REASONS FOR OPTIMISM FOR ALL 31 TEAMS
At this point of the 2018-19 regular season, some teams are
eyeing the playoffs. Others, not so much. But, there's hope for the future for
all of them. For this week's edition of the Power Rankings, we identify that
reason for optimism.
1. TAMPA BAY
LIGHTNING
Previous ranking: 1
The lack of state income tax. Look, there are
many reasons why players choose to play in Tampa, from the great weather to the
even better owner. But the reason so many of them sign for reasonable cap hits
because that money goes further in Florida. Getting Nikita Kucherov,
the likely MVP, in at $9.5 million per season through 2027? Incredible. This is
the prime reason many expect the Bolts will be able to retain the services
of Brayden Point.
The tax thing, we mean; not centering Kucherov. Although that certainly doesn't
hurt.
2. CALGARY
FLAMES
Previous ranking: 2
Johnny Hockey Is 25. Johnny
Gaudreau is going to be a Hart Trophy finalist in a season
where he's going to set career highs in goals and points. The league has
trended in the direction for players of his skill set (and dimensions), and his
star is blazing.
3. BOSTON BRUINS
Previous ranking: 4
Jake DeBrusk. In
about five years, hanging on to DeBrusk while trading away Ryan Donato will
seem like one of those no-brainer decisions, while completely ignoring the fact
that he very much could have been shipped out at any point in the past two
seasons.
4. SAN JOSE
SHARKS
Previous ranking: 3
Things are starting to really come together. Erik Karlsson injury
concerns aside, the Sharks are really starting to look like a team that could
hoist the Stanley Cup this season. And by that of course we mean Martin Jones
putting together a dozen games that aren't grotesque.
5. TORONTO MAPLE
LEAFS
Previous ranking: 5
Mitch Marner. Sure,
the contract speculation grows more uncomfortable by the day, mostly
because Brad Marchand has decided to
become Pat Brisson in his spare time. But Marner's breakout
season -- 81 points in 66 games -- and undeniable good guy-ness off the ice has made the 21 one
of the season's breakout stars.
6. WINNIPEG JETS
Previous ranking: 7
The forwards, going forward. Assuming Patrik Laine signs
long term and isn't poached with an offer sheet of maximum money and Fortnite
V-bucks, the Jets are going to have him, Mark
Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj
Ehlers and Bryan Little under
contract through 2024.
7. NASHVILLE
PREDATORS
Previous ranking: 8
That term. The year is 2021. Ryan Johansen, Filip
Forsberg, Viktor
Arvidsson, Kyle Turris (if
he's still there), P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis and Mattias
Ekholm are still under contract (and hopefully Roman Josi has
inked a new one back in 2020). No matter what happens this season, the
Predators are going to have a foundation on which to build contenders for a few
more years.
8. WASHINGTON
CAPITALS
Previous ranking: 9
Russian Machine never breaks. Stanley Cup
hangover (figuratively and literally)? New fatherhood? The creeping specter of
age? All Alex Ovechkin is
doing is having one of his finest goal-scoring seasons of his career.
9. NEW YORK
ISLANDERS
Previous ranking: 6
No one will ever leave Long Island again. After
what the fans put John Tavares through
in his return to Nassau Coliseum, what player would be brave enough to ever
leave this franchise again? Granted, we're also not sure who would be compelled
to sign their knowing what could happen if they do leave, but nevertheless.
10. PITTSBURGH
PENGUINS
Previous ranking: 12
Sid's got this. Crosby has 86 points in 63
games, and every time you watch Pittsburgh you can watch him attempting to will
a broken, underwhelming group into the postseason. Don't worry dear Penguins
fans. Sid will find a way.
11. CAROLINA
HURRICANES
Previous ranking: 13
Martin Necas. The
center is ranked No. 4 on Chris Peters' list of the top NHL prospects, and expectations
are he could be a No. 1 center for the Hurricanes in the very near future.
12. VEGAS GOLDEN
KNIGHTS
Previous ranking: 15
Mark Stone. The
fact the Knights landed Stone and signed him long term made them a winner at
this deadline, because few wingers have the two-way game Stone possesses. He's
going to be an integral part of a championship team there one day.
13. MONTREAL
CANADIENS
Previous ranking: 14
The Blue Jackets are playing scared. The
Canadiens have played well enough to earn the last wild card in the East, with
Columbus right behind them. The difference, however, are expectations: Montreal
has exceeded them, and the Blue Jackets are currently being crushed by them
after an active trade deadline.
14. ST. LOUIS
BLUES
Previous ranking: 11
The turnaround isn't a fluke. The Blues aren't
out of the woods yet in the competitive Western Conference, although their
games-in-hand situation is pretty rosy. But they have shown that the winning
stream was a symptom of the overall improvement of their play, rather than an
anomaly.
15. COLUMBUS BLUE
JACKETS
Previous ranking: 10
Fortune favors the bold. We're just going to
keep repeating this as a mantra until the Jackets' courageous deadline moves
manifest into a playoff spot. Granted, it was famously used by Turnus in
Virgil's "Aeneid" before he was murdered in a duel to the death. But
maybe things work out better for Columbus.
16. MINNESOTA
WILD
Previous ranking: 16
Maybe the Nino
Niederreiter trade was the nadir. Hey, everyone
deserves a mulligan, and GM Paul Fenton made a pretty good trade for Kevin Fiala.
17. DALLAS STARS
Previous ranking: 17
Their team president hasn't publicly compared any of
their players to horse excrement in at least the past two months. Which
means "it worked," we guess.
18. PHILADELPHIA
FLYERS
Previous ranking: 18
Carter Hart. Until Jordan Binnington stole
his spotlight, Hart was the rookie goalie sensation of 2019. As it stands,
he's a top 25 prospect in the NHL, and the first potential
franchise goalie the Flyers have developed in a very long time.
19. COLORADO
AVALANCHE
Previous ranking: 19
Ottawa is terrible. The Senators auctioned off
their three top scorers, fired their coach and are playing out the string,
looking very much as if they'll end up No. 31 in the NHL. That would give the
Avalanche, who own the Sens' first-rounder after the Matt Duchene trade
in 2017, around an 18.5 percent chance of getting the first overall pick.
Playoff-bound or not, the Avalanche have a Christmas in June ahead of them.
20. ARIZONA
COYOTES
Previous ranking: 20
Hey, they've overcome injuries before. Derek Stepan is
out at least a month, just as other members of the Coyotes are starting to get healthy.
They've been through injury Armageddon and are right in the playoff hunt. Keep
the faith!
21. BUFFALO
SABRES
Previous ranking: 21
OK, next year is the year. They
have an amazing top line. They have a franchise defenseman. It seems as if the
goaltending has been figured out. Let's give GM Jason
Botterill one more summer to ramp this up ... and then if it
doesn't work, maybe then we panic.
22. CHICAGO
BLACKHAWKS
Previous ranking: 22
Stan Bowman. Every time we want to write off the
Blackhawks' GM, he pulls off a series of smart little moves like the ones that
added Drake
Caggiula and Dylan Strome to
the roster. It might not change the overall trajectory of the cap-saddled team,
but it helps.
23. FLORIDA
PANTHERS
Previous ranking: 23
Artemi
Panarin and Sergei
Bobrovsky weren't traded. Hence, they weren't
signed to contract extensions, and hence they're still going to be unrestricted
free agents this summer. And they both love South Beach.
24. EDMONTON
OILERS
Previous ranking: 26
Maybe the next GM can fix things. The hapless
reign of Peter Chiarelli is over, and a new general manager will take over the Oilers
this summer. Maybe a new voice and a new perspective can put a playoff team
around Connor
McDavid. Or maybe it'll just be another Hockey Canada crony that
just does the bidding of the team's higher-ups. Hopefully the former.
25. VANCOUVER
CANUCKS
Previous ranking: 24
Elias Pettersson. Well,
obviously. He's a point-per-game rookie who has electrified fans with what he
does on the ice and sent a jolt through the organization. Usually after a
franchise sees the end of an era, like the retirement of the Sedins, it takes a
few years before the next thing arrives. Not so much with Vancouver.
26. NEW YORK
RANGERS
Previous ranking: 25
The summer of 2020. As of right now, the Rangers
have as much salary committed to the 2020-21 season as they do open cap space.
The rebuild is rolling on. But that's a preposterous amount of cap space with
which to play in the next two years.
27. NEW JERSEY
DEVILS
Previous ranking: 27
Maybe Cory
Schneider isn't done? When it comes to the
team's embattled 32-year-old netminder, any good news is great news. So his
4-3-0 February with a .935 save percentage and a 2.11 goals-against average was
great news for a player signed through 2022.
28. ANAHEIM DUCKS
Previous ranking: 28
Bob Murray's evaluation process. One hopes that
his time behind the bench gives the general manager the proper insight into how
to get this franchise back on the right path.
29. LOS ANGELES
KINGS
Previous ranking: 30
Jaret
Anderson-Dolan. The future is bright for one of the
Kings' top prospects, who is now racking up points for the WHL's Spokane Chiefs.
30. DETROIT RED
WINGS
Previous ranking: 29
Offer sheets are a thing. If the Red Wings
wanted to get aggressive, they have the picks and the payroll to really make a
scene this summer with any of the pending restricted free agents. No, it
wouldn't make them any friends; but Ken Holland doesn't need them. He needs
wins.
31. OTTAWA
SENATORS
Previous ranking: 31
Gary Bettman says that Ottawa isn't going to be
relocated. So they have that going for them, which is nice.
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