NHL December power rankings: The listless Rangers are in desperate need of a vibe reset

The vibes around the New York Rangers aren't great right now.

If a rough five-game losing streak wasn't bad enough, reports following their 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers stated that management would be willing to move on from Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba in an attempt to shake up the roster. The stunning news caused massive blowback from Rangers fans and in New York circles, so much so that it seems as if Rangers management is pulling back on their potential fire sale.

So yeah, not only are the Rangers playing poor hockey right now -- with a brutal 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday just the latest blow -- there's tension and unease within the organization. It's quite the mess, one which the Rangers seemingly have brought upon themselves in some ways, but the team also just isn't playing up to their standard and they're falling in the standings because of it.

Now that it's December, let’s take a look at how we view all 32 teams in our monthly NHL power rankings, with a focus on the Rangers to come.

32. San Jose Sharks (9-13-5)

Last ranked: 32

The Sharks won three of four to end November and outscored their opponents 22-13 in that span, a rare bright spot for this team. Don't be fooled, however, as this Sharks team is still destined for that No. 1 overall pick come April.

31. Chicago Blackhawks (8-15-2)

Last ranked: 31

Connor Bedard began December with just four goals, a far cry from how he kicked off his rookie season in 2023-24. Considering the state of the Blackhawks, Bedard's slow start isn't anything to worry about, but it's certainly put a damper on their season thus far.

30. Montreal Canadiens (8-13-3)

Last ranked: 30

It feels like we say this every time we talk about the Canadiens, but Montreal's young core has to take a step forward at some point. Cole Caufield is trying his hardest with 16 goals and 22 points so far this season, yet the rest of the Canadiens haven't raised their level of play to match.

29. Nashville Predators (7-12-6)

Last ranked: 19

Okay, NOW it's time to panic about the Predators. Nashville hasn't won consecutive games since late October and their major offseason additions in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei haven't moved the needle. On paper, the Predators aren't a bad team, they're just extremely snakebitten right now and it's costing them deeply in the standings.

28. Anaheim Ducks (10-10-3)

Last ranked: 29

It's a shame the Ducks are so bad offensively -- worst in the league, in fact! -- because Lukáš Dostál and John Gibson's fantastic efforts in net have basically gone for naught. It really feels like the Ducks have something in Dostál, but the fact remains that Anaheim just doesn't have the talent offensively to match right now.

27. Ottawa Senators (10-12-2)

Last ranked: 14

November was not kind at all to the Senators. After a hot start offensively to begin the season, the Senators cooled off and were outscored 45-34 in 14 games last month. As such, Ottawa has plummeted down the standings and are now the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference. Talk about a major letdown.

26. Pittsburgh Penguins (10-12-4)

Last ranked: 28

The Penguins rattled off three straight wins to end November, but it's hard to put your trust in them considering how dire things have looked this season. A playoff push isn't out of the question considering Sidney Crosby is doing everything he can to will Pittsburgh to success, yet their defense and goaltending leave so much to be desired.

25. Detroit Red Wings (10-11-3)

Last ranked: 24

This Red Wings team just doesn't have the juice it needs to be a playoff contender. Steve Yzerman's patient approach to the Red Wings' rebuild got them some solid pieces, but they desperately need an offensive star as they continue to toil dangerously close to the NHL's basement.

24. New York Islanders (9-10-6)

Last ranked: 25

The injuries to Matt Barzal and Anthony Duclair have really hamstrung this Islanders offense, but were any of us really expecting them to become a scoring juggernaut overnight? As it stands, the Islanders remain in the playoff race, but will need a lot more from their offense if they want to make the postseason.

23. Utah Hockey Club (10-10-4)

Last ranked: 23

Utah has been the picture of inconsistency this season. The team hasn't won multiple games in a row since the start of the season and sat at pure .500 after November's slate of games. Yet, if Utah can start putting together more wins, a playoff spot could very well be in reach in the wacky West. Or they could continue their erratic play and just miss out on the postseason.

22. Seattle Kraken (11-13-1)

Last ranked: 20

Losing three straight to end November put a damper on the Kraken's mid-month surge. Joey Daccord finally has the reins as the Kraken's No. 1 goaltender, but Seattle is still a middle-of-the-road offensive team looking for a spark.

21. St. Louis Blues (11-12-2)

Last ranked: 22

Snatching up Jim Montgomery mere days after his firing from Boston was quite the savvy move for St. Louis. And it certainly has given the Blues a bit of a boost, as the team is 2-0-1 under Montgomery to begin December. St. Louis has quite a fair number of flaws, to be sure, but the new head coach bump is real.

20. Columbus Blue Jackets (11-9-3)

Last ranked: 21

Things were looking dicey for a few week stretch in late October/early November, but the Blue Jackets have since won four of their last five and sit comfortably in the wild card hunt. Even if they're playing a bit over their true talent level, Columbus seems scrappy enough to be a spoiler to a playoff favorite.

19. Philadelphia Flyers (12-10-3)

Last ranked: 27

The Flyers put together some really gutsy wins in November, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games to lift them out of the NHL's basement. Philadelphia's goalie situation is still shaky, but John Tortorella has this team working hard and it shows. Plus, Matvei Michkov is quite a fun player to watch!

18. Calgary Flames (12-9-4)

Last ranked: 18

The Flames were headed towards a phenominal November before the team ended the month with four straight losses against relatively easy competition. Calgary still holds onto a playoff spot -- in part because the team had gone 7-2-2 before that -- but one has to wonder if this is the beginning of a slide backwards towards where we thought they'd be before the season.

17. Buffalo Sabres (11-11-2)

Last ranked: 16

Once again the Sabres are playing the role of Lucy holding the football, with their fans in Charlie Brown's shoes. A playoff spot is within reach, but are the Sabres going to be able to make it across the finish line come spring? November was an overall solid month for Buffalo, but we've seen this script before from the Sabres before they painfully rip the football away.

16. New York Rangers (13-10-1)

Last ranked: 9

The Rangers went on a five-game losing streak in November and now the sky is falling, with general manager Chris Drury stirring the pot even more thanks to a leaked memo that named Chris Kreider and team captain Jacob Trouba as players the team would be willing to trade. The vibes are just bad in New York right now and how the team handles the next few weeks will likely make or break this version of the Rangers as we know it.

15. Boston Bruins (12-11-3)

Last ranked: 26

The Bruins became the first NHL team to fire a head coach this season, moving on from Montgomery amidst an incredibly disappointing campaign. Given their struggles, one would expect the Bruins to be in a worse standings position, yet they sit in third in the Atlantic as December begins. It remains to be seen if the Bruins can pull it together for the rest of the season, but at least things aren't as dire as they once were.

14. Colorado Avalanche (13-12-0)

Last ranked: 13

Alexandar Georgiev has taken yet another step back in goal during his time in Colorado, which has severely hampered the Avalanche over the first few months of the season. With goaltending a major issue and the offense not able to make up the difference, the Avalanche sit outside of the playoff bubble even though they very much have the high-end talent to be there.

13. Tampa Bay Lightning (12-9-2)

Last ranked: 8

Tampa Bay bounced back from a four-game losing streak in early November nicely, but still sit outside of a playoff spot thanks to that skid. While not as dominant as they once were, the Lightning are still an extremely talented team that will kick your teeth in if you don't give them the respect they still deserve.

12. Vancouver Canucks (13-7-3)

Last ranked: 12

Thatcher Demko is close to returning from injury and the Canucks have managed to survive in a competitive Pacific without him. The goaltender will have to hit the ground running once he returns to the Canucks' lineup, but Vancouver likely passed its hardest test of the season without Demko behind them.

11. Edmonton Oilers (13-9-2)

Last ranked: 17

The Oilers righted the ship in November and got themselves back into the thick of it. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are once again putting Edmonton on their backs and the rest of the Oilers lineup will have to respond in kind if they want to make up the ground they lost earlier this season.

10. Los Angeles Kings (14-8-3)

Last ranked: 15

A 7-2 blowout loss to the Sharks notwithstanding, the Kings have been quite impressive recently. It'd be nice to see Los Angeles get more scoring out of their depth players, but they're winning games, which should help their cause of avoiding the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

9. Vegas Golden Knights (15-7-3)

Last ranked: 4

A 6-0 thrashing against Utah is surely not the way Vegas wanted to end November. The Golden Knights do lead the Pacific, but it's incredibly close now that we're in the last month of 2024. Don't be surprised if by January, the Pacific's top spot changes hands multiple times.

8. Florida Panthers (15-9-1)

Last ranked: 3

The Panthers had their worst stretch of the season in mid-November, going 1-6-0 with four games at home to put the Atlantic Division back in play. Florida did manage to win big three games in a row to end November, but the gap has now closed in a top-heavy Atlantic.

7. Dallas Stars (15-8-0)

Last ranked: 2

Dallas took a bit of a step back in November after their hot start to the 2024-25 season. The Stars still outscored their opponents 48-42 last month and went 7-6-0 in that time, which would be forgivable if not for the fact they sit multiple points behind first place in the Central. Sure, that's probably because the Wild and Jets are absolute monsters right now, but they're a bit further back than they'd like to be.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs (15-7-2)

Last ranked: 11

Even without Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs played terrific hockey in November and have put themselves in a great position in the Atlantic. Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll have really settled into their own in net, which has given the Maple Leafs a steadying presence in goal, which is quite rare for them. Of course, this is Toronto and things can fall apart quickly, but Craig Berube is pushing all the right buttons with this team.

5. Carolina Hurricanes (16-7-1)

Last ranked: 5

November was a tale of two halves for the Hurricanes. The team started strong at 7-2-0 then finished the month 2-3-1, allowing the Panthers to put up six goals in back-to-back games to cap things off. The imminent return of Pyotr Kochetkov in net should, at least, help stem the bleeding in the goals against department.

4. Winnipeg Jets (18-7-0)

Last ranked: 1

Winnipeg wasn't going to keep winning forever, so November was a bit of a return to reality for the Jets. You don't necessarily like to see their 3-6-0 record since mid-November, but this stretch has mostly been on the road in one of the most compact parts of the schedule, so they were likely playing tired hockey. If things keep up, however, the alarm bell klaxon will surely get louder.

3. New Jersey Devils (17-9-2)

Last ranked: 10

The Devils recovered nicely from their dip in October and haven't lost consecutive games since that stretch. Stefan Noesen has been quite the addition to this team (13 goals, 22 points) so far and at 31-years-old, he is likely headed for a career-high season when all is said and done.

2. Washington Capitals (17-6-1)

Last ranked: 7

Losing Alex Ovechkin is a terrible blow for the Capitals and for NHL fans hoping to see Wayne Gretzky's record fall, but credit where it's due, Washington is absolutely powering through teams right now. Regression will likely come for these Capitals -- who are being held up a bit by some luck and a sky-high shooting percentage -- yet this magical run is one to savor, as no one was expecting this.

1. Minnesota Wild (16-4-4)

Last ranked: 6

The Minnesota Mild no longer -- or at least for now -- the Wild are firing on all cylinders as the last month of 2024 begins. Plus, the team just picked up former sixth overall pick in defenseman David Jiricek from the Blue Jackets, adding to their stout defensive core. It's definitely a dogfight at the top of the NHL right now, but at the moment, the Wild are sitting pretty at the peak.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: NHL December power rankings: The listless Rangers are in desperate need of a vibe reset