NHL Power Rankings: 2011-2012 Regular Season Standings Predictions
An entire offseason of roster movements is sure to alter the look of the upcoming NHL season. The Vancouver Canucks were last season's President's Trophy winner, but fell short in the Stanley Cup Finals.
A year prior, the Washington Capitals won the NHL's award for the team which finishes the regular season with the most points. The Caps stayed atop the Eastern Conference standings in 2010-2011.
Will the Canucks and Capitals be competing for the President's Trophy yet again?
In this brief recap of the 2011 NHL offseason, each team's moves are reviewed along with an overview of what it means for the team's performance in the upcoming season.
Predicted point values are estimates.
No. 30: Colorado Avalanche
1 of 312010-2011 Record: 30 wins, 52 losses, 68 points
Colorado added two goalies; Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastian Giguere, which is an improvement over the Peter Budaj/Brian Elliot tandem that ended the previous season.
Unfortunately, the team traded top defenseman John-Michael Liles, who produced 46 points last season. His departure will hurt the Avs.
Prediction: 60 points
No. 29: Edmonton Oilers
2 of 312010-2011 Record: 25 wins, 57 losses, 62 points
Aside from acquiring Ryan Smyth, Edmonton did not make any major moves. Andy Sutton was added as the team lost Andrew Cogliano, Colin Fraser and Kurtis Foster.
The team also replaced Jim Vandermeer and Steve MacIntyre with Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk. The players are essentially interchangeable and should not have much of an effect.
The Oilers' top three scorers were Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, and Sam Gagner-all aged 21 and under.
Edmonton should see an improved team over the next few seasons due to the continued development of the young roster.
Prediction: 65 points
No. 28: Ottawa Senators
3 of 312010-2011 Record: 32 wins, 50 losses, 74 points
Ottawa was not very active in the offseason, adding Nikita Filatov, Zenon Konopka, Mark Parrish, and Alex Auld while losing Ryan Shannon.
The team is in the midst of a rebuilding stage, and will continue to perform that way.
Prediction: 70 points
.png?w=256 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
No. 27: Winnipeg Jets
4 of 312010-2011 Record: 34 wins, 48 losses, 80 points
Winnipeg's first offseason was not very active; the team focused on re-signing young talent such as Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler.
The team also signed Tanner Glass and Randy Jones, while picking up Eric Fehr in a trade with the Capitals.
None are impact players, but Fehr may become a more productive player with additional playing time in Winnipeg. The 25-year-old is a former first round draft pick with a career-high of 39 points despite limited playing time.
With the Jets, Fehr should be able to play more than the 12 minutes per game he averaged in Washington, allowing more scoring opportunities.
Prediction: 75 points
No. 26: St. Louis Blues
5 of 312010-2011 Record: 38 wins, 44 losses, 87 points
Aside from signing Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner, not much was done to improve this non-playoff team.
Prediction: 80 points
No. 25: New York Islanders
6 of 312010-2011 Record: 30 wins, 52 losses, 73 points
Aside from picking up Marty Reasoner, losing Radek Martinek and Zenon Konopka, there were no significant player movements for for the Islanders this past offseason.
The team attempted to sign Christian Ehrhoff, but was unsuccessful.
An abysmal first half of this past season included losing 20 of 21 games from October 23 to December 16. However, the Islanders won 25 of their last 54 games, a winning percentage that would total 38 wins over a full season.
The young team should continue to develop and improve, but will not be a playoff team this season.
Prediction: 85 points
No. 24: Carolina Hurricanes
7 of 312010-2011 Record: 40 wins, 42 losses, 91 points
The Hurricanes lost Erik Cole (52 points in 2010-11) and traded defenseman Joe Corvo, but signed Tomas Kaberle and added Anthony Stewart and Alexei Ponikarovsky.
Ponikarovsky was a non-factor, scoring 15 points in 61 games last season with the Kings. However, the 31-year-old has scored above 40 points three times, with a career high of 61 points.
Stewart had his most productive season so far, with 39 points over 80 games last season. If he continues to improve, he could replace the production lost with Cole.
Kaberle is also an improvment over Corvo, but these acquisitions are probably not enough to put Carolina into the playoffs, as the teams they chased last season have improved.
Prediction: 85 points
No. 23: Florida Panthers
8 of 312010-2011 Record: 30 wins, 52 losses, 72 points
The Florida Panthers underwent a major makeover this season (complete with new home uniforms).
Goalie Tomas Vokoun is gone, replaced by Jose Theodore.
In a trade for Rotislav Olesz, the team acquired Brian Campbell from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Campbell's highest point total was in 2007-2008, when the defenseman scored eight goals with 54 assists. His production has dropped since, scoring 52, 38 and 27 points over the last three seasons. It should be noted that Campbell has also missed 31 games over the past two seasons.
However, Campbell is a career 0.5 point-per-game player. If he plays a full season there's no reason to believe the offensive defenseman cannot contribute 40+ points to the team.
Another veteran defenseman acquired was Ed Jovanovski, who was originally drafted by Florida first overall in the 1994 entry draft.
Jovanovski played just 50 games last season, producing 14 points and a plus/minus of 4. If he can play a full season, he could contribute anywhere between 35-50 points.
On the offensive side, Florida added Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg, Tomas Kopecky, Marcel Goc, Sean Bergenheim and Scottie Upshall.
Over the past two seasons, Fleischmann has scored 35 goals with 47 assists despite playing just 114 games. If the 27-year-old winger can stay healthy this season, he should produce 55 points or higher.
Versteeg and Kopecky will add 40-50 points each, plus Upshall, Goc and Bergenheim are reliable for 20-30 points each.
Additionally, the emergence of Evgeny Dadonov could see the 22-year-old scoring 40+ points in 2011-12.
The Panthers see a significant drop in goaltending ability, but have added a ton of offense, and will drastically improve this season.
Prediction: 85 Points
No. 22: Phoenix Coyotes
9 of 312010-2011 Record: 43 wins, 39 losses, 99 points
The Phoenix Coyotes lost Ilya Bryzgalov and replaced him with backup-caliber Mike Smith.
Without the Vezina-caliber goaltender carrying this team, the Coyotes will struggle in 2011-2012.
Prediction: 85 points
No. 21: Calgary Flames
10 of 312010-2011 Record: 41 wins, 41 losses, 94 points
Calgary was not very active this summer, with a minor trade of Robyn Regehr and Ales Kotalik for Chris Butler and Paul Byron.
With the other teams around them improving, it will be difficult for Calgary to compete.
Prediction: 85 points
No. 20: Dallas Stars
11 of 312010-2011 Record: 42 wins, 40 losses, 95 points
To make up for the loss of Brad Richards, Dallas added Michael Ryder, a player who has averaged 50 points per season in his career.
Dallas also acquired Sheldon Souray, who has missed more than 100 games over the past three seasons due to injuries. Souray is capable of contributing more than 50 points as a defenseman when healthy.
The team that fell one win short of a playoff berth will not come that close in 2012.
Prediction: 85 points
No. 19: Columbus Blue Jackets
12 of 312010-2011 Record: 34 wins, 48 losses, 81 points
The Blue Jackets' offseason was highlighted by the trading of Jakub Voracek and a first round draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for Jeff Carter, and the signing of James Wisniewski.
Wisniewski's 51 points in 75 games was 5th among all NHL defensemen last season.
Carter led the Philadelphia Flyers in goals for the past three seasons. His career high of 46 was second in the league in 2009, the season he led the league with 12 game-winning goals.
Unfortunately, Carter's production has yet to come close since that year; the forward totaled 66 points last season.
Carter will still increase offensive production over Voracek, and Wisniewski is a huge boost, making the Columbus Blue Jackets a playoff contender in the upcoming season.
Prediction: 90 points
No. 18: Minnesota Wild
13 of 312010-2011 Record: 39 wins, 43 losses, 86 points
The Wild lost Andrew Brunette, Brent Burns and Martin Havlat, while picking up Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley.
Heatley was the first skater selected in the 2000 entry draft (thanks to Mike Millbury picking goalie Rick Dipietro with the first overall pick). Despite back to back 100+ point seasons ending in 2006 and 2007, Heatley totaled just 64 points last season.
Havlat scored 62 points last season, making the trade seem even. However, if Heatley can return to form the 30-year-old could easily be an 80+ point player once again.
Burns produced 46 points last season, similar to Setoguchi's 41 points. Much like the Heatley, Setoguchi has been more productive, contributing as high as 65 points in the 2008-09 season.
If the new acquisitions can live up to their potential, the Wild will certainly improve this upcoming season.
Prediction: 90 points
No. 17: Montreal Canadiens
14 of 312010-2011 Record: 44 wins, 38 losses, 96 points
Montreal lost key players James Wisniewski, Roman Hamrlik and Benoit Pouillot while adding only Erik Cole.
The Canadiens have gotten worse this offseason.
Prediction: 90 points
No. 16: Toronto Maple Leafs
15 of 312010-2011 Record: 37 wins, 45 losses, 85 points
Toronto traded Brett Lebda and Robert Slaney to the Nashville Predators for Cody Franson and Matthew Lombardi.
Lombardi missed all but two games of this past season due to a concussion, but scored 53 points in the 2010 season as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes. Franson contributed 29 points last season as a plus-10 defenseman.
The team also acquired offensive defenseman John-Michael Liles from Colorado, (who totaled 46 points last season), and signed Tim Connolly.
Despite not playing more than 75 games in a season since the lockout, Connolly has produced no less than 40 points in all of those seasons. If the center can stay healthy, he could easily be a 50-point player.
Toronto did not lose much other than backup goalie Jean-Sebastian Giguere this offseason, and will undoubtedly improve in 2011-12.
Prediction: 90 points
No. 15: Nashville Predators
16 of 312010-2011 Record: 44 wins, 38 losses, 99 points
Nashville was able to keep Shea Weber through an arbitration hearing, but lost Joel Ward, Marcel Goc and Steve Sullivan.
The Predators also sent Cody Franson and Matthew Lombardi to Toronto in a trade for Brett Lebda and Robert Slaney.
Nashville took a step back this offseason.
Prediction: 95 points
No. 14: New Jersey Devils
17 of 312010-2011 Record: 38 wins, 44 losses, 81 points
With Zach Parise resigned, the New Jersey Devils enter the 2011-12 season with mostly the same team they entered this summer with.
New Jersey has added toughness with the signing of Eric Boulton and Cam Janssen.
The Devils missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996, but finished the season performing better than most playoff teams.
After an abysmal first half of the season put the New Jersey Devils at 10 wins and 31 losses, the team completely turned around and went 28-13 to close out the season.
Over an entire year, that's the pace of a 56-game winning team, a total that would lead the NHL in any of the past five seasons.
Prediction: 95 points
No. 13: Buffalo Sabres
18 of 312010-2011 Record: 43 wins, 39 losses, 96 points
The major moves in Buffalo include signing Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino, while failing to keep Tim Connolly.
Leino and Connolly produce similar numbers, but the addition of a 50-point defenseman will improve this playoff team.
Prediction: 100 points
No. 12: New York Rangers
19 of 312010-2011 Record: 44 wins, 38 losses, 93 points
The Rangers signed the offseason's highest scorer in Brad Richards, improving the team that was eliminated in the first round of the 2011 playoffs.
Prediction: 100 points
No. 11: Anaheim Ducks
20 of 312010-2011 Record: 47 wins, 35 losses, 99 points
If Teemu Selanne decides to return, the Anaheim Ducks will have improved this summer due to the acquisition of Andrew Cogliano.
Cogliano has averaged 37 points per season, but hasn't matched his career-high of 45 that was set his rookie year in 2008.
The health of goaltender Jonas Hiller is also a concern. The netminder suffered from vertigo last season.
Assuming Hiller and Selanne are back and playing...
Prediction: 100 points
No. 10: Tampa Bay Lightning
21 of 312010-2011 Record: 46 wins, 36 losses, 103 points
Tampa Bay finally signed Steve Stamkos to a new contract this summer, ending one of the NHL's biggest storylines of this offseason.
Though the Lightning added some minor players such as Ryan Shannon, Matt Gilroy, Tom Pyatt, and replaced Mike Smith with Mathieu Garon, the team did not make up for the loss of Simon Gagne.
The team is also banking on the continued success of Dwayne Roloson, who will be 42 during next season.
The team is still loaded with talent after Stamkos, such as Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, but there is no reason to believe the Lightning will have a higher point total than they did this past season.
Prediction: 100 points
No. 9: Chicago Blackhawks
22 of 312010-2011 Record: 44 wins, 38 losses, 97 points
Chicago lost 40-point scorer Tomas Kopecky, and shed themselves of Brian Campbell and Troy Brouwer.
The team added Andrew Brunette, an aging but still productive forward who notched 46 points last season with the Minnesota Wild.
In order to fill the lack of toughness, the team signed physical players Jamal Mayers, Dan Carcillo, Steve Montador, and Sean O'Donnell.
Chicago did not lose much of anything important, while addressing an area of weakness.
Prediction: 100 points
No. 8: Boston Bruins
23 of 312010-2011 Record: 46 wins, 36 losses, 103 points
The Stanley Cup Champions saw the departure of Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder, who scored 48 and 41 points this past season, respectively.
Also gone is offensive defenseman Tomas Kaberle, who the Bruins replaced with Joe Corvo.
Benoit Pouilot was added to the roster, but has a career high of just 30 points.
Tyler Seguin will continue to improve in this upcoming season, and if Marc Savard can stay healthy, the Bruins could improve upon their 2010-2011 regular season record.
However, the success is also highly dependent on the continued excellence of 37-year-old Tim Thomas.
At the very least, the Bruins will maintain their status as a top team in the east.
Prediction: 100 points
No. 7: Detroit Red Wings
24 of 312010-2011 Record: 47 wins, 35 losses, 104 points
Detroit lost Brian Rafalski and Chris Osgood to retirement. Though Ty Conklin is back as the second goaltender, Rafalski's point production has not been replaced.
Rafalski put up 48 points in his last NHL season. Newly-acquired Ian White is also a contributor on the back end, but has a career-high of just 38.
Even without Rafalski, Detroit is still a cup-contending team and should find themselves near the top of the Western Conference next season.
Prediction: 100 points
No. 6: San Jose Sharks
25 of 312010-2011 Record: 48 wins, 34 losses, 105 points
San Jose slightly downgraded in their two trades with the Minnesota Wild, receiving Martin Havlat and Brent Burns in exchange for Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi.
The team's addition of Michal Handzus will be of benefit, but the Sharks are not any better going into 2011-2012 than they were after the 2011 playoffs.
Prediction: 100 points
No. 5: Los Angeles Kings
26 of 312010-2011 Record: 46 wins, 36 losses, 98 points
The Kings lost Ryan Smyth, Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds, but added Mike Richards and Simon Gagne.
Richards is a two-way forward who will contribute more than 60 points, and if Gagne can stay healthy, he will be contribute at least 50 points.
One of the West's best teams is better.
Prediction: 105 points
No. 4: Philadelphia Flyers
27 of 312010-2011 Record: 47 wins, 35 losses, 106 points
Philadelphia had a revolutionary offseason with several major moves.
The team traded away Mike Richards and Jeff Carter while letting Ville Leino leave through free agency. The team added Jaromir Jagr, Jakub Voracek, and Ilya Bryzgalov.
The Flyers now have one of the league's best defenses backed by a Vezina-caliber goaltender.
Additonally, despite losing Richards and Carter, the Flyers have plenty of offensive depth.
Compare the potential point production of the Flyers' top six forwards to that of the Stanley Cup Champions:
| 2011 Boston Bruins | PTS | 2012 Philadelphia Flyers | PTS |
| Milan Lucic | 62 | Claude Giroux | 75 |
| David Krejci | 62 | Danny Briere | 65 |
| Patrice Bergeron | 57 | Jaromir Jagr | 50 |
| Nathan Horton | 53 | James van Riemsdyk | 50 |
| Mark Recchi | 48 | Jakub Voracek | 50 |
| Brad Marchand | 41 | Scott Hartnell | 50 |
Clearly, enough offense remains to win a Stanley Cup.
The Philadelphia Flyers have eliminated all weaknesses and are more prepared for success after this offseason.
Prediction: 105 points
No. 3: Vancouver Canucks
28 of 312010-2011 Record: 54 wins, 28 losses, 117 points
After losing the Stanley Cup finals, the Canucks lost Christian Ehrhoff and Tanner Glass to free agency while signing Marco Sturm.
Ehrhoff's departure will hurt the Canucks, but Vancouver remains an elite team.
Prediction: 110 points
No. 2: Washington Capitals
29 of 312010-2011 Record: 48 wins, 34 losses, 107 points
The only major moves were the trading of Semyon Varlamov and the signing of Tomas Vokoun.
Vokoun has maintained a save percentage no lower than .922 over the past three seasons while playing in an average of 60 games per season with the Florida Panthers.
This is a significant improvement over Varlamov, who mustered a .927 save percentage in 27 games despite playing with a much better defensive team.
The Caps gave up the 4th-fewest goals last season, a stat that will improve in 2011-2012.
Prediction: 110 points
No. 1: Pittsburgh Penguins
30 of 312010-2011 Record: 49 wins, 33 losses, 106 points
The Pittsburgh Penguins' offseason consisted of minor moves including the departure of Max Talbot, and the addition of Steve Sullivan.
What makes Pittsburgh a serious threat next season is considering what the team did without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who missed 41 and 39 regular season games, respectively. Both missed the entire playoffs.
Despite being without two of the game's biggest stars (worth over 200 points of offense), the Penguins won the second-most games in the NHL last season.
With the two superstars returning, the Penguins are not only a President's Trophy candidate, but a Stanley Cup favorite.
Prediction: 115 points
Recap: Predicted Standings by Conference
31 of 31Using the point totals in the preceding slides, here are the playoff teams for the NHL's 2011-2012 season.
Eastern Conference
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Boston Bruins
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. Tampa Bay Lightning
6. New York Rangers
7. Buffalo Sabres
8. New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Chicago Blackhawks
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Nashville Predators
8. Minnesota Wild
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
