Super 16: Golden Knights remain No. 1, Theodore among early MVPs

M.V.P. Most valuable player.

Can a team have one this early in the season?

Don't answer that. We're giving out the MVPs anyway. Who cares that the season is 16 days old and nobody has played in more than seven games?

Along with our weekly Super 16 power rankings is selections for the MVP of each team that is ranked.

Some were easier to identify than others. Some will stay for the duration of the season. Some most definitely will not. The eventual Hart Trophy winner may not be included what we have below.

Read on for more, but as a reminder, to come up with the Super 16 each week, the voters put together their own version of what they think the rankings should look like and a point total is assigned to each, with the team selected first given 16 points, second 15, third 14, and so on.

Here is the Super 16, and the way-too-early MVP for each team in it.

1. Vegas Golden Knights (7-0-0)

Total points: 204
Last week: No. 1

"Defenseman Shea Theodore is the MVP of the Golden Knights. Yes, forwards Jack Eichel and Mark Stone are the sexy picks, but with star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo missing four of the first six games, where would the Golden Knights be? They likely wouldn't be undefeated through seven games, that's for sure. Theodore is playing a team-high 23:33 per game, has seven points (two goals, five assists) in seven games, is plus-7 and has 21 shots on goal that ranks third on the team. Nobody on the Golden Knights has had a bigger impact in all areas of the game than Theodore." – Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

2. Colorado Avalanche (6-0-0)

Total points: 195
Last week: No. 2

"Oh, I could go in a few different directions here. The Avalanche have had so many players get off to good starts, but I'll go with Mikko Rantanen. Yeah, probably not a big surprise, but this isn't most surprising player (that would be Ryan Johansen with his four goals in six games). It's early frontrunner for most valuable player, and Rantanen has been pretty darn valuable leading Colorado in goals (five) and points (12). He also has two game-winning goals, tied for the Avalanche lead with Logan O'Connor. Rantanen is coming off his best season, when he had NHL career highs in goals (55) and points (105). He's off to a sizzling start and is a big reason why the Avalanche are 6-0-0." -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

3. Boston Bruins (6-0-0)

Total points: 183
Last week: No. 5

"It's nearly impossible to pick an MVP candidate for the still-undefeated Bruins at this point. Is it David Pastrnak, who already has eight points (five goals, three assists) in six games? Is it Matthew Poitras, the 19-year-old rookie who made the team out of nowhere and gave it depth where it seemed like it had none? Is it Brad Marchand and his combination of seven points (four goals, three assists), plus his leadership as the new captain? All good choices, but I'm going with The Goalies. There has been no drop-off for either Linus Ullmark -- the reigning Vezina Trophy winner voted as best goalie last season -- or Jeremy Swayman, who have turned themselves into arguably the best tandem in the NHL. Ullmark is 3-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage. Swayman is 3-0-0 with a 1.34 GAA, .957 save percentage and one shutout. They're letting nothing by them, and the Bruins are undefeated as a result." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

4. Dallas Stars (4-0-1)

Total points: 170
Last week: No. 4

"Joe Pavelski is almost a too-easy pick, given the fact the 39-year-old forward still isn't showing any signs of slowing down and leads the Stars in scoring (six points; three goals, three assists). But Jake Oettinger is my pick as their early-season MVP. He's won three of his first four starts with a 1.44 GAA and .952 save percentage. Like most teams, the Stars will only go as far as their goaltending takes them. If this is the Oettinger they're going to have starting 55-60 games for them this season, they could be primed to go on a long run in the spring." -- Brian Compton, managing editor

5. New Jersey Devils (3-2-1)

Total points: 136
Last week: No. 7

"Jack Hughes is 'on a heater,' leading New Jersey with four goals and 17 points in six games; his 14 points were the most in the opening five games of a season in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history. Hughes is the engine to an offensive machine, leading the Devils in shots on goal (28) and average ice time (22:21). It's obvious he's become a more mature player, understands the game a lot better and is as competitive as they come in his fifth NHL season. In an interview with him earlier this season, he told me, "I've always been the kind that works hard and plays through things and with all the skill and whatnot, my best quality has always been my competitiveness." He was my preseason pick to win the Art Ross Trophy as the League's top point producer, but perhaps the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player should be added into the conversation as well." -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

6. Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2-0)

Total points: 134
Last week: No. 6

"With a special shoutout to Auston Matthews, who started the season with back-to-back hat tricks, the nod here goes to William Nylander. The forward shares the Maple Leafs lead in scoring (five goals, five assists) with linemate John Tavares, has come out of the gate on a six-game point streak, and looks dominant at times to where opponents simply can't get the puck off him. Playing the final season of his contract, Nylander is certainly positioning himself for a healthy raise while helping the Maple Leafs get off to a healthy 4-2-0 start. Part of the credit goes to Tavares, who has come out of the gates hot as well (three goals, seven assists)." -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

7. Detroit Red Wings (5-1-1)

Total points: 124
Last week: No. 16

"Dylan Larkin has been outstanding. His 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in seven games are second-most in the NHL behind Hughes' 17 (four goals, 13 assists), but Detroit's way-too-early MVP goes to Alex DeBrincat. The Red Wings were 24th in goals (237) last season. They're first in goals (34) this season. Some of that is because of their improved depth, but a lot is because of DeBrincat, whose nine goals lead the NHL after he was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators and signed a four-year, $31.5 million contract ($7.875 million average annual value) July 9. Now, he has a 39.1 shooting percentage, so he'll cool off, but he's already made a difference and is well on his way already to being Detroit's first 40-goal scorer since Marian Hossa in 2008-09." -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

8. New York Rangers (4-2-0)

Total points: 113
Last week: No. 8

"Artemi Panarin has a six-game point streak to start the season. The forward leads the Rangers with eight points (three goals, five assists), has four at even strength (three goals, one assist) and four on the power play (all assists). He has six points (three goals, three assists) in New York's four wins, including assists on Vincent Trocheck's game-winning goal in a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes and Chris Kreider's game-winner in a 3-1 victory against the Calgary Flames. He also scored two goals in a 4-1 win against the Seattle Kraken. Panarin has a team-high 21 shots on goal as well." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

9. Vancouver Canucks (4-2-0)

Total points: 93
Last week: No. 13

"Quinn Hughes is playing like an early contender for the Norris Trophy given to the best defenseman in the NHL. Vancouver's captain has six points (one goal, five assists), including a goal and three assists for the third-ranked power play (35.3 percent). His even-strength prowess has been on display too. Hughes is plus-8 already. Plus-minus can be a dangerous stat to measure a player, but when you're plus or even in every game and you're averaging 25 minutes of ice time per game, like Hughes (25:02), then you're doing something right. Simply put, the Canucks are generating more offense with Hughes on the ice and they're not losing any ground defensively when they do not have the puck. He leads the Canucks with 20 shots on goal, which means he's getting pucks through and creating offense." -- Rosen

10. Los Angeles Kings (3-2-1)

Total points: 73
Last week: No. 15

"Tiny sample size aside, the Kings have three legitimate early contenders for team MVP. Kevin Fiala leads them in scoring (nine points; one goal, eight assists), Trevor Moore is first with five goals, and Anze Kopitar, well, just leads. Kopitar is my pick. As if seven points (three goals, four assists) weren't impressive enough, the 36-year-old captain still epitomizes what a great two-way forward should be. He never cheats on defense, has won a remarkable 60.2 percent of his face-offs, and leads Kings forwards in average ice time (21:26) by more than 1:30. For keeping himself in phenomenal shape throughout his 18 seasons, Kopitar' 1,298 games played are the most in Kings history. He is four goals away from 400 and six assists will move him past Marcel Dionne (757) for first. What a stud." -- Paul Strizhevsky, staff writer

11. Minnesota Wild (3-2-1)

Total points: 61
Last week: No. 11

"Kirill Kaprizov is off to an excellent start and should be considered an early MVP candidate for the Wild. His three assists helped them overcome a third-period deficit in a 7-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and he has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in six games. Traditionally, Kaprizov is more of a goal scorer than set-up man (40 goals, 35 assists last season) but this season he's finding great success feeding teammates on the top line, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello. Hartman had a hat trick against Edmonton and two of the goals were set up by Kaprizov. That line has combined for 25 points, with Zuccarello's nine (two goals, seven assists) and Hartman's seven (four goals, three assists). Kaprizov is the catalyst on the line, which has been among the most effective in the Western Conference so far this season." -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

12. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-2-2)

Total points: 60
Last week: Unranked

"We need to give a little credit where it's due, and goalie Jonas Johansson deserves it right now. The 28-year-old stepped into a difficult situation being the guy to have to sub for Andrei Vasilevskiy, arguably the best goalie in the world, but he's holding his own and giving the Lightning a chance to win on most nights. Johansson has already started six games, two more than he started in the NHL the previous two seasons. He is 3-1-2 with a 2.99 GAA, .917 save percentage and a 32-save shutout in a 3-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. It hasn't been perfect, but nobody expected that. The Lightning didn't know what to expect. They could only hope that Johansson would fill Vasilevskiy's crease well enough to keep them in the Stanley Cup Playoff race until the No. 1 goalie came back. So far, so good." -- Rosen

13. Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-1)

Total points: 50
Last week: Unranked

"Sean Couturier's return so far shows just how much the Flyers missed the 30-year-old center during his season-and-a-half absence because of back issues. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in six games, but it's his impact on all parts of the lineup that's helped the Flyers to a 3-2-1 start. They're averaging 3.00 goals per game, up from 2.68 last season, and they're keeping the puck in the offensive zone 41.1 percent of the time at even strength, up from 40.3 percent last season. Couturier's had an even bigger impact defensively by drawing the toughest assignments. Against the Canucks on Oct. 17, he and linemates Cam Atkinson and Owen Tippett held Elias Pettersson to one shot on goal in a 2-0 victory. Matched against Connor McDavid two nights later, Couturier helped hold the three-time defending NHL scoring champion without a shot on goal for the fifth time in four seasons in a 4-1 win. With Couturier, the Flyers have the look of a team that could fight for a playoff spot, rather than the team that was far out of the race the previous two seasons without him." -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

14. Carolina Hurricanes (3-4-0)

Total points: 48
Last week: No. 3

"The Hurricanes took a bad turn on their just-completed six-game road trip and lost the final three games. That makes picking an MVP at this point difficult, but I'll go with Seth Jarvis. The 21-year-old forward leads Carolina with four goals and his seven points are tied with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jaccob Slavin for the team lead. Jarvis picked up his play while Sebastian Aho was sidelined for three games with an upper-body injury, getting six points (four goals, two assists) to help carry the load offensively. He looks ready to take the next step production-wise after he had 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) in 82 games last season. Carolina's issue has been on the defensive end, where it has allowed an NHL-worst 4.71 goals per game. Injuries to goalie Frederik Andersen, who hasn't played since being hit in the mask with a shot Oct. 17, and defenseman Brett Pesce (lower body) haven't helped, but team defense is usually a strength for Carolina." -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

15. Florida Panthers (3-3-0)

Total points: 32
Last week: Unranked

"Full transparency: I did not have the Panthers ranked in my Super 16 this week, although they have won three of four since an 0-2-0 start. The two players who were candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy during their run to the Stanley Cup Final were Matthew Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky. Well, Tkachuk is without a goal in six games this season, and Bobrovsky has a 3.06 GAA and .899 save percentage. Enter Sam Reinhart. The forward has team highs of seven goals and nine points, and those seven goals are tied with Matthews for second in the NHL. He has three power-play goals, two-game winning goals and is tied with captain Aleksander Barkov for the Panthers lead in ice time per game among forwards (21:06). He has scored in each of the past five games and is their most impressive player in the early part of the season." -- David Satriano, staff writer

16. New York Islanders (2-2-1)

Total points: 21
Last week: No. 10

"Tough call here because the Islanders haven't scored much (2.60 goals per game) and their normal MVP, goalie Ilya Sorokin, has allowed five goals in each of his past two starts. So we'll go with defenseman Noah Dobson, who has five points (one goal, four assists) in five games and is averaging 24:12 of ice time per game. He had the assist on Mathew Barzal's power-play goal that was the difference in a 1-0 win against the Coyotes on Oct. 17. He has been relatively steady and reliable on a team that hasn't been consistently yet this season." -- Rosen

Others receiving points: Ottawa Senators 16, Winnipeg Jets 10, Arizona Coyotes 9, Columbus Blue Jacket 9, Pittsburgh Penguins 9, Edmonton Oilers 8, Montreal Canadiens 6, Buffalo Sabres 2, Seattle Kraken 1, Nashville Predators 1

Dropped out from last week: Penguins (No. 9), Oilers (No. 12), Senators (No. 14)

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

AMALIE BENJAMIN

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Los Angeles Kings; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Detroit Red Wings; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Vancouver Canucks; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Minnesota Wild; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins

BRIAN COMPTON

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Detroit Red Wings; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Vancouver Canucks; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. New York Rangers; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. Philadelphia Flyers; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Arizona Coyotes

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Detroit Red Wings; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. Philadelphia Flyers; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Columbus Blue Jackets; 14. Montreal Canadiens; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Ottawa Senators

TOM GULITTI

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Detroit Red Wings; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Florida Panthers; 13. Carolina Hurricanes; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Philadelphia Flyers; 16. New York Islanders

ADAM KIMELMAN

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. New York Rangers; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Vancouver Canucks; 9. Los Angeles Kings; 10. Detroit Red Wings; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Winnipeg Jets; 16. Edmonton Oilers

MIKE G. MORREALE

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Florida Panthers; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. New York Rangers; 9. New York Islanders; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Minnesota Wild; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Tampa Bay Lightning; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Buffalo Sabres; 16. Seattle Kraken

TRACEY MYERS

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Detroit Red Wings; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. New Jersey Devils; 8. Tampa Bay Lightning; 9. Philadelphia Flyers; 10. New York Rangers; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. Vancouver Canucks; 13. Arizona Coyotes; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Minnesota Wild; 16. Edmonton Oilers

SHAWN P. ROARKE

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Los Angeles Kings; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Edmonton Oilers; 12. Detroit Red Wings; 13. Vancouver Canucks; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Nashville Predators

DAN ROSEN

1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Vegas Golden Knights; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Detroit Red Wings; 6. New York Rangers; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Vancouver Canucks; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Philadelphia Flyers; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Arizona Coyotes; 16. Winnipeg Jets

DAVID SATRIANO

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Detroit Red Wings; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. New York Islanders; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Philadelphia Flyers; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets

PAUL STRIZHEVSKY

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Detroit Red Wings; 6. New Jersey Devils; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. New York Rangers; 9. Vancouver Canucks; 10. Philadelphia Flyers; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. Minnesota Wild

DEREK VAN DIEST

1. Boston Bruins; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Vegas Golden Knights; 4. Detroit Red Wings; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Vancouver Canucks; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Philadelphia Flyers; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Columbus Blue Jackets; 14. Montreal Canadiens; 15. Arizona Coyotes; 16. Ottawa Senators

MIKE ZEISBERGER

1. Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Colorado Avalanche; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. New Jersey Devils; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. New York Rangers; 8. Detroit Red Wings; 9. Los Angeles Kings; 10. Vancouver Canucks; 11. Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. Carolina Hurricanes; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Florida Panthers