NHL Preseason Power Rankings: Caps eye repeat, new-look Knights primed to prevent it
During the regular season, theScore's NHL Power Rankings will be published every two weeks. This first edition looks ahead to the 2018-19 campaign. It was compiled by editors Josh Gold-Smith, Sean O'Leary, and Josh Wegman.
1. Washington Capitals
The Stanley Cup champions return with the core intact and with largely the same supporting cast - minus their former head coach and backup goaltender. Barry Trotz's departure was stunning, but new bench boss Todd Reirden was a vital part of the championship team and gives Washington some additional continuity in his new role.
Other contenders have undoubtedly improved, but the Capitals get the benefit of the doubt as the top dog until they prove unworthy. -- Gold-Smith
2. Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights lost James Neal and David Perron in free agency after their improbable Cup Final run, but adding Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny bolstered a Vegas club that was already well positioned to make another extended foray into the playoffs. They won't take anyone by surprise this season, but it might not matter. -- Gold-Smith
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
Steve Yzerman's exit sent shockwaves throughout the league, but new GM Julien BriseBois was the longtime heir apparent and, like Reirden, brings a similar sense of continuity to the Lightning. Tampa Bay didn't lose anyone else this summer, and this team still has an incredibly deep and balanced roster. -- Gold-Smith
4. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets remain a powerhouse, especially after GM Kevin Cheveldayoff locked up Connor Hellebuyck, Blake Wheeler, and a couple of key defensemen in the offseason. Another trip to the Western Conference Final wouldn't be a shocking development. -- Gold-Smith
5. San Jose Sharks
The addition of Erik Karlsson transformed the Sharks from a likely playoff squad to a team with a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup. Doug Wilson got Logan Couture, Evander Kane, and Tomas Hertl signed to extensions while keeping Joe Thornton in the fold, too. San Jose should challenge Vegas for the division and conference crowns. -- Gold-Smith
6. Toronto Maple Leafs
John Tavares is a Toronto Maple Leaf, and that has fans dreaming of Lord Stanley's mug, but the club still has a lot to prove. Toronto's new loaded power-play unit is a nightmare for opponents, though, and this club appears ready to take the next step. The William Nylander saga hangs overhead, but both the present and future look bright in Toronto. -- Gold-Smith
7. Nashville Predators
Last season's Presidents' Trophy winners had a fine offseason, but they must be disappointed that Eeli Tolvanen will start out in the AHL. More importantly for the Predators, the spotlight is on Pekka Rinne, who's 36 next month and is entering a contract year. Will he be Vezina-worthy again? -- Gold-Smith
8. Boston Bruins
The Bruins still have an explosive top line, a keeper on defense in Charlie McAvoy, and a steady goaltender in Tuukka Rask. But they may be hard-pressed to keep up with the Lightning and the Leafs in the Atlantic Division, especially now that Torey Krug is out for at least three weeks. -- Gold-Smith
9. Pittsburgh Penguins
After finally being vanquished by the Capitals in last spring's playoffs, the Penguins had a pretty lackluster offseason in which a surprising long-term deal for Jack Johnson was their biggest move. Pittsburgh remains stacked up front, but depth might once again be a concern. -- Gold-Smith
10. St. Louis Blues
The Blues had a terrific summer. They landed versatile center Ryan O'Reilly in a trade, brought back David Perron, and added Patrick Maroon and Tyler Bozak to bolster their forward group. St. Louis is also set on the back end, so as usual, Jake Allen's play will likely determine whether they can hang with the league's truly elite teams. -- Gold-Smith
11. Los Angeles Kings
Even with the news that Dustin Brown will be out indefinitely with a broken finger, the Kings are still one of the league's most complete teams. Keep in mind, this club recorded 98 points despite missing Jeff Carter for most of last year. Plus they added Ilya Kovalchuk this offseason for an extra scoring punch. -- Wegman
12. Minnesota Wild
The Wild are constantly pegged as a team that's good, but not good enough. Well, a 101-point season is pretty good, considering they accomplished that feat in the competitive Central Divison, which contains two of the league's best teams. They may not be anyone's Stanley Cup pick, but they're certainly an above-average squad, and a near lock to make the postseason. -- Wegman
13. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks may be old and slightly banged up already, but they have some of the league's best center depth, a top-four defense core, and a premier goaltender - factors always conducive to success. -- Wegman
14. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers added to their already prolific offense in the offseason by inking James van Riemsdyk to a five-year, $35-million contract. However, even with Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov patrolling the blue line, there are holes on the back end. And, as it has been for the last few decades, the goaltending is a major question mark. -- Wegman
15. Florida Panthers
The Panthers possess one of the league's most lethal top-six forward groups, but can it be enough to carry them to the postseason? The bottom-six is lacking, there are holes on defense, and Roberto Luongo's durability between the pipes is worrisome as he approaches the age of 40. -- Wegman
16. Calgary Flames
The Flames made some big offseason moves, acquiring Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, and James Neal, to fill out a deep roster. Like the Panthers, though, the Flames will go as far as an aging, injury-prone netminder can take them, which is never ideal. -- Wegman
17. Dallas Stars
Can Jim Montgomery right the ship in Dallas? He'll be the Stars' sixth head coach since 2008-09. With Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and others, the talent is there, but the results haven't been in the past, with just two playoff berths and one series victory in the last decade. -- Wegman
18. Columbus Blue Jackets
Can the Blue Jackets drown out the background noise of all the Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky rumors? It'll be tough with Seth Jones and Ryan Murray out to begin the season. -- Wegman
19. Colorado Avalanche
The biggest question mark facing the Avalanche this year is scoring depth. Behind the first line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen, who's going to step up? Someone will have to if the Avs are going to return to the playoffs. -- Wegman
20. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers seem to have found Connor McDavid some linemates, as he, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Ty Rattie lit it up this preseason after ending last year on a high note. Cam Talbot, Oscar Klefbom, Milan Lucic, and many others will need bounce-back seasons, but playoff hockey in Edmonton is well within reach. -- Wegman
21. Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes underwent numerous changes over the summer and have once again been designated as dark horse playoff candidates. While the moniker hasn't yielded any results in years past, Carolina got better by adding Dougie Hamilton. With decent goaltending, it's not hard to see them competing in the Eastern Conference. -- O'Leary
22. New Jersey Devils
The Devils are out to prove last season wasn't a fluke, but they didn't do much over the offseason to reinforce the roster. That said, the Devils enter the season fully healthy, and do have reigning MVP Taylor Hall leading the way. Let's see if the magic can carry over into a new campaign. -- O'Leary
23. Chicago Blackhawks
It looks like goaltender Corey Crawford is getting closer to full health, and that's a great sign for the Blackhawks, who had their season torpedoed when he went down last year. Still, Chicago needs to be way better in front of him if they want a chance to return to the playoffs. -- O'Leary
24. Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres have a new starting goalie in Carter Hutton, a new offensive weapon in Jeff Skinner, and added a generational defenseman in Rasmus Dahlin. Perhaps this is the year things finally trend upward in Buffalo. -- O'Leary
25. Arizona Coyotes
Arizona was an afterthought in the playoff picture by November last season thanks to a historically awful start, but created some optimism for the future by finishing surprisingly strong. Can their group of kids carry that over into 2018-19? -- O'Leary
26. New York Islanders
It certainly wasn't a quiet summer on Long Island. No more captain, a new coach, general manager, and plenty of new players are in-house. The Isles' roster certainly doesn't scream playoff threat, but maybe Stanley Cup winner Barry Trotz can find a way to get the most out of his guys. -- O'Leary
27. New York Rangers
Tough times all across New York these days, it seems. After tearing things down last season, the Rangers will begin to try and rebuild this year, emphasizing the development of their youngsters and selling remaining parts for future assets. Poor Henrik Ludnqvist. -- O'Leary
28. Detroit Red Wings
This is Dylan Larkin's team now, and while he's a perfectly good player, those around him don't equate to much. On the bright side, Detroit has 10 total picks for the 2019 draft. -- O'Leary
29. Montreal Canadiens
Early impressions indicate Jesperi Kotkaniemi was a great choice for the Canadiens' future, but as for the present, this is a roster with some major flaws. Hopefully, Carey Price returns to his reliable old self or else Montreal could be falling even farther down our rankings in the future. -- O'Leary
30. Vancouver Canucks
The excitement of mixing Elias Pettersson with Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser is warranted, but it doesn't negate the misguidance of the Canucks spending their summer awarding three bottom-six forwards multi-year contracts. -- O'Leary
31. Ottawa Senators
There's not much left to say about all the Senators have gone through over the past 12 months, but the countdown for decisions on pending unrestricted free agents Mark Stone and Matt Duchene is officially on. -- O'Leary