| Rank | Team | Last Week | Record | Note |
| 1 | San Jose Sharks | N/A | 0-0-0 | The Sharks top the list because an offense that can light it up and a scary good defense simply put a team into pretty high standing. |
| 2 | Vancouver Canucks | N/A | 0-0-0 | Roberto Luongo better come out firing on all cylinders or it’s Cory Schneider time. Ryan Kesler is out but Vancouver has loads of talent up front providing the Sedins reappear. |
| 3 | Washington Capitals | N/A | 0-0-0 | If only the defense played more defense then the Capitals would be my choice easily for Cup winners. But they don’t. They just score a lot. |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Lightning | N/A | 0-0-0 | The Lightning are looking like real contenders for winning it all this year. Provided Vincent Lecavalier starts keeping up with that Stamkos kid. |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | N/A | 0-0-0 | No Brian Rafalski and this could be Nick Lidstrom’s last rodeo. Expect a move early this season for a premier defenseman out of Detroit. |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | N/A | 0-0-0 | Sidney Crosby is not starting this season, which is the smartest approach. And the Eastern Conference breathes a sigh of relief. For now. |
| 7 | Boston Bruins | N/A | 0-0-0 | Last year’s Cup winners suffered a hit to their depth, but they are still easily one of the top teams in the league. As long as Tim Thomas plays like a stud again. |
| 8 | Los Angeles Kings | N/A | 0-0-0 | Drew Doughty is back, so now the debate begins to see if he is overweight and out of shape. Dustin Penner can enjoy the shift of focus off of him. |
| 9 | Buffalo Sabres | N/A | 0-0-0 | Shaone Morrison and Ales Kotalik were the odd guys out when it came to clearing cap space. The Sabres actually look better now also. |
| 10 | Philadelphia Flyers | N/A | 0-0-0 | Chris Pronger is in as captain and Jaromir Jagr apparently looks really good. In the words of an Analrapist, “Let the great experiment begin!” |
| 11 | Nashville Predators | N/A | 0-0-0 | Defense wins championships. Nashville has that. What they don’t have is anyone who can produce consistently offensively. |
| 12 | Chicago Blackhawks | N/A | 0-0-0 | Chicago needs some magic out of their new role players. Good thing Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharpe, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, and Duncan Keith are still on the roster. |
| 13 | New York Rangers | N/A | 0-0-0 | Brad Richards is going to need a 100 point season for the Rangers to sneak into the playoffs. Or if Marian Gaborik ever starts scoring. |
| 14 | Toronto Maple Leafs | N/A | 0-0-0 | Don’t write off the Maple Leafs for missing the postseason. Until James Reimer has a collapse the Leafs look solid enough to make it. |
| 15 | St. Louis Blues | N/A | 0-0-0 | The Blues need a lot of things to go right for them to make the playoffs. Fortunately so does most every other team in the West. |
| 16 | Anaheim Ducks | N/A | 0-0-0 | I cannot stress how bad the depth up front for the Ducks is. I expect the Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry line to log about 40 minutes a game. |
| 17 | Colorado Avalanche | N/A | 0-0-0 | Seymon Varlamov has been pretty shakey this preseason. Still too early to see if this qualifies as having “made a huge mistake”. |
| 18 | Montreal Canadians | N/A | 0-0-0 | The Habs finally added some more size this offseason. If they actually got someone with size who could play worth a damn then they would be in business. |
| 19 | Columbus Blue Jackets | N/A | 0-0-0 | James Wisniewski is starting the season being suspended. That’s the Wisniewski everyone knows. Columbus should start kicking themselves already for that contract. |
| 20 | Carolina Hurricanes | N/A | 0-0-0 | Carolina is a pretty good team. Just not that good of a team. Jeff Skinner and Jamie McBain will be a lot of fun to watch this year though. |
| 21 | Calgary Flames | N/A | 0-0-0 | Even with a Sutter not in control the Flames look like the same old Flames, and that really isn’t good for them. |
| 22 | Edmonton Oilers | N/A | 0-0-0 | Call me crazy but I see Edmonton actually making a push for the postseason this year. I mean they won’t make it, but still. |
| 23 | New Jersey Devils | N/A | 0-0-0 | Last Arrested Development reference. Sure, have the guy making $100,000,000 do all the scoring. COME ON. Seriously though, Kovalchuk better start scoring more. |
| 24 | Phoenix Coyotes | N/A | 0-0-0 | I may have Phoenix pretty far down, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Dave Tippet turns Mike Smith into a top flight goaltender. |
| 25 | Florida Panthers | N/A | 0-0-0 | Another experiment, though this one has far less talent. Until they prove otherwise, the Panthers are only marginally improved. |
| 26 | Minnesota Wild | N/A | 0-0-0 | Apparently I am not alone in thinking that Devon Setoguchi is likely to crash and burn in Minnesota. Good thing Dany Heatley is likely to excel. |
| 27 | New York Islanders | N/A | 0-0-0 | John Tavares got a fat new deal this summer, which looks like a genius move after the Alexi Yashin and Rick DiPietro debacles. |
| 28 | Winnipeg Jets | N/A | 0-0-0 | I will give it about a month before Winnipeg fans ask if they could possibly have another team besides the Thrashers. |
| 29 | Dallas Stars | N/A | 0-0-0 | At least Marc Crawford isn’t the coach this year, though he never should have been. Over/Under before Sheldon Souray gets cut, 20 games? |
| 30 | Ottawa Senators | N/A | 0-0-0 | Well there is always next year Daniel Alfredsson. Maybe not for you since you are likely to retire, but for someone in Ottawa. |
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