The talk of the NHL world this week was the 2023 Global Series taking place in Stockholm, Sweden. In a change to the format, this year four teams played two games each over the course of multiple days. The teams making the trip across the Atlantic Ocean were the Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
While these franchises came into the Global Series in various forms of disarray, they all brought an incredible effort to the ice, with some local European stars showcasing the best the sport has to offer. At the very least, we can say the NHL put on quite the show in Stockholm, with most games taking wild swings in momentum
Back in North America, things feel like they are getting to a sense of normalcy. Many pre-season favorites are finding ways to win, while teams that got out to hot starts may be experiencing a bit of a market correction. This created some chaos in the Rankings, as we saw the spread between the best teams and the worst teams shrink a little bit more.
Related: NHL 2023-24 Power Rankings: Week 6
So, with eyes looking from Stockholm towards American Thanksgiving this week, let’s take a look at THW’s Week 7 Power Rankings.
32-25: Separation Occurring At The Bottom of the NHL
32. Columbus Blue Jackets (Previously 30th)
31. San Jose Sharks (Previously 31st)
30. Chicago Blackhawks (Previously 27th)
29. Edmonton Oilers (Previously 32nd)
28. Seattle Kraken (Previously 29th)
27. Minnesota Wild (Previously 25th)
26. Nashville Predators (Previously 26th)
25. Calgary Flames (Previously 28th)
Last week, when I moved the Sharks out of the 32nd position, I did so as a bit of an honorary promotion. I was expecting to knock them back down as the Oilers experienced the bump in play that happens anytime you fire a coach. However, here we are and they once again find themselves in the 31st position after winning another game this week.
The unfortunate team that finds themselves below the Sharks is the Blue Jackets, who have lost nine straight games. Heading into the season I really expected Columbus to take a step forward in their rebuild, and after a promising start, they have completely collapsed again. If this continues, it’s hard to know what the next move could be other than the franchise moving on from long-time general manager Jarmo Kekalainen
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