NHL Power Rankings: Team Rankings 2025-26

The last edition of the power rankings came out just over a week into the NHL season, and while I did warn that this could be the case, there did happen to be a fair deal of overreactions to the very, very small sample size of games. 

But now, two weeks later, we should, hopefully, have a good sample size of games to rank the 32 NHL teams more accurately. 

Especially in the wake of Tuesday night’s Frozen Frenzy, where fans who have a streaming subscription or have Streameast bookmarked could watch every NHL team play.

Here’s an updated power ranking with all current odds as of October 30. 

NHL Power Rankings 2025-26

1. New Jersey Devils (+1200)

So far this year, the Devils look like the version of the team that fans and media have been dreaming of for years.

They’re off to an 8-2-0 start and are tied with the Penguins for the first seed in the Metropolitan Division. And, maybe more importantly, they’re doing this with great production out of center Jack Hughes. 

Fans in New Jersey have been waiting for a consistent season out of Hughes after back-to-back years of 20 games missed. When Hughes is consistently available, he’s one of the best players in the league.

He’s started all 10 of the Devils’ games so far and has nine goals, tied for the most in the league, and he’s doing that while having the 13th most shots in the league. 

All of this success has come against quality opponents, like the Oilers, Panthers, and Avalanche. They had an outlier 8-4 loss against Colorado on Tuesday night, which featured four power-play goals from the Avalanche. New Jersey ranks 23rd in penalty minutes so far this season, so I don’t think Tuesday’s loss will become a trend. 

So far this year, the Devils are a very strong contender in a predictably top-heavy Metropolitan Division. 

5. Detroit Red Wings (+6600)

This was the year that the Yzerplan had to work, and so far, it looks like Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman may have actually figured it out. 

Detroit has started the season with a 7-3-0 record and is second in the Atlantic Division in points right now. 

At one point, they had a five-game winning streak before falling 4-2 to the Sabres and 7-2 to the Islanders in consecutive games. 

Since then, they’ve gotten right with two wins over the Blues. 

Red Wings center Dylan Larkin is currently tied for the third-most points in the league with 16. He’s got eight goals and eight assists. Larkin’s also tied for the second-best plus-minus in the league right now with a +9. 

The Atlantic Division is a division in waiting right now, as expected contenders like Florida, Toronto, and Tampa Bay have all had rough starts to the year. I would be surprised if Detroit maintains its current standing in the Division by the end of the season, but right now, they’ve earned that spot in the top five.  

8. Winnipeg Jets (+2500)

The Jets might mess around and win another Presidents’ Trophy this season. 

Winnipeg has started the season off finding success the same way they did last year. Their winning formula? Just be decently good at everything. 

They’ve got one of the best special teams combinations in the league, with a power play percentage of 27.3%, eighth best in the league, and a penalty kill percentage of 90.5%, second best in the league. With 34 goals scored this season, they’re tied for the 12th-best offense in the league, and their 25 goals against mark is the 3rd-best in the league. 

A lot of this success comes down to another great start to the year for goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who has a 2.26 GAA and a .926 save percentage through eight starts. 

But, also, the Jets are getting insane offensive production out of forward Mark Scheifele, whose eight goals have him tied for the second most in the league. 

Winnipeg’s offense also leads the league in converting on high-danger scoring opportunities with 13.3. They have seven high-danger goals scored this season.  

Right now, on BetMGM, the Jets are only +2200 to win the Presidents’ Trophy. But with the combination of top-tier elite goaltending and also an offense that’s somewhere between really good and elite, they have as good a chance to finish with the most points this regular season as anyone else. 

20. Toronto Maple Leafs (+1900)

What’s going on with the Maple Leafs?

Before the season started, I decided to pick on Toronto a little less this year. I really hoped they’d become a more well-rounded, fundamentally sound team with more offensive breathing room and cap space in Mitch Marner’s absence. 

But they look a little lost so far this year.

On Wednesday night, they lost 6-4 to the Blue Jackets, surrendering two goals to Columbus center and former Tate McRae boyfriend Cole Sillinger.  It’s one of those few surrendering-six-goals games where the final box score actually looks better than what happened as Toronto was down 5-1 entering the final period. 

Since their 7-4 win over the Predators on October 14th, the Maple Leafs have gone 2-4. Both wins were one-goal victories. 

There are a few culprits here in Toronto’s disappointing start, and tell me if you’ve heard these people singled out before for underachieving. 

The Maple Leafs’ starting goalie, Anthony Stolarz, has a 3.27 GAA and a .886 save percentage. He’s 36th in the league for both of those categories. According to Money Puck, he’s 3.2 goals below his expected numbers. 

After a solid year for Stolarz last season, it seems like he’s taken a step backward to start the 2025-26 season. 

Toronto’s captain, Auston Matthews, has also been pretty disappointing. He’s been unable to find the back of the net reliably, only scoring five goals through 11 games played this season. What makes that mark worse is that Matthews has had 46 shots on goal so far this season, which leads the team by a considerable margin. 

This was supposed to be Matthews’ year to take back the reins of the team, but right now, he’s holding the team back. 

The only good thing the Leafs have going for them right now is that the Blue Jays have a 3-2 series lead over the Dodgers in the World Series. Once that playoff run ends, all attention will be back on Toronto. Hopefully, they can figure some things out before then. 

30. Chicago Blackhawks (+50000)

I feel bad that Chicago is still near the bottom of this list, given how good they’ve looked in recent games. 

Since opening the season with three straight losses, the Blackhawks have won five of their last seven games, with only one loss coming in regulation. Most of the wins are actually against pretty decent teams, like an October 13 win over the Mammoth and an October 23 win over the Lightning. 

20-year-old center Connor Bedard leads the team in points with six goals and six assists. He’s also been a +4 through 10 games started this season. 

Chicago’s 25 goals against mark is tied for the third fewest in the league. They’ve benefitted from some rock-solid defense and great goaltending out of their starter, Spencer Knight. Knight’s 2.11 GAA is the best for any goaltender in the Western Conference.  

I don’t know how much of this is sustainable so I wouldn’t go so far as to move them out of the bottom tier of teams just yet but the early signs are saying that this may be a season of improvement for the Blackhawks.