NFL
By: Jesse Rosales
As we start the New Year, I believe it is an excellent chance to slow down, even for just a second, from our busy and chaotic lives to take a look around and see what the state of our life is. How did we do on goals or objectives from last year? Did we make progress in the areas we wanted to? Do we have new goals or targets for this year? These questions are just a few of the ones I ask myself on New Year’s Eve. Well… before the champagne starts flowing of course!
As I do this same process for the world of hockey, I find myself pleasantly….. excited and optimistic. Dare I even say…. THRILLED about the future. The state of hockey right now is that the sport is thriving. Better than it ever has in my opinion. There is evidence of that all over. Major tv stations showing games, increased social media presence, Ovechkin’s chase for Gretsky, the NHL playoff race, and the recent World Juniors tournament that saw a 17-year-old Connor Bedard make himself the most highly sought-after draft prospect since another Connor. Yes, McDavid. Don’t believe me? Just put “Connor Bedard” highlights into your Youtube search bar. The sport is in great hands (literally, they are great hands) for the foreseeable future and I for one, am here to slow down and fully take in this new golden age of hockey.
To keep with our New Years’ reflection theme, it’s very interesting to see where the rankings were at to start of the season compared to where they are now. Some teams are right where we expected them to be. Some younger teams that we thought weren’t ready to compete this year are proving otherwise. Some teams that we expected to be competing, are probably going to miss the playoffs entirely. Some teams have very specific reasons why they are where they are and other teams have no reasonable explanation for any of it. We take all that into account and dive into our first NHL Power Rankings of 2023.
12. Colorado Avalanche (No Change) 
Whenever I decide what my rankings will be, I 100% use Vegas future odds as a factor to consider. Why? Because Vegas HATES giving discounts on futures and really doesn’t want to be paying out big tickets at the end of a season. The futures market can be a good indication of where Vegas, and the betting world, believes teams will end up at the end of the season. The Avs came into the season as the favorites to repeat. Even though they are currently battling for just a wild card spot, Vegas still has the Avs as the second-highest favored team to win the Cup. So then we take that information and try to justify it. The Avalanche have dealt with so many injuries this year, and not just injuries to random role players, but injuries to all-star-level players. There are 8-9 players on the current roster that are really getting NHL-level experience for the first time. That is a REALLY BIG number. The amount of injuries has also placed a lot of stress on the goaltending situation, specifically on Alexandar Georgiev. He has played 28 of the 37 games so far, and their main backup, Pavel Francouz has been in injured reserve status himself. If, and yes it is an IF at this point, the Avalanche can get healthy by end of February, they will still have plenty of time to build back the chemistry and confidence needed to make another Cup run. Buy low while you still can on this team.
11. Washington Capitals (Not Ranked) 
Ovechkin now stands at 809 goals and has sole possession of second place on the all-time scoring list. Wayne Gretzky’s goal record of 894 and title of “greatest goal scorer of all-time” are legitimately in his sights and his reach. Ovi has 29 goals this season and is currently on pace for a record-breaking 10th season of 50 goals or more. Anytime we discuss a Gretzky record being in jeopardy of falling, or in this case a foregone conclusion, it is a truly special moment for the sport. I haven’t always been the greatest Ovechkin fan or have closely followed every step of his career, but there is no doubt in my mind that he is a first-ballot hall of famer, and extremely deserving of the title he is about to have bestowed upon him. As it applies to this team, I really believe the Ovi goal chase has sparked the Caps to be where they are in the playoff standings. That being said, I really didn’t think this team was good enough to compete this year, and I still don’t think that. If any team were to slip out of a currently held playoff position in the Eastern Conference, it would be the Capitals. Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Detroit are all viable playoff teams still so the Capitals need to find a way to keep up this magical run for both Ovi and themselves.
10. Seattle Kraken (Not Ranked) 
The Kraken are in a very similar situation to Washington, minus a player being in the hunt to become the all-time goal scorer. They are a team that has plenty of young talent but weren’t supposed to be ready to be a legit playoff contender this year. They also share a problem with Washington in that the teams behind them in the standings are teams that everyone expected to be not only playoff contenders this year but Cup contenders. Colorado, Edmonton, and Calgary are currently 2-5 points behind the Kraken respectively. I don’t see the Kraken holding onto that playoff spot, but they sure have been fun to watch. and they have a very bright future.
9. New York Rangers (Not Ranked) 
To start the year, they were my pick to represent the East in the Cup Finals. They had a rough start to the season but have arguably been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since December. They have gone 11-3 during that time span and have some really nice quality wins against teams like the Hurricanes, Islanders, Maple Leafs, Devils, and Golden Knights. This is all while my personal pick for the best goaltender in the league, Igor Shesterkin, is still not playing to even his own standards. This team has a solid goal differential of +22 and are only 6 points out of second place in the East. What has been most impressive is how well this team has been playing on the road. They are 13-5-2 this season playing away from The Garden. If they can keep up this point streak, and Shesterkin can get back to his normal lockdown self, this team will still be a major threat to Boston come playoff time.
8. LA Kings (Not Ranked) 
When I said earlier that there are some teams that have no legit reason why they are where they are, I was really talking about the Kings. Currently, they are third in the West with 50 points. But here is the weird part, they have zero forwards in the top 15 in ANY offensive category, their goaltending has been atrocious, and they are the only team in the top 18 of the NHL overall standings, that has an overall negative goal differential. It literally makes no sense. Putting them at 8 in the these NHL Power Rankings was about as low as I can give them given they currently sit in third place in the West and whether it makes sense or not, the results are real. I am not buying this team as a playoff team at all, but for now, this is where they are at…. VERY STRANGE.
7. Winnepeg Jets (+1) 
The Jets continue to hold steady in the Central Division, where they are in sole possession of second place, but just 3 points above the Wild who are in third. Outstanding goaltending continues to be a major contributing factor to why this team is sitting in the spot they are. Connor Hellebuyck is definitely in the running for the Vezina with a goals-against average of 2.31 (4th best) and a save percentage of .928 (2nd best). While they don’t have the offensive firepower that other teams in the West have, they play hard, focus on defense, and play really well as a team. The Jets currently sit in 4th place in the West with 49 points and a goal differential of +24.
6. New Jersey Devils (-2) 
The Devils started out the season as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. There is no doubt this is a talented bunch of guys, but it did seem like they were overachieving just a bit. Over the past couple of months, they have definitely come back down to earth going 5-10 over their last 15 games. They are beating the teams they “should” beat, but they don’t have any quality wins over top-tier quality during that span. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek has been good enough I would say but nothing outstanding. Jack Hughes, who is one of my favorite young players, is playing well but not dominating the stat lines. It’s honestly just a lot of mediocre play coming out of New Jersey lately. Will that be good enough to get them back in the playoffs for the first time since 2018? Probably, but it’s been since 2012 since they won a playoff series, and I’m not sure this will be the year to get off that slide.
5. Dallas Stars (+1) 
I definitely didn’t think Dallas was going to be a major competitor for a cup this year. I did have them making the playoffs, but this team is definitely a legit contender. They have the second-best goal differential in the league (+30) and are an extremely well-balanced team. The offense is led by out-of-nowhere superstar Jason Roberston, who sits 6th in goals, 3rd in total points, and tied for 5th in total plus-minus. Goaltender Jake Ottinger is holding up his end of deal by being in the top 8 in all major goaltending stats. The only weakness this team has is their inexperience. Are they ready to win a Cup now? I’m not quite there just yet, but they are ready to make some noise in the playoffs that’s for sure.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (-1) 
The Maple Leafs are the Dallas Cowboys of the NHL. Star players, a huge market, long history of failed attempts to win it all despite being so close, it’s scary how parallel the two are. Heck, even similar team colors! Things are currently looking very good for the Maple Leafs though. They sit in second place in the East. They have a +26 goal differential, their goaltending situation has been much better than expected, and all that WITHOUT Auston Matthews having an elite-level season so far. They have gone 13-6 over their past 19 games. Maybe this is FINALLY the year the Leafs bring the Cup back to Canada…… maybe.
3. Vegas Golden Knights (-1) 
The Golden Knights are another team that is probably playing above their expected potential. That being said, their goaltending has been consistently good, their offense has been above average, and now that Jack Eichel has returned from injury, this team is ready to start preparing for a playoff run. The team is essentially slightly above average in every stat category. Do I think the Golden Knights are the best team in the West? Right now they kind of are by default and I say that respectfully. With Colorado, Edmonton, Calgary, and St Louis all trying to figure out how to right the ship, the Golden Knights have been consistently really good all season. They are playing well as a team and honestly just look like they are having a lot of fun, which sometimes gets overlooked. Again, it’s nothing exciting, it’s just really good hockey they are playing and sometimes that is good enough.
2. Carolina Hurricanes (+3) 
I have really grown fond of the Hurricanes over the past few seasons. They have exciting players to watch like Aho, Necas, and Svechnikov. Their defense is rock solid with guys like Brent Burns and Brady Skjei. They have wily old veterans like Paul Statsny. Great one-two punch goaltenders with Kochetkov and Raanta. This team really has no weaknesses from my perspective and I could easily see them playing for the Stanley Cup in the spring. They currently have 56 points and while they may not be able to catch Boston in the standings, they definitely would give them all they could handle in a playoff series.
- Boston Bruins (No change)
I don’t know what else to say about Boston. They are literally the best in just about every stat category. Best goal differential (+60, which is INSANE), best goaltender in goals-against and save percentage categories. A player that is top 5 in goals, top 7 in total points, and a defenseman who is #1 in plus-minus differential. They are the best team in hockey right now and to be honest it’s not even close. Vegas bookmakers also now have them as the favorites to win the Cup and why shouldn’t they be? Linus Ullmark is probably going to win the Vezina. The team has only lost 4 games in regulation. They play in an arena that literally no one wants to go to. It’s quite amazing the season they are having. I don’t see any reason why or how it would stop at this point. Everyone else is playing for second in the East.
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