The Colorado Avalanche moved the first domino acquiring Josh Manson for the Ducks, and a subsequent trade sending Tyson Jost to the Wild as a potential cap dump might be a precursor to something even bigger down the road.
The trade season has officially kicked off, and look for the buyers to subsequently move up the Power Rankings.
A 4-2 loss to the Pens almost cost the Canes the top spot, which they’ve now held for a league-leading seven weeks since Nov.
The Panthers came a shootout goal away from claiming the top spot, but the situation with Bobrovsky definitely raises some eyebrows.
A 3-0 loss to the Avs prevents the Flames from moving higher, though the analytics grade the Flames higher.
They’ve done a great job of keeping it together all season, but despite having one of the league’s best records don’t seem to be strong buyers.
They’re fine when Jarry is in net but with a playoff spot all but locked up, resting him for DeSmith probably isn’t a bad idea.
Re-order the Blues, Preds and Jets anyway you like, because there’s little separating them and the margin for error is tiny.
A sudden scoring drought, goaltending woes and injuries to key players, and suddenly the Kings don’t look like a lock anymore.
The process is ugly but they get the job done.
A much-needed win Tuesday against the Devils keeps them in the thick of the race and the road ahead is even tougher.
1 anyway, but losing Khudobin for the season does take away one of their trade chips and a safety net should Oettinger or Holtby get hurt.
They’ve woken up with four wins in five games and sit two points out of the final wild-card spot though both the Canuck and Stars, who have three games in hand, are ahead of them.
The Wild should at least be on the verge of full panic mode as their goaltending continues to implode, having allowed 35 goals in March, second-most in the league and third-most on a per-game basis.
They went 3-0-1 since last week but it’s too little, too late, a little bit long and I just can’t wait.
Their offense is fun to watch but their goaltending and defense are a complete mess.
If you consider the goalies the Coyotes have faced recently – Murray, Gustavsson, Nedeljkovic, Mrazek, Montembeault – then their offensive outburst is easy to understand.
They beat up the rival Kings twice to loosen their footing in the Pacific Division and then pushed the Panthers to overtime, using three different goalies in all of their games.
Louis magic has rubbed off, so the Habs are crashing down to earth, though their worst is still better than some of Dominique Ducharme’s best.
The Sens are counting the days before they sign Jake Sanderson, though if North Dakota ends up going all the way at the Frozen Four, it’ll be April 9 at the soonest.
Since Ristolainen signed his first big extension in 2016, he’s posted a minus-108 rating, tied with Damon Severson for the worst in the league.
As the saying goes, past performance doesn’t always indicate future performance.
Not a subscriber? Sign up today to get the best features and analysis from the NHL and beyond.
