An early summer power ranking of the 32 NHL teams

The National Hockey League has officially hit the peak of the summer. That means there isn't much happening as people are away until they return for camps in the fall.

There will be pieces of news here and there but nothing of consequence unless a huge trade goes down.

At this point of the off-season, it might be fun to do a power ranking. This is a power ranking list of the 32 teams in the NHL based on where their roster stands following the 2024 NHL Draft and free agency:

1. Florida Panthers - 2023-24 Result: Won Stanley Cup

The Florida Panthers are the best team in the NHL as of right now

The Stanley Cup champions deserve to have the top spot. They lost a couple of players to free agency but locked in a few key players to long-term deals.

Florida isn't going to fall off a cliff any time soon. They have a lot of their key players sticking around for a while. They are also a team likely to make more moves ahead of the deadline next year as they try to repeat as champions.

Three seasons ago, they won the President's Trophy and lost in the second round. Two seasons ago, they won the East but were defeated in the Final. This past season, they finally got it done. What is next for them? Surely some more dominance.

They are going to have a target on their back now. They need to be ready to make some adjustments heading into a year that will come quickly with the short off-season. If any team can handle it, it is Florida led by Bill Zito and Paul Maurice.