NHL Power Rankings: Team Rankings 2025-26

It was a busy weekend for the Twitter and ESPN notifications for NHL fans, with two major trades coming on Friday, December 12. First, there was a blockbuster one involving Vancouver and Minnesota, and then a little less blockbuster-ish but still major move involving Edmonton and Pittsburgh. 

Both trades have the opportunity to have major playoff implications and, for one team, lottery implications. 

Here’s a breakdown of those deals and the teams they impacted, as well as a general team ranking with odds to win the Stanley Cup as of December 16. 

NHL Power Rankings 2025-26

3. Carolina Hurricanes (+900)

You could make the case that, as of the writing of this piece, the Hurricanes are the preeminent contender in the Eastern Conference. Right now, on BetMGM, Carolina has the second-best odds to win the conference at +360, behind Tampa at +350. 

Hold off on the Charlie Brown football comparisons for a second. I understand that it’s been ‘the Hurricanes’ year’ for a while at this point, but it may actually be their year this time. 

The main reason? Florida doesn’t seem to be the same team we’ve seen in recent years. Despite not having some of its best players, the team is still performing well below what it should. They’re currently the fifth-seeded team in the Atlantic Division. 

Without the Panthers as an assumed representative for the East, Carolina is a worthy successor. 

I’d also like to highlight the emergence of 27-year-old goaltender Brandon Bussi. Bussi spent three years in the Bruins organization, bouncing between Boston and their AHL affiliate in Providence. He was signed by Florida this offseason but claimed off waivers by the Hurricanes on October 5. 

Through 12 games started, Bussi has a 2.05 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Those are significantly better numbers than Carolina’s full-time goalie, Frederik Andersen, who has a 3.15 GAA and .875 save percentage. Bussi has gone 11-1-0 in those 12 starts. 

Finding a steady hand at the goaltender position in Bussi could be key to the Hurricanes finding more playoff success in the spring. 

6. Minnesota Wild (+2500)

In a shocking move last Friday night, the Wild became the winner of the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes. 

Minnesota got Hughes by sending Vancouver a 2026 first-round pick and three highly-rated prospects: forwards Marco Rossi (24) and Liam Ohgren (21), as well as defenseman Zeev Buium (20). All three players were former Wild first-round selections. 

It’s a high price but an excellent return for Minnesota. 

The 26-year-old Hughes was Vancouver’s captain and, in a short career, has already been a two-time All-Star and a Norris Trophy winner. 

In 26 games played with the Canucks this season, he had two goals and 21 assists and had earned a -10 plus/minus rating. The season before Hughes played in 68 games, scoring 16 goals, recording 60 assists, and posting a +2 rating. 

Hughes is in the fifth year of a 6-year, $47.1 million contract. 

The move quickly takes Minnesota — or, now, Quinn-e-sota — from a team that was simmering and building up to now a rolling boil that’s expected to be a contender. 

8. Edmonton Oilers (+1000)

The Wild weren’t the only team improving, hopefully, via trade last week. 

In fact, the Oilers got the trades going with a deal earlier that same day, sending goalie Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin. 

Goaltending has long been Edmonton’s unaddressed Achilles’ heel. 

Skinner earned the full-time starting role in the 2022-23 season. That year, Skinner was excellent, earning 14.1 goals saved above average and a 10.1 goalie point share, ranking him 12th and 10th, respectively. 

In the following two seasons, Skinner’s goals saved above average went down to 3.1, then to -5.3. In the 2023-24 playoffs, he had the most losses and allowed the most goals. In last year’s playoffs, he had a -4.1 goals saved above average rating. 

Trading away Skinner was an obvious move…two seasons ago. At this point, the damage has already been done.

Yes, Edmonton has ‘solved’ its goaltending problem by bringing in Jarry, but that reinforcement comes at a time when the Oilers’ roster problems go far deeper than just one position. Not to mention that Jarry isn’t much of an upgrade over what they already had. And he’s three years older. 

I doubt this will be the magic bullet that can help Edmonton climb out of its position right now, where they’re currently the seventh-seeded team in the Western Conference.

19. New Jersey Devils (+2500)

It’s hard to be a loser of a trade that you played no part in, but the Devils may be finding a way. 

Since New Jersey holds two-thirds of the Hughes triumvirate, with forward Jack Hughes and defenseman Luke Hughes already on their roster,  it was a good idea for the Devils to try to complete the three and trade for Quinn. 

At the outset of Quinn trade rumors, Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford made it clear that New Jersey was a possible, if not likely, destination. Reportedly, the Hughes brothers have made it clear that they want to play together at some point. 

According to reporting from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, the main hangup for the Devils in not acquiring Quinn was a failure to clear that necessary cap space to absorb Quinn’s $47 million contract and its cap hit of $7.85 million.