TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings

A healthy Sidney Crosby paired with reigning MVP Evgeni Malkin makes the Penguins the team to beat, but they will need their complementary players to perform well and, after Marc-Andre Fleury's playoff flop, Tomas Vokoun could be a valuable insurance policy in net.
Key Injuries: None.

Adding Rick Nash and having a healthy Marian Gaborik (thanks to the delayed start to the season) should give the Rangers enough firepower to contend, especially if Henrik Lundqvist maintains his stellar play in goal.
Key Injuries: D Michael Sauer (concussion).

There will be pressure on G Tuukka Rask, who takes over the starting job from Tim Thomas, but he should benefit from having a lot of familiar faces in front of him. A healthy RW Nathan Horton and the addition of promising rookie D Dougie Hamilton provide more reasons for optimism.
Key Injuries: None.

Ken Hitchcock has a talented team, with a deep crop of forwards augmented by Russian rookie RW Vladimir Tarasenko and the defence anchored by Norris Trophy candidate Alex Pietrangelo. Provided at least one of Jaroslav Halak or Brian Elliott can get the job done in goal, the Blues could be ready for the next step.
Key Injuries: None.

There's a looming question in goal, where Cory Schneider appears to have supplanted Roberto Luongo as the starter (yet Luongo remains in Vancouver, for now) and the Canucks will surely miss Ryan Kesler as he recovers from shoulder surgery, but the defence should be upgraded with the addition of free agent Jason Garrison and prospect Chris Tanev; they just need some help down the middle while Kesler is on the shelf.
Key Injuries: C Ryan Kesler (shoulder).

The Blackhawks bolstered their defence, re-signing Johnny Oduya and adding Michal Rozsival and they have the talent up front, particularly with RW Marian Hossa cleared for action, so that leaves G Corey Crawford, who simply has to play better than he did in 2011-2012 for the Blackhawks to get back to Stanley Cup contention.
Key Injuries: None.

What will the Red Wings be like without Nicklas Lidstrom taking all the tough matchups on the blueline? Rookie D Brendan Smith will play a prime role and Swiss sniper Damien Brunner is expected to start on the first line with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg (good work if you can get it). The Wings have talent and prospects up front, but could need more help filling that hole on the blueline.
Key Injuries: D Carlo Colaiacovo (shoulder).

It's not quite the same as losing a seven-time Norris winner, but the Predators also need to fill a hole on the blueline after Ryan Suter departed in free agency. Young defencemen Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm will need to handle more responsibility in front of G Pekka Rinne. If they hold up, the Predators will use a balanced approach to scoring, one that's worked pretty well in recent seasons.
Key Injuries: None.

The Flyers have the horses up front, with room for Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier to play bigger roles, but their defence is questionable, particularly with Andrej Meszaros questionable going into camp. As always, though, goaltending tells the tale for the Flyers as G Ilya Bryzgalov aims to rebound from his 2011-2012 season.
Key Injuries: D Chris Pronger (concussion).

The defending champions would be ranked higher if not for the knee injury suffered by star C Anze Kopitar while in Sweden. They're good enough to contend again, especially if G Jonathan Quick keeps playing at such a high level and D Drew Doughty is the wild card. If he wants it, he can be a perennial Norris Trophy contender.
Key Injuries: C Anze Kopitar (knee).

Continuity may be the strong suit for the Sharks, though they have added veteran Brad Stuart to the blueline, and none too soon, considering some potential injury pitfalls on the blueline, as Brent Burns, Jason Demers and Justin Braun all have questionable status going into camp. The whole roster considered, it should be enough to get the Sharks to the playoffs but, barring addition, maybe not enough to contend for a title.
Key Injuries: D Brent Burns (sports hernia/groin), D Jason Demers (wrist), D Justin Braun (hand).

Nearly recovered from a terrible start to sneak into the playoffs, but managed just one win in the last five games to assure the season remained disappointing. There are some pieces in place, but an infusion of youth seemed to do the Sabres some good when the season appeared lost and could help right from the start next season.

The forward lines could get a boost from the addition of winger Guillaume Latendresse and rookie RW Jakob Silfverberg and the bulls-eye will fall squarely on D Erik Karlsson, who exploded for 78 points last season. Ottawa's blueline depth could be an issue, particularly with Jared Cowen out for the year, so that's a situation worth monitoring.
Key Injuries: D Jared Cowen (hip), D Mike Lundin (finger).

The Stars certainly didn't get younger in the offseason, but if you're going to add a pair of 40-year-olds, Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney are a good pair to sign. With C Derek Roy also joining the fold, the Stars have improved their offensive depth enough to contend for a playoff spot, at least as long as those creaky vets remain healthy and productive, which might work out just fine in a shortened season.
Key Injuries: None.

This presumes that LW Ilya Kovalchuk makes his way back to North America, but the Cup finalist Devils are looking lean up front, particularly with Adam Henrique hurt to start the year, so they'll need a big season from C Travis Zajac and development from young players like C Jacob Josefson and D Adam Larsson if they're going to be a playoff team again.
Key Injuries: C Adam Henrique (thumb).

All the young talent is falling into place and could really be kickstarted with the addition of D Justin Schultz, the dynamic offensive defenceman who scored 48 points in 34 AHL games and will upgrade the Edmonton power play immediately. If G Devan Dubnyk is up to the task as the No. 1 'tender, Edmonton may finally be ready to leave the lottery behind.
Key Injuries: LW Ryan Jones (eye).

New coach Adam Oates may have the Capitals playing a more offensive style than the grind-it-out approach employed by Dale Hunter, to some success, last season. If Oates can light a fire under LW Alexander Ovechkin, coming off the least productive season of his career, then maybe the Capitals will rank among the league's best, but until Ovechkin shows that he hasn't lost it, expectations remain modest.
Key Injuries: D Dmitry Orlov (upper body).

The new regime in Montreal still needs to get D P.K. Subban signed, but if that gets done, the Habs should be competitive, particularly if D Andrei Markov can somehow stay healthy. The Habs might consider keeping rookie Alexander Galchenyuk, the third pick in the draft, who has shown he doesn't need more time in the OHL.
Key Injuries: None.

Dealing for C Jordan Staal and signing LW Alexander Semin made it look like the Hurricanes were ready to make a playoff push this season -- and they presumably still are -- but it's not quite as easy with versatile forward Tuomo Ruutu out after hip surgery. There are enough promising young players (Skinner, Faulk, Dalpe, Tlusty) that the Hurricanes could develop into a quality team, but relying on youth also brings a certain element of risk.
Key Injuries: LW Tuomo Ruutu (hip).

No team made a bigger splash in the offseason than the Wild, adding marquee free agents LW Zach Parise and D Ryan Suter. Combined with a quality crop of prospects, including playmaking C Mikael Granlund, who is ready to contribute immediately, Minnesota should be much improved, maybe enough to reach the playoffs which, I acknowledge, is probably what all Wild fans are expecting after the summer bonanza.
Key Injuries: None.

The Flames have been mired in mediocrity, not quite good enough for the playoffs, not bad enough for an elite draft pick, but they tried to get better this offseason, adding D Dennis Wideman along with forward Roman Cervenka and Jiri Hudler. Throw rookie Sven Baertchi into the mix and new coach Bob Hartley has some decent depth, but it still looks like a team that will have to battle for one of the final playoff spots in the West.
Key Injuries: None.

If the Ducks are going to accomplish anything this season (potentially the swan song for RW Teemu Selanne), they will -- first and foremost -- need better from their top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan, but will also require more from the supporting cast. Adding vets Sheldon Souray and Bryan Allen may stabilize the blueline, which would make life easier on goaltenders Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth.
Key Injuries: None.

Invariably, the Coyotes' preseason ranking isn't very complimentary, given their lack of proven point producers, but if G Mike Smith keeps playing like a Vezina candidate, as he did last year, then all bets are off. On the upswing, D Oliver Ekman-Larsson could be a star and RW Mikkel Boedker may be ready to provide more offensively.
Key Injuries: None.

The Lightning are a high upside team. If new goaltender Anders Lindback can handle the starting role, veteran blueliners Matt Carle and Sami Salo can provide stability and some combination of young forwards (Brett Connolly, Cory Conacher, Tyler Johnson, Richard Panik, Alex Killorn, J.T. Brown) can adequately fill support scoring roles, then the Lightning could be very good. At the moment, however, there is still some risk when dealing with such unproven commodities.
Key Injuries: None.

Need to get RFA C Ryan O'Reilly signed and coulse use a bounceback year from C Matt Duchene, but the Avs have talent up front, bolstered by the signing of RW P.A. Parenteau and anchored by 20-year-old captain Gabriel Landeskog. The defence presents question marks, however, so the Avs need G Semyon Varlamov to build on the strong season he's been having in the KHL if they are going to compete for a playoff spot.
Key Injuries: None.

Not much going on in Leafland, save for the decision to fire GM Brian Burke, leaving Dave Nonis to pick up the pieces. The Leafs have some talent, but without proven goaltending or a bona fide No. 1 centre, their ceiling is assuredly limited.
Key Injuries: D Jake Gardiner (concussion).

Can the Panthers duplicate last year's surprising playoff berth? Perhaps, if additions Peter Mueller and rookie Jonathan Huberdeau can add offence to an attack that lacks game-breakers and the goaltending, currently led by Jose Theodore, holds up.
Key Injuries: None.

The Jets have time to grow, so they don't need to rush the process, particularly when they are set to open the season without Zach Bogosian on the blueline. They could get contributions from rookie D Paul Postma and junior-aged C Mark Scheifele, while veterans Olli Jokinen and Alexei Ponikarovsky upgrade the forwards, but Winnipeg's defence and goaltending both need to be better for the team to harbour playoff hopes.
Key Injuries: D Zach Bogosian (wrist).

It's never easy for the Isles and this season already presents pitfalls, particularly on the blueline, where Lubomir Visnovsky is reluctant to return from Slovakia, placing undue burden on a group that isn't deep enough to begin with. Up front, perhaps youngsters Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Strome will be ready to contribute and at least show a little of what may lie ahead.
Key Injuries: None.

The Blue Jackets have a decidedly different look after dealing Rick Nash to the New York Rangers, but part of that new look is that they could struggle to score. They have some talent on the blueline and if Sergei Bobrovsky could play close to league average in goal, the Blue Jackets could move up, but when the last place team gets rid of their best player, it's hard to start anywhere but the bottom.
Key Injuries: None.