Power Ranking Every NHL Team's 3-Year Window
Does your NHL fanbase echo a Broadway musical?
"The sun'll come out tomorrow/Oh, you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow, come what may/Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow/You're always a day away."
Or are you optimistic enough to design a title tattoo, Queen style?
"We are the champions, my friends/And we'll keep on fighting till the end/We are the champions/We are the champions/No time for losers/'Cause we are the champions of the world."
The B/R hockey team applied the imminent Stanley Cup continuum and came up with a Power Ranking of the three-year windows for each of the NHL's 32 franchises, presented here in six tiers from least to most likely to plan a springtime parade before 2027.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the comments.
The Umm...No Tier
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32. San Jose Sharks
They're far closer to winning the lottery than the Stanley Cup, and unless another McDavid or Bedard appears on the horizon it'll take three years to simply be relevant.
31. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have a roster that's loaded with young players but they've not translated to anything yet. Could they be a few notches higher? Sure. But they belong on this tier.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets
Maybe Pascal Vincent comes in and gels with the youngsters enough to get something going in middle Ohio. But it'd still be miraculous to get to contention anytime soon.
29, Arizona Coyotes
They may not be the laughingstock of the league anymore, so that's a win. Logan Cooley looks to be a stud so he'll be the centerpiece as the Desert Dogs climb the ladder.
28. Philadelphia Flyers
John Tortorella has a Stanley Cup and he's got a strong track record of rescuing wayward teams. He'll make the Flyers better but he's probably gone before they win.
27. Montreal Canadiens
It wasn't all that long ago the Canadiens were three games away from a title but it's been a long fall since then. Cole Caufield provides optimism, but it may be more than three years.
26. Washington Capitals
Say it isn't so, Ovi! Could Alex Ovechkin really secure the league's all-time goals record while playing on a team this mediocre? Unfortunately for D.C. fans the answer is yes.
The Act of God Tier
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25. St. Louis Blues
No offense to the Blues. After all, they were hoisting the Cup just a few years back. But while they're hardly dreadful they're also not a playoff team at the moment. So no.
24. Detroit Red Wings
Where you place the Red Wings has something to do with how much you believe in Steve Yzerman's plan. But even if Detroit is improved, there simply will be many others better.
23. Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks do have intriguing pieces. Thatcher Demko is a dark horse Vezina type and Brock Boeser opened the season with a four-goal game. But too many others have more.
22. Chicago Blackhawks
The most exciting young player in the game is a wonderful toy to play with and the presence of Connor Bedard will give the Blackhawks a chance to draw more talent to join him.
21. Tampa Bay Lightning
A recent two-time Cup winner and three-time Eastern champion in among the dregs? Yep, that's the case for a team whose core is aging. Hard to see another run by 2027.
The Probably Not, But Maybe Tier
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20. New York Islanders
The Islanders made a pair of unlikely runs to the final four during Tampa Bay's repeat years and they have the sort of goalie who'll always make it possible. But you wouldn't predict it.
19. Ottawa Senators
Pierre Dorion has done a compelling job of stacking up young studs like Brady Tkachuk alongside still-productive vets like Claude Giroux. Could happen if things break right.
18. Nashville Predators
Barry Trotz is promising an exciting, entertaining product now that he's GM, so maybe that'll break the vibe that the Predators are just a perennial middle-of-the-pack team.
17. Seattle Kraken
The Kraken have some street cred after getting 100 points and bouncing the defending champs last spring. But it still feels like a big jump from there to 16 playoff wins.
16. Calgary Flames
It couldn't be that bad two seasons in a row, could it? Lest anyone forget, the Flames were Pacific champs and third in the West in 2021-22. Doesn't feel like too big a stretch.
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The Maybe, But Probably Not Tier
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15. Minnesota Wild
The Wild are another one of those perennial playoff teams that never really makes a serious run at the Cup. So while they're likely to be in the tournament it's hard to forecast a title.
14. Florida Panthers
Like the Canadiens a few years ago, the Panthers were three games from a title just last spring. And they're good. But they were also very nearly a non-playoff team, too.
13. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets would not have been here two weeks ago. But then they went and locked up a Vezina-type goalie and a 42-goal scorer for the next seven years. Consider it an uptick.
12. Boston Bruins
Oh, the horror in Boston, where the Bruins were a shoo-in for the finals after a 65-win season before seeing it implode in Round 1. Retirements and exits make an encore unlikely.
11. Pittsburgh Penguins
Consider the echoes officially woken in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins added a Norris Trophy winner to a classic core and opened the door to a nostalgic springtime chase.
The Hopeful Fanbase Tier
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10. Buffalo Sabres
There may not be a more intriguing young team—at least on this tier—than the Sabres, whose cupboard full of picks are turning into NHL players. Within three years, they're ready.
9. New York Rangers
The Rangers were in the final four after 2021-22 and went all-in at a Cup run last spring before being bounced early. They're still in proximity and still have the goalie to get it done.
8. Vegas Golden Knights
They may only be eighth here but it probably doesn't matter to the Vegas fans, who got to enjoy a title last spring. Winning another soon wouldn't be a shock, but they're not favorites.
7. Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche looked destined for a repeat Cup at this time last year and it should shock precisely no one if they get another soon, but, like Vegas, they're not favorites.
6. Edmonton Oilers
A more accurate label for the Edmonton fanbase might be panicked. The three-year window coincides with the contract term left for Connor McDavid. They'd better win or he's gone.
The Parade-Planning Tier
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5. Toronto Maple Leafs
This three-year window ends with the 60th anniversary of the last Cup parade in Toronto and it's hard to conceive of the fallout if they don't win another soon with Auston Matthews and Co.
4. Los Angeles Kings
The Kings have made a quick spike from out of the playoffs to a team on the rise, and they seem ready to go deep if they can simply get past Edmonton in the first round.
3. Dallas Stars
It wasn't long ago the Stars were dragged to the finals by a crew of veterans, but they've transformed to a young contender with guys like Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger.
2. Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are here because they enter 2023-24 as the favorite to win after five straight contending seasons. But watch out if they don't win this year, the field is gaining ground.
1. New Jersey Devils
Find a team that's made a quicker rise from irrelevant to elite faster than GM Tom Fitzgerald's Devils. Young talent that's confident and hungry. If they get goaltending, they may win a few.
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