Left Handed Larceny

Preseason Power Rankings

by Eric Berkenpas

Seemed like all I did was blink and the 2013-2014 NHL season is upon us! There was a lot of activity in the offseason and a lot of expectations for some up and coming teams. Also, this is the first year of the newest rendition of NHL Division Musical Chairs. There is a ton of reason to be excited about the upcoming season so let's jump into my preseason rankings!

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1. Chicago Blackhawks - With virtually the same team that blew through the playoffs last year to win the Cup, there is no reason to believe the Hawks will not be as dominant as they were last year. They still have their strong core of young players and guys like Brandon Saad are only going to get better.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins - You may think this is a biased pick and, well, maybe it partly is but I truly think the Penguins will be the team to beat in the East again. Morrow, Iginla and Murray are gone and the team is back to the basic structure that ripped off 15 wins in a row last year. Rob Scuderi, who was a key part of the '09 championship team, is back and will certainly have a positive effect on the team.

3. Ottawa Senators - Out with the old and in with the new. Ottawa traded old man Alfie away to Detroit and brought in Bobby Ryan from Anaheim who was arguably the most talented player to move in the offseason. On top of that, they brought in Clarke MacArthur from Toronto and increase the depth of their attack. With the success that Ottawa had with a broken and battered team last year, they should prove to be one of the best this year with a full lineup featuring Spezza, Karlsson, Ryan, Conacher and Anderson.

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4. Detroit Red Wings - After a lackluster year last year, the Red Wings made some moves in the offseason that should elevate them back to the dominant form they took on in past years. They brought it Alfredsson from Ottawa who, though he is aging and isn't as effective as he used to be, should still have a significant effect on this star-studded team. Another addition is Stephen Weiss from Florida who has tremendous skill that never fully blossomed in Florida. If the defense can improve, Howard remains a rock in the net and youngsters like Gustav Nyqvist, Joakim Andersson and Danny DeKeyser can contribute, the Red Wings will be challenging the top dogs in the East.

5. Los Angeles Kings - The Kings can never seem to put a whole season together but the potential strength of this team is too undeniable to not have them in the top 5. They have great defense, arguably the best goalie in the league and a ton of weapons offensively. Greene will be back in the lineup after missing all season last year and will definitely improve this team defensively. Expect to see LA at the top of the standings for the majority of the season.

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6. St. Louis Blues - The Blue made some big moves in the offseason in acquiring Derek Roy from the Canucks and just recently snatching Brenden Morrow out of free agency. Halak and Elliot look to tag team net-minding responsibilities with the same strong defense in front of them. Tarasenko could also have a monster season. He was dominating last year before he got hurt and there is every reason to believe he will be just as good and probably better. St. Louis has potential to be a complete power house, it just remains to be seen if they can reach that potential.

7. Carolina Hurricanes - Call me crazy, but the Hurricanes are lookin' good. With Cam Ward back, the acquisition of a solid backup in Anton Kudobin and the extreme potential and skill of first round draft pick Elias Lindholm, the Hurricanes could be a serious threat this year. Eric Staal, Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty comprised one of the top lines in hockey last year and the second line is almost as good with Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner. Defense was the issue last year but this team was one of the best until Cam Ward went down. With him healthy, the sky is the limit for the Canes.

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8. Columbus Blue Jackets - The Jackets finished strong last year and barely missed playoffs. They kept Jack Johnson and Marian Gaborik in the offseason and acquired Nathan Horton from Boston. Bobrovsky who had a Vezina-like season will be premiered between the pipes. The rest of the team is a core of young players who will only be improving with time like Mark Letestu, Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner and Artem Anisimov. Ryan Murray looks like he is going to get his first taste of NHL action too and should be a big help for the Jackets' D. The pieces are in place for Columbus to make a good run at the playoffs.

9. Montreal Canadiens - I hesitate putting the Candiens this low. There is all the reason in the world to think they will be as good, if not, better this year than last. Carey Price is coming off arguably his best season yet and they added Danny Briere who should fit in perfectly. Subban also had one of his best years and highly touted rookie Galchenyuk could have a monster year this year. There is still just something about the Habs though that makes me not have as much confidence in them as I should.

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10. Washington Capitals - The Caps were the best team in the league in the last month of the season. They live and die by the play of one man, Alexander Ovechkin. He was in a year and a half slump but when he broke out of it, he went on a scoring rampage that has not been seen since possibly the days of Lemieux and Gretsky. Mike Ribeiro is gone but the Caps brought in Mikhail Grabovski from the Leafs who will be a significant 2nd line contributor. Braden Holtby is still the guy in net and could break the 40 win mark this year.

11. San Jose Sharks - The Sharks had a very up and down season last year but definitely have a lineup that can do some damage on the ice. With guys like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Antii Niemi, you are pretty much a shoe-in to make the playoffs. Tyler Kennedy was the only one brought in in the offseason who always plays an extremely intense style of hockey and has had a 20 goal season. Additionally, the Sharks have brought in their 2012 premier draft pick Tomas Hertl who they have very high hopes for and could be a piece that propels San Jose to compete for the top spot in the West.

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12. Anaheim Ducks - Bobby Ryan is no longer present but Jakob Silfverberg should make up for the loss. He is one of the top rated prospects in the league and got a lot of experience last year in Ottawa. The Ducks still have their dominant tandem of goalies and with Getzlaf, Perry, Cogliano, Palmieri and now Silfverberg, the Ducks posses potentially one of the most dangerous attacks in the league. I don't expect them to stay at #10 on my list for very long.

13. Boston Bruins - The Bruins had a great team last year and made a great run to the Cup Finals. This yeah, however, the B's are not looking quite as strong. They gained Iginla and Eriksson but lost Jagr, Horton, Seguin, Peverley and backup goalie, Khudobin. Boston will still be a solid defensive team and still have one of the best goalies in the game, but they could struggle finding the back of the net. Julien will have a harder time coming by wins this year but his team still has the potential to be great, I just don't think they will be.

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14. Edmonton Oilers - Gotta think this is finally the year where Edmonton's consecutive high draft picks will finally pay off and put together a playoff-worthy year. Taylor Hall had an outstanding year last year and Nugent-Hopkins will be back. Dubnyk started showing some positive signs in the second half of the season that he could be the goalie that puts the Oilers over the top. The addition of Andrew Ference will make for defensive improvement. Nail Yakupov had a pretty good rookie campaign and will only get better with time. I expect the Oilers to be competing for a playoff spot this year.

15. New York Islanders - I may be a Penguins fan, but I love the Islanders when they aren't playing the Pens. John Tavares has proved to be one of the elite players in the league and almost won his firs Hart Trophy. They gained Clutterbuck and Bouchard in the offseason to add more grit and offense to their team. There are still many question marks surrounding their defense and goalie situation but they should still be vying for a playoff spot throughout the season.

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16. New York Rangers - The Rangers made no major offseason moves but will still be a contendor in the East. Clowe got picked up by the Devils so the Rangers are bringing a far less flashy lineup into this season. Rick Nash will have to play a prominent part in their success as will Brad Richards. Callahan will need to start producing more offensively and Brassard will be expected to take on a bigger role. Alain Vigneault will have some work to do to get the Rangers back in dominant form. Always helps to have King Henrik in net though.

17. Vancouver Canucks - Like every year, the season depends on one man, Roberto Luongo. The Nucks have gone back to putting their trust in him when they shipped Schneider out to NJ. The Sedin twins will be a force as they always are and the Canucks will definitely be in the playoff picture throughout the season. They have potential to be one of the best, but they could also be a train wreck. We must wait and see.

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18. Tampa Bay Lightning - If I were basing this off of preseason, Tampa would be in the top 5, because they looked extremely good. Last year, Stamkos just barely got edged out for Rockey Richard honors and St. Louis nabbed the Art Ross. Outside of those two though, the Bolts were not a team to write home about. They had possibly the worst defense and goalie combos in the league and were forced to score way too many goals to stay competitive. This year, they have a better (and finally younger) goalie in net with a defense that looks improved. They brought in Valtteri Filppula from Detroit and drafted youngster, Jonathan Drouin 3rd overall in this year's draft. Things are looking to be on the rise in Tampa and this is definitely not going to be a team to take lightly anymore.

19. Philadelphia Flyers - I would not be surprised at all if the Flyers finish better than 19th overall at the end of the year, but last year left too many question marks and the offseason answered some while it also created others. Danny Briere is gone and the Flyers bought out Bryzgalov's contract, leaving Ray Emery to man the crease this year who had a great season last year, but mostly in part to a highly disciplined and skilled group of defensemen in front of him. Lecavalier is one guy who will make a big difference this year. The other is Claude Giroux. He needs to be better. If he can play back up to his potential, the Flyers could be back to their 2011-2012 form.

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20. Minnesota Wild - The Wild eventually got going last year and squeaked into the final playoff spot. Suter had a great year whereas Parise was about average (though he did lead the team in points). The Wild added Cooke and lost Clutterbuck which is a move in the offensive direction, but only barely. Backstrom was a large reason for the playoff berth and will need to be as good and likely better this year for the Wild to make the playoffs again.

21. Dallas Stars - The Stars were really bad last year and it is apparent by the offseason that they were none too pleased about it. Gonchar, Horcoff, Seguin and Peverley were added along with the skilled youngster, Valeri Nichushkin in the draft. Now it's just a question of can Lindy Ruff put the players together effectively. Lehtonen will be the guy in the crease again and the defense is the main question mark. If they can perform, the Stars are going to be very good. If not, they could be the Lightning of the West.

22. Winnipeg Jets - Plain and simple, the Jets could be really good this year. They just missed playoffs last year but have a lot of players starting to really mature into solid hockey players. Bryan Little, Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, Zach Bogosian, Grant Clitsome, Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom and Ondrej Pavelec are all improving and could definitely take their team to the playoffs. I expect this team to turn a lot of heads in their first year in the West, but there is also some room for failure.

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23. Toronto Maple Leafs - This year may not bode as well for the Leafs as last year did. They added Bernier who will likely be the starter sooner rather than later and Clarkson but lost two key players in MacArthur and Grabovski. With Kessel, Lupul and Kadri, the Leafs will still prove to be a difficult team to beat, but I don't expect them to repeat or improve on their season last year and would be a little surprised to see them in the playoffs.

24. Phoenix Coyotes - Mike Smith is good enough that on his own he keeps Phoenix from the bottom of this list. They have some pretty solid defensemen in Yandle, Ekman-Larsson and Michalek. The addition of Mike Ribeiro and the potential of 2013 12th overall pick Max Domi, Phoenix could find themselves to be pretty competitive again. On paper though, they still look pretty weak compared to the rest of the west.

25. Nashville Predators - The Preds will be relying heavily, once again, on Pekka Rinne to carry their team. They drafted projected first overall pick, Seth Jones, 4th overall in the 2013 draft and he could show immediate results on the blue line. In addition to him, role guys Stalberg and Cullen were added to improve the depth of the Preds. Problem is, those guys were added to an extremely weak roster that lacks any semblance of goal scoring capability. We will see what Barry Trotz can put together this year, but I don't expect much. Not yet, at least.

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26. Florida Panthers - This is the team I am pullin' for this year, I just don't have a lot of confidence in them. Jacob Markstrom, who is arguably the top goalie prospect, got some good experience last year but it looks like Tim Thomas may be moving in to take his starting spot. Huberdeau is fresh off a Calder Trophy worthy season and will only improve each year. 2013 2nd Overall Pick Alexsander Barkov will very likely have a spot on the roster from the get go and will be an immediate candidate for the Calder Trophy. The Panthers have one of the youngest teams in the league which can be a bad thing, but can also be a very good thing, especially in the future. Expect the Panthers to surprise you this year, but also don't be surprised if they finish near or at the bottom.

27. New Jersey Devils - The Devils were bad this year and things only got worse in the offseason when Ilya Kovalchuk left to go play in the KHL. The Devils brought in Jagr, Clowe and Ryder to try to offset the loss of their superstar, but those three will hardly get them back to even. Corey Schneider was brought in to help aging Brodeur carry the load in net, but the Devils are just not deep or skilled enough to compete with the rest of the Conference.

28. Colorado Avalanche - The Avs have some of the best young forwards in the game with Duchene, Stastny, Landeskog, Parenteau and possibly MacKinnon, the first overal pick in the 2013 draft. The problem with the Avs is they are very weak defensively and mediocre in the net. The only way the Avs are going to make any noise this year is if they outscore their opponents; and they will definitely be scoring goals.

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29. Buffalo Sabres - Sabres need to start rebuilding. They have a pretty good group of defensemen and a proven goalie in Ryan Miller, but outside of Vanek and maybe Ennis, there are gaping holes in the group of forwards that will need to be addressed before the Sabres go anywhere.  Mikhail Grigorenko will get some good NHL experience this year, but he isn't enough to turn this team completely around. I expect them to finish last in the east this year.

30. Calgary Flames - They are finally rebuilding! It all starting with letting Iginla go. The future faces of this team are going to be Sven Baertschi and Sean Monahan but until they blossom and are given good complimentary pieces to fill the gaping holes in every part of this team, they are going to be the weak link in the West. But their day will come...

Eric Berkenpas is the newest member of Sports Eye View and can be reached at ejberkenpas22@gmail.com