Tired of the completely subjective power rankings written by just one independent and (possibly) biased writer? Do the ESPN rankings make absolutely no sense to you?
SB Nation's NHL Power Rankings is the culmination of a network-wide poll from across all of our hockey blogs. Each week we'll have the Top Ten NHL teams according to our writers, as well as full rankings for each conference.
With the NHL season officially kicking off tonight, here are our initial rankings of every NHL team. We'll present our weekly rankings every Tuesday throughout the season.
NHL Top Ten Power Rankings |
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Rank |
Team | Record | SB Nation Blog | |
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1 (8) | San Jose Sharks | 0-0-0 | Fear The Fin |
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2 (4) | Detroit Red Wings | 0-0-0 | Winging It In Motown |
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3 (4) | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0-0-0 | PensBurgh |
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4 (5) | Washington Capitals | 0-0-0 | Japers' Rink |
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5 | Boston Bruins | 0-0-0 | Stanley Cup of Chowder |
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6 | Chicago Blackhawks | 0-0-0 | Second City Hockey |
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7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0-0-0 | Broad Street Hockey |
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8 | Vancouver Canucks | 0-0-0 | Nucks Misconduct |
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9 | Calgary Flames | 0-0-0 | Matchsticks and Gasoline |
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10 | Carolina Hurricanes | 0-0-0 | Canes Country |
Western Conference Power Rankings |
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| Rk (Prev) | Team | Record | SB Nation Blog | |
|
1 | San Jose Sharks |
0-0-0 | Fear The Fin |
|
2 | Detroit Red Wings |
0-0-0 | Winging It In Motown |
|
3 | Vancouver Canucks |
0-0-0 | Nucks Misconduct |
|
4 | Chicago Blackhawks |
0-0-0 | Second City Hockey |
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5 | Anaheim Ducks |
0-0-0 | Battle of California |
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6 | Calgary Flames |
0-0-0 | Matchsticks and Gasoline |
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7 | St. Louis Blues |
0-0-0 | St. Louis Game Time |
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8 | Columbus Blue Jackets |
0-0-0 | The Cannon |
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9 | Dallas Stars |
0-0-0 | Defending Big D |
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10 | Edmonton Oilers |
0-0-0 | The Copper & Blue |
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11 | Los Angeles Kings |
0-0-0 | Battle of California |
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12 | Minnesota Wild |
0-0-0 | Hockey Wilderness |
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13 | Nashville Predators |
0-0-0 | On the Forecheck |
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14 | Phoenix Coyotes |
0-0-0 | Five For Howling |
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15 | Colorado Avalanche |
0-0-0 | Mile High Hockey |
Eastern Conference Power Rankings |
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| Rk (Prev) | Team | Record | SB Nation Blog | |
|
1 | Pittsburgh Penguins |
0-0-0 | PensBurgh |
|
2 | Washington Capitals |
0-0-0 | Japers' Rink |
|
3 | Boston Bruins |
0-0-0 | Stanley Cup of Chowder |
|
4 | Philadelphia Flyers |
0-0-0 | Broad Street Hockey |
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5 | Carolina Hurricanes |
0-0-0 | Canes Country |
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6 | New Jersey Devils |
0-0-0 | In Lou We Trust |
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7 | Montreal Canadiens |
0-0-0 | Habs Eyes On The Prize |
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8 | New York Rangers |
0-0-0 | Blueshirt Banter |
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9 | Buffalo Sabres |
0-0-0 | Die By The Blade |
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10 | Toronto Maple Leafs |
0-0-0 | Pension Plan Puppets |
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11 | Florida Panthers |
0-0-0 | Litter Box Cats |
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12 | Tampa Bay Lightning |
0-0-0 | Raw Charge |
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13 | Ottawa Senators |
0-0-0 | Silver Seven |
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14 | Atlanta Thrashers |
0-0-0 | Bird Watchers Anonymous |
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15 | New York Islanders |
0-0-0 | Lighthouse Hockey |
31 comments
31
Comments
Whoa… Eastern Conference blogs are messed up…
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Oct 1, 2009 11:43 AM EDT reply actions
And by “Eastern Conference,” I mean NYR and BUF.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott
by Brian Galliford on Oct 1, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Wait, are we ranking the 08-09 regular season, or the 09-10? Because the top 8 teams in each conference seem mighty familiar…
by DarrenM on Oct 1, 2009 11:54 AM EDT reply actions
These are the rankings for the best teams headed into the season.
Defending Big D: A Dallas Stars blog on SBN: easy to use, free to join.
by Brandon Worley on Oct 1, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I love seeing the Conference differences from the Top 10. Eastern Conference blogs love Chicago and Calgary, whereas the West likes Vancouver and Anaheim more than the East.
Broad Street Hockey -
Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Oct 1, 2009 12:04 PM EDT reply actions
The east sleeps on St. Louis too.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
by Derek Zona on Oct 1, 2009 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Eh, I saw them in the playoffs last year.
The Daily Forehand -- SB Nation's Tennis Destination.
Broad Street Hockey.
by Ben Rothenberg on Oct 2, 2009 3:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Ranking San Jose 1st makes sense to me (it is the regular season we’re talking about after all). Detroit should not be ranked 2nd, they lost a few key players and a lot of goals from last year and didn’t really pick anyone up. Pens coming in 3rd…I’m fine with that simply because they’re the defending champs, not because I think they actually rank that high. Caps in 4th? While I think the Caps will have the best record in the east (they play in an incredibly weak division), they do not have the 2nd best team in the east, or even the 3rd. There is a difference between having the best record and the best team. I’m shocked that you ranked Philly all the way down in 7th. The probably have the best defense in the east now as well as a very good, very deep offense. Goal tending is the only question going in to the season for that team and I think Emry is going to be just fine. I’m expecting a Chicago v Philly Stanley Cup in 2010.
by fractionofawhole on Oct 1, 2009 12:21 PM EDT reply actions
Odd how..
A lot of our conference rankings dont match the rankings in the top 10.
Maybe because top 10 is just best 10 based on roster and the Conference are depending how they’ll match up versus opponents?
Winging It In Motown
by Casey Richey on Oct 1, 2009 12:36 PM EDT reply actions
Those differences came because
The Western Conference teams are ranked by Western Conf. writers. Same with Eastern Conf.
The overall top ten puts all the writers into the same pool. The rankings change a bit because of that.
Defending Big D: A Dallas Stars blog on SBN: easy to use, free to join.
by Brandon Worley on Oct 1, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Funny how Anaheim is fifth in the Western Conference but didn’t make it into the overall Top 10, isn’t it?
Cassie
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning Blog. Calling shotgun in the clown car.
by Cassie McClellan on Oct 1, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
All the Ducks get is regional respect, but that’s cool. I ignore the east coast, too.
http://www.battleofcali.com/
by Earl Sleek on Oct 1, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions
That’s alright. When I lived on the West Coast, I ignored the East Coast to the best of my ability, too. It’s like a knee-jerk reaction to that East Coast media bias.
Cassie
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning Blog. Calling shotgun in the clown car.
by Cassie McClellan on Oct 1, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions
The Preds are screwed
as usual
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Oct 1, 2009 12:41 PM EDT reply actions
shhh...
it’s called “flying under the radar.”
More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.
by Dirk Hoag on Oct 1, 2009 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Gonna be
a long season for the Avs, eh?
"Don't give up the ship!" - Capt. James Lawrence
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
by Russ Oates on Oct 1, 2009 12:48 PM EDT reply actions
They get an entire year of the crowd yelling “DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH” when the kid scores.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
by Derek Zona on Oct 1, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Some people have to remember
…this is also a leading-into-the-season ranking. It’s not about hwo a team does overall (and how their franchise fairs in the playoffs). This is not a one-time ranking either (“This is what SBN projects!” )
Some fo the knee jerks I am seeing on other sites regarding this is just ridiculous and some of the comments reflect how people didn’t read the fact this was a ranking and not a projection… or that it was an averaged-out rating for teams and not picked by a single person.
To strive, to seek, to find, and to forever keep it Raw. Raw Charge.
by John Fontana on Oct 1, 2009 1:33 PM EDT reply actions
In other words...
Read the f——— article
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
by PPP on Oct 1, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
These are better than most out there...
…but the first preseason ranking should have the defending Champs as #1, meaning the Pens. Much as it galls me to say that as a Caps fan…
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Oct 1, 2009 1:42 PM EDT reply actions
Not really.
What if the defending champs lost some key players? What if they were a team that were mediocre for much of the season last year, then had a miraculous run in the playoffs?
That doesn’t mean their the best in the league RIGHT NOW.
Defending Big D: A Dallas Stars blog on SBN: easy to use, free to join.
by Brandon Worley on Oct 1, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
everyone starts at zero. EVERYONE.
And everyone has a shot. You assess the roster and the additions and losses and then wager — going into the season — who is right now the team to beat. This isn’t 2008-09, and like I said above these are not final projections. This is how we see it, going into the season. Caps look better than the Pens (and how much of last season did the Pens not look as great as a lot of the East leaders?).
To strive, to seek, to find, and to forever keep it Raw. Raw Charge.
by John Fontana on Oct 1, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Some have argued on Pensburgh that the Pens should’ve been at the Top of the 10 since they are defending Stanley Cup Champs. I guess this would seem logical, but by that account wouldn’t every other team have to be listed beneath them in order of how close they came to winning the Cup?
Pittsburgh
Detroit
Chicago/Carolina
etc…
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
by FrankD on Oct 1, 2009 3:55 PM EDT reply actions
No, because they didn’t succeed. The Penguins were victorious and so that’s their starting point.
Q: Eastern bloggers, Tampa Bay over Atlanta? Really?
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The Devils SBN Blog
by John Fischer on Oct 1, 2009 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Name 5 guys off of Atlanta that are comparable to Lecavalier, St. Louis, Stamkos, Ohlund, and Smith.
Cassie
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning Blog. Calling shotgun in the clown car.
by Cassie McClellan on Oct 1, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Kovalchuk, Little, Kozlov, Antropov, Bogosian… um… Enstrom, Armstrong… and that dude with the face.
Wait… he has a name… maybe. Todd White? Yeah, I think that ticks off our five 20+ goal scorers and a few others.
You guys have us beat hands down on goaltending until Kari comes back – and from what I saw tonight, that shall be many cheezburgers from now. Pavelec is going to have a total breakdown by about the 2nd period Saturday. I’d like for the Thrashers to win, but I’m pretty sure that you guys will.
Reporter: There`s a "stamp out the Beatles movement" underway in Detroit. What are you going to do about it?
Paul McCartney: We`re going to start a campaign to stamp out Detroit.
by hildymac on Oct 1, 2009 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Just what has Atlanta added, exactly?
Just how much better have they made themselves?
Or is it “Spirit Hockey is better than OK Hockey” ownership issues that would put Atlanta over Tampa? Cuz that’s something repeated with Lightning preseason rankings — ownership takes precedence over on-ice product?
To strive, to seek, to find, and to forever keep it Raw. Raw Charge.
by John Fontana on Oct 1, 2009 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions
GO WILDZ!!!!!!
MINNESOTA RULZ!!!!! LOL!!!
OMG!
Proprietor of Hockey Wilderness - We take Minnesota hockey WAY too seriously.
by nathaneide on Oct 1, 2009 4:40 PM EDT reply actions
You guys are a bunch of hacks! Who the hell writes this stuff?!?!
Fear The Fin: Where Selling Your Soul Is The Likely Solution
by Mr. Plank on Oct 1, 2009 6:13 PM EDT reply actions
Calgary ahead of Anaheim overall but behind them in the Western rankings is rather funny. Obviously separate votes, but still…
by Resolute on Oct 1, 2009 7:07 PM EDT reply actions
On opening night, #15 beats #1 by three.
We’re off to an auspicious start here.
The Daily Forehand -- SB Nation's Tennis Destination.
Broad Street Hockey.
by Ben Rothenberg on Oct 2, 2009 3:53 AM EDT reply actions
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