NHL Power Rankings: Ducks, Lightning, Caps, Blues Favorites

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It’s already September, which means that the NHL season is just a little over a month away from beginning. Training camps begin in roughly two to three weeks. While teams might still add players to their roster, most teams have their lineups cemented in stone. Players are already beginning to practice with their teammates, preparing for what should be an exciting regular season.

NHL Power Rankings #30: Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes are probably the least talented team in the league. That said, this could still be an exciting year for them because their young players are finally starting to show that they are NHL ready. It will be a trying year for the Coyotes, but I think this team is still going to be fun to watch.

For years, the Coyotes built their team around captain Shane Doan. In recent years, Doan has begun to show his old age. They have struggled to find a new fresh face to build their team around. Well, they have found that fresh face in defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. His offense is borderline elite. Unlike most offense-minded defensemen, Larsson’s defense is very good too. He’s a true top-pairing defenseman. However, Arizona needs more players like him.

That’s where things get fun. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair should both get playing time with the Coyotes this season. Domi is a skilled huge forward who could be the next Milan Lucic. Duclair won fans over with the Rangers before being traded to Arizona in the Keith Yandle trade.

Next: #29

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NHL Power Rankings #29: New Jersey Devils

The Devils were a sub-par team last season, finishing with a top 10 pick in the NHL draft. They only made one major upgrade over this off-season, so I think that means that it’s going to be a long year for Devils fans. This is a team that is rebuilding and hoping to discover what they have in their young forwards before deciding what to do about their future.

Adam Henrique is a fine forward, but if you can make a legitimate case that he’s your team’s best forwards, you’re going to have issues. Did I mention Henrique is arguably the Devils best forward? Mike Cammalleri is still an above average goal scorer, but he should really not be in a primary scoring role like he currently is with New Jersey.

The only major upgrade that the Devils made this off-season was trading for Anaheim Ducks forward Kyle Palmieri. I think he has the potential to be something special. With Anaheim’s forward depth, he was never going to get a chance to play anything more than a bottom six role. He’ll get a chance with the Devils to prove himself. If he does well, he’ll stay.

I can’t talk about the Devils without talking about the most underappreciated goalie in the NHL, Cory Schneider. Look at his stats other than wins. Had he been on a good team last year, he likely would have been a Vezina Trophy finalist.

Next: #28

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NHL Power Rankings #28: Toronto Maple Leafs

Much like the Devils and the Coyotes, the Toronto Maple Leafs are undergoing a rebuilding stage. However, unlike the Coyotes and Devils, Toronto has been very deliberate in their method of doing so. In a span of roughly 18 months, they’ve gone from having a low-tier farm system to having arguably the best farm system in the NHL. They’ve done that through trades.

The Leafs are going to be counting on their young players to develop this season. They’ll be counting on Jake Gardiner to prove that he can be a consistent top four defenseman. He certainly has the talent to do so and his advanced stats are quite appealing. However, he’s been a bit lacking in consistency. If he can get more consistent, Gardiner could be a top pairing defenseman. Morgan Reilly will look to continue to develop. Reilly has the potential to be a puck mover a la Mike Green. He can do some pretty special things with the puck.

They’ll also be trying to figure out what to do with Nazem Kadri. They’ll likely give Kadri a good long look at the first line center position and see if he can fill that role for them. I believe he can. They’ll also look to see if they can move guys like Tyler Bozak, Dion Phaneuf, and Jeffrey Lupul. Not to mention the players they signed to one-year deals.

Next: #27

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NHL Power Rankings #27: Carolina Hurricanes

Much like the Maple Leafs, the Hurricanes are undergoing a major rebuilding stage. Just like Toronto, Carolina’s doing a pretty darn good job of doing it. The Hurricanes have gone from having not just a talentless team but a talentless farm system to having a better team and one of the best farm systems in the NHL. This is what drafting wisely can do for you.

Jordan Staal, Eric Staal, and Jeff Skinner are one of the more underrated forward lines in the NHL. However, once you get past that trio, there’s nothing to write home about. Elias Lindholm is an exciting player to watch, but other than him, Carolina doesn’t have any other forwards to get excited about.

Carolina made a wise trade in obtaining Eddie Lack from the Vancouver Canucks. Lack is an above average starter who is definitely an upgrade over Cam Ward, who hasn’t been good in years. Where Carolina really stands out is their blue line. Justin Faulk is one of the most, if not the most, underrated blueliners in the NHL. Haydn Fleury could form an elite top pairing with Faulk as soon as this season.

Things are definitely getting better in Carolina. However, now they’ve got to focus heavily on their forwards. Their blue line is most likely set for the next few seasons thanks to stellar drafting.

Next: #26

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NHL Power Rankings #26: Edmonton Oilers

For the first time in almost ten years, the Oilers appear to not be the laughing stock of the NHL. While they are not yet contenders, they should avoid being the Western Conference’s doormat. They have improved their team quite a bit. Their biggest improvement? Drafting Connor McDavid at the NHL draft. The Oilers haven’t had the best of luck with number one overall picks as of late, but nobody could screw up McDavid. He’s an elite level talent who could be the next Sidney Crosby.

They also signed Andrej Sekera, who is a huge upgrade over what the Oilers trotted out on the ice last season. Granted, that’s more of an indictment of the Oilers than it is a compliment to Sekera, but you have to start somewhere. He’s at worst a second pairing caliber defenseman. The Oilers took a gamble this off-season by trading for Cam Talbot. I really don’t like goalies with a sub-100 game sample size, but Talbot has been lights out in limited playing time. This season, I imagine we’ll find out if Talbot was just a surfer riding the Rangers’ PDO wave or if he’s one of the best goalies in the NHL. Trading for Griffin Reinhart wasn’t an awful idea, considering Reinhart is still very young.

All of that said, their blueline is still one of the most unproven in the NHL. To me, that adds up to another year without the playoffs. However, things are certainly looking better in Edmonton. Also, their orange and blue jerseys? Might have to get me one. Those are quite beautiful.

Next: #25

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NHL Power Rankings #25: Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche are not as good as they were back in 2013-2014. That said, they also aren’t as bad as they were last season. In my opinion, they are somewhere in between. However, a playoff run isn’t completely out of the question for them since they have a borderline elite goaltender in Semyon Varlamov. A Vezina run from him wouldn’t surprise me too much.

I really like Colorado’s top two forward lines. Jarome Iginla is still awesome, even if he is less awesome than he once was. Alex Tanguay is underrated because he’s a selective shooter, but I appreciate guys like him. It’s a nice change of pace to high volume shooters like Iginla was in his prime. Nathan MacKinnon is a forward who I covet.

I’m not a fan of Colorado’s bottom six forwards or their blue line. Francois Beauchemin was an alright signing, but I hate signing defensemen past the age of 34 and they should have pursued Cody Franson instead, in my humble opinion. I’m not huge on Blake Comeau since most of his success came with Evgeni Malkin and elite centers tend to make players look a lot better than they actually are. He’s a fine third line guy, but going from Malkin to Carl Soderberg is quite the dropoff.

Colorado’s top forwards and Varlamov give them enough for me to consider them “contenders.” However, they will need a number of things to go right for them if they want to make the NHL playoffs.

Next: #24

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NHL Power Rankings #24: Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have certainly improved their team that off-season. They picked up Ryan O’Reilly and drafted Jack Eichel. That gives them two extremely good centers for at least the next seven years. They also picked up Robin Lehner. Lehner is unproven, but he has a lot of potential.

However, the Sabres still have quite a ways to go before they are ready to contend. Their biggest issue right now is their blueline. Their defensemen are quite lacking in talent. They don’t have any true first pairing caliber defensemen. However, they do have a respectable top four now that they’ve added Cody Franson.

It should be interesting to see how Buffalo’s forward lines turn out. Evander Kane is a very talented forward, albeit one who needs a career revival. Playing alongside O’Reilly or Eichel is a pretty good way to revive your career. Matt Molson can score goals if he’s hot, but he’s quickly becoming a pretty one-dimensional player. That’s not good for an NHL player. Tyler Ennis is a joy to watch at times, but other times, he’s really frustrating.

Lehner has potential, but his issue is that he is very unproven. So far in the NHL, Lehner hasn’t shown that he can be a consistent starter (or even a backup). This all adds up to a team that shouldn’t be a bottom feeder, but likely won’t be a playoff contender either. That said, Buffalo making a playoff run wouldn’t surprise me too much because the Atlantic Divison is weak once you look past Tampa Bay and Montreal.

Next: #23

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NHL Power Rankings #23: Vancouver Canucks

The first 365 days of Jim Benning’s tenure as Vancouver’s general manager went about as pleasantly as anyone could have imagined. The days since then, however, have been equally unpleasant. The Canucks were a team that lucked into the NHL playoffs last season. They did absolutely nothing to upgrade their team, in my opinion.

They wanted to trade a goalie. Understandable. However, if teams were actually interested in Ryan Miller, they chose the wrong goalie to trade (Eddie Lack). Miller is an overpaid veteran who is declining. Lack is a young goaltender who is constantly improving. I’ll give you one guess which one is the best to keep.

Trading for Brandon Sutter (and extending him for five years) was a horrible move. especially since they gave up Nick Bonino (among others) to get him. I wouldn’t do Bonino for Sutter straight up, so you can guess what my opinion is of giving of Bonino and more for Sutter.

Even with bad moves, Vancouver still has a contending team thanks to Alexander Edler, Daniel Sedin, Radim Vrbata, and Henrik Sedin. Want to count the Sedins out? I sure as heck don’t.

Next: #22

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NHL Power Rankings #22: Philadelphia Flyers

I hate the Flyers, so this is hard to say: Ron Hextall has really impressed me this off-season. He’s been brilliant for the Flyers. Not only has he ridded them of several of their albatross contracts, he’s managed to upgrade the team a bit as well. Ivan Provorov could play in the NHL right away and dominate.

Locking up Michael Del Zotto was a necessary evil. They managed to extend Jakub Voracek. This might have been by accident, but the Flyers finally have two competent goaltenders in Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth. I honestly can’t remember the last time I could say that about them.

The Flyers still have their issues. Namely, their blue line isn’t going to cut it. I like Del Zotto, but when he’s likely going to be a top pairing defenseman for you, that should be a huge red flag. Mark Streit is still pretty awesome at hockey. The Flyers also still have to find a way to get rid of the contracts of Andrew MacDonald and Vincent LeCavalier (amongst others).

Mason is good enough to steal games for Philly. Neuvirth is a solid enough Plan B. The Flyers have enough forward talent (is there a more underrated forward in the league than Wayne Simmonds?) and enough talent in net where an NHL playoff run wouldn’t surprise me too much. They do need a lot of things to go right, however.

Next: #21

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NHL Power Rankings #21: Boston Bruins

Boston is similar to Colorado, in that the Bruins have one of the best goalies in the NHL in Tuukka Rask. Boston had a very eventful off-season. They traded one of their best defensemen (Dougie Hamilton) at a relatively low price. They traded the always difficult to play against Milan Lucic to the Kings for a first round pick and Martin Jones. They also pulled an epic troll job by proceeding to trade Jones to the Sharks for a first round pick. If you can’t appreciate that level of trolling, I don’t know what to tell you.

One of the biggest questions that the Bruins are going to have to answer this season is how do you replace a guy like Zdeno Chara? The answer to that question is most likely “you don’t”. Chara, the biggest player in NHL history, is likely on the last leg of his career. Another question: who will get the first pairing minutes? Chara probably can’t be relied on to play on the first pairing at this stage in his career.

Boston made a not so terrible move in signing Matt Beleskey to a very reasonable contract. However, trading for Zac Rinaldo negated most of the “not bad” move karma that they had going for them. Boston has enough elite level talent (hi Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron) and young talent (David Pastrnak) for me to not be able to rule them out as a contender. Rask is going to have to be outstanding for them to do anything in the playoffs, though.

Next: #20

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NHL Power Rankings #20: Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators captured the hearts of NHL fans everywhere with their magical Cinderella run into the playoffs. Let me be the one who kills this fairy tale by saying that’s not likely going to happen in 2015. Andrew Hammond is unproven and Craig Anderson has a tendency to get injured. That’s not an ideal combo.

I’m a huge fan of Erik Karlsson. I think that Ottawa’s forwards are alright, but nothing too much to write home about there. This team is quite top heavy and they’re going to need those guys who they rely on to continue to have success if they want to make a return to the playoffs.

Their young forwards are enough to give fans some hope. Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman were both Calder Cup contenders in 2015. Kyle Turris is constantly improving. Curtis Lazar certainly has a lot of talent. However, their uncertainty in net might be enough to keep them out of the playoffs.

Next: #19

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NHL Power Rankings #19: San Jose Sharks

The Sharks went from “screw you guys I hope Joe Thornton scores four goals against you” to “OK, you guys might know what you’re doing again” in a span of roughly nine months. That’s pretty impressive. They needed a goalie, so they gave the middle finger to their rivals (LA) by trading for their former backup goalie who the Kings didn’t want the Sharks to have. How can you NOT love a team like that (well unless you’re a Kings fan)?

They upgraded this season by signing Paul Martin to shore up their blueline. They also signed Joel Ward, who should have a positive effect on a team that struggles to win in the playoffs. The Sharks need rebound years from Patrick Marleau, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Tomas Hertl to really stand a chance at the NHL playoffs, but all three of those things are very possible.

Next: #18

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NHL Power Rankings #18: Winnipeg Jets

The Jets, like Ottawa, were a team that made a nice playoff run last season. However, the “true north” will have a hard time returning to the NHL playoffs as they didn’t improve this off-season like I thought they would.

They’re apparently content with having Ondrej Pavelec, who has been sub-par except for last season’s most likely outlier, and Michael Hutchinson (who is unproven) as their goaltending tandem. They lost a very good forward in Michael Frolik. They still haven’t re-signed Andrew Ladd or Dustin Byfuglien. Combine that with an improved Central Division, and the Jets might a team that is left out of the playoff picture in 2015. They’ll need guys like Mathieu Perreault and Tyler Myers to improve from last season if they want to make a return to the playoffs.

Next: #17

NHL Power Rankings #17: Florida Panthers

I can’t tell you how much I wanted to put the Panthers in the playoffs. They’re one of my favorite teams in the NHL. They’re so much fun to watch. They’ve got a really bright future. However, that future is probably not happening this year.

Here’s why I think the Panthers could make the NHL playoffs. They have a ton of young talent. Nick Bjugstad is a 23-year-old center with a cap hit of $4,100,000 each season for the next six seasons. Every time I see a center got locked up for huge money, Bjugstad’s NHL contract looks more impressive. Aleksander Barkov is phenomenal, especially when you consider that he’s just 20 years old. He hasn’t even become to tap into his true potential on offense and he’s already excellent defensively. Brandon Pirri, if he can stay healthy, could be a 30 goal scorer. Of course, staying on the rink has always been a bit difficult for him.

Aaron Ekblad is unbelievable. Every time I watch him play in the NHL, I have to remind myself that he’s still only 19. Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau should form an awesome forward line with Barkov. Roberto Luongo has mostly defied age, as he’s still a very good goalie despite his relative old age.

Here’s why I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs. I don’t think they’re experienced enough yet. They have so many great young players, but they’ll be counting on all those guys to continue to improve in order to make the playoffs. That’s asking just a tad bit too much, in my opinion.

This team is going be REALLY good in like a year or two if everything pans out for them.

Next: #16

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NHL Power Rankings #16: Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings are starting to get old. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have given everything but their souls to Detroit. It took a while, but it’s finally beginning to show. Thankfully, Detroit has several young forwards in Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist who appear to be ready to take the reigns from Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

Detroit’s blueline finally got the right-handed defenseman who they traded away and coveted for what seemed like forever: Mike Green. If Green is healthy, he’s a flawless fit in Detroit. Detroit has needed a strong right-handed option on the power play for several years. Green gives them exactly that as he was one of the best power play QBs in the NHL in Washington.

Detroit made a sneaky good signing when they inked center Brad Richards. Detroit needed center depth. Richards is a proven winner who does exactly that.

The Red Wings have a bit of an issue in goal. Jimmy Howard was the starter for most of last season. However, Petr Mrazek wound up replacing him down the stretch and in the playoffs. Detroit must figure out who their starter is. If it’s Mrazek, they should trade Howard because it makes no sense to pay your backup goaltender over $5,000,000 a season on average.

Even without Mike Babcock, this is a playoff caliber team.

Next: #15

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NHL Power Rankings #15: Los Angeles Kings

The 2013-2014 Stanley Cup Champions did not have a good season in 2014-2015. Though they were still the league leaders in possession, so many things went wrong for them, which caused them to miss the playoffs. Let’s make a list of everything that went wrong for them!

Mike Richards became all but worthless. The Kings wound up terminating his contract after he was caught with painkillers at the USA-Canada border.
Jonathan Quick was less than elite. In fact, he looked dreadful at times. For the first time in a while, Kings fans should probably be concerned about Quick.
Sasha Voynov is still employed by the Kings. Sort of makes it hard to support a team when they have a guy who beats women on the team.
Jarrett Stoll was awful. Luckily, this was masked by Justin Williams.
Anze Kopitar was still awesome, but his scoring was unimpressive considering the high bar that he sets for himself.

Stoll is gone. So is Richards. Quick most likely has a huge chip on his shoulder, ready to prove that he is still an elite goaltender. While the loss of Williams will sting, Tyler Tofolli is more than ready to hopefully be the next “Mr. Game Seven”. They added Milan Lucic, who should destroy everything in his path while on the forecheck. Yeah, I’m not betting against the Kings.

Next: #14

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NHL Power Rankings #14: Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars narrowly missed the playoffs last season despite having one of the highest scoring offenses in the NHL. That was mainly because of their blueline and goaltending. This off-season, they managed to fix both. They added to their blue line by signing Johnny Oduya to a two-year deal.

Oduya is aging, but he should still be an at worst above average defenseman for the next two seasons. To shore up their goaltending, they traded for (and signed) Antii Niemi, formerly of the Sharks. Kari Lehtonen and Niemi gives Dallas two pricey goaltenders, but chances are, at least one of the duo will have the “hot hand” at any given moment. Not an ideal way to have a goaltending duo, but certainly not the worst.

Just for kicks, they decided to trade for

handsome

three-time Stanley Cup champion forward Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks. In doing so, they moved arguably their worst defenseman. A first line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Sharp should be extremely fun to watch. Their forward depth is absolutely insane at this point.

They also locked up blueliner John Klingberg, who actually out-performed Aaron Ekblad last season, to an outrageously cheap seven year, $29,000,000 deal. For a guy like Klingberg, that’s robbery.

I’m still very skeptical of Dallas’s goaltending situation, but this team is too talented to miss the playoffs again.

Next: #13

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NHL Power Rankings #13: Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets were seen as a favorite to make the playoffs in 2014-2015. However, they saw one of the unluckiest injury-ridden seasons in NHL history and barely missed the playoffs. This season, they hope that they’ve gotten rid of the injury bug so that they can make the playoffs.

Columbus’s strength lies in its forwards and its goaltender. Their forwards were already strong with Nick Foligno coming off a career season and Ryan Johansen finally looking like the elite forward that Blue Jackets fans knew he could be. Brandon Dubinsky was great when healthy. Throw two-time Stanley Cup Champion Brandon Saad into the equation and that’s a nasty looking forward group.

Sergei Bobrovsky is one of the best goalies in the NHL when he’s healthy. He has a Vezina Trophy to back up that assertion as well.

However, Columbus still has a very unproven and sketchy blueline. Jack Johnson is alright, but nobody else on that blueline can be counted on to provide heavy minutes.

Next: #12

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NHL Power Rankings #12: Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames had a bit of a lucky playoff run last season. Unlike teams who made similar playoff runs in recent years, Calgary made it a point to go out and improve themselves to try to ensure that they could return to the playoffs.

I’m not sure if they’ve done enough to be a serious contender, but I think that they’ve done enough to go back to the NHL playoffs. They made a huge trade by getting Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins. Hamilton, along with Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie, gives the Flames one of the best young blueliners in the NHL. They also signed free agent forward Michael Frolik from the Winnipeg Jets.

However, is that enough to cure their possession woes? Probably not. It is, however, enough for them to make it back to the NHL playoffs

Next: #11

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NHL Power Rankings #11: Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators were one of the best teams in the NHL last season. However, considering that they didn’t really do anything to improve themselves during the off-season, they could have a little bit of trouble returning to the playoffs.

Nashville has a good mixture of both veterans and young players. Pekka Rinne, Mike Ribeiro, and Shea Weber lead the way as Nashville’s two best veteran players. They have Roman Josi, Seth Jones, Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith leading the way as far as their young players.

They added Cody Hodgson, who could be a huge bargain for them. He should be their third or fourth line center. They also signed Barrett Jackman to shore up their blue line.

Nashville will definitely compete in the Central Division, but do they have the scoring capacity to keep up with Chicago and St. Louis?

Next: #10

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NHL Power Rankings #10: New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are coming off a very strong season in 2014, as they closed the Nassau Coliseum with a playoff appearance. A first-round exit at the hands of the Capitals means that the Islanders will be back and motivated to go further in the playoffs.

The Islanders are led by their captain John Tavares. He was a Hart Trophy finalist in 2014-2015, as he consistently does well despite not having elite teammates. Kyle Okposo is a good player but consider this. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will get to fight for the services of Phil Kessel. Nicklas Backstrom gets to play with Alex Ovechkin. Okposo is not at the level that Kessel and Ovechkin are at.

The Islanders have an impressive forward group. Ryan Strome could have an excellent season. Brock Nelson and Anders Lee should continue to get better. Frans Nielsen is an underrated forward.

However, the Islanders have issues with their blueline past Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. They also have a slight concern in net, as Jaroslav Halak isn’t the most consistent of goalies. They signed Thomas Greiss to provide a better plan B than Chad Johnson.

Next: #9

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NHL Power Rankings #9: New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are coming off an extremely successful regular season as the President’s Trophy winners. However, they got quite a bit worse during the off-season.

They lost Martin St. Louis due to retirement. St. Louis might have been old, but he was still an extremely good player (one of the best in the NHL) who will be sorely missed by the blue shirts. Carl Hagelin was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for salary cap reasons. Hagelin was an important part of the Rangers’ third line and penalty kill. He’ll be very tough to replace. They got Emerson Etem in exchange for him. Etem is a young forward who should do well with the Rangers.

They also traded Cam Talbot to the Edmonton Oilers. In order to replace him, they traded for former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Antti Raanta.

The Rangers still have a very good team. Derrick Brassard, Chris Kreider, and Derek Stepan are all very good young forwards. However, it’s worth noting that superstar forward Rick Nash is on the wrong side of 30. Ryan McDonagh is extremely good, but Dan Girardi is not. Dan Boyle is getting old as well.

Of course, the Rangers are going to be in Stanely Cup contention – as long as Henrik Lundqvist continues to be the elite, handsome goalie that he is.

Next: #8

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NHL Power Rankings #8: Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are coming off another Stanley Cup winning season that confirms their identity as a modern NHL dynasty. However, every dynasty must have its downfall. The Blackhawks aren’t going to have a complete downfall, but they were forced to lose several excellent players at the expense of keeping Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

They were forced to trade one of the best young forwards in the NHL Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite basically being forced to do so, they actually got a pretty nice haul for him. They got Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano and got back Jeremy Morin. Anisimov is an underrated center who should help make up for the losses of Brad Richards and Antoine Vermette. Dano is an extremely talented forward who could immediately replace Saad.

In trading Patrick Sharp to the Dallas Stars, they got back Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt. Garbutt is a very solid center who should provide Chicago with forward depth. They also lost steady defenseman Johnny Oduya to the Dallas Stars. They still haven’t signed restricted free agent Marcus Kruger either.

Despite all of this, the Blackhawks are still going to be an excellent team. However, things could get ugly if Patrick Kane is suspended or the Blackhawks decide to trade him. But hey, some things are bigger than winning.

Next: #7

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NHL Power Rankings #7: Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens are coming off what appeared to be an extremely successful season, as they made it to the second round of the NHL playoffs before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, in reality, they were forced to rely on Carey Price. Price was the best NHL goalie last season and had one of the best seasons that a goaltender has ever had.

Judging by their off-season moves, perhaps the Canadiens realized this. They re-signed Alex Galchenyuk to a very reasonable deal. They also re-upped underrated wing Brandon Gallagher. That ensures that their top six forwards are going to continue to be very good. Montreal lost out on the better forwards so they offered a one-year deal to talented wing Alexander Semin.

Semin is coming off arguably the roughest season of his career. That said, he is still very talented and he tends to dominate possession. Considering Montreal struggled mightily as far as possession last season, Semin could be a huge steal for the Canadiens.

All of Montreal’s moves will mean nothing if head coach Michel Therrien can’t adjust his system to better fit the Habs. If Montreal still has trouble with puck possession this season, Therrien could be the problem. It’s worth noting that even when he coached Crosby and Malkin with the Pens, the Penguins still had horrible possession numbers. Therrien must do a better job this season because if Price regresses even a little bit, that could have dire consequences for the Habs. I’m not saying Price will regress, but history is not on his side.

Next: #6

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NHL Power Rankings #6: Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are my official dark horse Stanley Cup pick from the Western Conference. Coming off an impressive season, the Wild have a lot of good things going for them.

The most important thing that the Wild did was re-sign goaltender Devan Dubnyk. After struggling to find his way in Edmonton, Dubnyk had a solid season with the Arizona Coyotes before being traded to the Wild. In Minnesota, Dubnyk finally found stability and was a Vezina Trophy finalist. Dubnyk will have to prove that he is worth the contract. Looking at the rest of Minnesota’s roster, I like his chances.

Minnesota has an extremely talented blueline. Ryan Suter is good for roughly 30 minutes of ice time a night. He has lost his scoring touch, but he is as reliable and consistent as they come. Jared Spurgeon is very underrated and is still just 25 years old. Marco Scandella is a cheap but talented defenseman. Perhaps the most intriguing member of Minnesota’s back end is 21-year-old Matthew Dumba.

The Wild have also been blessed with forward depth. Zach Parise is one of the best forwards in the NHL. He had a rough personal life last season as his father passed away. Parise showed incredible strength and character by fighting through that tragic loss to lead his team to the second round of the NHL playoffs. Jason Pominville had a bit of a down year, but still had a very solid season. I’d expect one of the most underrated forwards in the NHL to have a bounce back year.

The one thing that could keep Minnesota from the Stanley Cup is their lack of elite talent. However, if their young players continue to develop and Dubnyk continues to be stellar in net, perhaps the Wild could win the Stanley Cup.

Next: #5

Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

NHL Power Rankings #5: Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are a team that is always in contention but always seem to fall just short (except for 2008-2009 which as a Caps fan I refuse to remember). Crosby and Malkin aren’t getting any younger. That’s what the Penguins realized this off-season, as they upgraded their team for another run at the Stanley Cup.

Their biggest move of the summer was trading for one of the NHL’s elite goal scorers, Phil Kessel. It doesn’t matter whether Kessel is with Crosby or Malkin, he’s going to have a huge impact on the Penguins. He gives them the best goal scoring wing that they’ve had in years.

They also traded surplus forward Brandon Sutter for Nick Bonino. Bonino should slot in nicely as either a top six wing or third line center. They also signed forwards Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen to further shore up their bottom two forward lines.

If fully healthy, Pittsburgh’s forwards are probably the best in the NHL, bar none. However, they still have concerns about their blueline. Kris Letang will be relied on heavily to produce and stay healthy. He had severe concussion issues in 2014, so that could be a problem. As talented as Pittsburgh is, they’re relying way too heavily on a guy who might not be able to stay healthy. If Letang gets injured, they could fall down this list or possibly even miss the playoffs.

Next: #4

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

NHL Power Rankings #4: Washington Capitals

The Capitals were one of the best teams in the NHL last season. They were a disallowed goal in game five of the second round away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Like the Penguins, the Capitals took a good long look in the mirror and realized that their Stanley Cup window was closing. They made two huge off-season moves to open it as high as they could.

They signed three-time Stanley Cup champion forward Justin Williams. Williams is noted for his performances in games seven. The Capitals are known for failing in games seven. They’re a perfect match. Williams should help the young Caps grow and provide solid scoring numbers.

Perhaps their biggest move was trading for forward T.J. Oshie. Oshie is an extremely talented forward who should play alongside Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals will rely heavily on young forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, and Andre Burakovsky to continue to improve and provide secondary scoring.

The biggest reason that the Caps will do well in 2015? Elite goalie Braden Holtby. He finally showed Caps fans that he is a franchise goaltender by having one of the most successful seasons ever by a Capitals goalie.

When I look at the Capitals, I don’t see any glaring weaknesses. Sure, their bottom six forwards aren’t ideal. But that’s a relatively easy problem to fix compared to problems on the first two forward lines or defensive pairings.

Next: #3

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

NHL Power Rankings #3: St. Louis Blues

The Blues are going to be an excellent regular season team. They have a deep blue line led by Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. They have David Backes, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, and Jaden Schwartz to lead their forwards. They upgraded their third line by trading Oshie for Troy Brouwer. Their loss of Barrett Jackman could wind up hurting them more than people think.

The biggest question about the Blues remains if their regular season success can translate into post-season success. If the Blues cannot win in 2015-2016, there could be some huge changes in St. Louis. On paper, this is an excellent team with very few weaknesses. Their top two forward lines are two of the best in the NHL. However, one has to consider their recent post-season failures.

This season, the Blues should discover if they can win with Ken Hitchcock.

Next: #2

Mandatory Credit: Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

NHL Power Rankings #2: Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are coming off an extremely successful season that saw them go all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being knocked out by Chicago. While Chicago has taken a step backward, Anaheim has improved. On paper, Anaheim has the strongest and deepest roster in the Western Conference. They have to be considered the Stanley Cup favorites from the West.

While the Ducks lost Matt Beleskey and Kyle Palmieri, they also added Chris Stewart to a cheap one-year deal and traded for Carl Hagelin. Hagelin will quickly become a hated player in the Pacific Division. He’s like an annoying bug. You want to crush him, but he’s too quick and sly. And he has a penchant for scoring at opportune times.

Sami Vatanen is one of the most underrated (and best) blueliners in the NHL. I think this season will be his true breakout season. He’s up for a new contract after this season, so that should help his cause in that regard.

Their sole concern is in net. Frederik Andersen is a talented young goaltender, but he didn’t do so well last year in the playoffs. This season, with the talent around him, there’s no excuse for failure.

Next: #1

Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

NHL Power Rankings #1: Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning are coming off a Stanley Cup appearance. While they didn’t really improve their team, they didn’t need to. They have a perfect combination of young forwards and veterans to guide them. Tampa Bay will be relying on the triplets line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat to continue to grow and dominate their competition.

Like the Ducks, the Lightning are a very deep team. However, can Ben Bishop lead this team to a Stanley Cup? He has no excuses if he doesn’t.

What do you think? Let me your thoughts in the comments!

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