The first Canadian snapshot of the season has a familiar name at the top, but the way the Edmonton Oilers are getting there looks different.
With Mike Babcock behind the bench, Edmonton has opened 11-2-2 and landed second overall in the first Power Rankings of the year. The Oilers are the top-ranked Canadian club, and the early evidence points to a team that has tightened up without losing its bite. Connor McDavid is still driving the offense, but the bigger surprise is how much sturdier the group has looked away from the puck.
McDavid has already put together a 15-game assist streak, an NHL record, and has piled up 39 points in 15 games. At the same time, Edmonton is allowing the fewest rush chances in the league and sits in the top 10 in slot shots, expected goals, and goals against. That’s a very different profile from the Oilers teams that fell short against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final twice.
Montreal is the next Canadian team in the mix, checking in seventh after a 9-3-2 start. The Canadiens have won five in a row, and they’ve done it without captain Nick Suzuki, who is out with an injury.
A big reason for the Habs’ rise has been the play of rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler. He’s 7-1-1, ranks second in save percentage at .932, and his 8.61 goals saved above expected trails only Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild when shot quality is factored in.
Toronto sits 13th at 8-6-2, and the ranking feels generous when the underlying numbers are pulled apart. The Maple Leafs own the eighth-best per-game goal differential, but their expected goal differential is 24th.
Auston Matthews has been the bright spot, sitting top five in both goals and points and looking much closer to the vintage version of himself that made 50 goals seem routine. Sergei Bobrovsky, meanwhile, has struggled to keep the puck out of the net.
Ottawa dropped to 16th after blowing a three-goal lead in Anaheim on Sunday night. Linus Ullmark had the Senators looking like one of the East’s better teams before a lower-body injury, but the goaltending since then has been below average. Even so, the Sens remain one of the tougher teams to play against, and when healthy, they can be expected to move into the top 10.
Calgary comes in at 26th with a 6-8-0 record, but the Flames have stayed in the neighborhood of .500 thanks to strong special teams. Their power play is scoring on one out of every three chances, which ranks third in the league, and the penalty kill is 12th. Joel Farabee is tied for the team lead with five goals and leads all players with six breakaways.
Winnipeg has fallen all the way to 30th and is winless in nine straight. The Jets are 4-8-3 and are coming off a 7-0 loss to the Hurricanes as they finish a grueling four-game road trip in Montreal on Tuesday night. They’ve given up five or more goals in four straight games, and the questions are piling up fast.
At the bottom of the board, Vancouver sits last in both the standings and the rankings at 3-12-1. The Canucks are deep into a rebuild and are likely headed for a lottery finish. Still, Elias Pettersson has given them something to hang onto, averaging a point per game with four goals and 12 assists in 16 games.
In Other News...
Senators Suddenly Have A Cap Squeeze Fans Need To Watch
The Senators have had a busy stretch of housekeeping around the roster and the brand, with Cameron Crotty hitting waivers, new Hometown Remix jerseys set to debut in select home games and the club preparing to honor members of its 2007 Stanley Cup Final team at an upcoming night in Ottawa. It is the kind of midseason mix that can make a team feel like it is juggling both the present and the past at once, especially when every move around the edges matters.
Claude Girouxs contract situation is the part that could end up carrying the most practical weight for the front office, though, because his performance bonuses are already starting to factor into the clubs cap picture. Ottawa has some flexibility to manage, but the closer the season gets to those bonus thresholds, the more every recall, every injury and every dollar on the books starts to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Downtown Arena Vision Is Finally Starting To Take Shape
A long-discussed downtown arena for the Senators is beginning to look less like a concept and more like a project with real contours. The National Capital Commission has now sketched out what a potential building in the Aqueduct District of LeBreton Flats could look like, placing it near the Canadian War Museum and tying it to a larger mixed-use development with homes, businesses and rapid transit access.
The club has been working with architects on the design, and the next public step is expected in early 2027 when more details are set to be unveiled. For a franchise that has spent years talking about a downtown home, the latest planning work suggests the vision is finally moving from broad ambition into something Ottawa can start to picture on the ground. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Prospect Kaden Rolling Now Faces A Different Development Path
Kaden Rollings development path has changed again, with the Windsor Spitfires moving the Senators prospect to the Brantford Bulldogs as part of a roster-driven deal. Windsor received two picks in the 2028 OHL Draft, a reminder that junior hockey decisions often come down to balancing present needs with long-term planning, even when a young defenceman is still very much part of a bigger organizational picture.
For Rolling, the move comes with a different short-term assignment as he continues his season away from the OHL spotlight before settling into Brantfords lineup down the road. The Spitfires also had a separate bit of positive news on the blue line, with Conor Walton earning OHL West Division academic player of the month honors for October, a nod to the kind of off-ice progress clubs still value while their prospects sort out the next step. [Read more 🡒]