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Carter Gaddis' NHL Power Rankings

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Carter Gaddis/The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 13, 2008

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POWER RANKINGS

1. RED WINGS: By the time Chris Chelios retires in about 2025 (he turns 46 on Jan. 25), maybe someone will have figured out how to beat Detroit.

2. SENATORS: If they trade G Ray Emery (and rumors are out there), how confident can they be in the playoffs with G Martin Gerber and no safety net?

3. PENGUINS: Until G Ty Conklin came along as the reincarnation of Ken Dryden, Pittsburgh was struggling. Now? Sidney Crosby's team is the NHL's hottest.

4. DEVILS: As hot as the Penguins have been, there's New Jersey, still at the top of the Atlantic Division. New campaign motto for Jersey primary: It's the goaltending, stupid.

5. SHARKS: They're set up for a brutal three-way battle with Anaheim and Dallas for the Pacific Division title.

6. CANUCKS: If they could just beat the Sharks (four consecutive losses to San Jose), they'd crack the top five.

7. DUCKS: Very quietly, RW Corey Perry (23 goals entering the weekend) is having a breakout season.

8. CANADIENS: RW Alexei Kovalev (19 goals) hasn't scored 30-plus since 2000-01; he's on pace to do that and then some this year.

9. STARS: Games Tuesday at Anaheim and Thursday at San Jose will tell the tale for this struggling team.

10. FLAMES: Theo Fleury is the franchise leader in goals with 364. Jarome Iginla entered the weekend with 356. Think Iginla can catch him? Like, by the end of the month?

11. WILD: Who knew this team was for sale, too? Looks like former Predators owner Craig Leipold just really, really wanted out of Nashville.

12. BLUES: They're looking good now, but their season still rests on the health of the 34-year-old knees of All-Star G Manny Legace.

13. FLYERS: Few would have guessed in October that Mike Richards, not Daniel Briere, would be on the All-Star team.

14. PREDATORS: Just when they're given up for hopeless, they get on a little streak that makes you think they're a playoff team again.

15. COYOTES: No, it's not a typo; Phoenix is ranked ahead of every team in the Southeast Division. It's more an indictment of the Southeast than an endorsement of the Coyotes, though.

16. HURRICANES: There are at least 15 other teams that would compete for a Southeast title. Carolina has the good fortune to actually be in hockey's weakest division.

17. ISLANDERS: Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk has more goals (36) than this team's scoring leader has points (Mike Comrie, 33).

18. AVALANCHE: They're just having a rough time trying to stay afloat with all the injuries.

19. BRUINS: Sure, G Tim Thomas has missed some time with injuries, but shouldn't there be a place on the All-Star team for the league's leader in save percentage (.930)?

20. OILERS: Where would they be without G Mathieu Garon (13 wins, .916 save percentage, 2.40 goals-against average)?

21. BLUE JACKETS: Odd to note that even though he is an All-Star, LW Rick Nash still hasn't had a 60-point season.

22. THRASHERS: As bad as it has been, they began the weekend only four points behind Carolina for the Southeast lead.

23. CAPITALS: For Alex Ovechkin, $124 million is a lot of rubles (3.021 billion, to be exact).

24. PANTHERS: G Tomas Vokoun called out his first-year teammates in public, something C Olli Jokinen maybe should've done years ago.

25. RANGERS: It's emblematic of just how bereft of chemistry this team is when the only All-Star is not Chris Drury, not Jaromir Jagr, not Brendan Shanahan, but Scott Gomez.

26. SABRES: That outdoor game on New Year's Day seemed to put this team into a deep freeze.

27. BLACKHAWKS: With all due respect to D Duncan Keith, the NHL should have put Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews on the Western Conference All-Star team.

28. MAPLE LEAFS: It's not Mats Sundin's fault that Toronto stinks again, but moving him in a deal for top young talent might be the only way to revive this fallen franchise.

29. LIGHTNING: Every game that goes by with D Dan Boyle out of the lineup reinforces his importance to this team. He's due back soon, but it might be too late to make a difference this year.

30. KINGS: Began the weekend 15 points out of a playoff spot, but worse than that, they were eight points behind the second-worst team in the Western Conference.

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