It's the start of the NHL Season and that means POWER RANKINGS! Where I rank the teams and you tell me how wrong I am. I will share the top 5 and bottom 5 in greater detail and 2 power rankings: Overall and divisional.
Bottom 5:
31: Detroit, 30: San Jose, 29: Arizona, 28: Anaheim, 27: Chicago
Detroit at 31 is not a surprise to most people, as Detroit is a very young core and they are still bringing up prospects up in their system. Detroit may get another crack at the number 1 draft pick this coming draft. San Jose coming in at 30 because, they haven't improved much either. They seem all over the place with goaltending, not a ton of improvements down the middle, and veterans moving on to chase the cup. Arizona for me I'm predicting a fall back from last season. At 29, being tight to the cap with not a ton of star power, goaltending is the one saving grace they have in their starter. Anaheim at 28 is just a reflection of a lot of youth and inexperience on the team. They will get better, but this year will be another growing pain season. Chicago has the star power, but the gap in age between their stars and their youth is jarring to say the least. With no real answer in goaltending, they won't be able to out score their problems.
Rankings 26-6:
26: New Jersey, 25: Los Angeles, 24: Nashville, 23: Florida, 22: Buffalo, 21: Ottawa, 20: Minnesota, 19: NY Rangers, 18: Dallas, 17: Columbus, 16: Vancouver, 15: Winnipeg, 14: Pittsburgh, 13: Montreal, 12: Washington, 11: Calgary, 10: Boston, 9: St. Louis, 8: Edmonton, 7: Toronto, 6: NY Islanders
Top 5:
5: Carolina, 4: Philadelphia, 3: Las Vegas, 2: Tampa Bay, 1: Colorado
Carolina has improved quickly the last few years and are starting to show their true colors. The bunch of jerks are ready to start making a deeper playoff run this year at number 5. Gritty would be happy to see the Flyer in the top 5. They were playing great before the pause, and they will be healthy with a more well rounded Hart in net. Not much will stand in their way except the teams in front. Coming in at 3 is Las Vegas. Adding Alexander and with a one two punch in net, as long as the scoring comes back and the chip on the shoulder is still there, I don't see a problem with Vegas getting to a semi final. The Champs roll in at #2 with Tampa flashing their new rings. Tampa has Stamkos coming back while Kucherov will be out for the season, but as long as everyone else stays healthy, they should have no problem getting back. Colorado sits atop at #1 and got knocked out early last year due to a lot of injury issues. A healthy Colorado has one of the most solid defenses with a great core of stars and support cast.
Here is your current rankings by Division:
North: Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa
East: Philadelphia, NY Islanders, Boston, Washington, NY Rangers, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, New Jersey
Central: Tampa, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Nashville, Chicago, Detroit
West: Colorado, Vegas, St. Louis, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Arizona, Anaheim, San Jose
Get ready for the first set of hockey games starting at 5:30 Eastern with Pens v. Flyers. Hockey is Back!