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FOR THE WIN
NHL

Ranking all 32 NHL teams by watchability: From the Sabres to a Stanley Cup contender

Mary Clarke
For The Win

The NHL is back for the 2021-22 season, and with a full 82-game schedule for the first time in a handful of years.

Not only that, the league has also added a 32nd team into the mix with the Seattle Kraken, who are already fan favorites if preseason buzz is anything to go by.

With a full season of hockey ahead of us — alongside a new broadcast deal at ESPN to boot — you may be wondering what teams deserve your limited attention the most. Which is why we’ve put together this watchability ranking to determine which NHL teams are worth your time on any given night and which ones you can pass over without fear of missing out!

No, this isn’t a power ranking to determine the best team in the NHL. Yes, some conventionally bad teams may be higher on this list, because who doesn’t love to watch a train wreck happen in real time? We’re here to rank teams based on how enjoyable and compelling they’ll be to watch, not reinvent the wheel.

Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning have won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.

NHL POINT PROJECTIONS:How we see the 2021-22 season unfolding

With that out of the way, here are all 32 NHL teams ranked from least to most watchable.

32. Buffalo Sabres

Off the ice, given the Jack Eichel saga, the Sabres are a must-watch. On the ice? Hard pass.

31. Detroit Red Wings

There was hope that with some key offseason additions, the Red Wings would make a stride or two out of the NHL’s basement this season. However, with the loss of Jakub Vrana to injury for at least four months, don’t expect much from Detroit this year.

30. Arizona Coyotes

I wanted so badly to bump the Coyotes up this list for going back full time to their iconic Kachina jerseys of the 1990s and early 2000s, but I just couldn’t do it. I’ll definitely tune in to a few Coyotes games to see this gorgeous jersey back in action, but then promptly switch channels to a more competitive team.

29. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have not been playoff contenders for some time, yet San Jose’s management still thinks they can be. This team has too many of their best players on the wrong side of 30 and unless Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Logan Couture can return to form, you can safely skip the Sharks.

28. Anaheim Ducks

I still think John Gibson is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, even though he’s had a few down seasons, but the Ducks are yet another rebuilding team not worth tuning into on a regular basis.

27. Ottawa Senators

Don’t let general manager Pierre Dorion fool you, the Senators are still a rebuilding team. Rising star Tim Stutzle is this team’s biggest selling point, but you can catch his highlights on Twitter.

26. Columbus Blue Jackets

No more John Tortorella and a rebuilding roster on a downswing means the Blue Jackets rank quite low on our list. But it looks like Patrik Laine is heating up, which can only be a good thing.

25. Nashville Predators

The Predators are not a contender, but Juuse Saros could make them one again if he decides to play lights out in net like he did last season. Eeli Tolvanen could also be worth watching as a potential breakout candidate, but don’t expect big things from this Nashville team.

24. Los Angeles Kings

I was really high on the Kings’ potential upside this season with their promising group of young players, but then Quinton Byfield injured his ankle and is now out indefinitely. This Los Angeles team still could surprise, but their watchability takes a hit for the time being at least.

23. New Jersey Devils

The Devils have the pieces to make for some interesting hockey. Newcomer Dougie Hamilton should inject some life into New Jersey’s defense, but a lot of this team’s spark will have to come from youngsters Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, if they can have bounce-back seasons.

22. St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Tarasenko is set to make his return to the Blues’ lineup after injury woes plagued his last few seasons to the tune of a trade request this summer. If healthy, Tarasenko could be a game-changer for this St. Louis team, but there’s also the possibility this blows up in the Blues’ face.

And if it doesn’t? At least they still have Jordan Binnington in net to fill the role of blow up potential.

21. Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks’ young core of Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Boeser are a really fun group to watch. The rest of this Vancouver roster? Not so much! If you want to tune into a Canucks game this season, it’s for their young stars and not much else.

20. Winnipeg Jets

Connor Hellebuyck will at least have a better defense in front of him thanks to the additions of Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon to the Jets’ top four. There’s nothing about this Winnipeg team that really excites me personally from a watchability standpoint but if you like stout goaltending, this is a team for you.

19. Chicago Blackhawks

Adding last year’s Vezina Trophy winner in Marc-Andre Fleury to the mix instantly boosts Chicago’s watchability ranking by a fair margin. The days of Chicago’s NHL dynasty are long gone, but having Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane supported by a young cast of Kirby Dach and Alex DeBrincat promises to be entertaining, even if it’s not enough to get them into the playoffs.

18. Calgary Flames

Agitator Matthew Tkachuk is always a must-watch player every time he steps out on the ice. This year could also be one of the last rides we see with this Flames core of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, depending on how things shake out.

17. Washington Capitals

I am still of the belief that Alex Ovechkin — who is without a doubt the best modern scorer in the NHL — will catch Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals when all is said and done. The rest of the Capitals? I’m unsure about that. Father time is not Washington’s friend, as their best players are all on the wrong side of 30.

The Capitals’ youth movement already here in net with Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek, but if you’re tuning into a game this year, it has to be for Ovechkin.

16. Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson was a surprise breakout rookie last season in a rough year for Dallas overall. With the Stars’ biggest players such as Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov back and healthy to begin a new season, I am cautiously optimistic about this Dallas team.

15. Montreal Canadiens

Yes, the Stanley Cup runner ups place outside of the top 10 for me, but for good reason. Montreal has lost Phillip Danault to free agency, Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet, and now starting goaltender Carey Price is on a leave of absence after putting himself on the league’s player assistance program.

I expect rookie sensation Cole Caufield to be a fun story to follow this season, but I don’t have high hopes for this Montreal team.

14. New York Rangers

The first time the Rangers face off against the Washington Capitals this season will be appointment television considering the last time these two teams met. New York even went out and picked up noted tough guy Ryan Reaves to bolster their team’s truculence for when Tom Wilson returns to town.

Still, the Rangers do have some incredibly talented pieces in Alexis Lafreniere, Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, and Artemi Panarin that are worth tuning in for every so often.

13. New York Islanders

Are the Islanders a very good team? Yes. Do I have them winning the Metropolitan Division this season? Possibly. Are they a fun team to watch? Not all the time!

Listen, I am sorry Islanders fans, but low-scoring hockey games are not my thing. New York has assembled a great, Stanley Cup hopeful team with exciting pieces like Mathew Barzal and Kieffer Bellows, but when your strength is in defensive shutdown hockey, it’s usually not much fun as an outside observer night in and night out. I have to give the people what they want here, so I’ll take the heat on this one.

12. Pittsburgh Penguins

Much like you never count out Touchdown Tom, I’ll always be wary of picking against a Penguins team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the roster. With Malkin sidelined for at least two months and Crosby missing the first two weeks of the season, that mantra gets much harder to believe in.

Still! It’s the Penguins, who are a very entertaining team even if they could very well implode right before our very eyes.

11. Philadelphia Flyers

I have no idea if the Flyers will be good at all this season, but I can assure you they will at least be entertaining. After having historically bad goaltending last year — even for the Flyers — you’d think they can only go up from here, right?

Philadelphia changed out a lot of pieces on their roster over the offseason and added in fresh faces, but if Carter Hart in net can’t live up to his pedigree and bounce back, at least their backup is… Martin Jones? Oh boy.

10. Seattle Kraken

The NHL’s newest franchise has a lot to live up to after Vegas’ stunning showing in their first year. I’m not expecting big things out of the Kraken in their inaugural season, but Seattle ranks high for me because the excitement of a new franchise is not something we often get, so let’s cherish it!

I’m most looking forward to seeing the Kraken in front of their home fans at Climate Pledge Arena for the first time in late October because you know it’s gonna be a blast. And look at these jerseys! 

9. Boston Bruins

No Tuukka Rask? No problem. Jeremy Swayman has a lot to prove in net for the Bruins with just 10 games of NHL experience under his belt, but if worse comes to worst, the steady hand of Linus Ullmark can get Boston back on track. Plus, the Bruins’ offense is as deadly as they come with the Perfection Line of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron leading the way. Just an absolute force on offense.

8. Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov has rejuvenated the Wild from being one of the more vanilla NHL teams to now becoming must-watch television every time he steps out onto the ice. With a full 82-game season to look forward to, the sky seems to be the limit for Kaprizov, who had 51 points in 55 games en route to the Calder Trophy last year.

7. Florida Panthers

Last season’s Panthers blew many away with their potent offense and robust goaltending. Though the impetus for Florida’s goaltending success — Chris Driedger — has since moved on to Seattle, up-and-coming netminder Spencer Knight finally has a chance to shine.

Though names like Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, and MacKenzie Weegar may not be well-known, the Panthers boast the likes of Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Jonathan Huberdeau who have all flown under the radar for most hockey fans. Tune into a Panthers’ game this season and you might be surprised at how much fun you have!

6. Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes made some… interesting offseason moves. With Hamilton’s departure alongside both their goaltenders — Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta are the new duo in town — there’s potential here for Carolina to drop off.

And yet, the Hurricanes’ young talent in Jaccob Slavin, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and the newly acquired Kotkaniemi make for very entertaining hockey night in and night out. Plus, we could very well see the return of the Storm Surge with hockey fans set to come back in force to arenas across the country!

5. Vegas Golden Knights

Vezina-winning Fleury may have been traded away, but the Golden Knights still have solid Robin Lehner in between the pipes. Since the team’s inception, Vegas has been a fierce Stanley Cup competitor with an intense style of play and I don’t see that changing this season.

One thing I would watch out for is the performance of former No. 2 overall draft pick Nolan Patrick, who was traded from the Flyers in the offseason. Did Philadelphia make a mistake in giving up on Patrick so soon or is he a bust in the making? The Golden Knights are a top offensive team, so if Patrick is going to succeed in the NHL, it might as well be in Vegas.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs

Let’s get this out of the way. We’re all going to be watching the Maple Leafs this season to see how they deal with blowing yet another playoff opportunity and failing to get out of the first round… again.

Schadenfreude aside, the Maple Leafs are as stacked as they come. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander make up the core of this team and if Toronto fails to meet expectations once more, this is probably the last we’ll see of this group together. So… no pressure or anything!

3. Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, need I say more?

OK, I will. Either the Oilers will ride into the postseason off of McDavid and Draisaitl’s coattails or flame out in glorious fashion with 39-year-old Mike Smith in net. What’s not enjoyable about either of those scenarios? Nothing, I say!

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are still a force to be reckoned with in the NHL, even with some major departures. Gone are Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, and Barclay Goodrow, three players who made up the heart of the Lightning’s championship rosters. But returning are the team’s heavy hitters in Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy in net.

It’s going to be very difficult for the Lightning to three-peat, especially given how much hockey they’ve played in the last year and a half, but I’ll be damned if I don’t watch them try.

1. Colorado Avalanche

Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar are three of the most fun hockey players to watch right now. I get there are questions about the Avalanche’s depth and the loss of Philipp Grubauer in net, but boy is Colorado the epitome of electric.

The Avalanche are everything hockey should be: fast-paced, skilled, indomitable on the puck and mesmerizing to watch. If you plan to carve out time for any hockey this season, make the Avalanche your No. 1 choice.

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