TJ's NHL Power Rankings (Preseason)

Here's my power rankings heading into opening night:

1) Detroit Red Wings - Naturally, the Stanley Cup winners end up on top for this one, and why should they fall?  The Red Wings have a secure backup in Conklin, and even more talent with the addition of Hossa. 

2) Dallas Stars - The addition of Sean Avery gives the Stars a ton more grit, and makes them a 100% more annoying team than any other team.  The Avery factor does that to you, I guess.  Also, Brendan Morrow showed us how clutch he can be last season. 

3) Pittsburgh Penguins - They still have Crosby, they still have Malkin, they still have Fleury.  They also lost Malone, Hossa, and Conklin, but they still have the pieces in place to be a powerful team in the East, again.

4) San Jose Sharks - One of the most powerful regular season teams last season, the Sharks will make some more noise.  Even though they lost Campbell via free agency, they picked up a good replacement in Dan Boyle.  Evgeni Nabokov should make another Vezina run. 

5) Philadelphia Flyers - I almost put Montreal here, but remembering that the Flyers are getting Simon Gagne back, along with what they already had carrying them through the playoffs last year, I could see the Flyers becoming the better team in Pensylvania by season's end. 

6) Montreal Canadiens - A team rumored to be in the Sundin running every day this summer, the young goalie tandem of Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak should be able to carry an already talented offense of the Canadiens. 

7) Anaheim Ducks - The Ducks surely have Teemu Selanne for the next two seasons.  That should make them an great team at the beginning of the season already, along with J.S. Giguere, Neidermeyers, Pronger, and a hard-hitting team to go along with them.  Did I mention Selanne was back? 

8) Washington Capitals - They have Ovechkin.  That's it...or not?  Alexander Semin, and a nice addition with Jose Theodore to make up for the loss of Huet, not to mention that Theodore is back to the form he had in 2000 until injury ruined what could have been a very successful career, he's back into the swing of things.  A Capitals team without Kolzig, though, is hard to imagine. 

9) New York Rangers - New York is one of the few Eastern Conference teams with absolutely sound goaltending.  He could play every game for the Rangers, and win more than half of them, probably without breaking a sweat.  Although Shanahan and Jagr are gone, the Rangers still have plenty of talent.  They also have a born winner with Chris Drury, and no team can go wrong with him. 

10) Boston Bruins - Yes, the Bruins are for real.  After almost shocking Montreal in the playoffs last season, the Bruins are ready to take it further.  Bergeron returns, and the Bruins have some of the best depth in goal, with the return of Fernandez, along with Tim Thomas starting, and Tuuka Rask being groomed in Providence, the Bruins can go pretty far barring injury.

11) Minnesota Wild - As long as the Wild have Gaborik, no matter what system he plays in, the Wild will win hockey games.  Nicklas Backstrom and Josh Harding give them some great goaltending, along with a defensive style of play.  Sure the Wild are boring, but they know how to win hockey games best that way. 

12) Calgary Flames - They have Jerome Iginla.  They have Miika Kiprusoff.  They also play defensive hockey, but Iginla fits the Marion Gaborik bill of offensive greatness, no matter what system he plays in.  The loss of Alex Tanguay hurts a bit, but at least they have Dion Phaneuf for a long time. 

13) Chicago Blackhawks - I'm taking a chance ranking them this high, but how can I not.  The signing of Cristobal Huet and Brian Campbell instantly makes them a viable playoff contender.  Along with sophomores Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks look like a sound hockey team with playoff hopes.  The loss of Khabibulin hurts a little bit, however, the Hawks believe in their up and coming goalie Antti Niemi.  Besides, Nikolai is still in their system in the AHL, but will he clear waivers to come back up if they need him?

14) Ottawa Senators - An early exit from the playoffs last season, along with a late season slump puts the Sens in a difficult position to regain the form that brought them to the Stanley Cup Finals just two years ago.  Martin Gerber returns in goal, along with the addition of Alex Auld, giving the Sens barely mediocre goaltending.  That's ok, because they still have Spezza, Alfredsson, and Heatley to round out their first line. 

15) New Jersey Devils - I always rate them low at the beginning of the season, and it always comes back to bite me.  Lou Lamorello must be a genius, but really, he knows that as long as he has Martin Brodeur, he doesn't need to go all out during free agency for superstar players. 

16) Buffalo Sabres - This might be a little high, or a little biased, but hear me out.  The idea is that the goaltending should be a bit more sound with the pickup of Patrick Lalime to back up Ryan Miller.  Also, the Sabres made a big trade in the dealing of Steve Bernier to pick up Craig Rivet to help out their defense.  Teppo Numminen brings more veteran leadership that the Sabres were missing last season.  They seem to have a ton more defensive depth this season too.  The forwards should be fine, and I'm looking for a monster season from Afinogenov after the disappointment we got last season.

17) Nashville Predators - Dan Ellis proved last season that he can be a quality starting goalie in the NHL, and the Predators rewarded him with a nice contract extension.  Now, the Predators must see if they can ever make it out of the first round of the playoffs this decade.  JP Dumont, Jason Arnott, and Co. should be able to find a way.

18) Vancouver Canucks - The Canucks came so close last season, yet they couldn't do it.  Losing Marcus Naslund also hurts, too.  They still have twin Sedins, along with one of the best goalies in Roberto Luongo, who steps into Naslund's shoes to fill the captain's role.  The defense worries me a bit, but since we consider Luongo to be in the same league as Martin Brodeur, we'll call it a fair trade-off. 

19) Carolina Hurricanes - They're getting Rod Brind'amour back, which should help then when they're probably chasing Washington by the end of the season, but remembering how the Southeast division goes, there probably won't be a race at all.  Cam Ward gives them sound average goaltending at best.  Glen Wesley retiring puts a damper in their defense. 

20) Florida Panthers - They're kind of a mess at this point.  They lost Olli Jokinen, they have players that don't even want to play for them anymore (we're looking at you Bouwmeester) and Jacques Martin is no longer behind the bench.  Thankfully for them, they have a pretty good goaltender in Thomas Vokoun.  David Booth should progress even more this season, which is good for the Panthers.

21) Phoenix Coyotes - They still need a season more to be a good playoff team, however, don't be surprised if they take a crack at the 8th spot this season in the West.  Olli Jokinen was a good pick-up for a team looking for offense.  Ilya Bryzgalov showed that he can be a starter last season after being picked up off waivers by the Yotes.

22) Colorado Avalanche - Although they still have Sakic, and also have Paul Stastny, their goaltending took a serious hit this summer.  They surprisingly lost Jose Theodore to the Caps, and now must see if either Peter Budaj or Andrew Raycroft can take up the helm of at least an average starting goaltender. 

23) Columbus Blue Jackets - The Jackets are hungry for the playoffs.  They are the only one of the 30 teams in the NHL to not make the playoffs at this point, and Rick Nash can't wait forever.  Pascal LeClaire needs to have his October form from last season all season. 

24) Edmonton Oilers - They finally found some decent goaltending from Mathieu Garon last season, and also have Ales Hemsky and Sam Gagner to give them a push on the offensive side of the game.  Penner has to play a lot more like his contract pays him to play, too. 

25) New York Islanders - Ted Nolan's gone.  Shame, he probably needed more time, and maybe even more talent for this team to grow.  Rick DiPietro has to have a good season.  If he doesn't, he has what...11 more seasons after this one on that contract?  They lost Miroslav Satan, they picked up Mark Streit.  Yippee.

26) St. Louis Blues - Manny Legace's got to find a new team, because this one really isn't that good.  They already lost Erik Johnson this season because why?  Oh, he fell off a golf cart and hurt his knee.  Oops.  Too bad Paul Kariya wasn't in his Ducks shape.  The Blues could really use it. 

27) Tampa Bay Lightning - They got Melrose behind the bench, they got a bunch of players from other teams.  The Lightning's new owners need to learn a thing or two about chemistry before they go out and sign all those players next year.  Who knows, though, it might work. 

28) Toronto Maple Leafs - They lost Sundin, and they haven't exactly refused to talk him back, but it's doubtful he'll come back.  They still have Vesa Toskala, but he can't play 70 or more games.  He's no Nabokov; he only helped him.  Luke Schenn has some large shoes to fill in wake of the loss of Bryan McCabe. 

29) Atlanta Thrashers - If it wasn't for the Kings, the Thrashers would hold the bottom spot here.  They could just tie.  Kari Lehtonen has to have a better season, more like the one he had in 2006-07.  Ilya Kovalchuk can get a scoring title with this team for the next 3 seasons, but they'll never win a championship.

30) Los Angeles Kings - They hold the last spot due to their atrocious goaltending, and their immature style of play.  They went through at least five goaltenders last season, with LaBarbera probably being the most promising, and that's not saying much.