NHL Power Rankings: Highlighting significant Americans from every team

With one more point, Patrick Kane will pass Mike Modano and become the highest-scoring U.S.-born NHLer of all-time.

While Kane’s achievement creates a natural moment of celebration, it also recalls what a bummer it is that we had two Winter Olympics — in 2018 and 2022 — without NHL stars

While Kane did get to represent America at the 2010 and ’14 Games, the proud Yank missed out on two more shots at Olympic gold.

Drafted first overall nearly 20 years ago in 2007, Kane’s time in the league dovetails with his native country producing more and more high-end stars. If it didn’t, maybe Kane — even at 37 years old — would have snuck on to the Team USA roster for Milano Cortina 2026.

Instead, Kane will be at home — or, more likely, somewhere with beaches — cheering on his American pals. 

With a son of Buffalo about to set a new American hockey benchmark at 1,375 points — and with sports nationalism in the U.S. and around the world about to be stoked thanks to the coming Games — we’re using this week’s edition of the Power Rankings to highlight a historically significant American player or two for all 32 squads.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (33-14-4) Tyler Johnson was a fantastic example of Tampa’s ability to find and develop players where other organizations don’t. The five-foot-eight, undrafted forward led the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 13 goals, as Tampa lost a very close final to Chicago in six games. Johnson was still a regular when the Lightning broke through for championships in 2020 and ’21. Defenceman Ryan McDonagh was also a vital player on those Cup-winning squads. 

2. Colorado Avalanche (35-7-9) Erik Johnson is the all-time games played leader for the Avs among Americans, but Scott Young and Adam Deadmarsh were hugely important wingers for Colorado during the team’s 1996 Cup run during its first season in Denver. In the here and now, how about Brock Nelson’s 21 goals in his past 27 contests?

3. Carolina Hurricanes (32-15-5) Jaccob Slavin has been limited to just 12 contests this season, but he’s still the all-time GP leader for Carolina among Americans at 757. The defence-first blue-liner’s importance to the Canes — and Team USA — cannot be overstated. 

4. Buffalo Sabres (30-17-5) It’s only appropriate that one of America’s defining hockey cities has a rich history of players from the U.S. Phil Houlsey is fourth all-time in points by an American, and most of them (558, to be specific) came during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Tom Barrasso, low-key, had one of the most outrageous seasons ever when he won the Calder and Vezina at 18 years old in 1983-84. These days, a goalie isn’t even a starter until he’s 23. Speaking of starters, Ryan Miller is a defining Sabre and nearly led Team USA to Olympic gold in 2010. Finally, in 1992-93, Pat LaFontaine recorded the most points in a season by an American player with 148. 

5. Detroit Red Wings (32-17-5) Dylan Larkin is a Michigan native wearing the ‘C’ in Detroit who might play his entire career with the club. If there’s a championship in there at some point, he’ll be an all-time Red Wing.

6. Dallas Stars (30-14-9) Mike Modano was the first American taken first overall when the Minnesota North Stars selected him there in 1988, and he’s the Stars franchise leader in games played and every offensive category. Derian Hatcher was team captain for nearly a decade and wore the ‘C’ in 1999, when Dallas lifted the Cup. And don’t forget Neal Broten, a Minnesota boy who played high school and college hockey in the state, was on the 1980 Miracle on Ice team and led the North Stars to the 1991 Cup Final before finally winning the thing as a key veteran member of New Jersey’s 1995 title team. 

7. Minnesota Wild (30-14-10) What a huge story it was when Ryan Suter and Zach Parise came as a UFA package to Minnesota in the summer of 2012. The Wild never got where they wanted to go with those guys, but it was a massive moment to see two Midwest kids come home. 

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (26-14-11) Tom Barrasso may have won his individual hardware in Buffalo, but his two Cups came with the Penguins in 1991 and ’92. During Pittsburgh’s first championship season of 1991-92, Kevin Stevens scored 54 goals and 123 points. Phil Kessel’s arrival in 2015 was immediately followed by back-to-back Cups. 

9. Montreal Canadiens (29-17-7) Lane Hutson put together the best season by a rookie defenceman in Canadiens history when he registered 66 points last year, usurping the 64 posted by fellow Yank Chris Chelios in 1984-85. Cole Caufield is on pace for 46 goals this year, which would represent the highest total by a Canadiens player in 35 years. Montreal hasn’t had a 40-goal scorer since 1994, but American and former Habs captain Max Pacioretty netted 39 in 2013-14. Bostonian Chris Nilan was always ready to go to war for the Habs in the 1980s, often against the team from his hometown. 

10. Boston Bruins (31-20-3) Mike Milbury was a feisty Bruin for a dozen years and has more games played with the B’s (754) than any of his countrymen. Tim Thomas, though, posted the defining performance by an American when he won the 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy and helped Boston win its first title since 1972. 

11. Vegas Golden Knights (25-14-13) About 18 months after Jack Eichel’s arrival in Vegas, the Knights were lifting the Stanley Cup.

12. New York Islanders (29-19-5) What a few months Ken Morrow had in 1980, winning Olympic gold with a bunch of college kids on Team USA, then hoisting the Stanley Cup a few months later with the Islanders as a rookie D-man. Bryan Trottier, a dual citizen who played for Canada in the 1981 Canada Cup and Team USA in the 1984 event, is the Islanders’ all-time GP, assists and points leader. Current captain Anders Lee is seventh all-time with 894 games for the Isles. 

13. Utah Mammoth (28-21-4) As captain of the team, Clayton Keller is a huge figure in the Mammoth’s fledgling Utah chapter. Keith Tkachuk was a defining Coyote, scoring more goals (323) than everyone while the team was in Arizona, save for Canadian Shane Doan (395). Phil Housley and Dave Ellett were important D-men back in the Jets’ 1.0 days. 

14. Florida Panthers (28-21-3) Trading for Matthew Tkachuk in the summer of 2022 changed everything for the Cats. Of course, the first big moment for the franchise was when goalie John Vanbiesbrouck led Florida to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.

15. Edmonton Oilers (27-19-8) Doug Weight spent nearly half of his wonderful 19-year career in Edmonton, and who could forget Todd Marchant scoring the Game 7 overtime winner to eliminate Dallas in 1997. 

16. Anaheim Ducks (28-22-3) The Ducks somewhat recently said goodbye to a pair of Americans who were big-time players for the franchise in defenceman Cam Fowler (991 GP with Anaheim, second-most all-time behind Ryan Getzlaf) and John Gibson, whose 204 wins in Anaheim are just two behind Canadian Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the all-time franchise lead. Happily, Anaheim has also welcomed some important veteran Americans in the past couple of seasons in the form of Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba. 

17. Los Angeles Kings (22-16-3) Jimmy Carson’s 79-point season as an 18-year-old rookie in 1986-87 is the second-highest total for an American rookie behind Neal Broten’s 98 points in 1981-82. Dustin Brown has a statue outside Crypto.com Arena thanks to his outsized impact in L.A., and the Kings’ golden Cup years of 2012 and 2014 would not have been possible without the play of 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick in the crease. 

18. San Jose Sharks (27-21-3) Joe Pavelski is a Sharks legend, and it would be no surprise to see his No. 8 be the third number retired in San Jose history behind the Nos. 12 and 19 of Canadians Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. 

19. Columbus Blue Jackets (25-20-7) Zach Werenski is among the best handful of blue-liners in the game and figures to be a go-to guy for Team USA in Italy. 

20. Ottawa Senators (25-21-7) Craig Anderson is the Sens’ all-time leader in GP by a goalie (435) and wins (202). Meanwhile, captain Brady Tkachuk is trying to lead the current version of the club to greener pastures, alongside stud defenceman and fellow Yank Jake Sanderson. 

21. Philadelphia Flyers (24-19-9) Mark Howe was a fantastic defenceman on Flyers teams that had the misfortune of seeing Edmonton in the 1985 and ’87 Cup Finals. John LeClair’s 0.51 goals per game with the team is the second-highest mark in franchise history behind only Canadian Tim Kerr (0.60). LeClair potted 50-plus in three straight years after Philly stole him from Montreal in 1995. 

22. Seattle Kraken (24-19-9) Matty Beniers’ play of late is offering more hope than anything we’ve seen from him since his rookie season. The 2023 Calder Trophy winner has nine goals and 18 points in his past 19 outings. 

23. New Jersey Devils (27-24-2) There might not be a team with more U.S. heritage in the league than Jersey. The best goal-scoring year for the Devils is Brian Gionta’s 48 in 2005-06, and the most points recorded by a Devil is Jack Hughes’ 99 in 2022-23. With American legend Lou Lamoriello running the squad for 30 years, the Devils had an endless string of important American players coming through the team; think Bill Guerin, Brian Rolston, Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez, Andy Greene, Chris Terreri, Cory Schneider, Jay Pandolfo, Jamie Langenbrunner, Bobby Carpenter, Kyle Palmeri and on and on…

24. Toronto Maple Leafs (24-20-9) Auston Matthews is Toronto’s all-time leading goal-scorer with 427 tallies. Matthews’ 69- and 60-goal seasons are the most by an American not named Brett Hull. The only active American with more career goals is Patrick Kane, who’s sitting on an even 500. 

25. Washington Capitals (25-22-7) When it comes to longevity, American defencemen on the Caps win the day. John Carlson is the all-time franchise leader with 1,138 games played by a D-man, and Rod Langway — who won back-to-back Norris Trophies in 1983 and ’84 — is third with 726. In terms of having a moment, goalies Jim Carey and Bob Mason sure had theirs. Carey came out of the blue to win the 1996 Vezina, while Mason was in goal for the marathon Game 7, 1987 playoff loss to Pat LaFontaine and the Islanders. 

26. Nashville Predators (24-23-5) David Legwand — the Preds’ first-ever draft pick at second overall in 1998 — is second all-time on the franchise list for games played with 956, trailing only Switzerland’s Roman Josi at 1,002.

27. Chicago Blackhawks (21-23-9) Patrick Kane electrified Chicago hockey fans during his time there and became the first American-born player to win the Hart Trophy in 2016. Native son Chris Chelios wore the ‘C’ in Chicago, won two Norris Trophies there and had his No. 7 retired by the Hawks two years ago. Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte were both signature American players for the 1990s Blackhawks. 

28. Winnipeg Jets (21-24-7) The Jets 2.0 have been loaded with important Americans. Connor Hellebuyck is the only American goalie ever to win league MVP, which he accomplished last season while also claiming his second consecutive Vezina. Blake Wheeler was captain of the team for six seasons, Kyle Connor is an elite sniper, and who could forget the thump Dustin Byfuglien provided during his eight years in Winnipeg (and one in Atlanta). 

29. Calgary Flames (21-25-6) California kid Dustin Wolf is a huge part of the Flames’ future, and the 1989 Cup-winning squad had key American players Joel Otto, Gary Suter and Joe Mullen, who led the post-season that spring with 16 goals in 21 games. Of course, Calgary unearthed an American gem when the Flames took a chance on a tiny kid from New Jersey named Johnny Gaudreau. 

30. St. Louis Blues (19-25-9) The reason we have to make a distinction between “U.S.-born” and simply “American” is because of Brett Hull. Though born in Canada, Hull is a U.S. citizen and is the top-scoring American of all time — for now — with 1,391 points, 17 more than Kane and Modano. His 741 career goals are 180 more than second-place Modano (561) among Americans. He won the 1991 Hart Trophy with the Blues. 

31. New York Rangers (22-26-6) Canadian Mark Messier will forever be the face of the Rangers’ famous 1994 Cup run, but American Brian Leetch won the Conn Smythe that year, and his countryman Mike Richter was a stud in the crease. Two years later, they were part of the 1996 American squad that provided a new generation with an international moment of their own by winning the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. 

32. Vancouver Canucks (17-31-5) American Quinn Hughes was the best defenceman in franchise history, but he now plays for the Minnesota Wild. Another hugely important Yank, J.T. Miller, was shipped out of town a year ago. Ryan Kesler was a signature player on the Canucks team that came painfully close to winning the 2011 title, while Brock Boeser has the most goals by a U.S. player in a Canucks uniform with 216. 

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