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Attached are a very early rendition of the upcoming 2020-21 NHL season power rankings. I will try to update this monthly as the season progresses. There will assuredly be some effects off the bubble and covid will still have it’s effects on this season.
Teams I think are on the upswing
Nashville Predators — There is something to be said for things staying the same. Nashville had a horrible year on the power play and typically, a solid team like Nashville will spend the whole offseason addressing that and show improvement the next season (see Columbus a few years back, with a little help from Martin St. Louis as a coach).
Toronto Maple Leafs — They were horrible in winning one goal games, you get 9th worst team shooting percentage up a few spots (which should happen with this talent) and you have a number of more regular season wins
Teams that are on the downside
Arizona Coyotes — The window has closed and I doubt we see Darcy Kuemper stand on his head as well as he did last year.
Minnesota Wild — Age and uncertainty on what their plan forward is has me down on the Wild this season.
2021 NHL Power Rankings (as of November 2020)
| Rank | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Notes |
| 1 | Tamp Bay Lightning | The core pieces of the championship team are locked down for the forseeable future |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | It's an older team but a very talented one who is a threat from all fronts |
| 3 | Colorado Avalanche | Very top heavy team with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar carrying a bulk of the weight |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | Added Torey Krug to a team that was +32 in goal differential last year |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Group of young players entering prime now have strong veteran adds in offseason |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | New head coach Peter Laviolette will take some getting used to but it's still an elite team |
| 7 | Vegas Golden Knights | This is a not a knock on them, they are built more for the playoffs than regular season |
| 8 | Philadelphia Flyers | Solved the defense and goalie gap, now they need to prove consistency |
| 9 | Vancouver Canucks | An elite group of young talent who doesn't get tripped up during regular season |
| 10 | Nashville Predators | Consider me on the Predators bandwagon for 2021 with a bounce back season |
| 11 | Pittsbugh Penguins | They might just rebuild on the fly which would be amazing. Still have an old roster |
| 12 | Calgary Flames | They seemingly fixed the goalie situation; led the league in shootout wins last year |
| 13 | Dallas Stars | Still good (especially in playoffs) but Stanley Cup hangover hits hard |
| 14 | New York Islanders | Proved their mettle in the playoffs but offense will continue to be an issue |
| 15 | Columbus Blue Jackets | I think the Jackets benefitted from goalie after goalie standing on their head |
| 16 | Buffalo Sabres | The drought stops this season with the help of Taylor Hall |
| 17 | Carolina Hurricanes | Their goaltending situation is a giant question mark |
| 18 | Florida Panthers | It's something, there's quality pieces but it feels slapped together |
| 19 | Winnipeg Jets | I think their window is starting to close as they will be deciding what the future holds |
| 20 | Edmonton Oilers | It took a duo-MVP caliber year to finish 17th last year |
| 21 | New York Rangers | A young roster makes the future bright but they might have some hiccups along the way |
| 22 | Montreal Canadiens | I'm not sold on the Canadiens team as is, they had a -8 goal differential last year |
| 23 | New Jersey Devils | Nothing splashy but the moves they made improved a team with young talent |
| 24 | Minnesota Wild | Minnesota is equally sub average and looks to have one of the 3 oldest rosters |
| 25 | San Jose Sharks | On the continued decline with a rebuild still to come after that |
| 26 | Chicago Blackhawks | They were clearly competitive in the playoffs last year but are also rebuilding |
| 27 | Arizona Coyotes | I thought the build was in motion but losing Taylor Hall is a step back |
| 28 | Los Angeles Kings | In the midst of an attempted rebuild but has one of the oldest rosters |
| 29 | Ottawa Senators | Additions of Matt Murray & Evgenii Dadonov could be great but I'm skeptical |
| 30 | Anaheim Ducks | They continue to need A LOT of help offensively; I expect John Gibson to bounce back |
| 31 | Detroit Red Wings | Good things are happening but it's going to be a while before they are competitive again |