NHL Power Rankings – Where do things stand at the start of the NHL season?

Which team is the best heading into the 2013-2014 season?

Can the Blackhawks repeat? Can Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins finally live up to the expectation? Can a Canadian team finally win the holy grail?

 So who’s #1 going into next season? 

Chicago Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews celebrate after winning the Stanley Cup last year.

1.      Chicago Blackhawks – Last year’s Stanley Cup Champion and President’s Trophy winner. They basically still have the same team from last year going into next season. Losing David Bolland would hurt but they have the depth to make up for it.

2.      Pittsburgh Penguins – Most dynamic team in hockey. Sidney Crosby is still the best player in hockey and his teammate Evgeni Malkin in my opinion is the second best player in the game. If goaltender Marc Andre Fleury can regain his old form back. Watch out.

3.      Boston Bruins – The Big Bad Bruins just got a whole lot better with the addition of Jarome Iginla.

4.      LA Kings – Jonathan Quick is one of the best goaltender in the game if not the best. And they have a bunch of good young talented forwards and defencemen. If they can put it all together like they did two years ago. No one can stop them.

5.      Vancouver Canucks – Goaltending controvery is finally over in VanCity. Roberto Luongo is back as the team’s #1 goaltender.

This is a big year for Bobby Lou as he hopes to earn a starting position on the Canada Olympic Squad.

6.      St. Louis Blues – Probably the most underrated team in hockey. Blues arguably have the best defensive core in the NHL led by Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk and the newly acquired Jay Bouwmeester. And they have three very reliable goaltender in Halak, Elliott and Allen.

They say goaltending and defence wins championship. Blues certainly have those.

7.      San Jose Sharks – One of the deepest and most talented team in hockey. They have three centers(Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski) capable of playing first line minutes on any other team.

8.      Detroit Red Wings – You can never count out the Red Wings. They have an aging team. But Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still two of the most dynamic player in the game. And the addition of former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson should give them more firepower.

9.      Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Getzlaf showed last season that he’s back. And the Ducks showed last season how mighty they are when Getzlaf is playing to the level that he’s capable of playing.

10.  Ottawa Senators – Up and coming young team. They have a very underrated goaltender in Anderson. And they have arguably the best defenceman in hockey in Erik Karlsson. The acquisition of Bobby Ryan is huge. He’s a guy that can pot in 30+ goals a year. And if Jason Spezza can stay healthy. Watch out.

11.  Toronto Maple Leafs – Made the playoffs last year for the first time in 9 years. And I don’t think it’s a fluke. Leafs are a good up and coming team and a team that is very well coached. The question in the “Center of the Universe” is, who’s going to play goal? Reimer or Bernier?

12.  Minnesota Wild – Didn’t live up to the hype last year after the acquisition of Parise and Suter. But I think this is a team that will benefit from a full training camp.

13.  New York Rangers – Whenever you have a goaltender like Henrik Lundqvist, who I think is the best in the game. You always have a chance to win. I’m also a big fan of the Alain Vigneault hire. Very underrated coach. His record speaks for itself.

14.  New York Islanders – I should’ve put them higher in the rankings. I think the Isles are a team on the rise. They have a legit franchise player in John Tavares. And a bunch of really good young prospects led by Ryan Strome. If they can get some solid goaltending. They’re a team that I expect to make some noise come playoff time.

15.  Montreal Canadiens – Carey Price. Carey Price. Carey Price. If Price can bring it every night. The Habs should be able to contend for a playoff spot.

16.  Washington Capitals – Losing Ribeiro would hurt. But they still have one of the best player in the game in Alex Ovechkin.

17.  Tampa Bay Lightning – Probably the most excting team in hockey. Jonathan Drouin is my pick to win the rookie of the year. And the Stamkos/Drouin combo will give opposing teams a lot of headache next season. Problem is, they don't have a true #1 goaltender.

18.  Columbus Blue Jackets – Sergei Bobrovsky won the Vezina last year. And this team is all about Bobrovsky. If Bobrovsky can come close to the level that he had last year, the Jackets have a chance to compete for a playoff spot.

19.  Phoenix Coyotes –  Phoenix are a team that always finds ways to compete for a playoff spot regardless of what they have. I think next year will be no different.

20.  Philadelphia Flyers – Claude Giroux is one of the best player in the game. And the Flyers have a lot of very talented players. The question is, who’s going to play goal? is Emery good enough?

21.  Nashville Predators – I think the Preds are a team that could surprise a lot of people. They’re a team that underachieved last year. Can’t count out a Barry Trotz team.

22.  Dallas Stars – Tyler Seguin’s time to shine.

23.  Edmonton Oilers – Is this year the Oil break out?

24.  Carolina Hurricanes – Another team that underachieved last year. If they can stay healthy. They’re a team that could surprise a lot of people.

25.  Winnipeg Jets – Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian. They’ve got some good pieces there but I don’t think it’s enough to make the playoffs. Middle of the pack type of team.

26.  Colorado Avalanche – Good young team with a lots of good young foundational players. Unfortunately, this is gonna be another rebuilding year in Colorado.

27.  Florida Panthers – This is a team on the rise. Bunch of good young players/prospects everywhere led by last year’s Calder Trophy recipient Jonathan Huberdeau.

28.  Buffalo Sabres – Gonna be a long year in Buffalo. If Ryan Miller continues his downside, the Sabres could compete with the Flames as the worst team in hockey.

29.  New Jersey Devils –  From backing up Roberto Luongo to backing up Martin Brodeur. I feel for Cory Schneider.

30.  Calgary Flames – Calgary finally realize that they need to do a complete rebuid.  

Hockey is back!

It's been only a few weeks into the season but it's great to have the NHL back in my life. The skill and precision coupled with the toughness of blue collar play is refreshing from the “Organized theatrical” Feeling I get watching the NBA.

Seeing the great players the league has to offer such as Patrick Kane, Jagr, Malkin made me realized how much I really love the sport and miss it. Hockey is a team game and the parody in the league always keeps you on the edge of your seat. Last year the 8^th seeded Kings won the Stanley Cup, Where do you see that? Certainly not in the NBA

The best part about the lockout being over though is that I get to watch my Panthers play, look forward to making it out to Sunrise for some games this year,thats tradition in my family around this time of year. We struggled early on due to injuries but now we are starting to come together as a team and I like our chances of returning back to the playoffs. So with a month into the season I can say Happy Hockey season!!!!

L.A Kings: A run for the ages

The L.A kings are a franchise that had long awaited to be crowned. 45 years it took for the kings to be crowned champions of the hockey universe. They didn’t have an easy road to become Stanley cup champs. The franchise came up short in 1993 vs. Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games,it would be a long road back to the Stanley cup finals for hockey fans in L.A . The kings made 3 straight playoff appearences following their move to the luxurious  staples center that saw 3 early playoff exits. The kings were about to go into rebuilding mode. With 13th pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft the kings would select Physical right winger and future captain of the kings Dustin Brown. After the lockout and play resumed in 2005 and the kings would get 2 more pieces to their championship puzzle drafting future All-star Anze Kopitar 11th overall in the 1st round. The team would get arguably its most important piece of the future Stanley cup team when they selected premier goaltender Jonathan Quick 72nd overall in the 3rd round. The 2007 NHL draft saw the kings take future key contributors Alec Martinez and Dwight King. In March of the 2009 season the kings traded for 2006 cup champion Justin Williams in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. In the 2008 entry draft the kings would go on to select a franchise cornerstone on the blue line when they drafted Drew Doughty 2nd overall. The kings were getting pieces throught the draft and slowly building a winner. The 2009-2010 saw  the Kings return to the NHL playoffs finishing 6th in the west with 101 points. They would take on the 3rd seed in the western confrence in the highly skilled and Stanley cup contender team the Vancouver Canucks. The series was hard fought and the Kings actually had a 2-1 series lead at one point but the world class goaltending of Roberto Luongo and dynamic Scoring duo of the Sedin twins helped Vancouver jut get by the kings in 6 games. The kings knew they had something despite the loss Kopitar finished top 20 in the NHL in scoring and Drew Doughty was a Norris trophy canadaite. All they needed were a few more pieces and L.A would be a contender.                                                                                                                   The following season the king would aquire Grity Dustin Penner a Stanley cup champion with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. L.A would make the playoffs the next season as the 7th seed vs. San Jose Sharks with Anze Kopitar injured for the entire playoffs the kings would put up a fight and ultimately fall in 6 games to the Sharks in the 1st round. The front office had to back to the drawing board in the offseason. They would aquire Philadelphia Flyers star Mike Richards and sign Simon gagne . The Kings would get off to a good start with a 5-5-1 record to begin the NHL season. After the decent start the team hit a scoring drought which lead the team too a 13-12-4 record which to coach Terry Murray being fired. Not too long after that the kings hired Darryl Sutter a man who comes from a hockey family and winning pedigree. The kings were much improved under Sutter finishing at a record of 25-13-11. During that time the Kings would aquire Jeff Carter from the blue jackets and just squeezed into the Playoffs as the 8th seed. L.A would meet the canucks once again and once again they were favored heavily over the kings being the best team in the west with 111 points. Many analyst thought the canucks should dominate due to the kings lack of scoring. The kings dominated the Canucks and made quick work of them in 5 games leaving the hockey world confused. People thought the 1st round triumph was a fluke and the kings would face the 2nd seeded ST. Louis Blues who had a huge resurgence under Ken Hitchcock. The kings made even quicker of the Blues sweeping them in 4 games and put the Hockey world on notice that they were not pretenders. The western confrence finals had the Kings matched up against pacifi division Rival Phoenix Coyotes. The series had 2 vezina trophy canadiates matched up against each other in Mike smith and Jonathan Quick. Quick proved to be better as the Kings also make quick work of the Coyotes. So L.A knocked of the 1,2 and 3 seeds in 5 games or less as an 8th seed themselves. Their next and final task was too knock off one of the most iconic  goaltenders in league history in Martin Brouder and the NJ Devils. After two 2-1 wins in OT in Newark the kings came back home blew out Nj 3-0 the Kings were 1 win away from being crowned all they needed was 1 win in Newark. They didn’t get any wins in Newark and wound coming home for game 6 with the series 3-2. It would be the most lopsided win the Kings got the whole playoffs 6-1 and for the 1st time in 45 years the LA Kings were crowned the Kins of hockey winning the 1st Stanley cup in frranchis history. This was more then a championship triumph,this was one of the the most dominant,impressive historical runs in NHL history. The Kings became the 1st eigth seeded team in NHL history and in Sports history to win a championship. Going 10-1 on the road and defeating every powerhouse in the league. This playoff run definetly ranks among the greatest in NHL and sports history.