For many American households, there’s no doubt that turkey is the star of the show when it comes to a Thanksgiving feast. But while the bird often takes top billing on dining room tables, the “turkey” label carries a negative connotation in other parts of life — including sports.
The arrival of a big holiday in the U.S. brings a one-day hockey hiatus, as fans shift their focus to food and football on Thursday. On Friday, though, 30 of the 32 NHL teams will be back in action, and for some players, it’s the next opportunity to shake out the turkey legs and get going.
From rookie Matthew Schaefer’s stunning play to breakouts for Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard to Jason Robertson’s unreal November (22 points in 13 games), the league has seen more than its share of incredible performances.
At the other end of the spectrum, not every player is having the year they hoped when the puck dropped in October.
With that in mind, as Americans gobble one of their most celebrated meals, let’s use this week’s edition of the Power Rankings to identify one turkey on all 32 NHL teams.
1. Colorado Avalanche (17-1-5) He’s heated up recently, but second-line centre Brock Nelson had just five points after 16 games. That’s about the best we can do on a team where it feels like every player is flying.
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2. Dallas Stars (15-5-4) Maybe it was partially due to the lower-body injury that ultimately pushed him out of the lineup halfway through November, but defenceman Thomas Harley just did not look like himself through six weeks.
3. Tampa Bay Lighting (14-7-2) The Bolts acquired Oliver Bjorkstrand from Seattle at last season’s deadline in part because they’d have him under contract for this year, too. So far, a guy they surely hoped would score 15 to 20 goals is stuck on two.
4. Carolina Hurricanes (15-7-1) Andrei Svechnikov just has not become the sniper the Canes had hoped. He’s got 12 points on the season and his name is starting to pop up in trade rumours.
5. New Jersey Devils (15-7-1) Of the 37 goalies who’ve played at least 10 games this season, only seven have a worse goals-saved-above-expected-per-60 mark on Moneypuck than Jacob Markstrom.
6. Minnesota Wild (13-7-4) Nobody was projecting a return to 30-goal form for Vladimir Tarasenko when the Wild inked him to a one-year deal in the summer, but two goals in 18 games is a disappointment. Tarasenko has been sidelined with a lower-body issue since mid-November and the Wild just keep winning without him.
7. Anaheim Ducks (14-8-1) It’s crazy how far Pavel Mintyukov’s stock has fallen in a couple years, following a 28-point debut in 63 games as a 20-year-old rookie blue-liner. He’s stuck on three assists this season and it feels like we’re moving toward fresh-start territory for the 10th-overall pick from 2022.
8. Ottawa Senators (12-7-4) Linus Ullmark had an .863 save percentage through 12 games, but he’s really gotten it back on the rails with a .914 in his past six. His form must stay there for the Senators to thrive.
9. Philadelphia Flyers (12-7-3) Five goals in his past nine games have changed the complexion of Matvei Michkov’s sophomore season a bit, but the youngster was still — however gently — called out by his captain a couple weeks ago.
10. Los Angeles Kings (11-6-6) Phillip Danault is a defensive security blanket, first and foremost, but a stat line of 0-4-4 through 23 games is still jarring to see for a player who’s firmly established as a 45-point guy.
11. Washington Capitals (13-9-2) Connor McMichael cooled off down the stretch last season and he’ll be in tough to repeat last season’s 26-goal showing with just three in 24 games this fall.
12. Montreal Canadiens (12-7-3) Sam Montembeault entered the season with a medium hold on one of Canada’s three Olympic goalie spots. Today, he’s lost his grip on the starter’s role in Montreal.
13. Pittsburgh Penguins (11-6-5) Erik Karlsson is a plus-player for just the second time in seven seasons; Evgeni Malkin is on pace for 89 points, which would be the second-best total ever for a player in their age-39 season or older and Sidney Crosby could well score 40 goals at 38 years old. Friends, there’s not a turkey to be found in Steeltown.
(By the way, always and forever, stick tap to Gordie Howe, who put up 103 points at 40 years old in 1968-69).
14. Vegas Golden Knights (10-5-8) Stop scrambling for the underlying numbers and just admit that four goals and 22 points in 23 games is a little underwhelming for Mitch Marner.
15. Winnipeg Jets (12-10-0) Zero goals in 17 games was not what the Jets had in mind when they inked Gustav Nyquist in the summer to help provide offence deeper down the lineup.
16. New York Islanders (13-9-2) Captain Anders Lee has scored at least 28 goals in three of the past four seasons, including 29 last season. With four in 24 games, he’ll have to pick it up to get up there this time around.
17. Detroit Red Wings (13-10-1) Andrew Copp has but one goal this season and his minus-11 mark is second-worst on the club, ahead of only rookie D-man Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
18. Seattle Kraken (11-6-6) Mason Marchment seemed like a nice pickup for Seattle when Dallas had to dump salary, but so far the big guy has found the net just twice in 22 games.
19. Florida Panthers (12-10-1) Carter Verhaeghe has gone from 42 goals in 2022-23 to 34 in 2023-24 to 20 last season. Right now, he’s on pace for 14.
20. Boston Bruins (14-11-0) Joonas Korpisalo has not been good as Jeremy Swayman’s backup. Among goalies with at least nine games played, Korpisalo’s goals save above expected per 60 minutes is second-worst only to Sam Montembeault.
21. Utah Mammoth (12-9-3) Barrett Hayton scored Wednesday night, but he’s producing at just an 18-point clip this season. Sidenote: How boom or bust was the top 10 of the 2018 draft? Booms: Rasmus Dahlin (1st overall), Brady Tkachuk (4th), Quinn Hughes (7th) Evan Bouchard (10th). Busts: Jesperi Kotkaniemi (3rd), Barrett Hayton (5th), Filip Zadina (6th), Adam Boqvist (8th), Vitali Kravtsov (9th). The only TBD might be Andrei Svechnikov at No. 2, and we cited him as a turkey today.
22. San Jose Sharks (11-10-3) The Sharks took a flyer on John Klingberg, hoping he could rebuild a bit of his old value as a right-shooting puck-mover. The veteran D-man, though, has been a healthy scratch this month in San Jose.
23. New York Rangers (12-11-2) It’s Year 6 and Alexis Lafreniere is on pace for 16 goals and 43 points.
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (11-9-4) Sean Monahan had 57 points in 54 games last year during Year 1 in Columbus. He’s managed to stay healthy this time out, but has only two goals and 10 points in 24 outings.
25. Chicago Blackhawks (10-8-5) Spencer Knight has been terrific as the starter; Arvid Soderblom has an .881 SP in seven games as the backup.
26. Edmonton Oilers (10-10-5) There’s a lot not to like on the leaky Oilers, but veterans Brett Kulak, Jake Walman and Darnell Nurse have some of the worst underlying numbers on the defence corps.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs (10-10-3) 3-3-6 and dash-13 for Max Domi is a tough line to look at right now.
28. Buffalo Sabres (9-10-4) Maybe he never lived up to his first-round billing, but Peyton Krebs was a plus player on average-to-bad Buffalo teams the past couple years and potted 10 goals last season. This year he’s minus-10 with a big, fat goose egg in the goal column through 23 games.
29. Calgary Flames (8-14-3) Three goals and minus-10 in 21 outings for Yegor Sharangovich, whose 31-goal season in Calgary two years ago feels further and further away.
30. Vancouver Canucks (10-12-2) So far, a change of scenery has not helped Lukas Reichel. The 17th-overall pick from 2020 has zero goals in 13 games with Vancouver since coming over from Chicago in a trade and has been a recent scratch by coach Adam Foote.
31. St. Louis Blues (7-10-7) Jordan Binnington may still be a lock for an Olympic spot with Canada, but his surface and under-the-hood numbers are both a mess this year.
32. Nashville Predators (7-12-4) Seven points for Steven Stamkos in 23 games? Let’s get this guy on a new team and hope he soars.
