Rank 'Em: NHL Power Rankings

Created: September 17, 2008, 3:45 PM

Are Ovechkin's Capitals one of the top teams?

Which teams will reign supreme in the NHL this season, SportsNation?

It will be a few months until the engravers get to work on new additions to the Stanley Cup, but that's no reason to refrain from sizing up the field.

The Red Wings cruised to the title last season, then plucked Marian Hossa away from the Penguins team they beat in the finals. But are the defending champs the clear No. 1? Where do Sidney Crosby and those Penguins fit in the mix? How about Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals?

Summer is fading into fall all across the country, but the ice is already frozen across the NHL landscape. Rank this season's contenders, SportsNation!
 
How are the points calculated?
On a poll with 10 options, a No.1 ranking equals 10 points, a No.2 ranking equals 9 points, etc. The item with the most points will be ranked first.
 

  • Colorado Avalanche
    Last year: 44-31-7
    Added: Daniel Tjarnqvist, Andrew Raycroft, Darcy Tucker, Brian Willsie

  • Chicago Blackhawks
    Last year: 40-34-8
    Added: Brian Campbell, Cristobal Huet, Geoff Sanderson

  • Columbus Blue Jackets
    Last year: 34-36-12
    Added: Christian Backman, Mike Commodore, Kristian Huselius, Raffi Torres, Fedor Tyutin, R.J. Umberger

  • St. Louis Blues
    Last year: 33-36-13
    Added: Mike Weaver, Chris Mason

  • Boston Bruins
    Last year: 41-29-12
    Added: Michael Ryder, Stephane Yelle

  • Montreal Canadiens
    Last year: 47-25-10
    Added: Marc Denis, Georges Laraque, Alex Tanguay

  • Vancouver Canucks
    Last year: 39-33-10
    Added: Steve Bernier, Rob Davison, Pavol Demitra, Kyle Wellwood

  • Washington Capitals
    Last year: 43-31-8
    Added: Jose Theodore

  • Phoenix Coyotes
    Last year: 38-37-7
    Added: Todd Fedoruk, Olli Jokinen, Brian McGrattan, Kurt Sauer

  • New Jersey Devils
    Last year: 46-29-7
    Added: Bobby Holik, Brian Rolston

  • Anaheim Ducks
    Last year: 47-27-8
    Added: Brendan Morrison

  • Calgary Flames
    Last year: 42-30-10
    Added: Todd Bertuzzi, Rene Bourque, Andre Roy

  • Philadelphia Flyers
    Last year: 42-29-11
    Added: Bryan Berard, Steve Eminger, Glen Metropolit, Ossi Vaananen

  • Carolina Hurricanes
    Last year: 43-33-6
    Added: Josef Melichar, Joni Pitkanen

  • New York Islanders
    Last year: 35-38-9
    Added: Mark Streit, Doug Weight

  • Los Angeles Kings
    Last year: 32-43-7
    Added: Denis Gauthier, Brad Richardson, Jarret Stoll

  • Tampa Bay Lightning
    Last year: 31-42-9
    Added: Matt Carle, Olaf Kolzig, Andrej Meszaros, Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts, Steven Stamkos, Radim Vrbata

  • Toronto Maple Leafs
    Last year: 36-35-11
    Added: Jeff Finger, Niklas Hagman, Ryan Hollweg, Curtis Joseph, Mike Van Ryn

  • Edmonton Oilers
    Last year: 41-35-6
    Added: Gilbert Brule, Erik Cole, Lubomir Visnovsky

  • Florida Panthers
    Last year: 38-35-9
    Added: Bryan McCabe, Cory Stillman

  • Pittsburgh Penguins
    Last year: 47-27-8
    Added: Matt Cooke, Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan

  • Nashville Predators
    Last year: 41-32-9
    Added: Ryan Jones

  • New York Rangers
    Last year: 42-27-13
    Added: Dmitri Kalinin, Markus Naslund, Wade Redden, Nikolai Zherdev

  • Detroit Red Wings
    Last year: 54-21-7
    Added: Ty Conklin, Marian Hossa

  • Buffalo Sabres
    Last year: 39-31-12
    Added: Patrick Lalime, Craig Rivet

  • Ottawa Senators
    Last year: 43-31-8
    Added: Alex Auld, Brad Isbister, Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard, Jarkko Ruutu, Jason Smith

  • San Jose Sharks
    Last year: 49-23-10
    Added: Rob Blake, Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich

  • Dallas Stars
    Last year: 45-30-7
    Added: Sean Avery, Fabian Brunnstrom

  • Atlanta Thrashers
    Last year: 34-40-8
    Added: Ron Hainsey, Marty Reasoner, Jason Williams

  • Minnesota Wild
    Last year: 44-28-10
    Added: Marc-Andre Bergeron, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen, Owen Nolan, Craig Weller, Marek Zidlicky