Halloween is all about visceral responses.
That could mean being freaked out by a slasher flick, jump-scared by a haunted house or coming out of your skin at the excitement of pulling off a perfect costume idea.
Big, bloody feelings.
When it comes to NHL teams, fright is felt from different perspectives. There are the scary thoughts a club has about itself — “This first-rounder can’t play; our goalie just isn’t good enough” — and there’s the fear others experience when they see a player or squad as an unkillable zombie force coming to devour their own Stanley Cup hopes and dreams.
As such, with this week’s power rankings landing on the day of nightmares, we’re presenting one scary thought related to all 32 NHL clubs.
1. Winnipeg Jets (9-1-0) What if this power play never slows down? The Jets have converted nearly half their chances this season (44.8 per cent), making them a deadly force with the man advantage.
2. Dallas Stars (7-2-0) Not much is scarier for other teams than looking at how good Dallas is, and thinking about how the Stars just keep drafting and developing players like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque.
3. Florida Panthers (7-3-1) Why would this team stop being really, really good? Aleksander Barkov is still 29 years old; Matthew Tkachuk is 27; everybody happily takes less to stay there and new guys are going to want to come. Paul Maurice is a dream fit behind the bench for the Cats and — from Gus Forsling to Carter Verhaeghe to Sam Bennett to Sam Reinhart — Florida’s knack for being the place players find the best version of themselves is truly scary.
4. New York Rangers (6-2-1) Nov. 1 is exactly eight months until Igor Shesterkin could potentially sign with a new club as a UFA on July 1, 2025.
5. Carolina Hurricanes (6-2-0) The offensive spark Carolina has been in search of for years was in its midst all along. Martin Necas — whose name more than made the rounds in summer rumour mills — is taking his game to another level this season, with three goals and five assists for eight points in his past four games.
6. Minnesota Wild (6-1-2) The Minnesota Wild have basically never had a No. 1 centre in their almost-25-year history. If Marco Rossi is that guy, watch out, Western Conference.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (7-3-0) Is Anthony Cirelli making a mid-career offensive leap? The 27-year-old has been a big contributor this season, notching 12 points in 10 games (albeit with just two goals). Throw in nine points from 3C Nick Paul, and suddenly Tampa’s lineup gets a lot longer down the middle after Brayden Point.
8. Vegas Golden Knights (7-3-1) The idea of playing the Knights in Vegas is terrifying right now. The team is 7-0-0 on home ice with 39 goals for — 5.6 per game — and 16 against (2.3).
9. Washington Capitals (6-2-0) A scary thought for the Atlantic clubs — Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa — that always talk about leaping up into a playoff spot; what if Washington — which grabbed the final spot last season from the Metro — is actually good and won’t be going anywhere?
10. New Jersey Devils (7-4-2) If Nico Hischier — one of the game’s best defensive centres — is turning into an elite sniper, the rest of the league should be losing sleep. The 25-year-old leads the NHL with 10 goals.
11. Toronto Maple Leafs (5-4-1) There’s a better-than-zero chance the Leafs lose in the first round of the playoffs and Mitch Marner walks for nothing in the summer at age 28.
12. Vancouver Canucks (4-2-3) Elias Petterson has 31 points in his past 49 games, including playoff games. The idea of him as a 50-point player must haunt the dreams of the most paranoid Canucks backers.
13. Los Angeles Kings (6-3-2) What happens when Anze Kopitar can’t do it anymore? The 37-year-old is still the Kings’ best forward and such a valuable two-way centre. The other guys playing centre for L.A. — Phillip Danault, Alex Turcotte, Trevor Lewis, Quinton Byfield — have combined for two goals this season.
14. Columbus Blue Jackets (5-3-1) Could the Jackets really be a wagon? They’re scoring 3.89 goals per game (sixth in the NHL) and, after blanking the Islanders Wednesday night, are surrendering just 2.78 (seventh).
15. Boston Bruins (4-5-1) What if this high-floor team just never adds the raw talent required to take another real run at a title? Worse yet, what if the assumed floor — always at least making the playoffs — could be a trap door?
16. Colorado Avalanche (5-6-0) All the offensive talent in the world can’t save you when your team save percentage is a league-worst .837.
17. Edmonton Oilers (4-5-1) The Oilers are living their nightmare — playing games without Connor McDavid — right now, even if it’s only for a couple weeks.
18. Ottawa Senators (5-4-1) What Ottawa did at the 2020 draft — grabbing Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson in the first five picks — might haunt the NHL for years to come.
19. Buffalo Sabres (4-5-1) What if Dylan Cozens, who has but three assists this year, just can’t rediscover his 31-goal form from two years ago? It would leave a huge hole down the middle in the Buffalo blueprint.
20. Seattle Kraken (5-4-1) What if Matty Beniers can’t fulfill that 1C promise we saw in his rookie year? Yeah, he’s young, but we’re talking worst nightmares here.
21. Anaheim Ducks (4-4-1) Lukas Dostal is definitely starting to live inside the heads of NHL shooters with his league-best .943 save percentage.
22. Utah Hockey Club (5-4-2) UHC is going through one of the scariest things any team can, having lost top-four defencemen John Marino and Sean Durzi for a huge chunk of the season.
23. Nashville Predators (3-5-1) The idea of Steven Stamkos being washed as an NHL sniper is about as dark as it gets in Nashville. No. 91 is still stuck on one goal this season.
24. St. Louis Blues (5-5-0) The darkest fears of GMs everywhere will come to life if the Blues have started a trend by successfully offer-sheeting two RFAs last summer.
25. Calgary Flames (5-4-1) The nightmare may just be starting. Calgary has been outscored 10-1 in its past two games and doesn’t have a 60-minute win in two weeks.
26. New York Islanders (3-5-2) Who’s afraid of a toothless vampire? Nobody, just like nobody worries about the Islanders’ punchless offence, which has already been shut out four times this season.
27. Montreal Canadiens (4-5-1) What if a five-year plan is actually an eight-year plan?
28. Detroit Red Wings (4-5-1) What if the rebuild has already crested?
29. Chicago Blackhawks (3-6-1) No shade, but Ryan Donato remaining the Hawks’ second-best forward is a chilling thought for a club trying to take a step.
30. Philadelphia Flyers (3-6-1) Pair Matvei Michkov with a first-overall pick next June and the league should fear the Flyers.
31. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-7-1) The darkness is just setting in and the tunnel that shows the light out doesn’t have a single brick laid yet.
32. San Jose Sharks (2-7-2) Macklin Celebrini with Will Smith and a high 2025 pick up front; 2024 first-rounder Sam Dickinson anchoring the blue; Yaroslav Askarov in goal and free agents wanting to live in the Bay Area? Fear the Fin … in about three years.