NHL Power Rankings: St. Louis Blues start 2019-20 season on top
As the St. Louis Blues title defense and the 2019-20 NHL season get underway, this week’s NHL Power Rankings takes a look at where each team stands.
Hockey is back. Fans have survived a long summer. The puck can’t drop soon enough. Every team gets to start off with a clean slate as they try to win the Stanley Cup. This week’s NHL power rankings will take a look at how each team looks going into the season.
It’s never easy to predict how the season will go when nobody has played in any meaningful games. However, there are certain teams who are going to contend for a Stanley Cup and those who won’t. Which teams are contenders and which ones aren’t? Here at Puck Prose, we’ll break down each team’s chances of lifting Lord Stanley.
Without further ado, let’s get started and see where each team stands at the start of the 2019-20 season.
31. Ottawa Senators
Last season, the Ottawa Senators had the worst record in the NHL. Things could be even worse this season, though at least they have a first round pick this year. The Senators were an all-around awful team last year but they were even worse after the trade deadline.
Once they traded 3 of their best players (Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and Ryan Dzingel), the Sens went from terrible to downright abysmal. Without them, the Senators are, by a wide margin, the least talented team in the NHL.
This season will be more about growth for the Senators. Wins and losses honestly don’t mean much, though more losses would give them a better chance at a top 3 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, which is shaping up to be the deepest in years
Thomas Chabot is a top-notch producer and offensive driver, making him a great cornerstone piece for their blue line. However, in order to be a true franchise defenseman, he must improve defensively.
Brady Tkachuk was impressive in his first year, though his underlying stats took a noticeable dive away from Stone. He must prove his strong underlying numbers from last year were more than just a byproduct of playing with an elite two-way wing. The Senators have some exciting players, but ultimately, this is a team designed to lose.