Here’s
a list that basically ranks which team is most likely to win the Stanley Cup as
of this very moment (11:30pm Sunday night to be exact). It’s not necessarily indicative
of where a team’s rank is based on points. Feel free to agree or disagree in
the comments section below this list.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets
I’m
not sure how a team was able to put together a roster that had literally one
trade-able asset (LW/RW Rick Nash), but Columbus has done it. The only thing
that could save this sorry franchise is contraction.
29. Anaheim Ducks
There
are college teams with better defensemen than what Anaheim is trotting out onto
the ice every night. I have goalie Jonas Hiller on one of my fantasy teams, and
it’s a minor miracle if he faces less than 30 shots in a given night.
28. Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina
is the Eastern Conference version of the Ducks. I have Cam Ward on the same
team as Hiller, so I typed that previous sentence with confidence.
27. New York Islanders
I
was going to make a bunch of jokes about Rick DiPietro and how he’s on year
eight of his thirty-four year contract, but then I remembered that he was from
Maine.
26. Calgary Flames
Jarome
Iginla has only one year left on his contract after this season. Someone needs
to man up and set Iggy up with a Ray Bourque type opportunity to win a Stanley
Cup.
(EDITORS NOTE: I think I’ve drafted Iginla onto a fantasy
hockey team four of the last five years or something. I love the guy. He was
co-captain of my 2007-08 championship winning team, and I’ve had a soft spot
for him ever sense. Has he lost a step? Sure, but if you paired him with a
top-flight center, Iginla still has the ability to dominate a game. It doesn’t
make sense for the Bruins to make a run at him, but maybe a dark horse team
like Florida or Los Angeles can pull the trigger on a deal)
25. Tampa Bay Lightning
The
Golden State Warriors of the NHL. Steven Stamkos and company can light the
lamp, but it’s hard to win when you score five goals if your goalies give up
six.
24. Montreal Canadiens
Poor
Carey Price can’t buy a break. When the team was good, Price was a liability.
Now that he’s matured into a legitimate top-flight goaltender, his team sucks.
23. Edmonton Oilers
Do
you realize that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was born in 1993? I remember shit that
happened in 1993. I’m getting old.
22. Phoenix Coyotes
Somehow
Team Bankruptcy has remained sort of relevant even after trading Ilya Bryzgalov
away. I hope someday we move this team to a place (Quebec or Hartford?) where
fans will actually give a crap about it. The players on this team have given it
all for three years running now, and deserve better fan support.
21. Colorado Avalanche
Colorado
needs to get goalie Semyon Varlamov going. They surrendered a first round pick
to Washington for him (a pick which has a good chance of being in the top-10),
and if they don’t establish Varlamov as their franchise net minder, they will
have set the franchise back at least two years.
20. Winnipeg Jets
I
don’t think Winnipeg will sneak into the playoffs (they are too poor on the
road), but there’s a few things to be excited about. I’ll list them because I
enjoy lists immensely.
- Ondrej
Pavelec isn’t the most consistent goalie, but when he’s on, good luck
getting a puck past him. If Winnipeg can improve their roster over the
next three years, expect Pavelec’s development to mirror the Jets’
improvements.
- Evander
Kane has arrived. He’s on pace for close to 40 goals, looks all the world
like the second coming of Jarome Iginla, and he’s not even legally allowed
to drink alcohol in the United States.
- This
team is finally playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Winnipeg
would probably be as bad as Anaheim or Carolina if it weren’t for their
awesome home-ice advantage. Kudos to the fans for coming out to support
this very young team.
19. Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo
is kind of like the fat-free version of the Boston Bruins, which is a problem
when you are in the same division as the Bruins and you get your ass kicked by
them on a semi-regular basis. The Sabres could desperately use a goal scorer to
help Thomas Vanek. It’s a shame they couldn’t extract the “NHLPA ’93” version
of Alexander Mogilny and put him on the ice.
(RANT ALERT: Jeremy Roenick rightfully gets most of the love
in regards to best video game hockey player of all time, but one can’t forget
the exploits of Mogilny on those Sabres teams. Mogilny couldn’t play a lick of
defense, but could skate from one end of the ice to the other in approximately
1.6 seconds. He was even more devastating on the offensive end than players
like Jaromir Jagr or Wayne Gretzky)
18. Ottawa Senators
Ottawa
is currently inside the top 8 in the East, but expect shoddy goaltending to
eventually catch up with them. Senators’ fans have to be pumped about the
development of defenseman Erik Karlsson. He’s on pace to post 74 points from
the blue-line at the age of 21.
17. Dallas Stars
Here’s
another team that played way over it’s head in the first half of the season,
and is now slowly slipping out of playoff contention. Improving the team across
the board up the middle of the ice (center, defense, and goalie) is imperative
for the Stars to return to glory.
16. New Jersey Devils
Die-hard
Devils fans (like Elaine’s on-again off-again boyfriend Puddy) would be quick
to point out that New Jersey is fifth in the Eastern Conference (as of Sunday),
and should be much higher on this list. However, New Jersey has been bailed out
this season by the shootout. The Devils have eight shootout wins, which is four
more than any team in the Eastern Conference. That translates to eight extra
points (you earn one point for an overtime loss, two for a shoot-out win). New
Jersey has only won 15 games in regulation or regular overtime, which is one
more than the pathetic Hurricanes. New Jersey might sneak into the playoffs,
but look for them to get their doors blown off by whoever they are playing.
15. Los Angeles Kings
Los
Angeles has given up the sixth fewest goals in the NHL, but unfortunately has
the least amount of goals scored of any team in the league. The Kings have
arguably one of the most valuable trade chips in the league (back-up goalie
Jonathan Bernier, who is blocked from a full-time gig by Jonathan Quick), so
perhaps L.A. will pull the trigger and add a top-flight winger to pair with
Anze Kopitar.
14. Minnesota Wild
A
1-7-2 run the last 10 games has dropped Minnesota from first to seventh in the
western conference. The Wild are another team that could use some more
firepower, but would be wise not to part with valuable young assets in a
foolish attempt to win a Stanley Cup.
13. Nashville Predators
Minus
the part about the 1-7-2 record, you could repeat the same paragraph I wrote
for the Wild in regards to Nashville. Nashville does have tremendous depth on
defense (in both the NHL and their minor league club), so it would be more
reasonable for them to make a move to acquire more scoring.
12. Florida Panthers
Florida’s
emergence this season has been the most shocking so far of any team in the
Eastern Conference. Before getting injured, Jose Theodore was a stabilizing
presence in net, while free agent acquisition Kris Versteeg has helped give the
Panthers a dynamite first line. The Panthers have tons of young assets both in
the AHL and at the junior levels, so the future will only get brighter for Florida.
11. Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto
can both score a bunch, and get scored on a bunch. Better goaltending is the
only difference between them and a team like Tampa Bay. GM Brian Burke is never
afraid to make a deal, so don’t be shocked if the Maple Leafs make a huge
splash before the trade deadline.
10. Washington Capitals
Washington
is tenth in the East right now, so ranking them tenth in these power rankings
is pretty aggressive. However, they are only four points out of first in their
own division, and seem to be slowly righting the ship under new coach Dale
Hunter. Don’t be shocked if the team ships disgruntled winger Alexander Semin
out of town.
9. St. Louis Blues
The
best dark horse candidate to win the Stanley Cup this year. St. Louis is second
in the Western Conference right now despite having a 0-5 record in shoot-outs.
Brian Elliott has been playing out of his mind since the start of the season,
and if he sputters, former Canadiens playoff hero Jaroslav Halak is there to
step in. St. Louis doesn’t have any top-flight scorers, but has enough
offensive depth to consistently put pressure on the opposing goalies. It’s fair
to say that the Blues are a homeless man’s version of the Boston Bruins. If
David Perron gives St. Louis a big second half, he could have a Tyler
Seguin-like impact the rest of the way.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins
Sure
they’ve lost four straight. They are again without Sidney Crosby, who’s been
dealing with the longest headache in NHL history. Pittsburgh will right the
ship behind Evgeni Malkin in time for the playoffs. They’ll probably finish
anywhere between fourth and eighth in the East, but they will not be a fun
first-round opponent for anyone.
7. Philadelphia Flyers
Philly
has quietly dealt with a ton of adversity this season, but has finally found a
groove since losing Chris Pronger for the season. Ilya Bryzgalov is the first
stud goalie this team has had since the days of Ron Hextall. If their offense
is intact going into the playoffs, Philadelphia could pose the greatest threat
to the Boston Bruins in the East.
6. Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago
is the highest-ranking club on the list that doesn’t have a top-flight goalie.
It looks like the Blackhawks are willing to let Corey Crawford try to regain
his form of a year ago, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a play for
Evgeni Nabokov.
5. San Jose Sharks
It’s
easy to forget about the Sharks (mostly because they usually fold like a tent
in the playoffs), but this edition of the Sharks is much more dedicated on the
defensive end. That’s normally a good formula to follow come April and May.
4. New York Rangers
Brad
Richards may not be having the best statistical season of any free agent
signing from last summer, but he has delivered the goods for the Rangers. His
presence has allowed the Rangers to throw two potent lines out on the ice
(Richards and Marion Gaborik don’t play together unless the Rangers have a
power play). Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has done a masterful job of holding the
fort while New York awaits the return of defenseman Mark Staal.
3. Detroit Red Wings
The
Red Wings have been uncharacteristically bad on the road this season, but still
possess as much offensive depth as any team in the western conference. Jimmy
Howard has taken two steps forward after a down year last season, and Nicklas
Lidstrom has managed to squeeze out one more quality season.
2. Boston Bruins
Before
I get flooded with hateful messages, I’ll let my readers know that Boston was
penciled in to the number one spot on this list before they lost to the Canucks
yesterday. I fully expected the Bruins to regress this season, and be lucky to
have a seed better than sixth in the East. However, they have fully overcome
the Stanley Cup hangover and have been clobbering teams left and right. The
emergence of Tyler Seguin gives Boston an A-quality player that looks to be the
face of the franchise for years to come. Even more importantly, Boston has the
best back-up goalie in the NHL. Tuukka Rask could probably start on a regular
basis for more than half the league. It will be fun seeing a team try to knock
the Bruins off in a seven-game series. Boston is so deep offensively, with
three lines that can score consistently, and defensively, that it will be hard
for a team not to wear down against them. Unless they run into a hot goalie, it
will be hard for the Bruins not to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals again.
1. Vancouver Canucks
After
a rocky start, the Canucks are firing on all cylinders. Roberto Luongo is
showing no signs of the funk that led to him riding the pine for a stretch
during the first month of the season. Ryan Kesler shook the rust off after
off-season surgery, and as always, the Sedin twins are laying claim to the
title of best pair of athletic twins in sports history. Much like Boston,
Vancouver also has enough faith in backup goalie Cory Schneider that they can
feel comfortable if Luongo were to suffer an injury. It’s boring to pick last
years Stanley Cup Finals participants as the top two teams right now, but that’s
where things look like they are going this season.
