End of Season NHL Power Rankings

31. Buffalo Sabres



30. Ottawa Senators



29. Montreal Canadiens



28. Detroit Red Wings



27. Vancouver Canucks



26. Arizona Coyotes



25. New York Rangers



24. Chicago Blackhawks



23. New York Islanders



22. Edmonton Oilers



21. Calgary Flames



20. Carolina Hurricanes



19. Dallas Stars



18. St. Louis Blues



17. Colorado Avalanche



16. Florida Panthers



15. San Jose Sharks



14. Minnesota Wild



13. Los Angeles Kings



12. New Jersey Devils



11. Philadelphia Flyers



10. Columbus Blue Jackets



9. Pittsburgh Penguins



8. Anaheim Ducks



7. Vegas Golden Knights



6. Toronto Maple Leafs



5. Washington Capitals



4. Tampa Bay Lightning



3. Winnipeg Jets



2. Boston Bruins



1. Nashville Predators



Photo credit for Kyle Okposo and Torey Krug goes to http://www.nbcsports.com/. Matt Duchene and Jake Gardiner goes to https://www.tsn.ca/. Shea Weber, Frans Nielsen, Alexander Edler, Artem Anisimov, Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl, Radek Faksa, Vladimir Sobotka, Samuel Girard, Evgenii Dadonov, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mikko Koivu, Tanner Pearson, Sami Vatanen, Alexander Wennberg, Ryan Kesler, Brayden Point and Filip Forsberg goes to https://www.nhl.com/. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Chris Kreider goes to https://twitter.com/. TJ Brodie goes to https://theathletic.com/. Noah Hanifin goes to http://nhltraderumor.com/. Nolan Patrick goes to http://www.espn.com/. Jake Guentzel goes to http://www.thehockeynews.com/. Jonathan Marchessault goes to https://www.sbnation.com/. Dmitry Orlov goes to https://www.rds.ca/. Nikolaj Ehlers goes to https://www.sportsnet.ca/.

Week 4 NHL Power Rankings

31. Arizona Coyotes

30. Buffalo Sabres

29. New York Rangers

28. Montreal Canadiens

27. Edmonton Oilers



26. Detroit Redwings

25. Florida Panthers

24. San Jose Sharks

23. Boston Bruins

22. Washington Capitals



21. Carolina Hurricanes

20. Colorado Avalanche

19. Chicago Blackhawks

18. Minnesota Wild

17. Calgary Flames

16. Winnipeg Jets



15. Vancouver Canucks

14. Philadelphia Flyers

13. New York Islanders

12. Dallas Stars



11. Nashville Predators

10. Pittsburgh Penguins

9. Toronto Maple Leafs

8. Anaheim Ducks

7. Columbus Blue Jackets

6. Ottawa Senators

5. Vegas Golden Knights



4. New Jersey Devils

3. St. Louis Blues

2. Tampa Bay Lightning



1. Los Angeles Kings

Photo credit for Connor McDavid goes to http://www.sportsnet.ca/. Alex Ovechkin goes to https://www.si.com/. Blake Wheeler goes to https://sports.yahoo.com/. Jamie Benn and Nikita Kucherov goes to https://www.nhl.com/. James Neal goes to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html.

Week 1 NHL Power Rankings

31. Vegas Golden Knights

30. Colorado Avalanche

29. Vancouver Canucks

28. Detroit Red Wings

27. Florida Panthers



26. New Jersey Devils

25. Arizona Coyotes

24. Buffalo Sabres

23. New York Islanders

22. Philadelphia Flyers



21. Boston Bruins

20. Los Angeles Kings

19. St. Louis Blues

18. Montreal Canadiens

17. Winnipeg Jets



16. San Jose Sharks

15. Carolina Hurricanes

14. New York Rangers

13. Toronto Maple Leafs

12. Ottawa Senators



11. Minnesota Wild

10. Dallas Stars

9. Washington Capitals

8. Chicago Blackhawks

7. Tampa Bay Lightning



6. Columbus Blue Jackets

5. Edmonton Oilers

4. Calgary Flames

3. Anaheim Ducks

2. Nashville Predators



1. Pittsburgh Penguins

Photo credit for Aaron Ekblad, Wayne Simmonds, Craig Anderson, Nikita Kucherov and Roman Josi goes to https://www.nhl.com/. Patrik Laine goes to http://www.torontosun.com/.

Anaheim Ducks Season Preview

Coming off another successful season where the Ducks managed to reach the Western Conference Finals they are the favourites in the rising Pacific Division. The Ducks did not add much over the off season but they also managed to keep their stud defensive core intact through the expansion draft process. Anaheim is a contender for the Stanley Cup but if the veterans continue to decline their play it could be hard to beat the younger teams.

Arrivals/Departures

Arrivals: Ryan Miller, Dennis Rasmussen, Derek Grant, Steve Oleksy
Departures: Shea Theodore, Nate Thompson, Clayton Stoner, Simon Despres



Forwards:

Ryan Getzlaf is still the best player on the Ducks and he showed it the way he dominated the Flames in the first round of the playoffs with his passing and aggressiveness. Corey Perry's production took a big dip last season scoring under 20 goals for the first full season since 2007 but he should return to form. The last member of the first line will be Rickard Rakell who broke out last season scoring 33 goals. Ryan Kesler is among the best second-line centers in the NHL as he plays a great defensive game alongside sniper Jakob Silfverberg and speedster Andrew Cogliano who has yet to miss a game in his career. Every time Silfverberg had the puck in the playoffs and took a shot it felt like the puck was going in so watch for him to push for 30 goals. Antoine Vermette will center a solid third line that includes last year's trade deadline addition Patrick Eaves who the Ducks signed to an extension after a career year. The other member of the line will be Nick Ritchie who plays the Ducks style of hockey with his aggressiveness and physicality. The fourth line is full of grinders who struggle to score but keep the puck out of the net in Chris Wagner, Logan Shaw and Dennis Rasmussen. Ondrej Kase and enforcer Jared Boll will likely be the depth player while Sam Carrick could crack the roster as well.



Defenceman:

The defence remains one of the best in the NHL to match the Ducks' biggest competition in the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames. After months of trade rumours, Cam Fowler got locked up for eight more years silencing the rumours as he remains the staple point of the defence. Alongside Fowler will be Sami Vatanen who was thought to have been gone during the expansion draft but he too remains with the Ducks. Hampus Lindholm is a great possession defenceman who will continue to work alongside and improve Josh Manson. Manson has changed his game from an enforcer role to a true top-four defenceman over the past couple of years. Kevin Bieksa is getting old and may be too slow to play but he will suit up beside up-and-coming Brandon Montour who showed flashes during his stint with the team. Korbinian Holzer will be the depth defenceman while Jaycob Megna may compete for a roster spot too.



Goaltending:

John Gibson is an average starter but he is still very young for a goalie so he should continue to improve next season. If Gibson falters down the stretch or gets hurt again, the Ducks brought in Ryan Miller who should be one of the best backups in the NHL and could take the pressure off of Gibson. Miller is a proven goalie who could turn the goalie situation in Anaheim into a split playing time scenario.

Projected Lineup:

Rickard Rakell	Ryan Getzlaf	Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano	Ryan Kesler	Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie	Antoine Vermette	Patrick Eaves
Dennis Rasmussen	Logan Shaw	Chris Wagner
Ondrej Kase	Sam Carrick	Jared Boll

Cam Fowler	Sami Vatanen
Hampus Lindholm	Josh Manson
Kevin Bieksa	Brandon Montour
Jaycob Megna	Korbinian Holzer

John Gibson

Ryan Miller

Reto Berra

Top 10 Players:

10. Andrew Cogliano 

9. John Gibson 

8. Rickard Rakell

7. Sami Vatanen 

6. Jakob Silfverberg 

5. Hampus Lindholm 

4. Cam Fowler 

3. Corey Perry

2. Ryan Kesler 

1. Ryan Getzlaf 

Projected Finish: 105 Points (1st in Pacific)
Last Year: 105 Points (1st in Pacific) 

Photo credit for Ryan Miller and Cam Fowler goes to http://www.foxsports.com/. Ryan Getzlaf goes to http://www.sportsnet.ca/. Corey Perry goes to https://www.si.com/.