NHL Power Rankings: Avalanche, Panthers enter new season with Stanley Cup aspirations

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Avalanche Colorado enters the season with sky-high expectations once again. The Avs have one of the best rosters in the NHL, but the pressure is on to deliver another Stanley Cup following a series of playoff disappointments. That's especially the case now that Cale Makar's massive $163.2 million contract extension kicks in next season. -- 0-0-0 2

Panthers Double the Tkachuk brothers. Aleksander Barkov has recovered from his torn ACL. A deep blue line. That's a recipe for the Panthers to reclaim their place atop the NHL hierarchy. 27 1-0-0 3

Hurricanes Aplogies to the defending Stanley Cup champions, but I couldn't put them at No. 1 for a couple of reasons. First is the goaltending tandem of Pyotr Kochetkov and Brando Bussi. There are plenty of questions there, in spite of Bussi's playoff success. The second is the status of defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who remains unsigned and on the trade block. 1 0-0-1 4

Stars Much like the Avalanche, it feels like the Stars are due for a run to the Stanley Cup Final. After three straight Western Conference final appearances from 2023-25, Dallas took a step back with a first-round exit last season. With Jason Robertson locked in for one more season, now is the time for the Stars to make their move. 1 0-0-0 5

Golden Knights Father Time and goaltending. Those are the two biggest issues that could prevent the Golden Knights from making another deep playoff run. The good news for Vegas is that it will have breathing room to iron out those issues in a pathetic Pacific Division. 4 1-0-0 6

Lightning Tampa has now squandered a great regular seasons with horrible first-round showings in four straight seasons. The core isn't getting any younger. Tampa is still loaded, but Jon Cooper has to figure out why his team keeps flaming out in the postseason. -- 0-0-0 7

Wild Imagine what this team can do with a full year of Quinn Hughes on the blue line -- and Matt Boldy looks like the best value in hockey. Minnesota still needs help down the middle, and the team needs to find a running mate for Kirill Kaprizov with Mats Zuccarello in L.A. -- 0-0-0 8

Mammoth This is where the Mammoth stock I've been holding since they were the Coyotes really explodes. Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther are on the cusp of superstardom, and Utah has solidified its middle-six with proven veterans. It should be a fun year in Utah. 6 0-0-0 9

Capitals I'm not sure there's a team more loaded on the wings than the Capitals. The acquisitions of Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou make Washington a formidable bunch, and the team has an outstanding duo in goal. A bit more assistance at center could help Alexander Ovechkin win his second Cup. 6 0-0-0 10

Canadiens If Montreal wants another deep playoff run, it needs some depth forwards to step up. The Canadiens can't rely on Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slaflovsky and Ivan Demidov to do all the heavy lifting on offense. I'd imagine GM Kent Hughes will be aggressive in upgrading his middle-six. 5 1-0-0 11

Oilers Depth and goaltending remain huge questions for the Oilers, so that's bad. Oh, and Mike Babcock is the coach, which is also bad. But Edmonton has Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, so all the other stuff probably won't matter. 2 0-0-1 12

Devils I'm keeping the Devils outside my top 10 to start the season so as not to look completely foolish when they miss the playoffs again. In all seriousness, I love this forward group, and New Jersey could be really good if it gets any goaltending at all. 12 0-0-0 13

Senators On one hand, no Brady Tkachuk will make scoring goals more difficult. On the other, his departure could improve the vibes, which deteriorated drastically following the Olympic break. Is William Eklund an adequate replacement? 5 0-0-0 14

Sabres The Sabres will need young players to step up in order to return to the playoffs. That's entirely possible, but it also means Buffalo isn't a slam-dunk to build upon last year's success. For now, the playoff fringe seems like an appropriate spot. 10 0-0-0 15

Maple Leafs If the Maple Leafs are going to rebound, it all comes down to one player: Auston Matthews. The quickest way for Toronto to return to contender status will be for Matthews to find his 60-plus goal form once again. 15 0-1-0 16

Blue Jackets Between the blue line (Zach Werenski and Denton Mateychuk) and the crease (Jet Greaves), the Blue Jackets have some great pieces. Do they have enough firepower up front? The team needs a significant jump from former No. 3 overall pick Adam Fantilli. 7 0-0-0 17

Flyers If Matvei Michkov comes in motivated and Porter Martone proves late-season run was no fluke, it could be a very fun season in Philadelphia. The question is whether those two will get more support down the middle. 7 0-0-0 18

Blues For whatever reason, the Blues were hellbent on getting ride of Jordan Kyrou in the offseason. They did just that, but they're worse off for it now. It'll be interesting to see whether their bets on Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael pay off because there is some talent on this roster. -- 0-0-0 19

Kings Just when you thought the Kings couldn't get any slower, they signed Corey Perry and Matz Zuccarello over the summer. Even if Los Angeles makes the playoffs in a bad Pacific Division, the team's ceiling is nowhere near a Stanley Cup. 3 0-0-0 20

Rangers Pavel Dorofeyev and a revamped blue line provide some intrigue in New York, but if Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller are simply past their prime, then it could be another long season for the Rangers. 7 0-1-0 21

Sharks The Sharks improved their blue line in the offseason -- although they overpaid to do it -- but it should give them a shot to reach the playoffs. Well, that and having Macklin Celebrini at the top of the lineup. 4 0-0-0 22

Penguins As much as I would love to see another playoff run for Sidney Crosby, I just don't see it. Dan Muse got the most out of this roster last season, but he'll need to squeeze every drop out of it in order for the Penguins to make the playoffs in 2027. 10 0-0-0 23

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek turned in a disaster class of an offseason, blowing through the salary cap while also decimating the defense beyond recognition. Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke will have to outscore the team's problems. 6 0-0-0 24

Bruins Will the Bruins shoot 12.1% as a team again this season? I would guess probably not, even with David Pastrnak and scoring machine Morgan Geekie in the lineup. It's also possible Jeremy Swayman drags Boston to the playoffs, but a lot has to right for that to happen. 13 1-0-0 25

Predators There's a lot new with the Predators -- both the roster and the front office. Is any of it actually good? I think GM Chris McFarland is an upgrade, but we're about to find out. 4 0-0-0 26

Jets When the biggest storyline entering the season is your all-world goalie holding out while he awaits a trade, you know the vibes are quite bad. Without Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes, Winnipeg's playoff hopes take a big hit. 6 0-0-0 27

Red Wings Their captain wants out. They fired their GM and franchise legend in July and only recently named an interim coach. One of their best young players remains unsigned. Does that about cover it for the Red Wings or did I miss something? 8 0-0-0 28

Islanders Matthew Schaefer and Ilya Sorokin are awesome, and that's the foundation on Long Island. That said, the Isles are still in a transition period, and they don't have the requisite firepower to make real noise yet. 6 0-0-0 29

Blackhawks The Blackhawks' roster is loaded with top-50 NHL Draft picks, which should provide hope for the fan base. Still, those young players have a lot of growing to do before they're ready to compete in the Central. 3 0-1-0 30

Kraken Seattle is a franchise without any real direction. The Kraken want to be a serious contender, but the reality is they're nowhere close to that. Jason Robertson turning down a $120 million deal to re-sign for one year in Dallas tells you everything you need to know. 2 0-0-0 31

Flames Zayne Parekh and Simon Nemec could be fun on the blue line! Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley could be a fun goaltending tandem. That's about all I've got. 5 0-0-0 32

Canucks The Canucks should get to stick with an 82-game schedule. Making them play two more seems a bit cruel. 1 1-0-0