NHL 2022-23 Season Weekly Power Rankings: Monday 2/27
By Jim Lynch
28. Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes set a bad trend earlier this month when they scratched defenseman Jakob Chychrun almost three weeks before the trade deadline. Now the main thing to wait for out of Arizona is what the Coyotes get in return for the defenseman. The Coyotes are in full rebuild mode, and you have to imagine some major trades are on the horizon this week – especially with Carolina missing out on Meier and the link between them and Nick Schmaltz.
27. Philadelphia Flyers
Not a lot is going right for the Flyers this year. They are not bad enough to be in a position to secure the best odds for the number one overall draft pick, but they are not good enough to be competitive this season. The Flyers have lost three straight games, with their most recent being a seven-to-zero stomping against the New Jersey Devils.
26. Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot going on right now. Jonathan Toews was placed on IR this past week after dealing with long COVID-19 symptoms. Patrick Kane sat out the team’s most recent game against the San Jose Sharks. The team has won five straight games, and in their most recent win, 29-year-old rookie Dave Gust scored his first-ever NHL goal on his first shift in the game.
The Hawks are on a five-game win streak, which is great for everyone except for Blackhawks fans who want the first overall pick, as the Hawks now have 47 points, three above the last-place Blue Jackets, who have played two more games.
Kane sitting out is not surprising, but it does come along with many suspecting him to join the New York Rangers. Check out this jersey a Rangers fan had on Sunday evening.
Rangers fans are more than ready for Patrick Kane 😂
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 27, 2023
(🎥 @pickledotcom) pic.twitter.com/3f3B4QfGqo
25. St. Louis Blues
The Blues have three first-round picks this upcoming summer potentially, as well as an additional second and fourth in 2024 as well as a third this upcoming summer. They worked hard to work on acquiring assets the past few weeks, and now they are positioned well to retool this team on the fly, especially if they go out and add someone like Chychrun.