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.

3. Dallas Stars - 2023-24 Result: Lost in Western Conference Finals

The Dallas Stars have a legit shot at winning it all next season

What else do the Dallas Stars need to do? They have superstars at every position. They have a number one center, a number one defenseman, and an elite goalie combined with all of that depth.

They just need to find a way to win the big game. That will come with experience over time. Some of the older (slower) veterans are out of there and that should allow younger players to get in there and use their speed better.

4. Colorado Avalanche - 2023-24 Result: Lost in Second Round

The Colorado Avalanche are going to continue dominating the league

The Colorado Avalanche has Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar. These three superstars may form the best trio in the NHL.

The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and are still trying to put the pieces for a championship run back together. The core is there in place to continue building back around.

5. Boston Bruins - 2023-24 Result: Lost in Second Round

The Boston Bruins are consistently one of the top teams in the NHL

The Boston Bruins are shockingly always good. They have lost so many stars over the years like Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, and Zdeno Chara amongst others but they haven't missed a beat thanks to guys like Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Charlie McAvoy.

Now, they have both Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm coming to town which should help them with their depth at center and defense which was needed. They may fall off one of these years but it won't be in 2024-25.

6. Nashville Predators - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

The Nashville Predators had the off-season of a lifetime in 2024

Right now, it is easy to be optimistic about the Predators after the free agency season they just had. Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei are all coming to town.

Nashville was already a playoff team and now they are even better with these big additions. They may be ready to challenge for that Stanley Cup once again.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to be better than they are in the playoffs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the league's best regular season teams and have been for a long time. 2024-25 is going to be no different. The only question always remains, what will they do in the playoffs?

They haven't traded Mitch Marner yet so the big four with William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and John Tavares is still intact. They also added guys like Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to their blue line which should help tremendously.

8. Vancouver Canucks - 2023-24 Result: Lost In Second Round

The Vancouver Canucks have a very good team ready to take a step

The Vancouver Canucks are loaded with stars. They just need a few of them (Elias Petterson) to keep it up going into the end of the year and playoffs.

With the additions made to the roster this off-season, Vancouver should be just as good again next regular season.

9. Carolina Hurricanes - 2023-24 Result: Lost in Second Round

The Carolina Hurricanes are a lock to compete for a high-playoff seed

Can the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup? Things just got much harder for them as they lost Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, and Teuvo Teravainen to free agency so they have to find a way to replace them with the "next man up" mentality.

It may be a more difficult regular season for them but they will still be one of the better teams in the league. We'll see if they do anything to address these issues.

10. New Jersey Devils - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The New Jersey Devils are going to be much better again in 2024-25

We all know why the New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs in 2023-24 following an elite year prior. They dealt with some bad injury luck and horrific goaltending for the entire season.

Now, they have added a few good defensemen in guys like Brett Pesce and Brendan Dillon. They will play in front of Jacob Markstrom who has also been acquired. With Dougie Hamilton back from his season-ending injury, this group will be great.

New Jersey has stars like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier up front. However, they added guys like Stefan Noesen, Tomas Tatar, and Paul Cotter to their bottom six so that they could have some more depth.

It is a great roster on paper. Now, it's on Sheldon Keefe to bring them all together in his first year with the club.

11. Vegas Golden Knights - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

The Vegas Golden Knights had a 2-0 series lead over the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs. Dallas rattled off four straight and won the series en route to making it to the Western Conference Finals.

One year after winning the Stanley Cup, that could have been Vegas if they held on in the first round. Don't let that evade you when evaluating the teams in the NHL.

Despite not having Marchessault anymore, they are still very good. A whole year with Tomas Hertl will help them down the middle and there is no doubt they will be back in contention.

12. New York Rangers - 2023-24 Result: Lost in Conference Finals

The New York Rangers didn't do anything significant to improve their team after a trip to the Conference Finals. Now, they have to try and get back with all of their players another year older.

There are some good young players there too but if there is a drop-off from Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, or Mika Zibanejad, they are in trouble.

13. Winnipeg Jets - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

The Winnipeg Jets are a very good team year in and year out. They have Connor Hellebuyck, the
Vezina Trophy winner, which makes them hard to beat on any given night. They are probably going to
have a very similar year to what they had in 2023-24.

14. Tampa Bay Lightning - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

The Tampa Bay Lightning have had a lot of success in the last decade. Slowly but surely, however,
they have fallen off.

They might still have a year or two left of being contenders because they have Andrei Vasilevskiy,
Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, and Brayden Point.

They also just acquired Jake Guentzel but both Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev are gone.
Those are going to be some big losses both on and off the ice.

15. Washington Capitals - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

For the Washington Capitals, it is all about getting Alexander Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky on the all-time goal-scoring list.

The day he does it, if he does it, will be one of the greatest days in the history of the NHL in terms of attention to the league.

Although it looked like the Caps were going to be terrible while he chased that number, they decided to try and win in the meantime. That surely will make goal-scoring easier on Ovechkin too.

16. Minnesota Wild - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Minnesota Wild have Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Erikson Ek, and Brock Faber amongst many other great players. They will be in the mix but they are kept from taking the next step because of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's buyouts. Those only have one year left so they are free to make a big move next summer.

Minnesota also landed the steal of the draft with Zeev Buium of Denver. When he is ready to join them, it might be go-time for the Wild. This very well could be the lowest they are ranked (to start a season) for a long time.

17. Los Angeles Kings - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

The Los Angeles Kings got Pierre-Luc Dubois out of there. It was clear that he brought down the mood of a lot of players in that locker room.

It is hard to predict how things will go for guys like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty as they get older but there is no doubt that the team is still good.

How good can they be with their current goaltending? Only time will tell but for now, they come in at number 17.

18. New York Islanders - 2023-24 Result: Lost in First Round

The New York Islanders probably deserve to be higher on this list. They are consistently a playoff team that is hard to play against.

However, their star power just seems to be missing something. They defend well, play a good system, and can be fun to watch but it doesn't feel like this group can get over the hump anymore.

19. Detroit Red Wings - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Detroit Red Wings kept Patrick Kane and added Vladimir Tarasenko. They now have five guys in their lineup who have had 30-goal seasons in their careers.

There is more depth in Detroit than there has been in a long time. They were close last year and they're close now. We'll see how it goes.

20. Philadelphia Flyers - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Philadelphia Flyers had a lot of people fooled in 2023-24 early. They were in a playoff spot for most of the year but fell short in the end.

How close are they to being a playoff team? They might be close but it is far from a lock. Matvei Michkov joining them will be a big-time boost but who is going to tend the goal?

21. Ottawa Senators - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

It is very hard to believe in the Ottawa Senators right now. They made some nice additions but none are nicer than Linus Ullmark who is one of the 10 best goalies in the world.

He should elevate them past being a bottom-ten team as they have been but how far can he take them? We'll see. It better be soon before some of their young stars get antsy.

22. Pittsburgh Penguins - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

Sidney Crosby just had a wonderful season in 2023-24 despite being 36 years old. He changed up his game a little bit but there is no doubt he is still one of the best players in the NHL.

With Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson around, it will be a fun team to watch. However, they don't have the depth needed to become a power in the Metropolitan Division anymore.

Never underestimate the importance of a third line like Carl Hagelin-Nick Bonino-Phil Kessel. It's never bad to have an Olympian on every line. Those were the days for Pittsburgh.

23. Utah Hockey Club - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs (Arizona Coyotes)

It is hard to tell how good the Utah Hockey Club is going to be. It would have been the same level of difficulty if it were the Arizona Coyotes. Only this time, the owner allows the team to make solid moves that help them win.

Take last year's Arizona team, and give them a more developed version of everyone, John Marino, and Mikhail Sergachev. It is certainly far from a bad team.

24. Buffalo Sabres - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Buffalo Sabres are in a weird spot. They came insanely close to making the playoffs in 2022-23 but fell just short. With high expectations as a result in 2023-24, they fell flat on their faces.

They currently have the longest playoff drought in the league and it doesn't look to be ending any time soon. After doing nothing in free agency so far (besides letting Jeff Skinner go), 24 might be too nice to them.

25. St. Louis Blues - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The St. Louis Blues are retooling their roster. Although they have some exciting young players in the pipeline, it is going to be a while before they are contenders again. They haven't bottomed out yet so there hasn't been any lottery luck yet but they are far from a top team.

26. Seattle Kraken - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Seattle Kraken are looking a little bit better than they were entering the offseason. The 2023-24 season didn't go according to plan after their first-ever playoff appearance (and series win) the year before. They are still improving as a franchise but have a long way to go before they have sustained success.

27. Chicago Blackhawks - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

If the Chicago Blackhawks are 27th 27th-best NHL team in 2024-25, that will be a wildly impressive improvement for them.

Chicago made a lot of moves during the summer and Connor Bedard is poised to be one of the top NHL players. Still, this upcoming season isn't the one where they are going to take a huge step into the playoffs.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Columbus Blue Jackets are stuck. They have some outstanding young talent but bad luck and inconsistency from certain players is a big reason that they aren't a good team.

Unless there is some sort of miracle that takes place for them, this is not going to be a good year for the Jackets.

29. Montreal Canadiens - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens signed Juraj Slafkovsky to his contract extension. He had a big second half which convinced them that they should buy into him while he's still at a fair price.

If he is a big-time power forward, the Habs will be thrilled. However, they have a long way to go before he is playing on a contending team. They have been rebuilding well but it will be a while.

30. Calgary Flames - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Calgary Flames haven't been this low in a long time. They have traded away large portions of their team recently and are starting to bottom out. Being bad enough for the Draft Lottery may be their next big move.

31. Anaheim Ducks - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

You'd have to figure that the Anaheim Ducks are due to start climbing out of this mess soon. With guys like Cutter Gauthier and Leo Carlsson to be excited about, it still feels like they are a long way away. Right now, it is hard to expect them to be anything other than a bottom-five team again.

32. San Jose Sharks - 2023-24 Result: Missed Playoffs

The San Jose Sharks may currently be the worst team in the league but they are far from the least exciting. It may not even be long before they are well away from being in 32nd.

They brought in good free agents like Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg along with first overall pick Macklin Celebrini. They also signed 2023 fourth-overall pick Will Smith who figures to be a big part of their team. Again, there might not be a lot of wins but there will be a lot of exciting moments.