NHL Power Rankings: Opening Night Edition

After two springs of knocking on the door, there is a feeling that Tampa could go all the way this year. Stars Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov all took less than market value to be part of something special. Our pick to hoist Lord Stanley.

Owner Ted Leonsis says this Capitals roster is better on paper than the one that hoisted the 2016 Presidents’ Trophy. Our choice to win the Metropolitan Division will only be judged on its playoff success, as usual.

A perennial contender, Chicago should benefit from inspired offensive performances from captain Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, whose production dipped last season. MVP Patrick Kane and Calder champ Artemi Panarin set the bar high but are still in their prime. Adding Brian Campbell to the blue line was free agency’s best value buy.

The Preds are a trendy pick to survive the West, and they should be. Roman Josi is at the top of his game, P.K. Subban is a game-breaker, and centre Ryan Johansen should be inspired to play for his next contract.

Can the Sharks follow up the best season in franchise history? Well, considering core players Brent Burns, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are all entering contract years, this may be the last chance we see this group together. They had a taste; they’ll want more.

The defending Cup champs start the season without the best player in hockey (another Crosby concussion is bad for the league) and their hot, young goaltender (Matt Murray broke his hand at the World Cup). Not ideal, but this team knows how to overcome adversity.

The Ken Hitchcock farewell tour (maybe) sees the removal of goalie controversy (it’s Jake Allen’s crease now) and the spotlight shifts to young contributors Robby Fabbri, Colton Parayko, and new acquisition Nail Yakupov.

The NHL’s greatest offensive juggernaut will be up to its old tricks, scoring goals in bunches. The goaltending remains good, not great, and the blue line has gotten younger. Expect Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin to be in the Art Ross hunt.

The Randy Carlyle Era, take 2. Entrenched in win-now mode, the Ducks lost a pretty good coach (Bruce Boudreau), a No. 1 goalie (Frederik Andersen) and some nice depth forwards (David Perron, Brandon Pirri). Pressure is on veterans Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, plus the NHL’s No. 1 defence, to deliver a berth in the final. Have Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell signed yet?

A competitive camp and some significant UFA departures (Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin) has brought new faces to Brooklyn as John Tavares & Co. attempt to build on their first playoff series win in 13 years.

The Kings, now officially Anze Kopitar’s team, will attempt to rebound from a rather swift playoff ousting by San Jose. L.A. held onto coach Darryl Sutter but lost Milan Lucic. Marian Gaborik starts the season sidelined with injury.

Of all the 2016 lottery teams, the Canadiens are best positioned to be a real threat for their divisional crown. P.K. Subban will be missed in the long run, no doubt, but in the near term, Alexander Radulov, Shea Weber and Andrew Shaw are all positive additions. Did you hear? Carey Price is healthy.

A perfect 6-0 pre-season and the replacement of analytics voodoo doll Patrick Roy as head coach inspires hope for a supposed team on the rise that has been stuck in neutral. Not trading Tyson Barrie was wise. And goalie Semyon Varlamov can only be better than he was last year, right?

Two last-minute playoff misses have Bruins fans on edge, and rightfully so. Still, the Atlantic is far from the strongest division, World Cup champs Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand appear to be in mid-season form, and Tuukka Rask will enjoy a bounce-back season. Count the B’s back in the playoffs.

Thomas Vanek is gone. Eric Staal and Bruce Boudreau are in. Minnesota should still be a strong defensive team, while adding forwards Chris Stewart and Teemu Pulkkinen could help with secondary scoring.

In effort to stop the aging and the cap-strained bleeding (bye bye, Keith Yandle), the Rangers have been aggressive in maintaining young players. They won the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes, but will they win more than last year’s 46 games? We’re not convinced.

The Panthers brought in James Reimer to support Roberto Luongo, committed to Aaron Ekblad long-term, and tinkered heavily with its back end. Serious injuries to Nick Bjugstad and Jonathan Huberdeau could spell a slow start.

Our pick for the most improved team of 2016-17, Calgary got itself a new bench boss in Glen Gulutzan, a real No. 1 goalie in Brian Elliott (plus a solid backup in Chad Johnson), and their developing forwards should continue to impress.

Younger and more skilled, the Jets are a team on the rise. Too bad RFA holdout Jacob Trouba doesn’t want to be part of this very real chance of returning to the post-season — provided they can take fewer penalties.

The Detroit Red Wings qualified for the post-season last spring despite posting a minus-13 goal differential. Now they’ve lost Pavel Datsyuk to the KHL. We love the free-agent signing of Frans Nielsen but suspect this is the year the playoff streak ends.

New GM, new coaching staff, same high expectations form ownership. The Senators’ bid to return to the dance will be set back by pre-season injuries to forwards Clarke MacArthur, Curtis Lazar and Mark Stone.

The league’s most improved team should take another step towards playoff contention. Goaltender Robin Lehner is healthy and entering a contract year. We love the additions of Kyle Okposo and Dmitry Kulikov. Despite whiffing on Jimmy Vesey, the Sabres got better.

Philly will look to carry any momentum left over from its fantastic second half of 2015-16. Jakub Voracek needs to bounce back production-wise, and super rookie Shayne Gostisbehere can’t afford a sophomore slump.

The overhaul of the Devils continues, as New Jersey gets younger and more offensive. Adding Taylor Hall to a top six that includes Adam Henrique, Mike Cammalleri and Kyle Palmieri will be interesting.

Offence-starved Carolina surprised many by flirting with the 2016 playoff race. And although we think the Hurricanes could’ve found a goalie to replace Cam Ward, Carolina scored by nabbing Teuvo Teravainen from the cap-crunched Blackhawks and has a young, all-American defence core that deserves more recognition.

New building, new captain, and 100% more Milan Lucic. We see Connor McDavid’s team taking an impressive step forward this season but believe the NHL’s longest active playoff drought (10 seasons and counting) goes to 11.

The Coyotes — employer of Chris Pronger, Pavel Datsyuk and Dave Bolland — set off on their maiden voyage under the guidance of John Chayka, the youngest GM in sports that have ever sported. They won’t be good, but watching a young, improving nucleus develop should be fun.

The teardown is essentially complete. Let the building begin. The Leafs won’t be good, but with Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Auston Matthews flexing their skill, they’ll be fun to watch. Which is something. Seriously.

GM Jarmo Kekalainen has already played his fire-the-coach card, and he’s banking on a full season of John Tortorella to make the Blue Jackets relevant again. Sergei Bobrovsky is a stud, but we don’t see enough in front of him to predict a rebound campaign for Columbus.

We like the addition of Loui Eriksson to the still-dangerous Sedins twins’ line. Beyond that, little has us excited for this Canucks team caught in transition.