1) Pittsburgh Penguins – The Stanley Cup champs have some of the best young talent in the league; it rivals what Chicago has going on. Tyler Kennedy, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski showed in the playoffs that they have matured and are ready to contribute full time to the Penguins quest to repeat.
2) Washington Capitals – The Caps proved in the playoffs that they have what it takes to get through a grinding series and they pushed the Pens to a game 7. If they had won that series it would have been them facing the Wings in the finals and possibly coming into the new season as the champs.
3) Detroit Red Wings – A heartbreaking loss in game 7 at home won’t deter the Red Wings from what their goal is every year, a Stanley Cup. Coach Babcock has a firm grasp on his team and they should be a cup threat yet again. Only question would be if Chris Osgood will continue to be the main man in net, and if so, can he maintain a solid level of play?
4) Chicago Blackhawks – Marian Hossa joins the Hawks, making it his third team in the last three seasons. Hossa failed in the playoffs after having a great season in Detroit, but there is no mistaking his abilities and he will only improve Chicago overall. Cristobal Huet will be the #1 goalie, which will be their biggest issue.
5) Boston Bruins – The East’s best team last year will look to continue on their success from a year ago. With issues about Phil Kessel aside, the B’s still have a solid cast and they will be a formidable force in the conference.
6) Anaheim Ducks – After last year’s regular season, the Ducks surprised many by ousting the #1 seeded San Jose Sharks. They still have an issue at goal because head coach Randy Carlisle has gone on record to say that Jonas Hiller will still have to compete with Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the starting position. Otherwise, they have some young talent that is up and coming with Bobby Ryan to compliment superstar Ryan Getzlaf.
7) Philadelphia Flyers – The off-season was very kind to the Flyers as they acquired veteran Chris Pronger to bolster their blue line. With a bevy of offensive talent and now their defense only better, the biggest issue is whether or not Ray Emery can emerge as what he showed he can be a few years ago with the Senators, he has age on his side as he is only 26 still.
8 ) Carolina Hurricanes – Cam Ward is one of the best goalies in the league and he proved it again in the playoffs and even though his team was swept in the conference finals, he still played out of his mind in the series. With big time star leading the way in Eric Staal and talented role players up and down the roster, the Canes will come back for another solid year.
9) San Jose Sharks – As talented as the Sharks are, they are notorious for coming up lame in the post-season. Last season was supposed to be different, however, the Ducks just took it to them with more guts and more passion than they Sharks could muster. This is the Power Rankings though, not predictions. The Sharks are without question amongst the most talented teams in the league and will once again be among the best with Nabokov having yet another good year.
10) Vancouver Canucks – Resigning the Sedin twins was huge for the Canucks. With the best goalie in the league on their side, Roberto Luongo, who year in and year out (if healthy) the Canucks are always in the conversation for top teams in the NHL. The Canucks do not have any outstanding players, but they do play hard and will be improved this year.
11) New Jersey Devils – It is a new year for the Devils and once again they are facing an up hill battle after a considerable roster change. Every year the Devils are meant to fall off the map as far as playoff teams are concerned and they always manage to make due. Don’t expect this to be any different, they still have the all time wins leader in Marty Brodeur and I look for him to really have something to prove this year. Jacques Lemaire returns, but without the trap. The Devils will only build on the success they found on offense last year.
12) Montreal Canadians – In all honesty, I wanted to put the Canadians lower on the list because as the year goes on, I truly feel this team will be a force. Carey Price has the weight of the world on his shoulders up there in Montreal, but as he gets older he will be able to handle it better and show off his true talent. With the likes of Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, and Brian Gionta coming to Montreal, it means a new look for them, but in a good way.
13) Columbus Blue Jackets – The Blue Jackets found a gem last season in rookie goalie Steve Mason. They made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, yet hit a buzz saw with the Red Wings. With Mason getting to the playoffs as a rookie, he now has experience and the team will improve overall with time. The Jackets have good young talent with Derrick Brassard and Rick Nash is still just 25 and is turning into a true superstar. With a nice set of role players on the roster the Jackets will be back and possibly win a playoff series this season.
14) Calgary Flames – The Flames made some moves during the trade deadline last year that had some people thinking they were a dark horse to come out of the west, but the Blackhawks had other ideas. Mikka Kiprusoff was disappointing in the series and hasn’t been quite as sharp as he was in previous years. This is Jerome Iginla’s team and he really needs to bear down on his teammates and get them to play up to the talent that they have, otherwise the Flames may be missing the playoffs this year.
15) Dallas Stars – Picked by some to be the best team in the west last year, the Stars had a horrifyingly, disappointing season a year ago. Marty Turco is one of the best goalies in the league and has something to prove this year to everyone around the NHL. Also, Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov are going to be 40 years old and have one last run in them, can they turn it around this year? They have the capabilities to do so, but right now they are a middle of the pack kind of team.
16) St. Louis Blues – No, this does not mean I think the Blues are just “okay” because I know they are a good team, but a young and up and coming one like themselves are still going to go through some growing pains. Last year, they made a charge towards the playoffs and really got on a roll, I expect a similar scenario this year and look for them to climb the power rankings each month.
17) New York Rangers – Even though the Rangers got Marian Gaborik (very injury prone by the way) I feel like they got worse from the moves in the off-season, which is uncharacteristic for the Rangers. They are usually big spenders and they gave Gaborik big bucks, but let Zherdev walk away, traded Gomez, Naslund retired and are having issues signing youngster Brandon Dubinsky. Perhaps an unconventional way of going about things will prove to be a good thing for the Rangers as Torts will try to bring a different sense of how things get done with this team
18) Ottawa Senators – With Dany Heatley gone and no longer a problem for the Senators, they gained two very talented players in Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek. These two additions will benefit Ottawa with Michalek being a young guy who has shown a lot of promise. As for Cheechoo he no longer is expected to do wonders in San Jose and this trade to Ottawa may revitalize his career. At the goaltending position, it will be between Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott, two very able players, the Senators will be in good hands in whomever gets the nod.
19) Buffalo Sabres – Ryan Miller has emerged as an extremely gifted goalie over the past few years and is the best American born goalie around in my opinion. The down-fall with Buffalo is their market. They can’t afford to keep the players that have big time seasons with them ( i.e. Briere, Campbell, Drury), but now have others that are coming along right now. Thomas Vanek showed once again last season that he is a consistent 40 goal scorer and that was with injuries. Buffalo is another squad with young talent and can show great potential on offense at times, but just doesn’t have enough to really make any head way just yet. I expect them to remain in this range on the rankings most of the year.
20) Nashville predators – The Pred’s flirted with getting into the playoffs much of last year, however, came up a bit shy. The fact of the matter is that the Predators should not be as good as they have shown the last few years, but have had one constant, Barry Trotz. He is a great coach and will once again make them competitive this year. Also, they should go with Pekka Rinne as the starting goalie, he is younger and more talented for them.
21) Emonton Oiler – Just as it was with the Blues is how it is RIGHT NOW for the Oilers, but I expect them to improve and make strides as the season goes on.
22) Los Angeles Kings – Anze Kopitar is emerging as a superstar for the Kings and with players emerging around him like American born Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov and standout rookie Drew Doughty on defense, the Kings future is bright. But, they need to establish a starting goalie and get some big wins over division foes in a tough Pacific Division in order to truly grow.
23) Florida Panthers – I am giving them this spot based on the fact that Tomas Vokoun is the most underrated goalie in hockey. If they did not have him I would put them a little bit higher up. Loosing a big time d-man like Jay Boumeester is a big deal, especially since Florida took the gamble last year to keep him and try to make the playoffs, but they failed and Jay walked away from Florida for absolutely nothing in return. They do have talented young guys in Boothe, Weiss, and Frolik which will get them the wins they need earlier on in the year, in order to make a run at the playoffs. I expect the Panthers to really come into their own over this season and make strides at getting into the middle part of the leagues best.
24) Minnesota Wild – Their only head coach in franchise history is gone. Was it him who made them defensive oriented? Yes, but Jacques did that for the same reason he did that in New Jersey during his first stint there. He had to accommodate the team’s style of play due to the talent that was on the ice. Marian Gaborik aside, the Wild have never had a dominant threat. With Martin Havlat there now, that should add some offense for them. They also have a great goalie in Niklas Backstrom, but I just don’t see the Wild being able to beat most of the teams in their conference this season.
25) Atlanta Thrashers – When you have Ilya Kovalchuk on your team you always have a chance to steal a game on any given night. However, you need more then just one guy to win theses days and although 21 year old Bryan Little and veteran Slava Kozolov contributed greatly on offense last season, there needs to be more for the Thrashers to be a good team. Possibly the addition of Nik Antropov to the team will get them some more wins and help them keep Kovalchuk in Atlanta.
26) Toronto Maple Leafs – New GM Brian Burke is trying mightily to turn the Maple Leafs back into contenders, but it isn’t an easy thing to do. Right now they are still amongst the bottom of the league as far as talent goes. But, there is hope for this year. The Leafs got Francois Beauchemin to help their defense as well as Mike Komisarik from Montreal. They already have Tomas Kaberle, so the Leafs look like they are headed in the right direction on defense. They have a lot of work to do at the goalie spot though. They signed the “monster” Jonas Gustavsson from Sweden, as he has been dubbed. They also have veteran Olaf Kolzig on their roster as well as Martin Gerber. These are just the names that can be the backup because they still have Vesa Toskala and he is expected to be the starter, however, will have a short leash with capable guys behind him.
27) Tampa Bay Lightning – The Lightning should have been better then they were last year. Now, they enter the new season with a top draft pick in defenseman Victor Hedman, who stands at 6-6 and weighs 220 pounds. Vets like Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis will have to take it among themselves to turn this team around, but they have the talent amongst them to do it and with a good goalie in Mike Smith.
28) New York Islanders – The number one overall draft pick gets you out of the dead last position. John Tavares should improve the Islanders and he brings some excitement to the franchise that has not been there for a while now. Their leading scorer was Mark Streit, a defenseman, that’s never good. They have young, budding talent in Blake Comeau and Kyle Okposo (if healthy). Hopefully, they will have their franchise goalie back for most of the year this time around. Rick DiPietro is still just 27, but has been riddled with injuries over the span of his short career. They do now, however, have capable guys that can take over after signing Martin Biron and Dwayne Roloson.
29) Colorado Avalanche – Injuries killed Colorado last year and until they can prove that Paul Stastny, Wojtek Wolski, Milan Hejduk or Marek Svatos can all stay in the lineup all year, I have to believe they are among the worst in the league still.
30) Phoenix Coyotes – Off ice issues have plagued this franchise over the years. First, the Rick Tocchet gambling accusations and now the fate of the team’s ownership is up in the air. But, off ice issues aside, the Coyotes lack leadership and any real scoring threat besides Shane Doan. Martin Hanzal has potential to be a scorer but first needs to show it. It could be another long year for the Coyotes, which would make it eight years in a row without seeing the postseason.