An early summer power ranking of the 32 NHL teams

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.