No surprise here. The Sabres project to be the NHL’s worst team and without Jack Eichel, it’s only going to get worse from here.

The future looks bright for this Red Wings team, but the 2021-22 season will be yet another painful — but necessary — stepping stone in their rebuild.

The Coyotes made wholesale changes in the offseason as they prepare for yet another rebuild of sorts. Jakob Chychrun and Clayton Keller are good pieces to build around, but they’ll be hard pressed to do any work this season with Carter Hutton and Karel Vejmelka as their goaltenders.

Trevor Zegras’ development will be a fun story to watch — as will Troy Terry and Sam Steel — but the Ducks lack the offensive punch to make much noise. John Gibson will also need to bounce back after having a .904 save percentage in his last two seasons.

Martin Jones may be gone, but the Sharks are still saddled with three players who have yet to live up to their contracts in Logan Couture, Erik Karlsson, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Plus, who will score goals with Evander Kane out while under investigation for allegations of physical and sexual abuse from his estranged wife?

(AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

If Columbus wants to make any headway this season in a tough Metropolitan Division, they’ll need Patrik Laine to return to form. He’s looked refreshed in the preseason, but that will have to translate to in-season production.

I still think the Kings can make some noise this season with their promising group of young players, but the loss of Quinton Byfield to injury hurts. Though the Pacific may be up for grabs as the worst in the NHL, I just don’t see Los Angeles making that push without one of their best young forwards.

I’m still not convinced the Senators rebuild is over, despite what general manager Pierre Dorion says. Matt Murray has a lot to prove in net after two disastrous seasons and the Brady Tkachuk stalemate continues with no end in sight.

Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood has already backtracked on his stance to remain unvaccinated, stating that he’ll likely get the vaccine in “next couple weeks”. New addition Dougie Hamilton could provide a spark, but the Devils will need youngsters Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes to continue to make strides for this team to impress.

This summer, the Predators finally made the roster moves they were always going to make before a last-minute playoff push changed their plans last season. Nashville is by far the team taking the biggest fall from their end of regular season standings to these power rankings, but losing Ryan Ellis, Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrok, Erik Haula, and Pekka Rinne will be tough to come back from.

Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes will have to do a lot of work to get this Canucks team to the playoffs. The Vancouver defense is in rough shape, even with adding Oliver Ekman-Larsson to the group. Still, this team could surprise if last year’s results — which stem from a COVID-19 outbreak and a tough schedule — were just a fluke and not the real talent level of the Canucks.

This may be the final year we see the core of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan together if the Flames can’t figure it out. Matthew Tkachuk will make this team a difficult out every night, alongside new addition Blake Coleman. In a weak Pacific Division, these Flames should hopefully compete for a playoff spot, but I need to see more before I get my hopes up.

Adding last year’s Vezina Trophy winner in Marc-Andre Fleury onto the roster should immediately solidify one of Chicago’s glaring weaknesses from last season. Getting Jonathan Toews back to play alongside Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Kirby Dach will also be a boon. But that defense? I am not a fan.

Given the exodus of players from the roster that made it to the Stanley Cup Final last year, this ranking should be no surprise. No Shea Weber, no Phillip Danault, no Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Carey Price has voluntarily checked into the NHL’s player assistance program and will be out a minimum 30 days. It was always going to be tough sledding for the Canadiens this year given that they’re back in the NHL’s strongest division, but this could be a rough one.

A healthy Stars team with Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and Ben Bishop all contributing like their usual selves could be a scary sleeper team in the Central Division. Getting all of their top stars — who are now over 30 — to play at their peak might be a tall ask, yet I don’t think this Dallas team will be as tragic as last year when their season getting delayed due to a COVID-19 outbreak played a big part in their demise.

The Kraken sit essentially in the middle of the pack because… no one really knows what they’re going to do! I’ve long said the strength of this team is in their defense and goaltending, led by Philipp Grubauer in net and Mark Giordano, Vince Dunn, Adam Larsson, and Jamie Oleksiak in their back end. And yet, who will score goals for this team?

It’s a pivotal question they’ll have to answer sometime this year, but let’s enjoy the hype of a new NHL franchise while we can!

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Flyers should be better if Carter Hart is at least an average goaltender this season. Will that make them a playoff team? It’s hard to say. Plus, there’s always the possibility the team continues to be an abject disaster and plummets down the standings again.

Overall, the Flyers new additions intrigue me and should serve as a shot in the arm for a team that desperately needs it, but goaltending — as always in Philadelphia — is the key.

The Jets finally have rebuilt their decimated blue line back to semi-acceptable levels in front of perennial all-star Connor Hellebuyck. On paper, Winnipeg should be an improved team and should be competing for a playoff spot, but if things falter quickly, I wouldn’t be shocked to see eight-year head coach Paul Maurice on the hot seat fast.

I have a feeling that either one or both of the Capitals and the next team on this list will finally take their long-awaited tumble down the standings this year. The Capitals are one of the oldest teams in the NHL and all of their stars are on the wrong side of 30. Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov are both relatively unproven as goaltenders, meaning there’s less room for error.

Still, the Capitals have been kings of the regular season for a very long time and they have a lot of talent on their roster. As long as Alexander Ovechkin is healthy and playing hockey, Washington has a chance.

Jeff Carter as the team’s first line center is a scary prospect. Yes, it’s likely a short-term situation given Sidney Crosby’s injury timetable, but the Penguins will be without Evgeni Malkin for some time too, meaning banking easy points and staying afloat in the early going is key here.

I’m still not convinced Tristan Jarry is the answer in goal for this Penguins team, but if he can prove his doubters wrong this team should still be contending for a playoff spot.

The Rangers missed out on a playoff spot last season despite a really strong push in the second half of the year. I’m not sold that adding Ryan Reaves and subtracting Pavel Buchnevich in the offseason was the right move, but New York has a lot of really talented pieces on their roster that should make them playoff contenders.

A top-six full of lethal scorers, last year’s Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox championing the blue line, and a solid goaltending duo will give the rest of the Metropolitan Division problems.

I really like the moves the Blues made in the offseason. Adding Buchnevich, Brandon Saad, and James Neal to the offense should boost their potency. The big addition, as long as he looks somewhat like his old self, is Vladimir Tarasenko, who is finally healthy.

Tarasenko used to be a perennial 30-goal scorer, but shoulder injuries have really hampered him over the last few years. If the Blues can get even half of his usual point production while not being a major liability on the ice, St. Louis will be in a good position.

(Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl still run the show in Edmonton. Adding Zach Hyman into the mix should also give the Oilers a boost in their depth so they’re less of a one-line team than in season’s past.

However, if 39-year-old Mike Smith implodes coming off one of his best career seasons last year, Edmonton will have a problem on their hands. McDavid and Draisaitl are set to be backed by the deepest forward group they’ve ever had in their time on this team, but a playoff spot could very well hinge on Smith’s performance.

The Kirill Kaprizov experience is something else, isn’t it? The Wild went from one of the NHL’s most vanilla teams to being a must-watch in one season thanks to the electric play of Kaprizov.

Minnesota is entering a new era without Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, the heart of the team’s leadership since 2012-13. The team is also taking a risk on Cam Talbot, who has been better as of late but hasn’t gotten a starter’s workload since 2017-18. Still, I like the Wild’s chances this season with their offense rejuvenated.

Jeremy Swayman has his work cut out for him in net while Tuukka Rask remains out until December with hip surgery. Swayman has only 10 games of NHL experience under his belt, but absolutely stole the show in that timeframe. If Swayman falters, the Bruins do have steady Linus Ullmark waiting in the wings to stabilize as needed.

While the Bruins defense has taken a hit in recent years, their offense remains as sharp as ever with Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Taylor Hall leading the charge.

The Hurricanes will feel the loss of Hamilton from their back end, even with the overall strength of their defensive structure. That, plus the confusing changing of the guard in goal with trading away Alex Nedeljkovic and Petr Mrazek while adding Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta could cause some growing pains for this Hurricanes team.

And yet, the Hurricanes’ defensive structure is still incredibly solid. Jaccob Slavin is a force on the blue line and even the high-powered offensive core of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Teuvo Teravainen play into the team’s possession-heavy structure. If Jesperi Kotkaniemi can reestablish his career in Carolina after being mismanaged in Montreal, watch out.

The Panthers are the NHL’s biggest surprise after last season. This Florida squad looks hungry for wins and boasts one of the best offenses in the league. Getting a healthy Aaron Ekblad back on the roster alongside MacKenzie Weegar on the top pairing will go a long way to stabilizing this Panthers team after the No. 1 defenseman’s disastrous injury last year.

Spencer Knight, however, is the real story. The rookie goaltender has expectations as high as they come. If he hits them, the Panthers have found their replacement for Chris Driedger and have their goalie of the future. If Knight falters? They’ll have to rely on Sergei Bobrovsky to get them back on track.

The Islanders may not play the most exciting brand of hockey, but boy is it an incredibly effective one. I have the Islanders winning the Metropolitan Division, as their defensive structure is without a doubt the best in the league. Their smothering style of hockey has gotten them into back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals, where they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Lightning both times.

Though the Islanders rank a bit lower in my preseason power rankings, I believe that this is the year for them to finally get over the hump and get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1983–84.

(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

We’ve already touched on the incredibly disappointing — yet predictable — end to last season’s Maple Leafs. Toronto has a lot to prove this year, to their fans and to themselves, or they’ll be staring down potential team-wide changes if the Maple Leafs fail to make a meaningful playoff run.

And yet, this Maple Leafs team is still one of the strongest teams in the NHL in the regular season lead by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares. They’re set to win a lot of hockey games this season and make the playoffs easily, but we’ll see if they can win hockey games when it matters most.

Vegas was the only team to hit 40 wins last season, with 36 of those coming off of the hands of Vezina winner Fleury. Without Fleury, the Golden Knights will be relying upon Robin Lehner to handle goaltending duties, of which he is more than capable.

Given the overall weakness of the Pacific Division, the Golden Knights should run away with the division title here. Vegas had one of the most potent offenses in the league last season and it should be a nightmare for their opponents to handle night in and night out this year.

Is this finally the year for the Avalanche? For the last few seasons, Colorado has been the Stanley Cup pick considering the team’s offensive acumen, defensive structure, and stout goaltending. There is a very real case to be made that this Avalanche squad is actually the weakest it’s been in some time, with the losses of Saad, Grubauer, Joonas Donskoi, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare likely significant ones to the team’s depth and goaltending.

And yet, I still believe in the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon is a monster. Cale Makar is a force to be reckoned with. Mikko Rantanen has a killer scoring touch. Plus, Gabriel Landeskog is still a great support piece even if he’s not on the same tier as those three.

To no one’s surprise, the Lightning top our preseason power rankings. How could they not? Winning back-to-back Stanley Cups garners respect and until the Lightning show otherwise, they’re still the best team in the NHL.

Do I think Tampa Bay will three-peat? No. It’s so hard to win championships in sports and to do it three times in a row takes near perfection. Plus, the Lightning have lost a significant portion of their depth in the offseason, depth which was so key to them winning back-to-back Stanley Cups.

Even with those departures, the Lightning will still be an incredibly competitive team this season and a very tough out in the playoffs.