Pacific Power Rankings, Week 22: Post trade deadline march to the finish line

Welcome back to another edition of the Pacific Power Rankings! Every week of the regular season, we’ll take you through how one of the most competitive divisions in the NHL is stacking up.

If you want to take a deeper dive into what else is going on in the Pacific Division, be sure to read Brennan Delaney’s weekly Pacific Division Notebook.

Let’s get into this week’s rankings:

Last week: 2 (+1)

Record this week: 3-0-0

The trade deadline has come and gone and Elias Lindholm is still a Vancouver Canuck  despite rumours flying around the hockey world that the team was looking to see if they could flip him. The Canucks steamrolled their way through the week against a gauntlet of opponents in the Kings, Golden Knights, and Jets, outscoring them by a total of 10-3. The only negative thing to come out of Vancouver this week was Thatcher Demko going down with a knee injury that will see him miss the next 2-3 weeks. Casey DeSmith has been good in relief this year for the Canucks, posting a .900 SV%.

Last week: 1 (-1)

Record this week: 2-1-1

The Edmonton Oilers beefed up their centre depth with the additions of Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick. What they didn’t do is address their defence or goaltending so it looks like they will be relying on their superstars to get it done in the playoffs yet again. Connor McDavid is continuing his climb up the scoring table, now sitting only 8 points back of Nathan MacKinnon. They still have games in hand on Vancouver so the Pacific isn’t over yet but back to back losses to Columbus and Buffalo seems like it could come back to bite them when it’s all said and done.

Last week: 3 (-)

Record this week: 2-1-1

Another team that didn’t really do a whole lot at the deadline to address their back end was the Los Angeles Kings. Their goaltending duo of Cam Talbot and David Rittich has been good of late but come playoff time it might not be enough to overcome some of the most potent offences in hockey. The Kings have battled themselves back into the top three of the Pacific Division but with Vegas breathing down their necks it is going to be an interesting race to the finish.

Last week: 4 (-)

Record this week: 1-1-0

It feels like tradition now, but the Vegas Golden Knights have gone out and had another massive deadline. In the span of three days, the club added Anthony Mantha, Noah Hanifin, and Thomas Hertl. That’s a tidy bit of work. While there is no guarantee that the Knights will make the playoffs as they sit in the second Wild Card spot currently, you have to feel pretty good about their chances if they are able to get themselves a spot in the dance.

Last week: 6 (+1)

Record this week: 1-1-0

Maybe the most average team in the league, the Seattle Kraken are hanging around but don’t look like they are anything special. As we saw last year, this is a by committee team and when everyone’s clicking, they can get hot. When they aren’t clicking, they unfortunately don’t have the star power to get them over the edge. If the Kraken can get reigning Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers going during his sophomore slump, they might be alright.

Last week: 5 (-1)

Record this week: 1-2-0

For this season, it’s not what the Calgary Flames have added but what they have lost. With Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin all gone now, the team has relied on a couple of new comers to fill the gaps and it looks like there are going to be some growing pains. An ugly eastern road trip for Calgary doesn’t help their shot at sneaking into playoffs this year and you have to think they trail off a little with the selling spree officially over.

Last week: 7 (-)

Record this week: 1-2-0

While they didn’t sell off a couple of their big fish in Frank Vatrano and Trevor Zegras, the Anaheim Ducks were still able to cash in by getting a first-round pick in the trade that saw Henrique and Carrick head up to Edmonton. There are a lot of exciting pieces for Pat Verbeek to build around here for the Ducks going forward and having two first-rounders this year may just put move the finish line of the rebuild a little closer.

Last week: 8 (-)

Record this week: 1-1-1

It’s hard to believe that the San Jose Sharks can get worse than what we have seen from them this season. Then they get rid of Anthony Duclair and Thomas Hertl. Mike Grier is really pushing for that number one pick this year and he’s doing a great job. Unlike the Ducks, the Sharks rebuild is just starting but with Will Smith on his way as well as another top pick this year, it’s a good start.