NHL power rankings: Where is each team trending?
By Jeremy Tuch
Tier 1: The Elite Tier
Tampa Bay Lightning
Last Season: 62-16-4, 128 points, Eliminated by Columbus in First Round
Summer Changes: Traded JT Miller, Adam Erne, and Ryan Callahan’s contract for cap space, signed Kevin Shattenkirk and Pat Maroon, and are waiting for Brayden Point’s call back.
Trending: Steady
The Lightning tied a record for the most wins in an NHL season last year, then, as Kenan Thompson mentioned at the NHL Awards, tied another record with the fewest wins in an NHL post-season last year.
Not a whole lot has changed for this team, save a small subtraction here or there, plus Pat Maroon and Kevin Shattenkirk, and they probably won’t have to deal with the Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs next year. They’ll be fine.
Calgary Flames
Last Season: 50-25-7, 107 points, Eliminated by Colorado in First Round
Summer Changes: Switching backup goalies and disappointing albatross contracts with Edmonton (Cam Talbot and Milan Lucic in, Mike Smith and James Neal out). Matthew Tkachuk still remains to be signed.
Trending: Steady
Calgary had a very disappointing end to last year’s playoffs, going out meekly to the Avalanche. In response, the Flames didn’t do a whole lot, in part due to the cap and also due to the need to sign Matthew Tkachuk.
Then they went and traded for Milan Lucic, which history says is a good thing. They’re putting a lot of hope in David Rittich, who was good last year for the most part. Calgary should be near the top of the Pacific yet again.
Boston Bruins
Last Season: 49-24-9, 107 points, Eliminated by St. Louis in Stanley Cup Final
Summer Changes: Let Noel Acciari and Marcus Johansson walk, other housework to keep everyone in. Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy still haven’t signed.
Trending: Steady
The Bruins came close to hoisting the Cup on home ice last year, but the better team and story prevailed and they’ve been stewing it over all summer. The Bruins still have some work to do to get Carlo and McAvoy under contract with limited cap space. Once they do, they should still be near the top of the Atlantic and be one of the teams you have to get through to win the East.
Washington Capitals
Last Season: 48-26-8, 104 points, Eliminated by Carolina in First Round
Summer Changes: Swapped Matt Niskanen for Radko Gudas, traded Andre Burakovsky in a salary dump, lost Brett Connolly to free agency.
Trending: Peaked
Some things get better with age, like winning your first Stanley Cup, for instance. The Capitals know about this well. One thing that doesn’t get better with age is your chances for another Cup. The Caps’ core isn’t getting younger or cheaper. With the salary cap preventing moves to improve, the Caps may have hit their stride in 2018. They’re still very good, but their window is starting to close.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Last Season: 46-28-8, 100 points, Eliminated by Boston in First Round
Summer Changes: Got rid of Patrick Marleau’s contract, traded Connor Brown and Nikita Zaitsev to Ottawa for Cody Ceci, traded Nazem Kadri for Alex Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie, and that’s about it. Am I missing something?
Trending: Peaking
This is a tough grade for the Leafs, but Toronto should be used to criticism, so it’s okay. The reason we’re saying the best may have passed for the Leafs is that the cap crunch they’re under can only get worse once they get Mitch Marner back in the fold.
With so much money dedicated to so few players, adding complementary pieces that they need to win will be much more challenging. The team is good now, even great. But with a tough division and a cap hell waiting to happen, it’s really tough to see this team reach their destiny that’s 53 years and counting in the making.
St. Louis Blues
Last Season: 45-28-9, 99 points, Stanley Cup Champions
Summer Changes: Their fan base is no longer suffering.
Trending: Peaked
What a ride it’s been for the Blues and the city of St. Louis. They waited 52 years for a visit from Lord Stanley, and it was well worth the wait. Once they’ve sobered up for training camps, the team should look more or less the same as it did in June, minus Patrick Maroon.
As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. To say they’ve peaked is realistic. They just won the Stanley Cup, it can’t get too much better than that. They’ll have a target painted squarely on their backs now, so they won’t surprise anyone.
Vegas Golden Knights
Last Season: 43-32-7, 93 points, Eliminated by San Jose in First Round
Summer Changes: Erik Haula, Colin Miller, and Nikita Gusev became cap casualties, all finding homes elsewhere via trade. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare walked as well.
Trending: Up-ish
Cap trouble visited the Strip much earlier than anyone expected. Because of that, the Knights had to ship out some key role players just to get William Karlsson his new contract. However, this will be the first full season of Mark Stone in Vegas, which worked out really well last year in the run-up to the playoffs.
Their core is locked up for a while, so what you see from them should be what you get for a couple of years. They’re still better than they were last year and will be a force in the West.