Photo: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
After teams across the NHL changed their outlook for the 2022-23 season for the better or worse over the offseason, NoVa Caps does our annual preseason power rankings. (⬆️Up or ⬇️Down represent spaces moved since final 2021-22 NHL standings).
32. Chicago Blackhawks
Trading Alex DeBrincat for no immediate help and cutting ties with 21-year-old Kirby Dach? The Blackhawks are in rebuild and are doing it the wrong way. Speaking of rebuild, how much longer will Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews be on the roster? ⬇️5
31. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers seem to be in the front end of a rebuild as the John Tortorella era begins. ⬇️2
30. Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes’ roster replenishing is making progress but they are still ways away. Will Jakob Chychrun be moved? ⬆️1
29. Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres had some promising stretches last season but are very much not where they want to be yet, especially after a quiet offseason. ⬇️5
28. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks made some improvements over the offseason and moved on from Brent Burns but they likely will not be a major horse in the race again. ⬇️6
The Canadiens should improve this season with a full season of Martin St. Louis behind the bench, a healthier Carey Price, and the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft in Juraj Slafkovsky but not drastically. ⬆️5
26. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks brought in some reinforcements up front in Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano. They need more growth out of their young players in Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry and take a step forward this season. ⬇️3
25. Winnipeg Jets
There is a lot of noise in Winnipeg surrounding the futures of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mark Schiefele. They have some good pieces, including goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, but there is a lot of uncertainty regarding their roster. ⬇️6
24. Seattle Kraken
There is no way their goaltending will be as bad this year, right? In addition, they should see improvement from other players from last year (including Joonas Donskoi). Newly acquired Andre Burakovsky, Shane Wright, and Oliver Bjorkstrand should also help the Kraken improve. ⬆️6
23. Columbus Blue Jackets
Johnny Gaudreau should provide a big boost up front but probably not enough for the Blue Jackets to make any major noise in a deep Eastern Conference. ⬇️2
22. New York Islanders
After Barry Trotz got fired and the Islanders had a quiet offseason, this team will likely take a step back. Even if Nazem Kadri signs, his production will likely go down in the Islanders’ defensive system and without the same tier of personnel he had by his side with the Colorado Avalanche. ⬇️2
21. New Jersey Devils
Will this finally be the year that the Devils take a step forward? Ondrej Palat, John Marino, and Vitek Vanecek were nice adds and they already had a solid foundation with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Dougie Hamilton. ⬆️7
20. Ottawa Senators
DeBrincat, Claude Giroux, and Cam Talbot were huge adds, which should give the Senators a boost to take the next step. They already had some promising parts in Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, and Thomas Chabot. Though, their defense may hold them back from putting them in the postseason conversation for now. ⬆️6
19. Boston Bruins
The Bruins will be challenged with some adversity off the bat with Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy among those set to miss the start of the season. The returns of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in addition to the acquisition of Zacha strengthens their depth down the middle, though. ⬇️9
18. Vegas Golden Knights
Losing two 20-goal scorers in Max Pacioretty and Evgenii Dadonov for nothing? A full summer for Jack Eichel to train will be helpful but Robin Lehner could miss the start of the season with a shoulder injury. ⬇️1
17. Dallas Stars
The Stars have one of the best lines in hockey with Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Joe Pavelski as their top trio; a stud blueliner in Miro Heiskanen; and a young goaltender coming off of a breakout postseason in Jake Oettinger but the Western Conference race may be too tight for them. ⬇️2
16. Minnesota Wild
The Wild seem poised to take a step back following the departures of Talbot and Kevin Fiala and the inability to bring in reinforcements due to dead contracts on their salary cap. They could also use a top center to break past the first round for the first time since 2015. ⬇️11
15. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins were able to keep their band together despite some major pieces being up for new contracts and make some changes to their defense. ⬇️3
14. Florida Panthers
The Panthers lost a lot of depth and their leading scorer over the offseason. Matthew Tkachuk should bring a different element that this team could have been missing but Florida is pretty top-heavy in all areas of their roster. Bringing in head coach Paul Maurice and parting with Andrew Brunette was another bold move from Florida. ⬇️13
13. Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks bolstered their forward group with the addition of Ilya Mikheyev and have plenty of depth up front in addition a solid goaltender in Thatcher Demko. They could use some help on the backend but a full season under Bruce Boudreau should benefit that team, who would be better off hanging onto J.T. Miller. ⬆️5
12. Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings made a lot of improvements over the offseason, where they brought in David Perron, Villie Husso, Ben Chiarot, Dominik Kubalik, Andrew Copp, and Olli Maatta, to complement their young core of Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, and Lucas Raymond. Expect the Red Wings to take a big step forward this season with those additions as well as a healthy Jakub Vrana. ⬆️13
11. Calgary Flames
The Flames lost Gaudreau and Tkachuk but brought in Huberdeau as well as MacKenzie Weegar to make up for it. With a solid defense corps and one of the best goaltenders in Jacob Markstrom, the Flames should be a threat in the Pacific Division race. ⬇️5
10. Los Angeles Kings
Bringing Fiala in will give the Kings a big lift offensively after just one player had more than 55 points last season (Anze Kopitar: 67). The Kings are another team looking for their young players such as Arthur Kaliyev and Jordan Spence to take the next step. ⬆️4
9. Nashville Predators
The Predators brought in some upgrades with the additions of Ryan McDonagh and Nino Niederreiter in addition to keeping Filip Forsberg in the fold. With Roman Josi and Juuse Saros, this team has a solid foundation. Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene following up their bounce-back years will be critical for this team’s success. ⬆️7
8. Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander give the Maple Leafs a dynamic offense but there are huge questions in goal with Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray making up the tandem. The assessment for the Maple Leafs will not come until the spring and they should be in the market for a goalie to pass it. ⬇️4
7. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers finally got their goaltender in Jack Campbell over the offseason to go along with their top-two center punch in Connor McDavid and Leon Drasaitl. With Evander Kane sticking around on top of Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins there, they have the depth around their two stars to be a real threat. ⬆️4
Yes, Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson will be out for the start of the season but the Capitals brought in Dylan Strome and Connor Brown, which should lessen the blow. They finally got their starting goaltender in reigning Stanley Cup Champion Darcy Kuemper and Alex Ovechkin has yet to show signs of slowing down. ⬆️7
5. St. Louis Blues
The Blues have one of the deepest teams led by Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Pavel Buchnevich. Parting with Perron will leave a mark but they should be fine. After parting with Husso, the Blues will need Jordan Binnington to pick up where he left off in the postseason. ⬆️4
4. Tampa Bay Lightning
McDonagh and Palat are big losses for the three-time defending Eastern Conference Champions but they were able to retain their other big pieces. With Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point, the Lightning should still be dangerous. ⬆️4
3. New York Rangers
The Rangers brought in Vincent Trocheck after losing a couple centers. With Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, and Artemi Panarin in town for a long time, they should be in the mix for the Metropolitan Division crown. ⬆️4
2. Colorado Avalanche
The defending Stanley Cup Champions may have replaced Kuemper with Alexander Georgiev but have proven that they do not need quality goaltending to have success. Losing Burakovsky and likely Kadri hurt but with Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and Devon Toews still around, the Avalanche remain one of the NHL’s most dangerous threats. ➡️
1. Carolina Hurricanes
After adding Pacioretty and Burns, the Hurricanes are deep in every area of their roster. Though losing Trocheck leaves a little uncertainty down the middle, Martin Necas has shown signs of potential. With Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin, and Andrei Svechnikov leading the way, Carolina is expected to be a threat for the Presidents’ Trophy. ⬆️2
By Harrison Brown
I see a lot of good grades for the Caps this offseason. Will be interesting to see if the chemistry meets or exceeds the offseason grades. I’m ready to get to training camp!
Should be a fun season but DET and CAR arent that good as above and BOS isnt that bad…
BOS will be missing some key players to start the szn
I can”t see ranking the Caps ahead of Toronto at this point, but swap those two and this is a credible list. A lot hinges on who or what Dylan Strome turns out to be for us. I think we brought in a replacement level player and that was the intention — we needed a credible 2C to fill in a slot while we waited to develop a 2C or — knock on wood — Nick Backstrom recovered to his accustomed level. Strome was a good signing imo precisely because he either surprises us and is so good we keep him, or he does what is expected, has a good enough year to sign elsewhere while not blocking any center prospects from flourishing.
A large part of it is goaltending. TOR is making a big gamble w Samsonov and Murray.
Agree with you Red. It is a credible gamble given the unknown status of Backstrom. interested to see how this plays out. The GM is going to hit some and miss on some… nature of the business. But I like the odds and strategy on this one, especially given he is a RFA after this season which gives us a lot of options.
Toronto’s goaltending is at the bottom of the league. They definitely take a step back.
Flyers, Sabres, and Columbus will be better than expected. Islanders could surprise. Caps are probably too high, but I hope you are right!
Having the Caps, Rangers, and Blues ahead of the Oilers is a complete joke. Like all power rankings lists, obviously it’s based on opinions at this point, but this list is a farce and lacks basic NHL knowledge.
Hey Harrison – I don’t claim tot be a mathematician but a quick browse of your + and – don’t add up. If you’re being it on a constant (2021/22 final standings) then the plus’s and minuses “should” be the same. maybe I’m wrong but just seems like common sense.
I went back and calculated – your numbers are actually done right – my bad – sorry. That said I don’t agree with Detroit at +13 and Sens at +6 – Ottawa has made significant improvements (Giroux, DeBrincat, Talbot) to an already young dynamic core – not to mention that they Tkachuk, Norris, Chabot and Batherson are locked down for 5 and 6 years+ and Sanderson will be playing top 4 minutes 15/20 games in.
Someone should reconsider their choices. Florida worse than Detroit, probably not. Detroit should be improved, but not the 12th best team. Not to mention that Washington is not a top 10 team. Missing players, age and a mediocre goaltender, Washington will struggle and just squeak in to the playoffs.
Minnesota wild 16! Not to mention other arrangements this list is absolutely whack!!