The Hockey News: Power Rankings: Power Rankings

Power Rankings - The final countdown

Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom poses with the Presidents' Trophy. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

Mike Brophy
2008-04-07 15:37:31

Now that was a great regular season!

Fans of the National Hockey League were treated to playoff races that went down to the wire; Alex Ovechkin played with heart and likely earned himself a Hart, while even an old dude like Jeremy Roenick proved he had something left in the tank when just about everybody was convinced he was running on fumes.

This year’s playoffs have a lot to live up to if they hope to match the regular season.

Here's the last edition of The Hockey News Power Rankings for the '07-08 campaign.

THE HOCKEY NEWS POWER RANKINGS
RK.	TEAM	LW	OVERALL	L10	THE SCOOP
1		2	54-21-7	7-2-1	We’re not saying the Red Wings are going to win the Stanley Cup, but winning the President’s Trophy and capping the year with two wins in a row is impressive. Wonder if the Wings’ goaltending can hold up through four rounds?
2		1	49-23-10	7-2-1	Forget the two losses the Sharks finished with. They are the favorites of many heading into the playoffs and if Joe Thornton’s tuning of Steve Ott in Game 82 is any indication, the big guy means business this year.
3		5	47-25-10	8-1-1	Watching Alexei Kovalev perform this season was a sight to behold. Never in his career did he appear to be more engaged and the fact the Habs planted the ‘C’ on his jersey while captain Saku Koivu was injured tells you all you need to know about his leadership.
4		4	47-27-8	8-2-0	We really haven’t had much of a chance to see the Ducks play together as a complete unit this season, but when they have been healthy and not suspended, they look very much like a team that can repeat as Stanley Cup champs. Scoring is a concern, but Anaheim has the best defense in hockey.
5		3	47-27-8	6-3-1	Crosby was great. Malkin was great. But the real big news for the Penguins was that Marc-Andre Fleury emerged as a dependable stopper. That needed to happen for the Pens to be a legitimate playoff threat.
6		6	44-28-10	6-2-2	There really is no such thing as a dark horse team in the West, but the Wild might come closest to matching that description. With their size, speed and attention to detail thanks to coach Jacques Lemaire, they promise to give the Avalanche a really tough first round series.
7		15	43-31-8	9-1-0	Full credit to GM George McPhee for three superb acquisitions at the trade deadline: Goalie Cristobal Huet (concluded the season with nine straight wins), veteran center Sergei Fedorov and rugged winger Matt Cooke. The Caps became the first team to go from 14th in their conference at the midpoint of the season to the playoffs.
8		9	42-27-13	5-1-4	This is a team that gelled down the stretch and could make some noise in the playoffs. Chris Drury is firing on all cylinders, while Jaromir Jagr started playing with more enthusiasm. The X-factor is goalie Henrik Lundqvist who can steal games.
9		12	42-29-11	7-2-1	Hard to get a read on these guys who were dynamite at the start of the year, but went into the dumper when hit by the injury bug. The key for the Flyers, like so many teams, is their goaltending. Martin Biron looked very solid late in the year.
10		7	46-29-7	4-5-1	Not crazy about the way the Devils played down the stretch, but beating the Rangers, albeit in a shootout, in Game 82 gives them hope heading into their first round subway series. Besides, any team that has Martin Brodeur in net always has a chance to win.
11		14	44-31-7	5-4-1	Giving credit where credit is due, goaltender Jose Theodore looked like the real deal as the Avs piled up wins late in the season. If the team’s aging veterans stay healthy, who knows how far this club can go?
12		20	41-32-9	6-3-1	If Barry Trotz is not named coach of the year, an investigation should be held. He lost five of his best players in a fire sale and scoring ace Steve Sullivan missed the year with an injury. Still, Trotz guided the Predators into the playoffs. That trumps anything Guy Carbonneau or Mike Babcock did.
13		10	45-30-7	3-5-2	Finishing 3-5-2 is no way to enter the playoffs. The Stars dominated Anaheim in the regular season, winning five of eight meetings, but they are moving in the wrong direction and are the underdogs in the first round.
14		16	42-30-10	5-5-0	The Flames need to quickly figure out how to translate their excellence on paper onto the ice. Jarome Iginla hit the 50-goal plateau for the second time in his career and established a career high with 98 points.
15		13	41-29-2	4-2-4	This was a very good season for the Bruins. Too bad about the opening matchup with Montreal. The Canadiens dominated Boston in the regular season and will knock them out in the first round. That said, Boston is moving in the right direction.
16		8	43-31-8	3-6-1	The trade with Carolina didn’t work, the goaltending is unreliable and the defense is weak. Other than that, the Sens should have a dandy time trying to beat Pittsburgh in the first round.
17		11	43-33-6	5-4-1	The injury to leader Rod Brind’Amour proved too costly for the Hurricanes to overcome. Great season for Eric Staal, but we’re starting to wonder about Cam Ward. Can he really carry a team?
18		18	41-35-6	6-3-1	Pretty much everyone agrees the Oilers enjoyed a successful season given the number of injuries to key veterans. Edmonton boasts plenty of good young talent. A word of advice, though. Take some of those 15 shootout wins and turn them into regulation victories next season. If they had done that this year, they likely would have made the playoffs.
19		23	40-34-8	6-3-1	The Blackhawks are back! That is not only good news for hockey fans in Chicago; it is good news for the NHL. The league is a better place when this Original Six team is good. Look for youngster Jonathan Toews to be named captain next season. He is a natural leader in the mold of Steve Yzerman.
20		19	39-31-12	6-3-1	This is Derek Roy’s team and he deserves to be named captain. Enough of this minor peewee crap of rotating captains. Hard to say what we can expect from the Sabres moving forward. The one thing we do know is they won’t pay to keep their stars. That is not a good thing and certainly isn’t fair to coach Lindy Ruff and GM Darcy Regier.
21		21	38-35-9	5-4-1	The Panthers made another late charge. Big deal. Expect changes within the organization during the off-season. While there are a few players who played to potential (Tomas Vokoun, Jay Bouwmeester and David Booth among them), there are too many softies on this team to be considered a serious threat to move up next season.
22		17	39-33-10	3-7-0	Roberto Luongo’s poor play down the stretch was more a reflection of a lack of support than anything else. Dave Nonis must get this team some scoring help or next season will be even worse.
23		22	36-35-11	4-5-1	People are suggesting the new GM must tear this team down. Tear what down? The patients run the asylum here and until that changes, the Leafs will continue to lose. Some of the kids – Jiri Tlusty, Anton Stralman and Matt Stajan – did show promise for the future.
24		24	38-37-7	2-6-2	The Coyotes made huge strides this season and that’ll put more pressure on them to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002 next year. That said, Wayne Gretzky has his team moving in the right direction and the addition of Kyle Turris full-time for next season should help.
25		28	33-36-13	4-4-2	The good news is Brad Boyes lit it up this season. The bad news is Paul Kariya disappeared. President John Davidson has done a nice job reshaping this team, but three straight seasons out of the playoffs will not sit well with the big guy. Watch for the Blues to be active in the off-season.
26		30	32-43-7	4-5-1	Dean Lombardi has done a nice job accumulating good young talent and will add to his team’s arsenal this June with a lottery pick. But it is imperative the Kings get off to a good start next year or he’ll feel the heat since he hasn’t made the playoffs in his first two seasons at the helm.
27		26	35-38-9	3-5-2	We can sit here all day and say what a nifty job Garth Snow has done as GM and how coach Ted Nolan continues to make chicken salad out of chicken doo-doo, but at the end of the day the Islanders remain a pretender and not a contender. The honeymoon period for these two guys is over and it’s time for the Isles to take a step forward.
28		27	31-42-9	2-7-1	Jeff Halpern was a wonderful addition at the trade deadline. The question is: did GM Jay Feaster make a mistake hitching his wagon to Dan Boyle as the Lightning’s marquee defenseman? Guess we’ll have six years to see about that one.
29		25	34-36-12	2-7-1	Pascal Leclaire enjoyed a breakout season and Rick Nash did his part in terms of scoring and developing into a more competent two-way forward, but it wasn’t enough to get the Blue Jackets to the dance. Make it seven years, no playoffs. Sadly, it’s hard to imagine them making it next season.
30		29	34-40-8	3-7-0	The sooner the Thrashers understand Ilya Kovalchuk will never lead them to the promised land by himself, the better off they’ll be. The Thrashers clearly missed Scott Mellanby’s leadership this season and must make a concerted effort to get somebody of his ilk in the dressing room next season.

The Hockey News 1-30 rankings of the NHL's teams will return next season. Changes in rankings reflect each team’s play from the previous seven days.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.

Comments

Georges Drouin (Posted 2008-04-10 19:02:46)
Mr. Brophy a couple of months ago I wrote a lengthy comment chastizing you and Hockey News for your difficulty to rank the Habs better than 8th. As I listen to pre-game comments from Danny Dubé on the french radio network, I see you have ranked the Canadiens 3rd. I say bravo. You have shown what I call "fair play" on the soccer pitch. It's good to hear and see. Let's see where the Habs take us from here on in. Georges Drouin

Ryan Odell (Posted 2008-04-09 04:25:38)
I'm not feeling as passionate about your Adam's Award choice, Mike. No doubt Trotzky is a fine candidate, but the -"investigation" should he not win- part seems a little bit manic. I feel that the award will go to a coach whose team highly acheived in multiple spheres of the game over the course of the season, and overwhelmed people's expectations along the way. No disrespect the Babcock, but I struggle to find the standout acheivements; a lot of coaches bring home the President's with that roster. Denis Savard, Bruce Boudreau, and ok Barry Trotzky (Ron Wilson) are my favorites this year, and in the order (admittingly, the only reason I place Boudreau second and not first is to counter for my being an absolutely elated Caps' fan and the media exposure factor. He wins my heart if nothing else).

RTF (Posted 2008-04-08 18:09:57)
Anaheim will beat Pittsburgh for a repeat Cup raising, provided: 1) they can overcome Detroit's home-ice advantage for R2 like they did last year in the CF, and 2) they can return to form for *most* of this season against San Jose (i.e. Ducks win at HP, Sharks perform better on the road). There are only three serious contenders for the Cup this year, and none of them come from the East.

OVECHKIN (Posted 2008-04-08 17:34:23)
OVECHKEN IS THE BOMB... THE BEST IN THE LEAGUE BY FAR.

Franklin Cornstalk (Posted 2008-04-08 13:23:19)
as far as cinderella teams go anyone remember the Minnesota North Stars back in 91', was it. The playoffs are a different animal and every year there are few exceptions. Mostly it is not necessarily about talent but which team (who makes it to the play-offs) is able to sustain the emotion and discipline to stay tenacious in the long haul. This years surprise winner will be the Philadelphia Flyers. Remember last year they were the worst in the league and had the one of the worst years in their noble franchises history? Koivu out at Montreal! Huet will get the big stage jitters , Boston will wish someone on their team truly was called Buckner. Detroit will repeat as proverbial busts in the first or second round. SAn Jose will hope that Thornton stays master of his domain, the crease. And Crosby won't ever feel right on that ankle till he's playing golf. It will be Anaheim and Phila with Philly in seven only because of the call ups from Portland for Anaheim, like ryan and getzlaf, and the physical play from both teams . Record this Stanley Cup! See you on Broad Street in June for the Parade!!!

Josiah Hunter (Posted 2008-04-08 12:09:39)
Am I the only one who remembers that 2 out of the past 3 playoffs have had underdogs as finalists? Dallas has more potential than Edmonton, Carolina, Tampa, or Calgary did back then and the losing streak at the end changes nothing. Am I calling a Cup win? No, San Jose will get that. But I AM calling a first-round win.

AR (Posted 2008-04-08 10:12:33)
Please do not call the Devils/Rangers rivalry a "Subway Series"! If you want to refer to mass transit, we're linked by the PATH line, Port Authority Trans Hudson; however, I prefer The Battle of the Hudson. Let's leave the Subway Series to baseball...

LP (Posted 2008-04-07 21:13:26)
Bruins-We are going to kick their ass!!!! Get under Chara 's skin and outskate them to the second round. Price is the natural we have waited for since Roy left. Our defense is strong. "Kovy" is on a mission and our team has the depth and team spirit to be Champions. Third round is the key, from there on anything goes. Out West has to be seriously considered for being a more physical play. San Jose is imposing, respect to C.Rivet. Key,...Keep the feet moving, grind in the corners, passing game needs to be sharp...Go Habs Go!!!

MIKE (Posted 2008-04-07 16:03:17)
Give Montreal their due, they won in the east where they were the only team without ANY injuries.Kovalev had a career year (which isnt saying much).all that being said would anyone take montreal in a series against any of the top 8 teams on this list? I thought so.1 round maybe.You dont like the law of averages against the bruins.Price was great down the stretch against offensively challenged teams.as good as his future looks he has yet to play in a NHL playoff game, where his big rebounds and nonchalant puck handling will cost him.great year for them no question but realistically even habs fans know deep down way too soft to win.

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