NHL Power Rankings: Jets continue to fly high, plus what each team is thankful for this season
As we approach the end of the second calendar month in the 2024-25 NHL season, we also march toward “Thanksgiving playoff cutoff” season. So get your postseason team takes ready, because now’s the time to sling them. North of 75% of teams in the last 10 seasons that were in a playoff position by (American) Thanksgiving stayed in one by the end of that season.
That’s very good news for teams like the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild, who many wrote off at the start of the season as teams on the outside looking in for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
However, the mythical Thanksgiving marker has no bearing on our ESPN NHL Power Rankings, which are once again led by the Winnipeg Jets. But in addition to an updated set of rankings, we are identifying the one item for which every team is thankful this season, whether it’s particular players, trends or a piece of hockey equipment.
How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors sends in a 1-32 poll based on the games through Wednesday, which generates our master list.
Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the previous edition, published Nov. 15. Points percentages are through Thursday’s games.
Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 84.21%
Thankful for: A counterpunch. A lot of attention has been put on the team’s greatest start in NHL history, and rightfully so. But this week, Winnipeg suffered a 5-0 loss to the Panthers. The fans chanted “overrated” to the Jets as the reigning Stanley Cup champs trounced them. But two days later, the Jets got revenge in the heavyweight home-and-home series, going up 3-0 before doubling up the Cats to win 6-3. A big response against a team that is battling for tops in the opposite conference.
Next seven days: @ PIT (Nov. 22), @ NSH (Nov. 23), @ MIN (Nov. 25), @ LA (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 73.68%
Thankful for: A 13-game point streak for Martin Necas. OK, yes, the Canes have a lot to be thankful for. Second in the Metro Division, proving all those preseason prognostications wrong, but I wanted to throw some flowers to Necas. With a lot of the spotlight elsewhere around the league, Necas quietly put together an awesome 13-game point streak, amassing 27 points. He has gone pointless in only three games.
What a roller-coaster ride for Necas — from almost being traded to signing a two-year bridge deal to leaping out of the gate.
Next seven days: @ CBJ (Nov. 23), vs. DAL (Nov. 25), vs. NYR (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 76.32%
Thankful for: The protective cup. Sure, I could have chosen the Wild’s amazing start, Filip Gustavsson cruising (including a goalie goal) but Marcus Foligno gave us some absolutely wild information about Mats Zuccarello in an appearance on a Minnesota radio station. Zuccarello has been out of the lineup after taking a puck to the groin, rupturing a testicle.
“We thought he was going lose one nut, but it actually survived and he’s got them both still,” Foligno said on 93X. “Poor guy got hit where the sun don’t shine and it ruptured his testicle. He can’t even lift anything.” Foligno added that Zuccarello’s cup had a “massive dent in it.” This is yet another reminder that hockey players are incredibly tough.
Next seven days: @ CGY (Nov. 23), vs. WPG (Nov. 25), @ BUF (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 71.05%
Thankful for: It’s only “week to week.” Alex Ovechkin is off to the best season of his illustrious career — 15 goals in 18 games. He is 26 goals away from catching Wayne Gretzky for the career goal-scoring record. In his last game against Utah, he tied Jaromir Jagr for the record for most goalies scored on in NHL history, with 178 — then, a collision with Jack McBain left Ovi on the ice, favoring his leg, and he didn’t return to the game.
He is currently “week to week,” with the estimate being that he will return in four to six. The way the Great 8 has started this season and how incredibly motivated he looked to catch 99 this season, hockey fans are all thankful that he is not projected to be out for a much longer time.
We are now in that record-chasing zone where every Ovi game is an event, countdown graphics on screen at all times, think pieces popping up everywhere about his career and tallies. The Caps, Washington fans and hockey fans in general are thankful for the blistering start and hopeful for a quick return.
Next seven days: vs. NJ (Nov. 23), @ FLA (Nov. 25), @ TB (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 62.50%
Thankful for: No Stanley Cup hangover. The Cats picked up this season where they left off as one of the best teams in hockey. Where some teams might experience a lag, the Cats kept their foot on the gas, starting the season 12-6-1. Coming off his 57-goal career season, Sam Reinhart is fourth in the league with 30 points, and tied for the league lead in goals, with 15; his current goals pace would land him at 62 by season’s end.
Next seven days: vs. COL (Nov. 23), vs. WSH (Nov. 25), vs. TOR (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 69.44%
Thankful for: The best goalie tandem in the league. The Rangers could be thankful for a lot of things, including good news about Filip Chytil‘s injury, and having one of the best lines in hockey skating as their third line (the only line in the NHL coming into this week that had not allowed a goal while on the ice with more than 100 minutes played). But in one of the most important positions in sports, the Rangers are getting stellar performances from backup Jonathan Quick (four starts, four wins, .970 save percentage). Franchise netminder Igor Shesterkin is at a .914 save percentage, with a 8-5-1 record.
Shesterkin, I’m sure, is also thankful for the possible giant leap in the NHL’s salary cap coming next season, as he eyes a contract extension.
Next seven days: @ EDM (Nov. 23), vs. STL (Nov. 25), @ CAR (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 63.64%
Thankful for: A new nickname? Be honest; who reading this right now has ever called Martin Brodeur “Satan’s Wallpaper,” let alone ever heard of that nickname? It became a hot topic when it showed up as a clue on Jeopardy! earlier this month. Brodeur himself didn’t know about it. One of the contestants, the eventual winner, got the clue right (an educated guess?) “Satan’s Wallpaper,” though, has appeared in the wild a couple of times — in a 2009 Bleacher Report article, and in Rolling Stone in 2016.
Maybe the nickname can apply to this Devils team, which is cruising with a 12-7-2 record, going 8-4 on the road. Nico Hischier has 10 goals, 10 assists and is a plus-10.
Next seven days: @ WSH (Nov. 23), vs. NSH (Nov. 25), vs. STL (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 66.67%
Thankful for: Jason Robertson getting on the board. The California native dipped 29 points from a whopping 109 (and 46 goals) in 2022-23 to 80 last season. That’s still a terrific number. But Robertson had been struggling to find the back of the net lately, going nine games without a tally, finally getting off the schneid Wednesday against San Jose in a three-point effort. His linemates Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz also tallied. The second line of Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment is doing the lion’s share of the production, so it is good to see Robertson potentially start heating up.
Next seven days: @ TB (Nov. 23), @ CAR (Nov. 25), @ CHI (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 65.00%
Thankful for: An Auston Matthews-less hot streak. The Leafs lost their star scorer, who has been out with an upper-body injury since Nov. 5. He’s out of the lineup and out of the country, receiving treatment in Germany. Without No. 34 in the lineup, the Leafs have been red hot, going 5-1 including wins over the Capitals, Golden Knights and Oilers.
Next seven days: vs. UTA (Nov. 24), @ FLA (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 65.00%
Thankful for: A strong start. Vegas is still the top team in the Pacific, with a 12-6-2 record. And a big part of that is that October was even better than November, in part because Mark Stone was in the lineup and the top line was playing at an elite level. Stone, who has dealt with his share of injuries in his career, was day-to-day with a lower-body injury since Nov. 8 and was placed on IR this week.
The Knights have lost three of their past six games, with all three losses by three goals (including their first shutout loss of the season Wednesday to the Leafs).
Next seven days: @ MTL (Nov. 23), @ PHI (Nov. 25), @ COL (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 57.50%
Thankful for: More time at home. The Kings started the season with seven straight games on the road, and didn’t have their home opener until Oct. 24.The team was able to spend a lot more time at home in November, with a couple quicker road trips and California rival stops. As they say, there’s no place like home, and the Kings have lost just once in regulation so far at Crypto.com Arena this season. The team has another two-week stretch on the road in mid December, so it’ll be vital to bank some home wins around that.
Next seven days: vs. SEA (Nov. 23), @ SJ (Nov. 25), vs. WPG (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 61.11%
Thankful for: Point in warmups. The Bolts were without the services of one of their best players, Brayden Point, for four games due to a lower-body injury. The top-line center returned on Tuesday against Pittsburgh and scored two goals, including the overtime winner, as Tampa Bay defeated Pittsburgh 3-2. Point has 10 goals in 13 games as Tampa Bay now sits third in the Atlantic Division with a 10-6-2 record.
Next seven days: vs. DAL (Nov. 23), vs. COL (Nov. 25), vs. WSH (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 58.33%
Thankful for: Elias Pettersson and … Elias Pettersson. I could focus on how Elias Pettersson has found his old game lately, with points in five of his last six games, but we almost had a situation where two players named Elias Pettersson suited up for the same team; the Canucks’ franchise center, along with the 2022 third-rounder who plays defense. Just imagine how fun that would have been for play-by-play announcer John Shorthouse — sort of like when both Sebastian Ahos are playing against each other.
Next seven days: @ OTT (Nov. 23), @ BOS (Nov. 26), @ PIT (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 52.38%
Thankful for: A bounce back. For the second straight autumn, the Oilers stumbled out of the gate to begin the regular season. But the Oilers seem to be trending back into the right direction, going 6-3-1 in their past 10 games. Connor McDavid has 14 points in his past six. Of the past 12 games, Leon Draisaitl has had multiple points in eight of them. Edmonton is fourth in the Pacific, but it doesn’t feel like the doom and gloom from the first couple of weeks in October.
Next seven days: vs. NYR (Nov. 23)
Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 62.50%
Thankful for: Hungry like the Wolf. The Flames parted ways with starting goalie Jacob Markstrom in June. Dustin Wolf, who played 17 games last season, has earned more starts this season and has been gaining acclaim. With a 8-2-1 record and .926 save percentage, the 23-year-old has forced his way into the discussion for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year; he would be the first goalie in well over a decade to earn that honor.
Next seven days: vs. MIN (Nov. 23), @ OTT (Nov. 25), @ DET (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 55.00%
Thankful for: The superstars. Cale Makar led the league in scoring early in the season. He’s still in the top 10, tied at 28 points with teammate Mikko Rantanen. Nathan MacKinnon leads the way, with 34 points (and a league-topping 27 assists). That level of production is necessary for the Avs to stay competitive, as goaltending has been a concern. Both Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen are below .890 in save percentage.
The Avs currently have a minus-6 goal differential, and they haven’t ended a season in the red since 2016-17 (also the last time they didn’t make the playoffs).
Next seven days: @ FLA (Nov. 23), @ TB (Nov. 25), vs. VGK (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 52.50%
Thankful for: Home sweet home. The Kraken are 6-4-1 at Climate Pledge Arena and 3-5-0 away from it. Most recently, Seattle has won four of its past five games at home, coming off of a brutal road trip that started with a bang, an 8-2 trouncing of Montreal, but was followed up with four straight losses to Toronto, Ottawa, Boston and Colorado. If this team wants to make a serious run at a playoff spot, they’ll need to stack wins in all places.
Next seven days: @ LA (Nov. 23), @ ANA (Nov. 25), vs. ANA (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 47.50%
Thankful for: Pierre Engvall‘s demotion to promotion. Engvall spent 15 games in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies before spending the next four entire seasons in the NHL. However, Engvall lost his spot in Islanders training camp, and was sent to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders for a stint. He has come alive in his most recent stretch, with goals in three consecutive games. With Engvall’s $3 million per year deal not expiring until 2029-30, seeing the big winger productive is a great thing for Isles fans.
Next seven days: vs. STL (Nov. 23), vs. DET (Nov. 25), vs. BOS (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 44.74%
Thankful for: A new arena (?). As someone who lived in the Ottawa area for a short period, I can say that the prospect of an arena in the downtown core is exciting — the current suburb locale isn’t exactly ideal. Commissioner Gary Bettman is in Ottawa this week, taking several meetings including with Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, and touring LeBreton Flats, the site for the proposed new arena that was agreed to by the club and the National Capital Commission last September.
Hopefully there is more to be thankful for in Canada’s capital city soon.
Next seven days: vs. VAN (Nov. 23), vs. CGY (Nov. 25), @ SJ (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 50.00%
Thankful for: Accountability. The Bruins fired coach Jim Montgomery after just over two seasons. He leaves behind the third-best points percentage (.715 with a 120-41-23 record) in franchise history, but won just one playoff round. The team’s stars, including David Pastrnak, were reflective post-dismissal and put the onus on themselves.
“We weren’t getting the job done, and because we weren’t getting it done, we lost a great coach and a great human being,” Pastrnak said. Captain Brad Marchand added, “This is a reflection of our play and it was avoidable. And I think that’s the tough part about this, is that if we would have done our job in here, he’d still be around.”
Next seven days: @ DET (Nov. 23), vs. VAN (Nov. 26), @ NYI (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 50.00%
Thankful for: Maturity. The Sabres aren’t playing their best hockey at the moment, and Tage Thompson let it be known. Speaking with Field Level Media, Thompson said “It’s all about consistency right now. We know when we commit to playing the right way we’re good, and right now I think it’s just us being a little immature, just thinking we’re better than we are, instead of relying on what’s gotten us results.”
The Sabres are 8-9-1 overall, and 5-5 in their last 10. But the number that keeps haunting the club is 13, which is how many years that great city hasn’t seen playoff hockey.
Next seven days: @ ANA (Nov. 22), @ SJ (Nov. 23), vs. MIN (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 44.74%
Thankful for: Passionate fans. On Nov. 15, Utah HC jersey were on sale for the first time at the team store, and fans reportedly lined up around the block to pick up their threads. Not only did they set a Delta Center retail sales record, but it ended up becoming the second highest NHL single game merchandise sales total ever. Only Game 5 in Vegas during the 2023 Stanley Cup Final was higher, and that was a Cup-clinching game. You love to see it.
Next seven days: @ PIT (Nov. 23), @ TOR (Nov. 24), @ MTL (Nov. 26)
Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 50.00%
Thankful for: Thanksgiving. The Ducks are probably the team most thankful for that “if you’re in a playoff spot by Thanksgiving, you’re in great shape” stat we always talk about this time of the year. The Ducks are only three points out of a postseason slot with three games before Turkey Day on the docket, including a home-and-home with Seattle, who are ahead of them by one point. It’s possible they are in a wild-card spot by Nov. 28, and get sprinkled some of that magical playoff hope pixie dust.
Next seven days: vs. BUF (Nov. 22), vs. SEA (Nov. 25), @ SEA (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 45.00%
Thankful for: Translators. Matvei Michkov had a lot of buzz coming into the NHL this season, and with Macklin Celebrini missing some time due to injury, the Flyers forward gained some early Calder Trophy momentum. Michkov has 15 points in 18 games, despite sitting a couple of games. Part of coach John Tortorella’s plan is to have weekly meetings with the 19-year-old winger where they hear each other out — which is where the translators come into the picture.
Michkov recently became the youngest Flyers player to score an overtime game winner, and has been every bit as good as that preseason buzz would have us believe.
Next seven days: vs. CHI (Nov. 23), vs. VGK (Nov. 25), @ NSH (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 45.24%
Thankful for: Robert Thomas‘ return. The Blues center missed 12 games due to a fractured right ankle and surprisingly returned to the lineup on Tuesday, notching an assist in the Blues 4-2 loss to the Wild. Thomas said he felt good on the ice: “I invested a lot in myself, and I’m pretty happy with the result and getting back so soon. I’m excited to be back in the lineup and look forward to getting in the trenches with the guys.”
The original reported absence was six weeks, but Thomas, who was injured on Oct 22 while blocking a shot against Winnipeg, skated with the team on Nov. 13 and played his first game back a week later.
Next seven days: @ NYI (Nov. 23), @ NYR (Nov. 25), @ NJ (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 47.37%
Thankful for: Getting out of California. The Wings had a dreadful west coast swing, losing three straight games to the California teams: 6-4 to Anaheim, following by 4-1 to the Kings then 5-4 in overtime to the Sharks, witnessing Macklin Celebrini’s first career overtime goal.
All of those would have been valuable points to snag given that the Red Wings want to make the leap back into the playoffs this season, but Detroit instead returns home with a 7-9-2 record, second to last in the Atlantic. Their first game back home was successful, a 2-1 win over the Islanders.
Next seven days: vs. BOS (Nov. 23), @ NYI (Nov. 25), vs. CGY (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 47.37%
Thankful for: Playing spoiler. The Blue Jackets find themselves in familiar territory, hovering around the bottom of the Metro division. The Stadium Series game on March 1 will be terrific without a doubt, Ohio Stadium will be jumping, and that will be a highlight for every hockey fan.
But aside from that, it appears that they’ll be focused on spoiling things for playoff hopefuls; most recently, it was a 5-1 drubbing of the Bruins in Boston — a game which ultimately became Jim Montgomery’s final one as Bruins coach — and a 7-6 win over the Lightning.
Next seven days: vs. CAR (Nov. 23), vs. MTL (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 42.86%
Thankful for: Dismissing trolls. One of the hockey memes that has made the rounds on social media is Sidney Crosby photoshopped in a Colorado Avalanche jersey. Could it actually happen?
Despite Pens GM Kyle Dubas reportedly saying “everyone is available [for trade] but Crosby,” what if Sid links up with his Cole Harbor buddy Nate MacKinnon and they chase a Cup together? Has a nice “last dance” kind of feel for Sid, doesn’t it?
But despite the Penguins looking in dire straits at the moment and possibly in some form of sell mode — Lars Eller was traded to Washington last week — seeing Crosby in any other sweater remains only in the realm of fantasy.
Next seven days: vs. WPG (Nov. 22), vs. UTA (Nov. 23), vs. VAN (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 42.11%
Thankful for: A Laine sighting. Montreal’s big offseason acquisition, Patrik Laine, skated with the team on Wednesday for the first time since suffering a left knee sprain. Though coach Martin St. Louis doesn’t have a timetable for Laine’s return to the lineup, Habs players noted that it was encouraging to see the former 40-goal scorer back on the ice.
Next seven days: vs. VGK (Nov. 23), vs. UTA (Nov. 26), @ CBJ (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 37.50%
Thankful for: The long-term Predators. The Preds had the busiest offseason of any team in the NHL, picking up three league veterans in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan MArchessault and Brady Skjei. Their start with the Preds hasn’t been ideal. A bright spot for the team has been two guys that have consistently been good for Nashville for over a decade: Filip Forsberg, who leads the team in scoring with eight goals and 15 points, and Roman Josi, who is right behind him with 14. Marchessault and Stamkos both sit at 10 points in 20 games, well below their respective career averages.
Next seven days: vs. WPG (Nov. 23), @ NJ (Nov. 25), vs. PHI (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 38.64%
Thankful for: Return of the Mack(lin). That first career overtime goal had to feel extra special for Macklin Celebrini, who was pointless in four games leading up to that game against Detroit. The No. 1 overall pick returned to the Sharks’ lineup on Nov. 5, after being injured in his first NHL game on Oct. 10 and sitting out for nearly a month.
He’s had five points in nine games since his return, and he’s also been preventing goalie goals, to which one particular victim, Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers, joked about the 18-year-old “[he should] be in school.”
Next seven days: vs. BUF (Nov. 23), vs. LA (Nov. 25), vs. OTT (Nov. 27)
Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 37.50%
Thankful for: Creative photo shoots. A lot has been made about Connor Bedard‘s frustration. “Losing is not fun, so we’ve obviously got to figure it out. We’re not just going to be happy that we stayed in a game. We’re all NHL players. That’s not the goal, you know? It’s frustrating.”
One moment of levity came from Chicago Magazine. For their feature article on the 19-year-old, they spoofed a scene from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” where Cameron Frye (played by Alan Ruck) is looking at Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” in a Gordie Howe sweater. Bedard is doing the same, in his own jersey.
Next seven days: @ PHI (Nov. 23), vs. DAL (Nov. 27)
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Dan Wetzel
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Dan Wetzel
ESPN
Dan Wetzel is a senior writer focused on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling.
Former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions referred to his advanced sign-stealing operation as both “counterintelligence” and “the KGB,” called the video it elicited “dirty film” and ultimately threw his phone in a pond rather than turn it over to NCAA investigators.
The NCAA decision in the University of Michigan advanced scouting case divulges many details from Stalions’ scheme, which captivated the country as it unspooled during Michigan’s 2023 national championship run.
The punishments for that operation, nearly two years after it was revealed, arrived on Friday.
They include a three-game suspension for current head coach Sherrone Moore — with two games already self-imposed to serve this year in Week 3 and 4 against Central Michigan and at Nebraska. He’s also slated to miss the first week of the 2026 season, a game against Western Michigan expected to be played in Germany.
There is also an 8-year show-cause penalty for Stalions, an additional 10-year show-cause for former head coach Jim Harbaugh and a fine expected to eclipse $30 million for the school.
Not included: either the vacating of past victories or a postseason ban going forward, sanctions many of the Wolverines’ rivals felt were deserved.
In a 74-page report, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions details an unusually effective and nuanced investigation. Along the way, it offers a glimpse under the hood of Stalions’ KGB operation and the NCAA’s decreasing willingness to punish its schools with sanctions that directly impact the playing field. (Michigan should have been “required” to have a postseason ban in this case, per the report, but a new era of NCAA rules shifted that to unprecedented fines.)
The NCAA report, for example, reveals Stalions spent $35,000 on tickets in the secondary market of 2022 alone, part of the spend to help arrange for 52 games to be illicitly scouted. There’s even a mob-like reveal of what happened to the taped material from the illegal scouting trips. “My film is in the bottom of the pond,” Stalions is quoted saying.
At times, it reads like an espionage novel — taped phone calls, smuggled hard drives and a battle between former coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff and the university’ compliance offense that has spanned numerous NCAA investigations.
Harbaugh’s new 10-year show-cause, for example, doesn’t even kick in until 2028, when a previous four-year show-cause from a previous case is completed. It’s all a formality since Harbaugh, 61, is entering his second year as coach of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. His NCAA penalties would end in 2038.
The report shows that one recruiting staff member said in a text about Michigan’s compliance staff: They are “s—ty at their jobs and actively working against us from the inside. True scum of the earth.”
Or as the Committee concluded, perhaps with a hint of comedy: “The relationship between Michigan’s football staff members and the compliance office was challenging at best.”
In the end, the case ends up unsatisfying for nearly every side. Big Ten fans, especially at rivals Ohio State and Michigan State, consider this a slap on the wrist.
And while Michigan fans mostly breathed a sigh of relief, the university quickly announced it will appeal the decision claiming the ruling “makes fundamental errors in interpreting NCAA bylaws” and “includes a number of conclusions that are directly contrary to the evidence — or lack of evidence.”
Among the revelations was the fate of former Michigan assistant Chris Partridge, who the school fired in November of 2023 in the middle of the scandal. Partridge, now an outside linebacker coach with the Seattle Seahawks, always maintained his innocence. He wound up cleared of wrongdoing in the NCAA report. He faces no sanctions.
“It feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Partridge told ESPN on Friday. “I had faith because I didn’t do what I was accused of doing. I’m glad I could stand tall and the truth came out.”
For the true crime fans who jumped on the story, there’s no neat and tidy answer to the level of complicity at Michigan to Stalions’ elaborate scheme.
The report says: “Aspects of the record suggest that there may have been broader acceptance of the scheme throughout the program. At a minimum, there was a willful intent not to learn more about Stalions’ methods. However, the true scope and scale of the scheme – including the competitive advantage it conferred – will never be known due to individuals’ intentional destruction and withholding of materials and information.”
The Committee clearly was frustrated with what it believed was a lack of cooperation from key parties — from Harbaugh to Stalions to other assistants. As such, questions remain unanswered.
One question that was solved: Yes, Stalions admitted per the report, that was him on the Central Michigan sideline for a 2023 game at Michigan State.
Investigators didn’t uncover who funded the operation for Stalions, how the information initially left Michigan’s building and who engaged the private firm that ultimately brought the preponderance of evidence to the NCAA. (That allowed the Big Ten to ultimately issue the three-game sportsmanship violation for Harbaugh.)
Less ambiguous is the future of the NCAA enforcement and infractions process, as this decision potentially marks those groups’ final blockbuster case. And they went out amid a paradigm change of how to punish schools.
While the NCAA would still technically oversee a case like Stalions because it involves fair play, a majority of the high-profile cases in college sports will be shifted to the College Sports Commission, which doubles as a vote-of-no-confidence in the NCAA infractions process. For the NCAA, that allows them to outsource much of their least popular work.
The NCAA’s decision to hit Michigan with neither a postseason ban nor the vacating of victories is part of a recent sea change in the infraction process. For decades, such penalties were common even in cases featuring less serious violations.
The Committee on Infractions acknowledged that under part of the rulebook “a postseason ban is required in this case” and that “a multi-year postseason ban would be appropriate.” However, it also wrote that college athletics have moved away from any penalty that would impact student-athletes who weren’t implicated in the original case.
“The NCAA Constitution states, ‘Division and, as appropriate, conference regulations must ensure to the greatest extent possible that penalties imposed for infractions do not punish programs and student-athletes not involved nor implicated in the infractions,” the report states.
Therefore, “the panel determines that a postseason ban would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff who are no longer associated with the Michigan football program,” the COI wrote. “Thus, a more appropriate penalty is an offsetting financial penalty.” (No retroactive penalties were given for games Michigan won, in part, because the case didn’t yield any ineligible players.)
While the fine is significant, Michigan, with its Big Ten membership and requisite rich media deals, massive fan base and largest home stadium in the country, can absorb nearly any financial punishment. Michigan’s athletic budget for the 2025-26 year is expected to be $266.3 million.
The results of the case will do little to impact the Wolverines potential to field a competitive team going forward. Michigan is ranked 14th in the preseason AP poll and has a top-10 national recruiting class verbally committed.
Also left unanswered in the report were pushbacks from Michigan and Stallions about what the genesis of the case was, the name of the “outside investigative firm” that brought the information to the NCAA and the use of an “unnamed” informant in the case. Michigan argued, per the report, that knowing “the individual’s identity was pertinent to the institution’s defense and ability to assess witness credibility.”
However, the Committee on Infractions countered that only evidence independently developed by the NCAA enforcement staff was considered in the case.
There still could be some drama remaining. Michigan’s appeal could go in any direction, after all. The school certainly has financial incentive to do so — the likely $30 million fine is nearly unprecedented.
Moore, meanwhile, could appeal the additional game suspension he received, which doesn’t come until the first game of 2026. But he didn’t indicate either way on Friday.
If all of this drama, tension and scheming sounds suited for Netflix. Well, it’s too late for that. Netflix released a Stalions documentary last summer.
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Dan Wetzel
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Dan Wetzel
ESPN
Dan Wetzel is a senior writer focused on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling.
Michigan received a series of fines that could eclipse $30 million but avoided punitive penalties such as a postseason ban or the vacating of victories, including during the 2023 national championship season, as the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions ruled on the Wolverines’ advance-scouting case Friday.
The NCAA also imposed an additional game suspension for coach Sherrone Moore, which will be served for the first game of the 2026 season. Moore is expected to serve a two-game suspension in the upcoming season, which ESPN reported in May that the university proposed to self-impose. He also received a two-year show-cause penalty.
The 2025 games he will miss will be the Wolverines’ third and fourth of the season, a home contest against Central Michigan and a road matchup at Nebraska. The 2026 opener is expected to be against Western Michigan in Frankfurt, Germany.
The NCAA committee also levied an eight-year show-cause penalty for former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions and a 10-year show-cause for former coach Jim Harbaugh, who is now in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. Those essentially act as barriers to schools hiring them in the future. Harbaugh’s new show-cause penalty will not begin until after he serves a current four-year show-cause that runs through 2028 from a previous NCAA case.
Later Friday, Michigan issued a statement saying it would appeal the NCAA ruling.
“We appreciate the work of the Committee on Infractions,” the statement read. “But, respectfully, in a number of instances the decision makes fundamental errors in interpreting NCAA bylaws; and it includes a number of conclusions that are directly contrary to the evidence — or lack of evidence — in the record. We will appeal this decision to ensure a fair result.”
The size of the fines is expected to be considerable, although an exact amount will not be immediately available. The fines include a $50,000 initial levy, 10% of the football budget, 10% of the cost of football scholarships for the 2025 season, and the loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. That sum could easily eclipse $30 million.
Though there are variables on how much teams get from football postseason revenue, sources expect that number alone, based on past Big Ten income and projections, to be more than $20 million. Some of that will depend on the performance of Michigan and of the Big Ten. The football budget in 2024 was more than $70 million, which means the amount is likely to be at least $7 million for that part of the fine, depending on updated budgets.
Separately, former assistant coach Denard Robinson was hit with a three-year show-cause penalty for a combined role in recruiting violations that included, according to the NCAA, providing “limited inducements to a prospect and his family” and then failing to “respond to the notice of allegations or attend the hearing.”
“The true scope and scale of the [sign-stealing] scheme, including the competitive advantage it afforded, will never be fully known due to individuals’ intentional destruction and withholding of materials and information. But the intent was clear — to gain a substantial competitive advantage,” Norman Bay, the chief hearing officer for the NCAA committee on infractions panel, said at a news conference Friday. “You don’t put together a network of individuals called the ‘KGB’ that records what they call ‘dirty film’ where the cost of doing this is in the tens of thousands of dollars over three seasons unless you intend to gain a substantial competitive advantage.”
In the sign-stealing case, Michigan and its coaches and staffers were charged with six Level 1 violations, which are the most serious. The decision to fine the school heavily but not issue a penalty such as a postseason ban indicates a shift in NCAA enforcement rulings away from postseason prohibitions.
The NCAA committee said in its report that although Michigan’s violations would make a multiyear postseason ban appropriate, it aimed not to punish current Wolverines athletes based on its constitution.
“The panel determines that a postseason ban would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff who are no longer associated with the Michigan football program,” the committee wrote. “Thus, a more appropriate penalty is an offsetting financial penalty.”
The committee used similar guidance in deciding not to implement a roster reduction on Michigan.
Because a show-cause penalty essentially acts as an employment ban, it is a significant punishment for Stalions, who masterminded the advance-scouting scheme. Punishments for Harbaugh aren’t likely to matter, and he was already essentially banned from coaching major college football through August 2028 because of the earlier show-cause order.
The NCAA committee concluded that Stalions “orchestrated” the advance-scouting operation designed to aid in the deciphering of opponents’ signals during the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. The operation included 56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 of Michigan’s future regular-season opponents.
“Stalions directed and arranged for individuals to conduct off-campus, in-person scouting of Michigan’s future regular-season opponents,” the report reads. “In doing so, Stalions purchased game tickets and transferred them to those individuals, who included another staff member, interns and acquaintances of Stalions. The network of individuals was referred to as the ‘KGB.’
“While in attendance, they filmed the signal callers on the future opponents’ sidelines and then provided that film to Stalions. Using the footage they collected — which Stalions referred to as ‘dirty film’ — Stalions then deciphered opponents’ signals. Stalions and other individuals involved in the scheme acknowledged or corroborated this process. Additionally, on one occasion, Stalions personally attended a future opponent’s contest.”
Other than Moore, the rest of the Michigan staffers in the NCAA’s crosshairs are no longer in college football.
The ruling marks one of the final significant turns in a scandal that captivated the college football world, divided the Big Ten and put Michigan’s reputation on the line. It turned Stalions, previously little known outside the program, into a household name and riddled Michigan’s championship run with accusations and anger from rivals around the Big Ten.
Harbaugh served a three-game sportsmanship suspension from the Big Ten related to the case to end the 2023 regular season. (He had also served a three-game suspension to start that season as part of self-imposed penalties tied to a separate NCAA recruiting case.)
The sign-stealing investigation introduced the world to Stalions, a Naval Academy graduate who bragged on his LinkedIn page that he could work “identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process.” He later told his side of the story in a Netflix documentary that focused on his ability to steal signs.
Michigan responded to the NCAA allegations via a 137-page document arguing that the case contains “numerous factually unsupported infractions, exaggerates aggravating factors and ignores mitigating facts.” The school also expressed concern over the genesis of the investigation.
For the NCAA’s controversial infractions process and often-ineffective enforcement division, this looms as perhaps the last blockbuster case the organization will oversee. With the confluence of enforcement power shifting to the new College Sports Commission and the sudden stripping away of amateurism rules, NCAA enforcement is expected to decline in relevance.
The decision is the latest example of the NCAA’s shift away from postseason bans in recent years.
A ruling on Tennessee in July 2023, which included 18 Level 1 infractions, led to a fine of $8 million. That was the equivalent of the financial impact of missing the postseason in 2023 and 2024, the NCAA said at the time.
On the field for Michigan this season, in the wake of an 8-5 campaign in 2024 after its undefeated championship run in 2023, the suspension of Moore looms as the most significant aspect. His suspension is tied to deleting a thread of 52 texts with Stalions, which were later recovered and did not include information to suggest Moore knew the extent of Stalions’ alleged actions.
Moore was considered a potential “repeat violator” by the NCAA because in August 2023, he negotiated a resolution to claims that he contacted recruits during a COVID-19 recruiting dead period. He later served a one-game suspension.
“I am glad that this part of the process has been completed,” Moore said in a statement after the ruling, adding that it is his “intent to have our program comply with the rules at all times” and that he “will continue to focus my attention on our team and the upcoming 2025 season.”
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel also issued a statement Friday, saying, “I fully support Coach Sherrone Moore, our student-athletes and staff as they prepare for the season ahead. I appreciate Coach Moore’s continued commitment to ensuring his program operates in compliance with applicable rules.”
There is a major distinction between Moore’s suspension and those Harbaugh served to open and close the 2023 regular season. In those suspensions, one of which came from the NCAA and the other from the Big Ten, Harbaugh coached the team during the week in practice.
But because of an NCAA rule change in January 2024, Moore will not be able to coach in practice for the affected game weeks. That rule change expanded the suspension for coaches to include “all athletics activities between contests, rather than just the contests themselves.”
For the two games Michigan has agreed to self-impose, Moore will begin the suspension after the matchup at his alma mater, Oklahoma, which is set for Sept. 6.
In the separate NCAA case involving recruiting violations, Michigan received three years’ probation in August 2024.
The Wolverines open the 2025 season Aug. 30 against New Mexico.
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Chris Low
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding, on the heels of a record-setting season by the Rebels on defense, has signed a three-year contract extension that places him among the top four highest-paid defensive coordinators in college football.
Golding’s new deal averages $2.61 million annually. The only three defensive coordinators nationally with a higher annual average salary are Penn State‘s Jim Knowles ($3.1 million), Auburn‘s DJ Durkin ($2.7 million) and USC‘s D’Anton Lynn ($2.65 million).
Golding will make $2.55 million this season, $2.6 million in 2026 and $2.7 million in 2027. His raise to $2.55 million this season will make him the second-highest-paid assistant coach in college football in 2025.
Golding is entering his third season at Ole Miss after coming over from Alabama. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has put a premium on playing elite defense, and the Rebels — who have won 21 games during Golding’s two years on campus — are coming off one of their best defensive seasons in school history. They finished second nationally in scoring defense (14.4 PPG) and led the country in sacks per game with a school-record 52.
Ole Miss held nine of its 13 opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards and finished second nationally in rushing defense (80.5 YPG), the fewest allowed by an Ole Miss defense since 1966.
The Rebels lost nine players who started on defense at some point in 2024, including five players taken in the NFL draft. One of those was All-America defensive tackle Walter Nolen, the No. 16 selection overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
Golding told reporters this week that he expects the 2025 defense to be on a similar level as last year’s record-setting unit with a “good mesh” of high school recruits the Rebels have brought into the program in recent years and key transfer additions.
“From a [defensive] front standpoint, I don’t think we’re going to take a step back from last year,” Golding said. “There’s going to be some different names, but obviously the big thing with these guys is that they’ve been in the system. I think we’re going to have some guys, and y’all know their names already — having been big-time recruits — and they’re going to have to have big years for us and they’ve been practicing really well.”
Zxavian Harris leads a returning cast of interior defensive linemen, a group talented enough that Golding said the Rebels didn’t need to address tackle in the portal. Edge rusher Suntarine Perkins is back after tying for the team lead with 10.5 sacks last season, while Ole Miss added defensive ends Princewill Umanmielen (Nebraska) and Da’Shawn Womack (LSU) in the portal to go along with five new defensive backs.
“I think you’re going to see some different names, some different numbers and see a lot of the same results because they understand what we do, understand the expectations and are good enough to do it,” said Golding, whose defense went from tied for 40th nationally in scoring in 2023 to second a year ago.
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