NHL Power Rankings Week 7: Blue Jackets rising, Islanders at rock bottom

At some point, the Flyers have to address their goaltending. Perhaps a trade for Jaroslav Halak could make sense for them? Since Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are both free agents, Halak would at least give them an option for next season. Despite their goaltending, Flyers fans have a lot to be thankful for. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have combined for 34 points this season. Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere are the pillars for their blue line. Also, it’s quite easy to overlook Travis Konecny in a historically deep rookie class, but he’s pretty darn good.

The Colorado Avalanche are rebuilding, so this season isn’t going so well for them record wise. However, they still have a lot to be thankful for. Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene have proven they are franchise building blocks. You could do far worse than building around that duo. Patrick Wiercioch have been very solid for them with eight points. He could prove to be a nice defenseman for them in the future. At worst, he’ll fetch them something at the NHL trade deadline. Calvin Pickard is making the decision of which goalie should be exposed in the expansion draft quite easy.

Don’t let their third place spot in the Central Division fool you. It’s more due to them playing more games than the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Nashville Predators than anything else. They aren’t even averaging a standing point per game. Connor Hellebuyck hasn’t been outstanding, but he’s doing well and young goalies need to endure these pains to be better. Jets fans should be extremely thankful for Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Patrik Laine. Three of the top players in the NHL. Also, be thankful that maybe Paul Maurice gets fired for a better coach!