The NHL season in 2021 is here! After being awarded the Stanley Cup in September after an unusual season 2019-20, we are back on the ice. Four new divisions, schedules for 56 games and, in particular, 116 consecutive nights of NHL games, begin Wednesday.
For our first week of power rankings, we offer a reason to hope for every team that joins this season.
How we arrange: The ESPN hockey editorial team submits selections that rank for teams 1 to 31 – taking into account previous results and out-of-season additions – and the results are shown in the list here.
Note: Previous rankings for each team refer to our mid-season power rankings, published on November 16th. The odds on Stanley Cup are taking into account William Hill’s Caesars Sportsbook.
Previous position: 1
Stanley Cup Chance: +750
Being without Nikita Kucherov will derail most teams. Not the Lightning, who has one of the deepest forwards in the league and a budding superstar at Brayden Point, comes from a spectacular post-season in which he scored 33 points in 23 games.
Previous position: 2
Stanley Cup Chance: +700
General manager Joe Sakic has had an incredible track record lately and it looks like he has won two more. Brandon Saad adds secondary points (as Chicago is still fetching $ 1 million from his salary), while Devon Toews reinforces the blue line (and cost only two picks in the second round).
Previous rankings: 3
Stanley Cup Chance: +800
In their existence as an NHL franchise, the Golden Knights have never had a true defender. Vegas might have developed one in the house (Shea Theodore), and they went out and signed another in free agency (Alex Pietrangelo).
Previous position: 9
Stanley Cup Chance: +2000
The Blues acquired one of the leading scorers in the free agent market, Mike Hoffman, for a budget rate of $ 4 million without having to commit for more than a year. If it’s not a big win, we do not know what it is.
Previous position: 7
Stanley Cup Chance: +1800
Players tend to perform well when they are in a contract year. Alex Ovechkin is planning a new deal this summer (he is negotiating for himself) and is starting the season after winning seven of the last eight Rocket Richard trophies.
Previous position: 11
Stanley Cup Chance: +1200
Toronto could give 26-year-old Mikko Lehtonen, who was named the KHL Defender of the Year in 2019-20, a big boost from the blue line. His nickname is the “Finnish Bobby Orr.” (“It’s a long story,” Lehtonen said.)
Previous position: 8
Stanley Cup Chance: +1600
Carter Hart wants to win several Vezina trophies, and at the age of 22 he definitely holds the goal to achieve. Hart was good for the Flyers in his first NHL season – even better in the playoffs – and he would likely be given a larger share of the workload in 2021.
Previous position: 5
Stanley Cup Chance: +1200
The losses of Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug give the Bruins a decidedly different appearance on the blue line. But their losses even mean that the responsibility for Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk increases – both of which have risen gradually in any case.
Previous position: 4
Stanley Cup Chance: +1800
Dallas’ run to the Stanley Cup final gave the next generation of Stars, including Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Denis Gurianov and even Joel Kiviranta, critical play-off experience. They are therefore a better organization.
Previous position: 6
Stanley Cup Chance: +2500
The Islands have saved a little over $ 1 million this season as goalkeepers – from veteran Thomas Greiss to rookie Ilya Sorokin as the peloton partner for Semyon Varlamov – but they should not miss a beat. Sorokin, who has posted no lower than a .929 savings percentage over the past four KHL seasons, is the right thing to do.
Previous position: 12
Stanley Cup Chance: +1600
We always focus on who should play on Sidney Crosby’s wings. But Pittsburgh’s second line – which should start as Jason Zucker, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust – could be a good performance, especially with Rust scoring a career-high 27 goals in 55 games in 2019-20.
Previous position: 10
Stanley Cup Chance: +2000
The Canes are postponed from the busy Metropolitan division and temporarily move to the less competitive Central, where they can defeat the humble residents of Chicago and Detroit a total of 16 times on their way to a playoff spot.
Previous position: 17
Stanley Cup Chance: +2000
The Oilers have missed the playoffs in 13 of the past 14 seasons, and they threw out their home bubble last summer. But the management has taken on five new players, and maybe that’s enough to change the fate of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl after the season.
Previous position: 14
Stanley Cup Chance: +3000
The blue line was revamped with Nate Schmidt, Travis Hamonic and Olli Juolevi replacing Christopher Tanev, Troy Stecher and Oscar Fantenberg. Schmidt is now Vancouver’s second most important defender, behind Quinn Hughes.
Previous position: 19
Stanley Cup Chance: +2500
According to Rangers training camp, Pavel Buchnevich is ready to take a leap. “The man who stands out for all of us is Buchnevich,” coach David Quinn said. “I just like how he’s doing.”
Previous position: 16
Stanley Cup Chance: +3000
Look no further, but the Flames are the only NHL team with two 2020 All-Star goalkeepers on their rankings. The biggest chance was Jacob Markstrom, through whom many teams (including the opposing Oilers) are interested in holding on to free agencies, and he will be backed by David Rittich.
Previous position: 13
Stanley Cup Chance: +4000
For the first time in recent memory, the Blue Jackets may have a second leaderboard that frightens opponents. That put GM Jarmo Kekalainen in the forefront when he swapped Josh Anderson for Max Domi. Cam Atkinson (on Domi’s wing) has to bounce back from a disappointing season.
Previous position: 21
Stanley Cup Chance: +2500
The Predators had a brutal 2019-20 season on special teams and finished with the seventh worst power play and the third worst penalty kill. The penalty kill should improve with the signing of Brad Richardson, one of the best PK specialists in the league.
Previous position: 18
Stanley Cup Chance: +3000
One can consider the Patrik Laine situation pessimistic: a top player wants to leave the city. Or the opinion of the optimist: the Jets have an incredible trading asset, and if they fix it, they can hit gold in return.
Previous position: 15
Stanley Cup Chance: +3000
Marc Bergevin was one of the busiest GMs this season. The result: each positional group gained better depth. A top-four spot in the North Division is well within reach for this improved team.
Previous position: 23
Stanley Cup Chance: +4000
A new GM (Bill Zito) means a lot of revenue. The Panthers employed several new players (including Anthony Duclair, Carter Verhaeghe, Alexander Wennberg, Radko Gudas, Markus Nutivaara, Patric Hornqvist) and were active on relinquishments, eager to see what was best.
Previous position: 20
Stanley Cup Chance: +6000
The obvious reason to have hope in the Sabers is that Taylor MVP, Taylor Hall, decided to sign here to put big numbers on Jack Eichel’s wing. A quiet reason for hope: the depth of the center has improved.
Previous position: 24
Stanley Cup Chance: +6000
It was a year-long saga that spanned three GMs, but the Wild’s prospect, Kirill Kaprizov, eventually left Russia and signed with Minnesota. The winger is the most exciting and skilled player on the rankings and should be worth the wait.
Previous position: 22
Stanley Cup Chance: +6000
The Coyotes struggled with the score last season (23rd place in the league), but they said goodbye to six forwards in the off-season and welcomed in six new forwards. In this case, fresh faces are definitely not a bad thing.
Previous position: 27
Stanley Cup Chance: +6000
Brent Burns scored just 45 points last season – nearly half of his points total from a previous season, when he finished second in the Norris Trophy poll. A rebound season feels inevitable for the 35-year-old defender in all situations.
Previous position: 25
Stanley Cup Chance: +6000
Many are skeptical of Chicago’s unproven throwing trio, but the Blackhawks may be able to walk out this season after identifying their goal of the future. Collin Delia, Malcolm Subban and Kevin Lankinen will only be colored in the coming season, so there is also potential for a long-term team-friendly contract game.
Previous position: 28
Stanley Cup Chance: +7500
Have you watched the 2021 Junior World Championships? This is the reason for hope for the ducks. Trevor Zegras, the MVP tournament that helped America earn gold, is Anaheim’s top prospect, and he could be in the league as soon as this season.
Previous position: 29
Stanley Cup Chance: +7500
The Kings played nine prospects at the World Junior Championships, highlighting their impressive prospect system. Be excited to say the names Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Tobias Bjornfot and Alex Turcotte soon.
Previous position: 26
Stanley Cup Chance: +6000
Corey Crawford has retired, but the Devils do not feel trapped because they are so positive about Mackenzie Blackwood (who only repeated three more years). He shone last season to finish, 8-2-2 over his last 13 appearances, with a save percentage of 936.
Previous position: 30
Stanley Cup Chance: +15000
The Senators competed hard for DJ Smith last season, and they need to make a better effort now that there is more talent on the roster. Wing Evgenii Dadonov selected Ottawa as a free agency and immediately improved the top six.
Previous position: 31
Stanley Cup Chance: +20000
The Red Wings scored 265 goals last season – 27 more than any other team. Detroit should be less leaky thanks to improved goalkeeping (Thomas Greiss) and several veteran blue additions (Marc Staal, Troy Stecher, Jon Merrill).