The Hockey News: Power Rankings: Power Rankings: Slip and slide

Power Rankings: Slip and slide

The Colorado bench hasn't been a happy one too often this season with the team sitting at the bottom of the Northwest Division standings. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Ryan Dixon
2009-01-05 15:45:00

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

How bad have things been for the Colorado Avalanche this year?

Well, their best old player lost a battle with a snowblower and their best young player is out for at least another month after forearm surgery. Those two facts combined to make Tyler Arnason their No. 1 center until recently, when Wojtek Wolski moved over from the wing, which is a sure sign things aren’t going your way.

All that happened after they signed Darcy Tucker last summer in the hopes he could add a little toughness and scoring grit to the front lines.

Injuries to Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny and impaired judgment on personnel moves have combined to make this a miserable season in Colorado, a city once firmly on the road map of any Western Conference team hoping to advance to the Cup final.

A fairly barren prospect cupboard means it’s time for a complete rebuild in the Rockies.

THE HOCKEY NEWS POWER RANKINGS
RK.	TEAM	LW	OVERALL	L10	THE SCOOP
1		1	29-6-4	9-1-0	Wins should keep coming with eight of their next 11 at home
2		4	26-7-5	7-2-1	At their best when they've been pushed this year
3		3	29-4-5	6-1-3	Still have the best winning percentage in the league
4		5	26-11-3	9-1-0	How cool would it have been to see Ovie, Jeff Carter and Thomas Vanek starting the All-Star Game on the same line?
5		2	21-8-7	8-2-0	Nikolai Khabibulin shows he's still on the scene with a 34-save performance in Sunday's win over Calgary
6		6	23-12-4	7-1-2	Suddenly it seems the Northwest is theirs to lose
7		8	23-12-3	7-3-0	Patrik Elias and Zach Parise have been awesome, but Brian Gionta is almost at a point-per-game pace, too
8		9	22-10-6	6-3-1	Habs have to be concerned with how shaky Jaroslav Halak has looked in Carey Price's absence
9		7	21-10-8	5-3-2	The Flyers are so banged up at forward that 18-year-old defenseman Luca Sbisa became a first-line winger in a loss to the Kings
10		10	23-14-3	5-4-1	Michal Rozsival coming alive on the back end with four goals in his past five games. He had just two all year prior to the outburst.
11		11	20-1-5	4-4-2	Jonas Hiller's 2.12 goals-against average and .933 save percentage rank him No. 3 league-wide in each of those categories
12		13	20-15-5	7-3-0	Have been picking on the lesser lights of late to rack up some W's
13		19	19-16-5	5-3-2	Shane Doan has simply been awesome this year
14		15	19-15-5	5-3-2	Walked into Boston and put a halt to the Bruins' 10-game winning streak
15		17	21-15-5	4-4-2	After months of excruciating talk, we'll see Mats Sundin play an NHL game this week
16		12	19-16-4	3-7-0	Maybe the freefall ends if Evgeni Malkin jumps somebody on a faceoff
17		23	18-17-4	5-4-1	Jackets have the fourth-best goals for/against ratio at 5-on-5 in the league; imagine if the NHL's worst power play suddenly improves
18		18	17-16-5	6-3-1	On a team that needs an offensive leader, Brad Richards has 13 points in his past nine games
19		26	19-16-3	4-4-2	Marian Gaborik had hip surgery on Monday; the team is hopeful he'll return for the last month of the season. The real question is where he'll play after that.
20		14	17-16-6	3-4-3	Four of David Booth's seven assists this year have come in the past five games. The young American is on pace for 37 goals
21		20	18-16-3	5-4-1	Sam Gagner finally coming alive with four points over his past two contests
22		22	16-17-6	5-5-0	If I was GM of a Cup contender, I'd be calling about Nik Antropov and Tomas Kaberle
23		24	16-16-6	4-4-2	Was this forward crew simply overrated from the start?
24		21	19-19-1	5-5-0	Franchise that always picked high in the late '80s and early '90s could use a top three selection in this year's draft
25		16	17-18-3	3-6-1	Dan Ellis hasn't been able to replicate his magic from last season
26		27	11-18-10	4-4-2	Ryan Malone had three points through the first 14 games; he's got 18 in the past 16
27		25	13-18-6	3-6-1	Which one of the players who dazzled at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa would Sens fans most like to have next year? I'd have to guess John Tavares
28		29	15-21-3	3-7-0	What will they get for Keith Tkachuk in this year's trade?
29		30	13-22-5	3-6-1	Coach John Anderson not happy with what he calls his team's "give-a-crap level"
30		28	12-24-4	2-6-2	Mark Streit has a five-game point streak going and has been awesome on Long Island all year

The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.

COMMENTS (13)

Sort: Oldest | Newest Filter: All | Videos

John H. Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:45)

I thought Ottawa would turn things around, but after watching them play last night, it's obvious they're in a state of disarray. For stretches of the first and second periods, they looked like they were mailing it in. It's time for Sens managements to wonder if Hartsburg has his players' ears. He didn't do too well in Anaheim and Chicago, and didn't you get the feeling that DeBoer was Bryan Murray's first choice as coach? It's strange that he ended up in Florida instead, and I wonder if the Sens would be doing better with him, considering what he's been able to squeeze out of limited talent in Miami.

Flamer89 Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:43)

Rangerfan, normally I would whole-heartedly agree with you on the TSN power rankings. They're usually quite hilarious. However, this week's (while I don't agree completely with Mr. Cullen's list, for example Carolina and Phoenix should have been higher) are about the best attempt I've seen from him. Usually teams like Edmonton, Minnesota, or Dallas are in his top 16, and Vancouver is in the top 6 or 8, while teams such as Calgary or the Rangers, or the Caps are near the bottom. He's normally horrendous. However, his list this week is actually a little more realistic for a change (his explanations on injuries or recent play at least seem to make sense as to why he's positioned certain teams where they are).

al b Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:36)

with regards to the ovie, carter, vanek line thing..........not that cool.

bropete Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:34)

Colorado need's to build around their young stars Satsny and Wolski and rebuild. Sakic's ship has sailed and he didn't help his fairwell tour by putting his fingers in the wrong place. Trade Hejduk and Smyth for young players/prospects and move on and while they're at it, get a goalie.

Flamer89 Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:32)

Tavares or Hedman will waste away in Atlanta being the star of the team for many years, but for an organization that fails to build a contender around them (a la Kovalchuk), or be drafted by the Islanders where they'll be surrounded by wash-up have-been (i.e: zero talent) and eventually be traded for nothing and end up a mega star elsewhere (a la Bertuzzi, Redden, Chara, Luongo, need I continue?). As much as I can't stand Tampa Bay, either one would likely have a better fate in a Lightning uniform - Lecavalier, Stamkos, and Tavares is an upgraded version of Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards - one can easily build a team around that nucleas. Ottawa will likely commence re-building mode before the season is up, and the fan base they've built in Ottawa won't accept a bottom dweller for too many more seasons, so the Sens organization perhaps wouldn't be a bad fate. I'm, however, rooting for St. Louis to win the Tavares (or Hedman) sweepstakes. Would be nice to see the Blues take a page out of Chicago's book (a la Toews, Kane, Sharp) and return to glory - either one of these cornerstones would be a perfect opportunity to do so.

Michelle Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:30)

Singularity: Ottawa may have had chances for a Cup, but Tampa already has a Cup and still won the lottery to draft Stamkos (who they're squandering). I'd rather see Tavares go to Ottawa than to Tampa.

Matt Roberts Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:30)

Maybe John Tavares will pull an Eric Lindros and refuse to play for the team who drafts him and force a trade to the Leafs. (yes i know im dreaming....but by God we need him)

Shona Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:26)

Rangerfan, ratings for what? World Juniors? or NHL? Where did you see this? Thanks!

Dominc Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:24)

When Pittsburgh lost 2 in a row against the Bruins Crosby said that they are not that far behind the Bruins and the Bruins are not that much better than the Pens. (paraphrasing here). Well, as of this morning, The Pens are 20 points behind the Bruins and the Bruins have a game in hand. Wonder what he thinks now. Anyway, in a few years, i'll be writing this about the Leafs !!

Rangerfan101 Posted
(2009-04-30 07:36:17)

Ottawa winning a cup. The only chance of that happening is if they trade one from their top line for a significant portion in return, maybe A second line center, a defense man, and a pick, that's what I'm guessing... And go Rangers!

1 2 Next »