Another fantastic NHL season is coming to a close with the regular season wrapping up next week. Throughout the season we have assigned rankings to teams and with the exception of the bottom four, the league has truly shuffled itself all season.
With the Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin in the next ten days we’ll humbly submit the final eDraft Power Rankings of the 2013-14 NHL season.
30. Buffalo Sabres-Well this season couldn’t have gone much worse for Buffalo. But hey, at least they signed their coach for the next three years. Who’s going to play for him? It’s actually not that bad in Buffalo. If they can be patient, they actually have a really good core of young players that should break into the NHL in about a year.
29. Edmonton Oilers-There can’t be a more disappointing team in hockey this year. So much talent. Can they trick us again next year into believing that THIS is the year? Probably.
28. Florida Panthers-The Panthers are wrapping up their season about how you would expect them to. By losing. Another good group of young players in Miami and in their system. Be patient Florida fan (intentionally singular), this team might be respectable next season.
27. New York Islanders-Did I say that Edmonton was the most disappointing team? Ok, maybe out west, but the Islanders really crapped the collective bed. John Tavares will be back next season, but for the love of Billy Smith, get a goaltender!
26. Calgary Flames-I’m pretty high on the Flames right now simply because the players on their roster actually seem pretty competitive. They are playing like they actually have something to play for, which they don’t, showing a lot of character down the stretch in a dismal season.
25. Ottawa Senators-Ok, so Edmonton and the Islanders are the most disappointing teams, but Ottawa reapplied for that title with a dog of a game Friday against Montreal. Is Craig Anderson really this bad? Can the might of Paul MacLean’s mustache even save his job?
24. Carolina Hurricanes-Technically the Hurricanes are still alive in the playoff picture. But zombies are overrunning the arena and closing in on this resilient but mediocre club. Sorry, I just started watching The Walking Dead. I might be the last person on the planet to tune in. Anyway, Carolina doesn’t suck, but they aren’t a playoff team.
23. Nashville Predators-Think Carolina in the heartland of America, except with better prospects for the future, better defense and better goaltending. The Predators couldn’t decide if they wanted to make a run at the postseason, but instead want to play spoiler for the other playoff teams. That’s SO Barry Trotz!
22. Winnipeg Jets-Future home of James Reimer? Let’s hope that the Jets finally pull the plug on the Ondrej Pavelec experiment and address their biggest hole. Like the Predators in Nashville, Winnipeg has stuck around long enough to fool their diehards that they might have a prayer for the playoffs.
21. Vancouver Canucks-Could John Tortorella really be out after only one season in Vancouver? Let’s be honest, it was going to be a weird fit, but pulling the plug on Torts so quickly leaves even more unrest on a veteran club that may have slammed their Stanley Cup window on themselves.
20. Washington Capitals-What happens when your one-man show decides not to score an even-strength point for an entire month? You miss the playoffs. I was a believer in this team right up until the part where they lay down on home ice for a hungrier, but not necessarily better Dallas team. Adam Oates called out Alexander Ovechkin for quitting on the play, but he should have been calling out the rest of his team for quitting on the season.
19. New Jersey Devils-If you make enough wild predictions, one of them is bound to go right. I boldly claimed that the Devils would find a way to make it into the playoffs a few weeks ago. They aren’t there yet, and honestly, the only reason they have a shot is because Columbus is being, well, Columbus down the stretch.
18. Phoenix Coyotes-With their playoff hopes dangling, and not in a good way like an Antoine Vermette dangle, goaltender Mike Smith was ruled out for another week. Unfortunately, there is only one week left in the regular season.
17. Toronto Maple Leafs-Speaking of goaltenders that need to step up, it is officially the James Reimer show in Toronto. With Jonathan Bernier ruled out for the next three weeks, Reimer either becomes the savior in Toronto, or more of a scapegoat on his way out of town this summer.
16. Columbus Blue Jackets-Seriously Columbus? All you have to do is win a game or two to reach the playoffs. With everything to play for the Jackets have won only four out of ten games. Their final five games wrap up with a three game road trip, making the next two (and possibly final two home games) that much more important.
15. Dallas Stars-The Stars have two games in hand on the Phoenix Coyotes but sit one point behind in the current wild card standings. Though the Dallas faithful would prefer an easier route to the playoffs, the last game of the season is Dallas at Phoenix with a possible playoff berth on the line.
14. Minnesota Wild-The Wild seem to be locked into the seventh seed/top wildcard spot in the west and have looked pretty listless in their past two games. With news that Josh Harding is practicing, the Wild could use any boost they can get.
13. Detroit Red Wings-The Red Wings fall under the category of “I’m glad I was wrong about you”. They have taken over the top wildcard spot, saw the return of Pavel Datsyuk Friday night, and received news that captain Henrik Zetterberg has been cleared to start skating. Meanwhile Gustav Nyquist and the rest of the 24-years old and under gang have shown that they can compete and excel at the NHL level.
12. Philadelphia Flyers-The Flyers look like they have run out of gas. For a minute at least. They have lost five of their last six and have forgotten how to score. The good news is that Philly is still getting great goaltending and they still have six games left, with two in hand to wrestle home ice away from the New York Rangers.
11. New York Rangers-It only seems fitting to put the Rangers in a spot just above the Flyers since technically they sit above them in the standings, even by the slimmest of margins. New York has been playing great hockey at the right time of the year as they tune up for their impending showdown with their division rivals.
10. Tampa Bay Lightning-Here’s to hoping the Lightning haven’t taken their foot off the gas as the season winds down. A couple of lackluster efforts against lesser clubs hardly instill confidence that this young Bolts team is ready to compete in the postseason. If there is any first round series that home ice is important it would be Tampa’s upcoming playoff bout with Montreal.
9. Montreal Canadiens-The Habs are hitting their stride and now seem to be getting some goal scoring too. If they can continue to score, Montreal can skate with any team in the NHL. Carey Price continues to impress and the Canadiens seem to be playing with a lot of confidence right now. Dare I say they have a swagger about them? I believe I just did.
8. Chicago Blackhawks-The Hawks are limping into the playoffs with their fate pretty much sealed. They will play an upstart Colorado team in the first round and welcome back their two best players (although Patrick Sharp might disagree with that assessment). Their weakness is still Corey Crawford in goal, but he was their Achilles last year too and that seemed to work out.
7. Los Angeles Kings-If the Kings played in the Eastern Conference (which would be silly because Los Angeles is on the west coast) they could blow through the first round of any playoff series. Unfortunately, their first round opponent will be a hated rival in either San Jose or Anaheim. Los Angeles would be an underdog in either series, but in rivalry games it’s almost always a coin flip.
6. Colorado Avalanche-I’m a believer (now) in the Avalanche, but I still feel like they will be victims of a brutal division. They have an exciting young core of players, but the biggest “X” factor has been the consistency of Semyon Varlamov. When he is good, he is elite, and he has been good much more often than not. He has played more games this season than any in his young career, so we’ll see if he can maintain this level through the playoffs
5. Pittsburgh Penguins-It may actually be a good thing that everyone is overlooking the Pens this year. While they most certainly won’t be looking forward to seeing Detroit in the first round of the playoffs (things could change there), the Pens have shown plenty of resilience and character this season that will serve them well in the postseason. Any time you have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the roster, you always have a chance.
4. San Jose Sharks-The top of the Pacific Division has turned into quite the battle, with neither San Jose nor Anaheim wanting the Kings in the first round. The Sharks have four games remaining including a crucial game at Anaheim on Wednesday. With all due respect to Minnesota or Dallas, a playoff series versus either of those two will be considerably less nasty than the potential seven game set against Los Angeles.
3. Anaheim Ducks-Same story for the Ducks here, except they can control their destiny by winning out. Anaheim has been stellar all year, but I still haven’t been convinced that Jonas Hiller can get it done in net for the Ducks. When the games matter most, we’ve seen good Hiller and bad Hiller. If he’s on, he can beat anyone, but he looked horrible on home ice against a light-scoring Nashville team on Friday night after a three-day rest.
2. Boston Bruins-The Bruins are a decisive pick at the top of the Eastern Conference, but still seem to lose the head scratching games from time to time. If nothing else it ensures that the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be that much more amazing with parity throughout each conference. Pencil in the Bruins as the favorites to come out of the east, but anything can happen.
1. St. Louis Blues-The Blues are cruising towards a President’s Trophy, but fully understand that it is a title that carries zero weight into the playoffs. The Blues look like the most focused bunch in the league right now. However, the Blues have a rugged finish to the season, facing six teams that all have something to play for.