senators fans would dance in the streets if Eugene Melnyk sold the team, so that’s what the team is hoping for this Christmas.
Blackhawks fans would love nothing more than to hear on Christmas day that Stan Bowman has been relieved of his duties as the Blackhawks general manager.
The New York Rangers are hoping to find another Henrik Lundqvist underneath the tree on Wednesday. He’s been nothing short of a blessing for the Rangers and it’s flat out embarrassing they didn’t win a Stanley Cup during his prime.
For Christmas, the Tampa Bay Lightning would love to find the antidote for whatever is ailing Andrei Vasilevskiy. His long-term deal is looking terrible and it technically hasn’t even begun yet.
Much like the Devils, the Blue Jackets are hoping to find a good goaltender underneath the tree. If they had even competent goaltending, they could be in the discussion for a playoff spot.
Just like The Lion in Wizard of Oz, the Minnesota Wild lack courage. They might not know they need it, but they do. The Wild need to make some bold decisions and some courage might help them make those difficult, but necessary, choices.
The Vancouver Canucks are hoping for some cap space because they’ve got to improve their team, but general manager Jim Benning has left very little room for the team to improve.
What the Nashville Predators need this Christmas is a change behind the bench. Head coach Peter Laviolette’s team is underachieving and a lot of the blame falls at his feet.
The Montreal Canadiens want nothing more than a hot tub time machine. They’d go back to the 2014-15 season and bring back the Hart Trophy version of Carey Price.
The Buffalo Sabres want as many clones of Jack Eichel as they can get. He’s been fabulous for them and it’s a darn shame the Sabres might waste his amazing season.
The Calgary Flames would like a mulligan on hiring head coach Bill Peters back in 2018.
If you’ve been reading my power rankings on a weekly basis, you know what I’m going to say. The Panthers would love to go back in time and stop themselves from signing Sergei Bobrovsky to a long-term deal.
The Toronto Maple Leafs want to find a good backup goalie underneath the Christmas tree on Wednesday. That’s about the only thing the team lacks right now because head coach Sheldon Keefe has them playing amazing hockey as of late.
A cloning machine would be nice for the Edmonton Oilers. Then they could just clone Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl a bunch of times to create an unstoppable team.
The Golden Knights would love to find a third-line center underneath the tree.
A healthy Darcy Kuemper is what the Arizona Coyotes have been asking for ever since he got injured.
The Philadelphia Flyers would love to get whatever it takes to get Jakub Voracek going.
The Boston Bruins would love for their best players to stay healthy. But what they really need is a second-line wing.
It’s not hard to figure out what the Dallas Stars what for Christmas – they want more production from Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.
The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t asking much for Christmas. All they want is a lacrosse goal for Andrei Svechnikov in every game. Deep down, I think that’s what we all want for Christmas.
Some defensive help would be a great Christmas present for the Winnipeg Jets. Just putting it out there in case you haven’t gotten them anything.
All Pittsburgh Penguins want for Christmas is a healthy Sidney Crosby. Oh, and a guarantee that Kris Letang won’t suffer a major injury would be nice as well. But mostly Crosby.
The Colorado Avalanche missed out on Taylor Hall, so they’ll have to find a difference-maker elsewhere. They’re a piece away from potentially winning a Stanley Cup. So the Avalanche should wish for the wisdom to make the right move.
The New York Islanders are a top-six forward away from potentially winning a Stanley Cup. There aren’t many options out there, so the Islanders should be hoping for one.
Nothing would make the St. Louis Blues light up this Christmas like a healthy Vladimir Tarasenko. Yes, the Blues have been remarkably good without him. But you’re kidding yourself if you think he’s not an extremely important player for them.
There’s not much the Capitals really want for Christmas. They already have pretty much everything you need to be a serious Stanley Cup contender. But the Capitals would like to find a curse for whatever is causing the third line’s scoring woes. They’ve been dominating possession, but can’t seem to buy a goal.