Current NHL Power Rankings: Deadline impact

By Scott Burnside (posted March 2,2015)

It's been a hectic week leading into Monday's trade deadline with the Chicago Blackhawks bulking up and the Toronto Maple Leafs unloading the unloadable in David Clarkson. What was the impact of all that movement on the Power Rankings? Read on to find out.

2014-2015 Power Rankings: Week 21
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	Montreal 41-16-5	1 Last Week: 2	With the Preds taking a brief step sideways, we'll give the streaking Canadiens the top spot in the rankings. Love the additions of Devante Smith-Pelly and Jeff Petry, and Carey Price continues to be otherworldly for the Habs, who have won four in a row.
2	Nashville 41-15-7	1 Last Week: 1	The Predators are still the cream of the Western Conference crop and boast the league's top home record.
3	New York 38-17-6	-- Last Week: 3	The Rangers are in it to win it with the additions of Keith Yandle and James Sheppard, while re-signing Mats Zuccarello, who looked for a moment like he was headed out of town. Heady times for a Rangers team that has rallied around the absence of starter Henrik Lundqvist.
4	Anaheim 40-17-7	2 Last Week: 6	The Ducks are slowly getting back to form. Will be interesting to see whether the Tomas Fleischmann reunion with Bruce Boudreau boosts Fleischmann's production.
5	St. Louis 40-18-5	-- Last Week: 5	Games like Sunday's goal-fest against the Canucks are troubling, but the Blues still look like they're slowly getting back into a groove as they look to lock down second place in the Central Division.
6	New York 41-12-2	2 Last Week: 4	The Islanders' up-and-down stretch has allowed the Rangers to close the gap on first place in the Metropolitan Division.
7	Detroit 35-15-11	2 Last Week: 9	The Wings enjoyed a strong road trip and play four of five at home, where they will welcome new power forward Erik Cole. Looking forward to Sunday's tilt with the Bruins.
8	Pittsburgh 36-17-9	4 Last Week: 12	Marc-Andre Fleury is continuing his strong campaign and the Pens are slowly inching back into the fight for top spot in the Metro, with four straight wins.
9	Minnesota 33-22-7	1 Last Week: 10	The Wild continue their terrific run behind Devan Dubnyk, who must now be considered in both the Vezina and Hart Trophy discussions.
10	Tampa Bay 38-20-6	2 Last Week: 8	The Lightning are drifting, with four wins in their last nine games, including a loss to the cross-state rival Panthers on Sunday, but made a big add overnight in Braydon Coburn.
11	Vancouver 36-23-3	3 Last Week: 14	The Canucks' playoff hopes rest in the hands of Eddie Lack in Ryan Miller's absence. Great opportunity for the popular netminder to establish himself as a No. 1. The Canucks came up with a huge shootout win over the Blues on Sunday, in spite of a third-period collapse.
12	Chicago 37-21-5	1 Last Week: 13	The Blackhawks paid a premium for defenseman Kimmo Timonen and Antoine Vermette. Will they be enough to get the Windy City boys back on track?
13	Los Angeles 29-21-12	6 Last Week: 7	The Kings have hit a slight stumble on their march to the playoffs, including a loss Sunday to the Jets in a tough, tough game. The Kings are still a team to be feared. Love the addition of Andrej Sekera.
14	Winnipeg 32-20-12	3 Last Week: 17	The Jets continue to hold down a wild-card spot and are playing like a team destined for the postseason. That was a huge win in a nasty game with the Kings on Sunday.
15	Washington 34-20-10	4 Last Week: 11	Veteran defender Tim Gleason and depth forward Curtis Glencross are interesting adds for a Capitals team that is already hard to play against. Their shutout win over the Leafs on Sunday broke a three-game losing skid.
16	Boston 31-22-9	4 Last Week: 20	The Bruins have looked better of late but still not where they want to be. The pressure is squarely on GM Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien, but I still feel this is a dangerous team come playoff time. Is Brett Connolly the answer?
17	Florida 28-22-13	1 Last Week: 18	GM Dale Tallon is keeping things hopping with the additions of Jaromir Jagr and Dany Heatley, and the departures of Sean Bergenheim and Tomas Fleischmann. Jagr made his presence known in a big win over the Lightning on Sunday.
18	Calgary 33-25-4	3 Last Week: 15	Tough road trip continues with visits to Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit and Ottawa. They went just 1-2 in their New York swing, as the offense has gone south.
19	Ottawa 27-23-10	5 Last Week: 24	The Sens have rallied behind goalie Andrew Hammond, who has won five in a row for the plucky club.
20	San Jose 30-25-8	1 Last Week: 19	The Sharks continue to slide out of the playoff picture in the West.
21	Philadelphia 27-25-11	5 Last Week: 16	The Flyers came up with a huge win against the Rangers, but losses to lesser teams are putting a dent in their slim playoff hopes. GM Ron Hextall is shedding assets as Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn were sent out of town.
22	New Jersey 26-27-10	1 Last Week: 23	The Devils continue to play well, although their seeming reluctance to sell off pieces outside of Jaromir Jagr remains a bit of a puzzler.
23	Carolina 24-30-7	3 Last Week: 26	Credit Bill Peters for getting strong play out of his young Canes, in spite of the selling off of assets Tim Gleason, Andrej Sekera and Jiri Tlusty. The Canes have won three straight.
24	Colorado 27-25-11	3 Last Week: 21	The Avs are in no-man's-land. Not making the playoffs and they don't have many options for shedding assets to help reboot the process.
25	Dallas 27-26-10	3 Last Week: 22	The Stars are in sell mode, with the playoffs all but a memory. Erik Cole, having a strong season in Dallas, is now a Red Wing.
26	Edmonton 18-35-10	1 Last Week: 27	The Oilers are still keeping the Sabres within range at the bottom of the standings. Getting closer should be made easier now with Jeff Petry in Montreal.
27	Columbus 26-32-4	2 Last Week: 25	It will be interesting to see how the David Clarkson experiment turns out for a Blue Jackets team that is enduring a miserable campaign.
28	Toronto 25-33-5	-- Last Week: 28	The Leafs' seven road wins ties the Sabres for the lowest total in the league. Sell, sell, sell. Still shaking our collective heads over the David Clarkson deal. That is likely to continue for a long time.
29	Buffalo 19-39-5	-- Last Week: 29	The Sabres still have a grip on the last spot in the standings. Can they maintain it to guarantee at least either Jack Eichel or Connor McDavid?
30	Arizona 20-36-7	-- Last Week: 30	Embarrassing, lost season continues for a Coyotes team that has now lost nine straight. But GM Don Maloney has hit home runs in moving Antoine Vermette, Keith Yandle and Zbynek Michalek.
Biggest Jump: 5 Biggest Drop: 6