Welcome back everyone to the NHL Regular Season. While we are technically 2 games into the season, the bulk of the NHL season starts tomorrow, and I hope you are as excited as I am to see meaningful hockey start up again. I will open my power rankings going into the first week and I hope you enjoy this one and the 27 weeks of regular season hockey we are heading towards. Good luck to your team or teams this season. The quest for Lord Stanley begins now.

#16 Utah Hockey Club

2023-24: 27th Overall; 13th West; 7th Central; DNQ for Playoffs

The Hockey Club (fka Arizona Coyotes) have a new city, new rink, and new uniform. We just wait for a new team name. The team now has stable ownership who wants to win the Stanley Cup. Clayton Keller was finally given his well deserved “C”. I am buying this team because the West is fairly weak and I think the change will bring a new sense of belief in this group. The Utah Hockey Club will make the playoffs as the owner will be willing to spend their cap money to bring in guys.

#15 Buffalo Sabres (0-2-0; 0 Points)

2023-24: 22nd Overall; 12th East; 6th Atlantic; DNQ for Playoffs

The Sabres are going to take a step forward with Lindy Ruff back behind the bench. They will find their goaltending, hopefully sooner than later. The Sabres saw the impact of an injured Tage Thompson and his health will bring something back to this lineup. Lindy will ask these guys to compete and keep them competing every single night. I think the older teams like the Bolts, Caps, and Isles falling down will open up doors for this Sabres team to have a chance for making the playoffs in seemingly forever.

#14 Detroit Red Wings

2023-24: 18th Overall; 9th East; 5th Atlantic; DNQ for Playoffs

The Yzer-plan has been a long drawn-out process. However, it seems like it might be time for the Red Wings to step forward. They will pick up ground on the falling Islanders, Capitals, and Bolts. The Red Wings are ready to take a step forward.

#13 Boston Bruins

2023-24: 7th Overall; 4th East; 2nd Atlantic; Eliminated Round 2

The Boston Bruins were not quite a amazing in the regular season as they were the season prior, but were still very good. They made the playoffs, yet again and took down their bitter rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs. This team will always compete, that is the Boston way. However, I just don’t have much faith in their ability to get it done down the stretch. The forward lineup is very mid in my opinion all the way down the lineup. Sure, Marchand and Pasta are amazing, but beyond that the drop off is pretty deep. The Boston Bruins luckily got out of the Swayman negotiations on top, without losing him, but they are paying this young man a lot of money. He’s going to be asked to be the Swayman from last year, and he won’t have Ullmark to back him up this time. The Bruins wealth of goaltending riches is gone. I am just not sold on this group yet.

#12 Winnipeg Jets

2023-24: 4th Overall; 2nd West; 2nd Central; Eliminated Round 1

The Jets were pretty exposed in the playoffs. They were a very good team that had a crazy long stretch of regulation wins and no regulation losses for some time. Goaltending during the regular season was as expected, Hellebuyck looked amazing…until the playoffs. He looked greatly mid in that series against the Avs and it’s a wonder what this team can do without the likes of him on his game. Winnipeg, for me, leaves some to be desired.

#11 Vegas Golden Knights

2023-24: 14th Overall; 8th West; 4th in Pacific; Eliminated Round 1

Vegas had a tough season injury wise. They used the loopholes in the CBA to bring in so many guys to make another run at the Stanley Cup for a 2nd time in a row. However, the guys didn’t seem to gel quite right. The Knights have played a lot of hockey, and I think it wore on the team down the stretch. They had a longer off-season than normal, and sometimes its what the doctor ordered. I think the Knights will be a 3rd place Pacific team; they were given some wiggle room on Lehner’s contract. This will be interesting year for the Knights.

#10 New Jersey Devils (2-0-0; 4 Points)

2023-24: 23rd Overall; 13th East; 7th Metro; DNQ for Playoffs

You are probably looking at their last year performance and think, Tradon you’re an idiot. I mean you’re not wrong, but not about this. The Devils had a horrid season, no doubt. They had some issues on D but their biggest issue was goaltending. The Devils were 10th in shooting percentage 5 on 5, 8th in expected goals for, 8th in high dangers chances for, and 7th in overall Corsi for. They were analytically a much better team than their record showed. They ended 28th in 5 on 5 save percentage. Getting Markstrom helps this team tremendously and this team will be fun and lively again. Watch out Metro division.

#9 Nashville Predators

2023-24: 11th Overall; 6th West; 4th Central; Eliminated Round 1

The Predators had the chance to beat the Canucks in round 1, and if they have the goaltending, a bit more scoring prowess, they probably do. So what do the Preds do to address this? Bring in former captain, future HoF, and absolute sniper Steven Stamkos. They also bring in Marchessault and Brady Skjei, and all of a sudden, the Predators are bigger thorn in the ass of the Central Division. They may not have the ability to win the division, but they will make steps forward and be a very fun team to watch.

#8 Carolina Hurricanes

2023-24: 3rd Overall; 2nd East; 1st Atlantic; Eliminated in Round 2

Carolina lost quite a bit in the off-season. That is why they are ranked so much lower than they normally would. They still have elite coaching, and some great players, but they do not have the top end scoring talent that is going to take you places. They just can’t seem to find those players and keep them. They will be good, great perhaps. They will out defend most teams but outscore other teams when it matters could continue to be a problem. The Hurricanes would be smart to address this sooner than later.

#7 Toronto Maple Leafs

2023-24: 10th Overall; 5th East; 3rd Atlantic; Eliminated Round 1

Toronto looks like they could be a problem…and not in way this Leaf’s hater wants to see. The Leafs have hired a damn good coach, who won’t be taking any $hit. Craig Berube will be asking a lot from this team and get the most out of them, in my opinion. The “C” going to Auston Matthews was probably 2 seasons too late but finally it happens. The question mark will be Marner, who was not dealt this off-season. This Leafs team is running it back one last time it seems. The blueline looks as good as ever for this squad. Don’t be surprised if they are in the top-5 most weeks this year.

#6 Vancouver Canucks

2023-24: 6th Overall; 3rd West; 1st Pacific; Eliminated in 2nd Round

The Canucks had an incredible season last year. They were a force every single night and found ways to win most nights. Their PDO numbers were largely reflective of a lucky team at times, but they are a team that never gave up and were always battling for every inch of ice. They too lost some key players, but I think the Canucks, under their coach Tocchet, will be a team that no one will be surprised at anymore. Will that make it tougher for them, maybe, which is why I have them finishing 2nd in the division. I do worry about the status of Demko, but Silovs did show just how amazing he can be in net, as he gave the Canucks a chance to beat the mighty Oilers.

#5 Colorado Avalanche

2023-24: 8th Overall; 4th West; 3rd Central; Eliminated in 2nd Round

Colorado Avalanche are always a team that you cannot count out. They have strong leadership, the best defenseman on the planet, and a top 3-4 forward in the entire league. They are strong and coached extremely well. However, I just worry about the Avs. They don’t have elite goaltending and the loss of their Captain over the last 2 seasons has shown it’s an impact. Further, the loss of Nichushkin has also impacted this lineup negatively. They also have very little cap space to work with. I just don’t know if the Avs are the elite top contender they were in 2022.

#4 New York Rangers

2023-24: 1st Overall (Everything); Eliminated in ECF

The Rangers will be a contender yet again given their strong lineup. However, they will need to learn to play better 5v5. They were exposed in the ECF by a hungrier, stronger, and all around better 5v5 Panthers team. The Rangers managed to get past the Hurricanes relying on goaltending and their PP, that won’t win you Stanley Cups.

#3 Edmonton Oilers

2023-24: 9th Overall; 5th West;2nd Pacific; Lost in the SCF

My Edmonton Oilers are coming off an incredibly emotional post-season. After going down 0-3 in the SCF, they managed to force a game 7, under incredibly unrealistic odds. The Oilers were quite active in the off-season, brining in Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson to run with Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers probably have the best top 6 in the league…But that’s where some of the worry comes in. Their RHD situation is a problem, and I would expect that to be looked at and taken care of before Christmas. The Oilers will not want to be 31st in mid-November this time around, because they won’t be coming back this time.

#2 Florida Panthers

2023-24: 5th Overall; 3rd East/1st Atlantic; Stanley Cup Champions

The reigning Stanley Cup Champions lost a lot of key manpower in the offseason, as per the usual when you are a team that goes for it for multiple years. While their work paid off, I will wonder if they have the stamina to pull it off again, especially without key players in this lineup. However, they are always a force, and nothing can change that until they are no longer able to play for a Cup. I do predict a tad bit of a hangover early.

#1 Dallas Stars

2023-24: 2nd League Overall, 1st West/Central; Eliminated in WCF

The Dallas Stars are the best well-rounded team on paper. They have an elite, home-grown core and are slated to be a force this year yet again. Their window is wide open, and they will look to take control of the Central again and ride to the end. Oettinger, Robertson, Hintz, Heiskanen, Benn, Johnston…what’s not to love here?

In-Season Cup

Welcome back to Season 3 of the TLDR In-Season Cup. Our podcast last week was draft day and the results are above. The Panthers have the cup going into tomorrow but play the Boston Bruins so they may not have it for long…we shall see. Good luck boys.

NHL Power Rankings: Pre-Season