NHL Power Rankings: The State of Every Team If Season Started Tomorrow

You know what would be cool? If the NHL started playing hockey tomorrow!

It could happen.

I mean playing hockey is the league’s trade, right? Aren’t they supposed to play every year? Or do we just skip a season every couple of years—kind of like a leap year except that it lasts, well, an entire year?

While optimism may be fading and time is certainly running out for the owners and players to come together with an agreement in time for a 60-game season, let’s pretend that we know hockey is starting tomorrow and see which teams are ready to hit the ice and win games immediately.

Teams that had few major offseason transactions and a set roster are more likely to be ready than teams that really shuffled their lineup or will begin the season with injuries sustained in the offseason.

There are four rankings for each team’s current state: Excellent, Good, Questionable and Poor.

Excellent means the team should come out of the gates ready to win.

Good means that there may be some flaws, but for the most part the team is ready.

Questionable means it is hard to determine, but the team is unlikely to be prepared.

And Poor means the team is not in a good state to start the season.

Anaheim Ducks

Current state: Excellent

The Ducks should be in pretty good shape.

They are returning many of the same players they had last year and their young stars like Kyle Palmieri and Devante Smith-Pelly are getting extended minutes against inferior opponents in the American League.

If anything, a lockout may help this team in a weird way.

Boston Bruins

Current state: Excellent

The Big Bad Bruins pretty much have their lineup figured out and should be ready to win games as soon as the season starts.

Buffalo Sabres

Current state: Good

Buffalo may have added a couple of new parts, but will essentially return the same players as last season—with heightened expectations of course.

The addition of Steve Ott is probably the biggest change, but he’s going to play the same game regardless of which sweater he has on.

The biggest question in Western New York is if this roster can play up to its potential…which may be hampered by a late start and everything else happening off the ice.

Calgary Flames

Current state: Good

Right off the bat, the Flames may be at an advantage because the core of their team remains relatively unchanged.

There is some question as to how Roman Cervanka is going to adjust to NHL caliber hockey after coming from overseas, however, and a shortened but more condensed season is going to do a lot of wear and tear on their older players.

Carolina Hurricanes

Current state: Good

The positive for Carolina is that they are returning a core that, for the most part, is similar to last year and should already have some chemistry built up.

The negative is that they added a major piece in Jordan Staal that has yet to skate with many of the players on the Hurricanes’ current roster.

It helps that his brother is on the team, though.

Chicago Blackhawks

Current state: Good

Following the cap casualties they endured following their Stanley Cup Championship in 2010, the Blackhawks have built and maintained a stable core of players capable of winning it all again in the near future.

The thing that keeps them from being in excellent condition is their unstable goaltending situation.

Colorado Avalanche

Current state: Good

An objective observation will tell any hockey fan that this team is building for something in the near future. They’ve kept their talented young stars together and are not far from figuring things out and becoming a perennial playoff team again.

The problem is that there is uncertainty as to how competitive they will be this year and if a shortened season will throw newly anointed captain Gabriel Landeskog for a loop.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Current state: Poor

Columbus probably wouldn’t be ready to start the season next year if, god forbid, we lose another year of hockey.

This is a team in transition—and rightfully so. The Blue Jackets need to undergo a complete makeover in order to have any hope at competing soon.

Unfortunately, that means that they are not in a good position to compete if the season started tomorrow.

Dallas Stars

Current state: Good in the short term, poor in the long term

For the most part, the guys getting all the minutes have been in Dallas for a while and should be ready to compete immediately.

The biggest problem they have is that a shortened season is going to do a number on players over the age of 30 like Brenden Morrow and Stephane Robidas as well as lauded pickups Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr, both 40 years old.

Detroit Red Wings

Current state: Good in the short term, poor in the long term

The Red Wings have been together forever and know how to win.

The problem is that, well, they’ve been together forever and prefer to play the old-fashioned way—you know, with 82 games spread out evenly over the course of the season rather than playing four out of five nights during the week.

Edmonton Oilers

Current state: Excellent

Odds are that Edmonton is not ready to become a playoff team this season.

However, the fact that all of their young stars—many of whom have played together in an Oiler sweater—are getting extra time to develop and build chemistry in the AHL can’t be a bad thing.

Florida Panthers

Current state: Excellent

The Cats have two things going for them:

First of all, they’re a young team and the extra development doesn’t hurt.

Secondly, they are returning a very similar roster to the one they had last year.

Los Angeles Kings

Current state: Excellent

Last year the Kings won with a roster that they should be keeping together for years to come.

This team is ready to win. Now.

Minnesota Wild

Current state: Poor

Lets start with the fact that two superstar prospects, Mikael Granlund and Jonas Brodin, got injured, combine that with the understanding that it will take a while for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to adjust to their new surroundings and add the fact that there are heightened expectations around this team for the first time in a while.

That’s not bound to turn out well.

Montreal Canadiens

Current state: Questionable

Montreal hasn’t done anything dramatically different with their roster, meaning the team should have established some chemistry last year.

The question is whether the players on the current roster are capable of winning.

Nashville Predators

Current state: Good

Losing Ryan Suter is a major setback, but Nashville has always given young players ice time and relied on them to step up when a superstar leaves the Music City.

The Predators will be relying on players that have spent time in the AHL next season, regardless of whether it had started on time.

New Jersey Devils

Current state: Poor

For starters, many of New Jersey’s key players are over 30 and are going to struggle if they have to play a 60-game schedule.

On top of that, the team lost superstar forward Zach Parise.

New York Islanders

Current state: Questionable

Here’s the good thing: The Islanders are going to rely on a lot of young players, many of whom are benefiting from extra time in the minor leagues.

Here’s the bad thing: This team isn’t really complete to begin with. Things could really spiral out of control if they get on a losing streak early, now that there are less breaks in between games.

New York Rangers

Current state: Questionable

Although this team is stacked on paper, they’ve added Rick Nash in the offseason and therefore shuffled their roster a bit.

While this team will win games in the long run, it might be a rough start if the season began tomorrow.

Ottawa Senators

Current state: Poor

Ottawa is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The older players are going to struggle in a concentrated schedule while the young stars are, for the most part, too old to be playing in the AHL.

Philadelphia Flyers

Current state: Poor

The Broad Street Bullies are a great team that has run into a lot of bad luck.

First of all, most of their defensemen got injured in the beginning of the season, which either means that they both had time to convalesce and run the risk of being injured again due to the fatigue of playing an abridged season.

Secondly, Claude Giroux injured his neck. That just sucks.

Phoenix Coyotes

Current state: Poor

The Coyotes are an older team that is going to struggle with an abbreviated season.

It may be tough fall for hockey fans in Phoenix a year after winning the Pacific.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Current state: Excellent

Sidney Crosby is healthy and ready to go.

This team could get hot early and never slow down in a shortened season.

San Jose Sharks

Current state: Questionable

San Jose no longer has a stacked farm system following the recent trades they’ve made over the last few years—meaning they don’t have any young impact players benefiting from extended time in the minors.

Furthermore, superstars like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray are all on the wrong side of 30.

St. Louis Blues

Current state: Excellent

This is a talented young team that has proven they can win in the playoffs and are as prepared as anyone to take on an abbreviated season.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Current state: Questionable

Tampa Bay has plenty of green talent—Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman—to compliment its older stars like Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

The question is whether the wear and tear on the older players will be offset by the team’s youth.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Current state: Good

Many of Toronto’s stars are on the right side of 30 and while they may not be able to play in the AHL right now, they won’t take the punishment an older team would this year.

Vancouver Canucks

Current state: Good

Things could go two ways in Vancouver:

On one hand, this team could really have trouble in a shortened season because many of its stars are not only 30-plus, but also have played in the league for a long time.

On the other hand, there’s not anyone over 35, meaning that even the guys on the latter part of their prime are still capable of handling a 60-game schedule.

Washington Capitals

Current state: Excellent

Assuming Alex Ovechkin comes back for the beginning of the season, which is a pretty safe bet, this team has a lot of talented players in their prime that want to avenge a poor season last year and could come out of the gates with guns blazing.

Winnipeg Jets

Current state: Excellent

This is a young team with a lot of potential. Because many of their most talented players have played with each other for a while and there are not many older players at risk in a shorter season, this team could really surprise some people right off the bat.

Tom Schreier writes a weekly column for TheFanManifesto.com and contributes to Hockey’s Future and Stadium Journey.

Follow @tschreier3