GMH Power rankings

That Max Hockey thing got me wondering if GMH members could come up with a ranking of our own with better commentary.

I can get us started with what I think is the top 5.

1 - Pittsburgh Penguins - They are still the champs and had to go through Detroit to get there. They still have the main pieces in place that got them to the finals two years in a row and finally to become champs last season. Malkin and Crosby on the same team still?

2 - Detroit Red Wings - They are only one season removed from there last Cup and have been dominant over the last 10 seasons or so. They are always a threat even with the losses they'll find a way to be a top team. You can't count out a team with Lidstrom, Rafalski, Zetterberg and Datsyuk.

3 - Boston Bruins - Sure they lost Kessel but there problem was the sheer number of injuries players were playing through. It explains a lot considering the dominant force they were in the regular season compared to the playoffs. I see another strong season from them this year and for years to come. They have 5 first round picks in 2010. That's a double

4 - Chicago - They grew by leaps and bounds and the only real question marks are the goaltending and are they still a little too young to go far. That won't stop them from having another strong regular season IMO.

5 - San Jose - I know there are Heatley haters out there that don't want SJ ranked this high but this is regular season and Heatley, along side Thornton will be a two man wrecking crew on the score board. Sure they're probably the softest players pound for pound you'll find but they'll rack up the points and Nabokov will shine again with great regular season numbers.

That's as far as I'm willing to go. I ask that fellow members take a stab at the next 5 and so on and lets see if we can rank the whole league together.

1.Chicago Blackhawks. I like everything about this franchise with the possible exception that I think they might be rolling the dice with Crawford backing up Huet. What better way to cement yourself in a top spot than to offer one of the 'Andersons' of the hockey world a contract? Besides that, people will point to bad karma from this summer, I say don't worry about karma, worry about that roster. With almost embarrassing depth at every position, the Hawks are young enough to survive the grueling regular season schedule and go into the playoffs with fresh legs. Niklas Hjalmarsson might be the key to this team this year. Who? He was good down the stretch for the Hawks and it might allow them to make a transaction or two - say...Versteeg and Barker for Frolov +?

2.Detroit Red Wings. Yes, it was tough to choose the number two team, but they keep rolling out talent. Kindl, Helm, Abdelkader, Leino, Ericsson and I see Landon Fererro scored a couple of times in pre-season. Problem is - there will come a time sooner rather than later where the Wings will have issues keeping the family together. It already has started by losing Hossa and Samuelsson this off-season and it can only get worse.

3.Boston Bruins. Whatever team can boast the Vezina winner, the Jack Adams winner and the Norris winner on the same team has something special to build on. Some of the shine came off Wheeler in last year's post-season, but he's still a special player, Bitz is signed to a cap friendly contract, Wideman is signed, Chara, Thomas, Raask and so on and so on. The Bruins let Kessel go, and they'll now set their sites on re-signing Savard. They'll get stronger and stronger - but...their record against playoff bound teams in the stretch last season wasn't as strong as they would have liked. Something to improve on - winning the crucial games.

4.Philadelphia Flyers. Here comes two final seeds in the 4 and 5 that I don't really know about to be honest. My temptation was to put Washington here, but I'm not sold on their D at all. So, rolling out at number 4 are the Flyers, a team so stacked at forward, they'll make any team shudder. And now they have the great Chris Pronger to help out Timonen and Coburn. How can that not be positive? Well, everything's great - except the Flyers spent so much money, they had to settle with Emery and Boucher as their starting goalie tandem. A tad worrisome. Giroux and JVR are making the team this year, Giroux looking to make a big impact to boot.

5.San Jose Sharks. There was a discussion about the Sharks' bottom 6 players yesterday here - and while I thought they were merely average, it turns out they flat out don't exist. Unless Couture and McGinn make the Sharks, they're as top heavy as any team in recent memory. They lost some speed by trading Michalek, they lose some heart by trading Cheechoo, they lost some creativity by trading Ehrhoff, but they gain one of the elite goal scorers of our generation in Dany Heatley. It would be tempting to write off the Sharks, but a team than can transition the put as well as they can (Boyle, Blake, Vlasic) and score the way they can (Marleau, Heatley, Thornton, Seto, Pavelski, Clowe) can never be overlooked. Plus, although a tough division because of Anaheim, the Pacific will never be confused with the Central. Nabokov is one of the league's best as well - and that never hurts.

No love for the Penguins eh SpezD? I was kind of hoping you'd post 6 through 10 so we could continue on the list but I like your thorough assesment anyway.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:No love for the Penguins eh SpezD? I was kind of hoping you'd post 6 through 10 so we could continue on the list but I like your thorough assesment anyway.

Okay, I'll do 6 to 10 as well.

6.Pittsburgh Penguins. They are the defending Cup champs, but there will always be the sense that without one of the two main components of Crosby and Malkin, this team is finished. Depth isn't fantastic - although Tangradi is built to be a power forward, youngsters Goligoski and Letang are primed for showtime. Gonchar is one of the league's best offensive D-men in the league - and Fleury has proven capable if not spectacular. But it all comes back to Crosby and Malkin. Healthy, these two can almost single-handedly beat any team in the league, but again, if one of them falls, the house of cards will fall with them.

7.Washington Capitals. Firepower is so explosive that it can overcome the shortcomings of the D and G - but for how long? Washington is blessed with doing the rebuild right - and getting lucky in Ovechkin and Semin. Now they have their foundation to build on with Varlemov, Alzner and Carlson, they can begin to take their game to the next level. Good farm players, decent depth and emerging stars...if the D can keep it together this post-season, they'll be a force.

8.Vancouver Canucks. Great team. Look at how Gillis has put this roster together, with care, drafting, focus on D and G - and...wait for it...great offense. When was the last time the Canucks had a top 6 of Sedin, Sedin, Burrows, Kesler, Samuelsson and up and comers like Hodgeson, Raymond? Nice and balanced spearheaded by the transition games of Edler, Bieksa, Ehrhoff, Schneider, Salo and of course, anchored by the captain and Vezina nominee, Roberto Luongo.

9.Anaheim Ducks. The perfect top line of Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan is now supported by the Finnish duo of Selanne and Koivu - with Lupul flanking them. How refreshing is that for Ducks fans? Instead of the Brendan Morrison stop-gap, they've found a short term replacement for Andy McDonald - a victim of the salary cap. The Ducks D took a hit this off-season when they traded perennial Norris nominee Chris Pronger, but they package they received game them some much needed depth in Lupul and Sbisa and a couple of valuable first round picks to continue the internal rebuild. Any time a team has Giguere and the hot up and comer Hiller, they're set in goal, but at some point expect Giguere to be moved and the Ducks to get even stronger.

10.Calgary Flames. I'm loathe to put this team this high on a Power Rankings chart, but their D commands it. Bouwmeester, Regher, Phaneuf? Wow. Doesn't get better than that, but it comes at a price. The Flames are underwhelming at the forward position. Langkow and Jokinen form a nice 1-2 punch at center, and of course Iginla's one of the stars of the league, but sometimes when a team is ready to contend and they lean on some of their youngsters, cracks can appear and failures occur. This happened last year and there's no reason that it won't happen again. I'd be nervous when my saving grace was Kipprisoff, but at the same time, he posts more wins than 99% of other NHL goalies out there, so he's doing something right. Backlund has a real chance to puck up some of the slack and help the Flames, but other than that, the pipeline isn't brimming with young talent.

Alright who's brave enough to post 11 through 15

11.New Jersey Devils. I no longer have supreme faith in this team, but any team with Brodeur and Parise can't be counted out. Mattias Tedenby is a great addition soon - if not this year, same with Josefson, but their D is underwhelming.

12.St.Louis Blues. Could have been higher to be honest - especially if we're looking internally at these organizations. Young, fresh and ultra-competitive, they're going to knock out one of the contenders in the playoffs, but who?

13.Columbus Blue Jackets. Coming around nicely sprinkling youth with their 'veterans' as they are. Found a gem in Mason, but the pressure will be on big time for him to replicate last season's numbers. Nash, Brassard and soon Filatov and Vorachek will lead the way to post-season success, but as always, they're no guarantee to move past the first round.

14.LA Kings. The temptation is there to skip the Kings and put them in the bottom half of the league, but it's now impossible to overlook Doughty, Brown, Kopitar, Moller, Quick, Bernier and soon Hickey and Teubert and Schenn. They've been bottom feeders long enough that it's about time they became true contenders. Still have some time to go though and some youth to be served.

15.Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning are looking like a real franchise, can you imagine!? First Stamkos, now Hedman to go along with St.Louis, Vinny, Tanguay, Malone and now Ohlund? Looks nice to me. Foster was a fantastic signing on their back end, but more importantly, the Lightning are finally adding a few prospects to their cupboard. Whether this was by accident or not remains to be seen, but for now, things are looking up.

Very, very good writeups on the top 10 SpezD. I don't think I can argue this top 10 at all. The only ones I might have flipped would have been Philly and Boston. but you make good points about the Norris winner and Vezina winner of last year, as well as the Jack Adams winner. Can't put them any lower than that when you have that foundation. Can Tim Thomas do it again this year? If not, is Rask up to the challenge? That would be my only worry for them. But, again, it's hard to say that when Tim Thomas just won the Vezina...

You should really write for the Hockey News, you are very in depth with the analysis of the teams. They need new writers there, send this to them.

16.Ottawa Senators. Four words that can catapult the Sens from 16th to top 5: Karlsson, Lehner, Wiercioch and Cowen. The future is bright, the now is a little dimmer, but shows some promise. The franchise is on the up-swing.

17.Carolina Hurricanes. Rutherford might be the best GM in the business. Sly and patient, he has zero fear of making a deal to get a former player back. There are a lot of issues with the Hurricanes farm system and drafting though. They are bereft of top end talent - be it forward, D or G in their system, so they have to rely on free agency and trades - and that can sometimes backfire. The organization has some work to do, the team is probably playoff bound.

18.Montreal Canadiens. Amidst some very questionable moves (Gomez), Gainey and co. have done a decent job of making sure the cupboards are full with prospects. The question will be, when will these prospects make the jump? Some say now, some say a year, some don't have an answer. And the handling of the Price situation two years ago and even last year makes me think they've delayed his development for 2 years minimum.

19.Atlanta Thrashers. Kane and Bogosian will begin a youth movement that should help to keep Kovalchuk in the mix. Already successfully adding Enstrom to the mix, now is the time for homegrown talent in Georgia. Mind you, Antropov and Kubina weren't bad moves either.

20.Toronto Maple Leafs. Good signings out of universities and Sweden has allowed Burke to acquire Kessel and not feel too badly. Moving D-men out when teams need it the most - deadline time, may get Burke some of those picks back. The back end is tough, but they can't distribute well. The goaltending is good with Toskala in there, now would be the time to continue to develop forwards. No more draft pick trades!

21.Florida Panthers. They have some nice, young pieces as well as some veterans to fill in the gaps until they can compete again. Their D took a huge hit obviously, but Ballard is woefully underrated. Still a few years away from doing anything.

22.Buffalo Sabres. It's not that they don't draft well, they just don't have the money to keep their franchise at the top of the heap. Myers is a fantastic, possibly franchise addition on their backend and Miller is the guy between the pipes. Vanek will be counted on to provide offense with Roy, but beyond that the Sabres will really have to play the 'team' game to a T.

23.Edmonton Oilers. Getting there. Slowly but surely the Oilers are becoming a little better every year - and now they have an owner who'll spend to the cap and beyond. Gagner, Cogliano and Eberle must grab the ball and run with MPS not far behind. It won't be long until the Oilers crack the top 15.

24.Phoenix Coyotes. Organization is a complete mess, the team has some nice youth that desperately needs to be served - or risk their digression. Goaltending might always be an issue, defense is...there, forwards have the potential to break out, but until they do, it's just that - potential.

25.New York Rangers. There are three reasons I put them this high. One is the Gomez trade which netted them McDonagh and Higgins - and a whack of cap space. Two are Grachev and Anisimov - two Russian studs who seem ready to be NHLers. Three is Henrik Lundqvist.

26.Dallas Stars. Confusion in that organization, but at least they have Benn and Neal coming in - not to mention the rest of their injured soldiers. Still, there are massive questions. One question making the rounds is if Turco's done. It's a good question because the Stars can only rely on Auld for so long before a long term solution needs to be drafted.

27.Minnesota Wild. Why didn't they add more offense in the summer? It's a question that will haunt them throughout the course of the season until they finally realize that something has to be done. It's one thing to talk about a change in philosophy of an organization, but it's another thing to actually do it. They'll regret not getting their mitts on Heatley or Comrie to a lesser extent.

28.Nashville Predators. Besides being a goalie and D-man factory, the only thing the Preds have to look forward to in the near future on offense in Colin Wilson - and until that changes, it'll be the same old story. Trotz will keep trying, the Preds will keep trying, but they'll miss out on the playoffs everytime.

29.Colorado Avalanche. Rebuild time. Luckily they have Statsny and now Duchene to get that party started.

30.NY Islanders. Rebuild time. Luckily they have Bailey, Okposos and now Tavares to get that party started.

Phoenix in the basement of the league.... noooooo way they finish 24th lol

N4L wrote:Phoenix in the basement of the league.... noooooo way they finish 24th lol

That's not the basement, that's 12th in the West - and I thought that was being generous to be honest.

Generous? Basically handed them the cup in comaprison to what they will be, haha. They wont get more then 10 000 fans a game, the players are totally unmotivated, no one has a clue what's going on, and Turris cant even crack that frigging lineup....

Pheonis finished anywhere but 15th ( I cant bet anymore because Ive bet too much) but in principal I will but you a beer.

N4L wrote:Generous? Basically handed them the cup in comaprison to what they will be, haha. They wont get more then 10 000 fans a game, the players are totally unmotivated, no one has a clue what's going on, and Turris cant even crack that frigging lineup....

Pheonis finished anywhere but 15th ( I cant bet anymore because Ive bet too much) but in principal I will but you a beer.

Oh, I didn't know what you meant, I thought you were saying they should be higher. I put them at 24 because of the young forwards them have. They could be lower for sure.

I dont see a worse team in the league then The Yotes. They will be brutal.

What's that you say? Yes, this did take me a while to write. Thanks for asking. :h: