Story Summary
The second pre-season Super 16 power rankings list the same 16 teams as last week with only minor changes in order and ask a single question: who is the most indispensable player on each club? Carolina sit top of the list after their Stanley Cup triumph, and Jordan Staal is named the Hurricanes’ indispensable figure – a Conn Smythe winner whose face-off, defensive and leadership work were decisive in the playoffs. Colorado are second, with Nathan MacKinnon described as the Avalanche’s tone-setter. Across the rankings, voters chose a mix of elite goalies, two-way centres and generational scorers as the players their teams cannot consistently win without, from Andrei Vasilevskiy in Tampa Bay to Macklin Celebrini in San Jose. The rankings include team point totals, last week’s positions and the voter-by-voter reasoning behind each selection.
Key Facts
- The second pre-season Super 16 power ranking features the same 16 teams as last week, with minor order changes.
- Carolina Hurricanes are ranked No. 1 with 230 total points; Jordan Staal is identified as Carolina’s most indispensable player.
- Jordan Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, is 38 years old, and has played 1,403 NHL regular-season games and 181 playoff games; he led the Hurricanes with six goals in the Stanley Cup Final, is noted for winning key face-offs and shutting down opponents’ best lines, and is described as an extension of coach Rod Brind’Amour.
- Colorado Avalanche are ranked No. 2 with 225 total points; voters named Nathan MacKinnon the Avalanche’s most indispensable player and described him as the team’s tone-setter.
- Dallas Stars are No. 3 with 187 points; Wyatt Johnston is named their indispensable player after career highs of 45 goals, 86 points and 41 assists, and he led the NHL with 27 power-play goals in 82 games.
- Florida Panthers are No. 4 with 181 points; Aleksander Barkov is their indispensable player, a three-time Selke Trophy winner (2021, 2024, 2025) who missed last season with a knee injury and the Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs following two straight Stanley Cup championships.
- Montreal Canadiens are No. 5 with 176 points; Nick Suzuki reached 101 points last season, won the Selke Trophy and had a streak of 537 consecutive games played since his 2019-20 debut.
- Vegas Golden Knights are No. 6 with 163 points; Mitch Marner played 1,616:34 minutes last season, scored 80 points (24 goals, 56 assists) in 81 games, and led the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 22 games.
- Minnesota Wild are No. 7 with 148 points; Joel Eriksson Ek led the Wild with 681 face-off wins last season, averaged 19:05 per game – third among Minnesota forwards – and was plus-16. He produced five points (three goals, two assists) in the Western Conference First Round before a broken heel bone ended his playoff run in the series-clinching 5-2 Game 6 victory.
- Tampa Bay Lightning are No. 8 with 146 points; Andrei Vasilevskiy is characterised as arguably the League’s most indispensable player, ranking (over nine consecutive playoff seasons) second in games played (508), first in wins (329), first in save percentage (.917) and goals-against average (2.48) among goalies with at least 200 games, and second in shutouts (38) among all goalies.
- Buffalo Sabres are No. 9 with 132 points; captain Rasmus Dahlin had 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists) last season and is credited as the franchise’s heartbeat in ending a 15-year playoff drought.
- Washington Capitals are No.
IHM Discussion
The Super 16 exercise underlines two consistent themes: elite teams are frequently defined by a single indispensable performer, and that performer can be very different in type. Some clubs point to a veteran two-way centre and dressing-room anchor – Jordan Staal in Carolina is the clearest example, credited with key face-offs, defensive shutdown ability and playoff-winning scoring. Others hang their fortunes on a generational offensive engine: Macklin Celebrini’s 115-point season for San Jose made him the unquestioned centrepiece of the Sharks’ future. Goalies also appear prominently: Andrei Vasilevskiy’s record across nine consecutive playoff seasons is presented as foundational to Tampa Bay’s contention.
The voters’ choices reflect roster construction as much as star power. Colorado’s pick of Nathan MacKinnon as a tone-setter recognises impact beyond raw numbers; Cale Makar and Devon Toews provide context, but MacKinnon is singled out for his night-to-night influence. Minnesota’s selection of Joel Eriksson Ek emphasises the glue, shutdown and face-off value that complements high-end skill elsewhere on the roster. In short, teams’ most indispensable players fall into three buckets in these rankings: leadership-and-shutdown centres, game-breaking offensive talents and elite goaltenders. That taxonomy helps explain why a team’s depth chart and contingency plans matter nearly as much as headline stars.
Why It Matters
Labelling one player as indispensable crystallises where each club believes its risk lies. The rankings make clear that losing certain individuals would not be a mere inconvenience but a potential season-shifting event: Carolina face a “massive void” when Staal is gone; Tampa Bay’s fortunes are described as immeasurably affected without Vasilevskiy; San Jose’s outlook is framed around Celebrini’s availability. It also provides practical signal points for opponents and general managers: teams built around a single type of influence – a tone-setting scorer or one elite goalie – must either protect that asset through roster depth or accept a fragility opponents will seek to exploit. Barkov’s missed season and Florida’s failure to make the playoffs capture the consequence of an indispensable player being unavailable.
Mini Q&A
What is the Super 16?
The Super 16 is a weekly power ranking of the League’s top 16 teams. This second pre-season edition uses votes from 15 contributors to rank teams and identify each team’s most indispensable player.
Which team is No. 1 and who is their most indispensable player?
The Carolina Hurricanes are ranked No. 1 with 230 points, and Jordan Staal is named their most indispensable player; he won the Conn Smythe Trophy and played a pivotal role in Carolina’s Stanley Cup run.
Who did voters pick as Colorado’s most indispensable player and why?
Voters picked Nathan MacKinnon as Colorado’s most indispensable player, describing him as the Avalanche’s tone-setter whose skill and drive set the team’s standard night in, night out.
Which young player is singled out as San Jose’s indispensable piece?
Macklin Celebrini is identified as San Jose’s indispensable player after a franchise-record 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) last season, making him the engine of the Sharks’ offence.
Coach Mark Comment
From a coaching perspective, identifying an indispensable player is both acknowledgement and a call to action. Acknowledgement because those players – whether they win face-offs, control possession, bail out teammates or change momentum with elite scoring – are the ones who tilt game plans and practice emphases. A call to action because teams must prepare contingencies: replicate the player’s minutes in manageable packages, develop younger players into complementary roles, and adjust tactical deployment to protect the asset. Practically, that means mixing usage to reduce wear, preparing specific line combinations to cover a lost face-off or penalty-kill presence, and ensuring the power play and penalty kill have multiple reliable options rather than a single, irreplaceable creator.
What Comes Next
The rankings presented are the second pre-season Super 16; future weekly Super 16 polls will adjust order and, potentially, the sense of indispensability as training camps progress and regular-season availability becomes clearer.
IHM Final View
The Super 16 list is a useful snapshot: elite teams are often built around one indispensable figure, but the nature of that indispensability varies. Jordan Staal represents the veteran two-way leader whose absence is a loss of structure and shutdown ability; Nathan MacKinnon represents the engine whose tone and drive elevate a roster; Andrei Vasilevskiy represents the backbone that can sustain a team through long regular seasons and deep playoff runs. For rivals and roster builders alike, the lesson is the same – identify your indispensable pieces and build practical depth around them, because these rankings make plain how much hinges on a single player’s availability and form.