NHL Power Rankings Week One: Capitals, Lightning, Predators, And Ducks Are Favorites

Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a long but exciting offseason for the NHL. Teams have improved and teams have slipped. How do the 30 NHL teams stack up on the eve of Opening Night?

Congratulations hockey fans. It’s been a rough summer for all of us, but we’ve made it. We’ve arrived to October. It’s hockey season! How does each team stack up as the regular season is about to begin? Everyone seems to have their own opinion about how their team will do.

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Before I start my power ranking, let me give you the criteria. I took a look at each team’s strengths and weaknesses. I weighed the two together and took other factors in mind to rank each NHL team. Injuries will be taken into consideration. So will overall depth. Complete teams have an advantage of those that has obvious flaws. The fewer flaws that a team has, the better.

I’ll also take into consideration how important the flaws are. If a team has a weak bottom six (third/fourth forward lines), that’s fine if they have a strong top six (first/second forward lines). Fixing smaller flaws is far easier than fixing a problem with guys who see more minutes.

SEE ALSO: Power Rankings From September

It should be interesting as the season goes on to see how these power rankings stack up. Hockey’s arguably the most unpredictable of the major professional sports. With that in mind, let’s begin the power rankings!

Next: #30