October 11, 2022
By Tab Bamford

CHICAGO, IL — Welcome back, hockey! Even though the NHL kicked off the new campaign with a couple games in Prague over the weekend, the real deal begins Tuesday night. It feels like it’s been forever after two shorter off-seasons thanks to the pandemic. And we have seen some enormous changes on rosters all over the league.

For about 20-22 teams, the playoff hopes have a spark right now. For the other ten, it’s all about battling for draft lottery position. With Connor Bedard sitting at the finish line as the prize for being awful and winning the ping pong balls next summer, there’s clear motivation to be bad in some cities.

So, let’s open the new season with our first Power Rankings. As always, please feel free to let us know where we’re spot on and where we’re way off.

32.  Arizona Coyotes

We’re going to project the Coyotes in dead last based on two factors: they have a roster built for Bedard, and they start the season with 20 of their first 24 on the road. If you look back at what the road trip did to a much better Islanders team to start last season, it bodes better for their lottery odds than their playoff hopes.

31. Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago has less offense on their roster than Arizona. Heck, they have less offense on their opening roster than just about any team in recent memory. The departures of Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach were concrete signs that the rebuild is actually happening. And they, too, want Bedard.

30. Philadelphia Flyers

If HBO did a “Hard Knocks” series for the NHL, we would pay to watch Torts with the roster he’s been given in Philly this season. Will they be Bad 4 Bedard or Mediocre for Michkov?

29. Montreal Canadiens

They benefitted from the Blackhawks dumping Dach. And having Martin St. Louis full-time behind the bench should help. But this roster is still lacking for high-end skill and depth and will struggle for most of the new year. At least they’ll get to watch Juraj Slafkovsky.

28. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have the distinction of being in last place all alone for a few days by virtue of losing twice in Prague. The departure of Brent Burns removes one of the few remaining veterans fans cheered for and they will struggle to keep up on the fast-paced Pacific.

27. Seattle Kraken

It’s time for fans to start buying Matty Beniers jerseys in bulk because he’s going to be the face of that franchise for the next few years. Last year wasn’t what they hoped, but it was a good learning experience. Now they begin integrating youngsters into their NHL lineup.

26. Buffalo Sabres

Tage Thompson scored 38 goals last season and now they’ll all be rallying behind captain Kyle Okposo. The good news in Buffalo is they don’t have the cloud of Jack Eichel’s relationship with the organization hanging over their heads. The other good news is the Bills look good on the gridiron.

25. Columbus Blue Jackets

Johnny Hockey picking Columbus might be the most significant move in the history of the franchise. But he’s going to look around and beg for some scoring depth behind his line. Kent Johnson is a nice darkhorse Calder candidate, however.

24. Anaheim Ducks

I like the mutual bet made by the Ducks and John Klingberg this summer on a one-year deal, and Ryan Strome was quietly a solid addition as well. At least they won’t be the worst team in the state of California.

23. Winnipeg Jets

They’re starting the season with a new coach and no captain. Will either of those change their playoff chances? Because they didn’t do much to augment their NHL roster after disappointing last season.

22. Detroit Red Wings

Their young core is starting to show in the NHL, and the arrow is clearly pointing up in Detroit. But they aren’t there yet. And the Eastern Conference’s top half isn’t coming back to the pack enough for Wings fans to save money for playoff tickets quite yet.

21. New Jersey Devils

Replacing PK Subban with Simon Nemec is a hard shift from the past to the future on the blueline, but this will be a huge year for Jersey. Like Detroit, their young nucleus is taking shape in the NHL now and the expectations are rising.

20. Vancouver Canucks

This season opens with a lot of question marks. We know the potential is there, but there have been so many really high highs and low lows that even settling in the middle would be an improvement. Can they find chemistry and get on an early hot streak to change the narrative?

19. New York Islanders

Well, Mr. Barzal got the bag. But they didn’t do much of anything else the entire offseason. There are lots of eyes on Lou Lamoriello right now after parting ways with Barry Trotz and not changing much on the roster after a disappointing campaign.

18. St. Louis Blues

It’s a walk year for Ryan O’Reilly and Vlad Tarasenko, which is a notice that their window is slightly ajar but not as wide open as it may have been. This is a team that could finish anywhere between third and sixth in the Central Division.

17. Ottawa Senators

Perennial basement dwellers in our Power Rankings are going to get some air in their tires to open the season. The additions of Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux will add some swagger up front. And the hopes for Jake Sanderson push them into the “intriguing” category. Cam Talbot’s injury hurts their short-term big time, though.

16. Vegas Golden Knights

If their goaltending is worth anything they’re interesting. The gamble on Robin Lehner over Marc-Andre Fleury looks like it backfired horribly, and now they’re trying to stitch together a roster with cap headaches.

15. Los Angeles Kings

I love the additions of Kevin Fiala up front and they took a huge step forward last year. They aren’t ready to compete at the same level as the Flames and Oilers in the division, but the playoffs are a real possibility in LA this year.

14. Nashville Predators

They get to enjoy first place in the NHL all by themselves for a few days thanks to two wins against the Sharks over the weekend. Keeping Filip Forsberg was huge for this franchise, and their offseason additions should help them avoid being a surprise playoff contender this year.

13. Boston Bruins

Pasta’s the face of the team, but the return of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci give them veteran leadership. They just need to hang around until their stars get healthy.

12. Dallas Stars

The clock is ticking for Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, but Roope Hintz was a revelation last year. Keeping Jason Robertson somewhat happy was enormous, but they’ll need to replace Klingberg on the backend this season. Thankfully the bottom of the Central is awful.

11. Washington Capitals

Their big question is how well Dylan Strome can replace Nicklas Backstrom. That’s a huge ask for a guy who has been a bit of an enigma in Arizona and Chicago, but his second half last year was impressive.

10. Pittsburgh Penguins

The three amigos are back and their young supporting cast is starting to carry more of the load. We’ll see if Sidney Crosby has a chip on his shoulder this season with some outlets somehow having him outside their top ten players in the game.

9. Tampa Bay Lightning

Another year begins with cap gymnastics, but this season also comes with the Ian Cole drama hurting their lineup because they gave away Ryan McDonagh for free in the offseason. With more key departures after a third straight Final appearance, do they have enough in the tank for another one?

8. Minnesota Wild

They should put more pressure on Colorado in the division this year, but we do wonder how they’ll cover the departure of Fiala up front. The decision to ride with Fleury in net was a bold move but likely a wise one.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

The talent is there for them to be No. 1 on our list. But every year comes with increased expectations and pressure to perform. And after the incredible season Auston Matthews had last year, what can/will he do for an encore?

6. Carolina Hurricanes

Ordinarily, adding Max Pacioretty would have huge implications on their season but his injury crushes that. They also have to replace Vincent Trocheck, Max Domi and Tony DeAngelo from their playoff roster. But we love them bringing in Brent Burns.

5. Edmonton Oilers

Yes, they have two of the best offensive threats in the league. But we still have enormous questions about their defense and consistency in net. At least they’ll have one coach to listen to this entire season. If they don’t get off to an incredibly fast start, how soon will the talk come about adding to the lineup (again)?

4. Calgary Flames

The entire world knew Gaudreau was leaving. And Matthew Tkachuk following him out the door wasn’t a shock. But replacing them with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri and bringing in Mackenzie Weegar in the same summer might (gulp) make them better than they were last year?

3. New York Rangers

They had the best goaltender in the league last year and might have the best blueline group in the game. If their youngsters can continue making positive steps and move from bottom-six contributors into impact middle-six players, they’re a legit Cup contender.

2. Florida Panthers

Tkachuk brings an element of nasty they didn’t have. Their blueline losing Weegar does raise an eyebrow or two, but this is still a team built to win a lot and they have a great veteran head coach running the ship again after the turmoil surrounding the departure of Joel Quenneville last year. Aleksander Barkov is a legit Hart candidate.

1. Colorado Avalanche

You win the Cup, you sit on the thrown until someone takes you off of it. And we’re pretty confident that won’t be the Blackhawks in Game One. They do need to adjust to not having Kadri anymore and the changes in net, but they have two of the five best players on the planet in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Hard to argue with them being the favorite to repeat.