iNHL Power rankings, start of 2023 EASTERN CONFERENCE
Apr 3, 2018 6:17:32 GMT -5
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Post by Ville (SJS) on Apr 3, 2018 6:17:32 GMT -5
1. Philadelphia
Philly has goalies to choose form, but they will probably go with the proven veteran in Braden Holtby. Friedman, Aguanno, Pettersson and Despres are the strong top-4 of Philly, who always are looking for good defense.
Aidan Dudas established himself as a top center last year with 73 points. Sean Couturier, the ever present, probably best 2-way center in the game is the heart and soul of the Flyers. Loaded with proven goalscoring ability in Johnson, Palmieri, Mathieu, Jaskin and DeBrusk, the Flyers seem to be the early favorite to top the east.
2. Boston
The Bruins have 24 players contracted and they are over the cap. Not quite the recipe you're looking for to be succesful long term. Ville Husso was the starter last year and will battle it out with Demchenko and Robin Lehner. Defense has Sami Vatanen, Dimitri Orlov, John Klingber, Josh Maniscalco and Jake Bean, who had a 50+ point season. Very able iNHL defense, but who will play when injuries happen?
The top-6 on offense features Barkov, Duchene, Barzal, Hischier, Yamamoto and Linus Weissbach. Talent won't be a problem for the Bruins. If they can stay injury free and somehow sign a few guys for backup, they will be up there again, fighting for the division.
3. New Jersey
Skorpik will probably be number one after good showings last season. On defense Dougie Hamilton and Hampus Lindholm are leading the way with Bode Wilde and Quinton Hughes. Top pairing is of premium quality, but the depth doesn't seem overly impressive.
Center line is extremely strong with Rubtsov, McLeod, Strome, Krebs and even Grönhagen who came over from the KHL is a center. Ostap Safin is a good goalscorer with Jason Zucker, but beside those guys not many proven wingers, but talented players with the likes of Moynihan and Papp. Surely some of the centers will play wing, so not too worried about that.
4. Carolina
The Hurricanes goalies have a combined 4 iNHL games experience. That's a black hole. On defense there is the veteran trio of Faulk, Rielly and Hanifin who are all great iNHL defensemen. Micak and a few other young defensemen compete for the remaining playing time.
One of the biggest young talents the league has seen in a while, Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov scored 44 goals last season. Joe Veleno is centering the top line, 63 points last season, his best to date. Nolan Patrick, Eeli Tolvanen, Chris Kreider, who was signed as a free agent.. ..this offense does look quite potent.
5. New York Rangers
Subban - Weyrick looks like a very solid goalie tandem for the Rangers. Nick Leddy is the last man standing of the NYR 'old guard' on defense that were together for many years. Vince Dunn, Ryan Shea, Allard and Jace Foskey all had strong seasons last year and have taken over the Rangers defense. Alexander Andersson is coming over from VAN to complete the starting 6.
On offense are the usual suspects in Ehlers, Girgensons and Hertl now reinforced with the older Svechnikov, Owen Tippett and Mark Stone. That still leaves good talent for the bottom six, so the Rangers look to build on last seasons success and they certainly are looking good.
6. Buffalo
We won't be making any predictions on the BUF goalie as it is a revolving door and whoever it is, ot will probably be sufficient. Top defensemen include Ryan McDonach, Domenico Argento, Philip Broberg, Marshall Warren and Chychrun. One of the most talented defenses in the league for sure and depth is no issue either.
Jack Eichel scores 90+ points this season, you heard it first here. Hurley, Bastian, Giroux and Giles will be looking at the other center spots with a heard of young talent behind them waiting to take over. As the Sabres like to trade away their top players, the most established wingers now are Louis-Philip Cote, Cody Glass and Robertson who all have 20+ goal iNHL seasons on their resume. Sasha Pastujov is going to make his debut and that should be interesting. Youth, as always, led by Eichel and the talented defense.
7. Columbus
Mackenzie Blackwood had a brilliant season last year and will be starting again, in a contract year. On defense the Blue Jackets lost Brandon Carlo in a cap related trade and now Jakub Zboril, Brodin, Evan Bouchard and Max LaJoie make the top-4, possibly even Juraj Rudy, who came over from the Finnish league. The top pairing is strong, after that it's somewhat open.
On offense the Jackets rely on the centers Monahan, White and Terry. On the wings Filip Ahl, Dal Colle and Farabee had 20+ goal seasons last year, despite injuries. The team needs to stay healthy and out of the penalty box to have a good season.
8. Detroit
Thatcher Demko and talented Spencer Knight will compete for the starting job, Demko was #1 last year and played very well. Madison Bowey was signed to a big contract to be the leader on the defense for the Wings. After four succesful seasons in Anaheim he is up for the task and it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers he can put up for DET. Jacob Larsson, Vaakanainen and Cale Fleury are the other established d-men. Not overly impressing after those boys. Look for 2020 7th overall pick Ryan O'Rourke to make his debut.
The Detroit 1st line will be lethal with former 1st overall pick C Ryan McLeod with superstar Patrik Laine and Grundström, Bowey providing support. Much is depending on how the other lines can help. Kiefer Bellows is probably the #2 C and Cole Cassels is a dependable veteran. DET needs some stepping up behind the 1st, but they will be close again.
9. Ottawa
The Senators had to move Ryan Murray due to cap reasons. That weakens the defense considerably. Goaltending remains good from last year, with Brizgala and Minney. Andreas Englund and Erik Karlsson form a part of the defense that would fit on pretty much any team. Matej Ilencik and Nate Allendsen are the next guys in line and who knows which players follow them on the depth chart. Despite the superstar power of EK, the Senators defense looks like a shadow of the force it was some seasons back.
On offense Ryan Johansen, Zibanejad, Duclair, Bäckström, Hall and Rizzo are the top-6, definitely enough talent there but how about the rest? Very interesting to see how the Seanators begin their defending of the cup.
10. New york Islanders
Solid starter in net for the Islanders in Mike Comrie, who posted good numbers again last season. The defense has a literally big leader in Victor Hedman who is as dominant as ever. Ryan Merkley has emerged as legit top-4 piece and Nolan Kneen and Markus Niemeläinen will probably be the others. Beside those guys it's pretty even between the two remainig spots.
John Tavares is not showing any signs of slowing down. Expect him to have a good season with the talented Josh Ho-sang on his wing. Kyle Turris was recently signed to center the 2nd line and much of the Islanders success will depend on how that goes. The 1st will produce as always, but to be successful in the east you need more than one line. Good young wingers in Lafreniere and Morand to complete the top-6.
11. Toronto
The enigmatic Maple Leafs have now missed the plaoffs twice after their cup win. Stuart Skinner was excellent on goal last season and the Leafs are looking for similar performances from him. Olli Määttä, Oliver Kylington, Pouliot and former Conn Smythe winner Ryan Murphy for the top-4 on defense. Kylington had a very good season last time out and it will be interesting to see if he can finally build on that and be a top player in this league.
Bad seasons by offensive leaders Nugent-Hopkins and Stelios Mattheos were a part of the Leafs downfall last year. The top-6 now is Nugent-Hopkins, Mattheos, Wennberg, Wise, Strome and Brendan Leipsic maybe if he can find his old form. Not quite the force like back when the won, but some good pieces still and one of the few with cap space, the Leafs have the possibility to strengthen.
12. Washington
Daccord with a .923 save pct in 60+ games last season will carry the load again and hope to not face as many shots this time around. The defense is led by Provorov and Prapavessis. KPG and Savchenko, possibly Sandin complete the top-4. Defense might need a few years still to reach it's final potential, but getting there for sure.
On offense the Capitals traded for Leon Draisaitl to lead the first line and Bo Horvat to center the second. A very solid 1-2 in this league and it will be interesting to see how Draisaitl fares away from Vancouver, where he did really well for so many years. On the wings are three 20+ goal scorers from last season, Gagne, Moreau and Groulx. The Capitals now have a solid top-6 with decent depth too.
13. Montreal
Seven seasons now with an early vacation and on the outside watching in. Hayden Hawkey was the starter last season and he posted a .911 save pct, which is acceptable. Undrafted 25-year old Ville Ruokonen was brought in from Finland to compete for the job. Top-4 players on the defense would be PK Subban, Kris Letang and Michael Brodzinski, who quite couldn't reproduce his form in his first season with the habs. Defense seems thin for iNHL standards and much is depending on the veterans and how Cale Makar will make the transition from the KHL.
Mitch Marner is the franchise player here and will again team up with Jonathan Toews and Alex Ovechkin, who were still going very strong last year. The end is growing near for these guys though, and MTL is surely looking for a breakout season from the likes of Wernblom, Barlage and Parent.
14. Pittsburgh
Solid netminder Petr Mrazek continues in goal for the Pens. Damon Severson and Joe Hicketts are the established top-4 pieces on defense. Behind them there is some young talent, but it will take a lot of growing for this defense to keep up with the potent offenses in the east. Klikorka had a strong debut season and look for him to grow his playing time for sure.
Strong 1-2 punch at center in Pavel Zacha and Alex Galchenyuk. Shinkaruk and Tkachyov will bbe among the PIT top wingers and look for Lucas Raymond to have a good season too. The Penguins shouldn't have big problems in scoring but the defensive side seems too weak for making the playoffs this year.
15. Tampa Bay
The Lightning acquired Aaron Ekblad from the cap strapped Whalers. That would make any team instantly light years better. Lightning also have Vasilievsky returning in goal, Swedes Bouramman and Cederholm on defense. Add Kenny Johnson, Casey Fitzgerald and Andrei Mironov, you'll get a very solid iNHL defense.
Anyway you look at it, the offense doesn't look good enough. Rasmus Asplund had a down year last time around, which Asplund will we see now? Even if he returns to his earlier form the offense is thin on difference makers. Simoneau had 24 goals, Couture was brought in, remains to be seen what he can bring. Behind those guys, not much in the way of proven talent.
16. Hartford
After having to trade away star players Barkov and Ekblad, not much of a chance for a succesful season, right? Right. That would kill the season for pretty much every team. There is still talent left, though. Jared McIsaac had his final breakthrough last season and will probably see even more icetime with the departure of Ekblad. Other proven talents on the defense are Welinski, Hronek and possibly Doudera. Hugo Styf who came over from Tampa will probably also get his shot.
Offense will be hoping for the likes of Sam Steel, Gignac, Poulin and Graham Knott to take over. From the old guard Nick Bjugstad remains together with Landeskog. It's more or less retooling time for the Whalers and anything close to a playoff spot would be a huge success.
Philly has goalies to choose form, but they will probably go with the proven veteran in Braden Holtby. Friedman, Aguanno, Pettersson and Despres are the strong top-4 of Philly, who always are looking for good defense.
Aidan Dudas established himself as a top center last year with 73 points. Sean Couturier, the ever present, probably best 2-way center in the game is the heart and soul of the Flyers. Loaded with proven goalscoring ability in Johnson, Palmieri, Mathieu, Jaskin and DeBrusk, the Flyers seem to be the early favorite to top the east.
2. Boston
The Bruins have 24 players contracted and they are over the cap. Not quite the recipe you're looking for to be succesful long term. Ville Husso was the starter last year and will battle it out with Demchenko and Robin Lehner. Defense has Sami Vatanen, Dimitri Orlov, John Klingber, Josh Maniscalco and Jake Bean, who had a 50+ point season. Very able iNHL defense, but who will play when injuries happen?
The top-6 on offense features Barkov, Duchene, Barzal, Hischier, Yamamoto and Linus Weissbach. Talent won't be a problem for the Bruins. If they can stay injury free and somehow sign a few guys for backup, they will be up there again, fighting for the division.
3. New Jersey
Skorpik will probably be number one after good showings last season. On defense Dougie Hamilton and Hampus Lindholm are leading the way with Bode Wilde and Quinton Hughes. Top pairing is of premium quality, but the depth doesn't seem overly impressive.
Center line is extremely strong with Rubtsov, McLeod, Strome, Krebs and even Grönhagen who came over from the KHL is a center. Ostap Safin is a good goalscorer with Jason Zucker, but beside those guys not many proven wingers, but talented players with the likes of Moynihan and Papp. Surely some of the centers will play wing, so not too worried about that.
4. Carolina
The Hurricanes goalies have a combined 4 iNHL games experience. That's a black hole. On defense there is the veteran trio of Faulk, Rielly and Hanifin who are all great iNHL defensemen. Micak and a few other young defensemen compete for the remaining playing time.
One of the biggest young talents the league has seen in a while, Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov scored 44 goals last season. Joe Veleno is centering the top line, 63 points last season, his best to date. Nolan Patrick, Eeli Tolvanen, Chris Kreider, who was signed as a free agent.. ..this offense does look quite potent.
5. New York Rangers
Subban - Weyrick looks like a very solid goalie tandem for the Rangers. Nick Leddy is the last man standing of the NYR 'old guard' on defense that were together for many years. Vince Dunn, Ryan Shea, Allard and Jace Foskey all had strong seasons last year and have taken over the Rangers defense. Alexander Andersson is coming over from VAN to complete the starting 6.
On offense are the usual suspects in Ehlers, Girgensons and Hertl now reinforced with the older Svechnikov, Owen Tippett and Mark Stone. That still leaves good talent for the bottom six, so the Rangers look to build on last seasons success and they certainly are looking good.
6. Buffalo
We won't be making any predictions on the BUF goalie as it is a revolving door and whoever it is, ot will probably be sufficient. Top defensemen include Ryan McDonach, Domenico Argento, Philip Broberg, Marshall Warren and Chychrun. One of the most talented defenses in the league for sure and depth is no issue either.
Jack Eichel scores 90+ points this season, you heard it first here. Hurley, Bastian, Giroux and Giles will be looking at the other center spots with a heard of young talent behind them waiting to take over. As the Sabres like to trade away their top players, the most established wingers now are Louis-Philip Cote, Cody Glass and Robertson who all have 20+ goal iNHL seasons on their resume. Sasha Pastujov is going to make his debut and that should be interesting. Youth, as always, led by Eichel and the talented defense.
7. Columbus
Mackenzie Blackwood had a brilliant season last year and will be starting again, in a contract year. On defense the Blue Jackets lost Brandon Carlo in a cap related trade and now Jakub Zboril, Brodin, Evan Bouchard and Max LaJoie make the top-4, possibly even Juraj Rudy, who came over from the Finnish league. The top pairing is strong, after that it's somewhat open.
On offense the Jackets rely on the centers Monahan, White and Terry. On the wings Filip Ahl, Dal Colle and Farabee had 20+ goal seasons last year, despite injuries. The team needs to stay healthy and out of the penalty box to have a good season.
8. Detroit
Thatcher Demko and talented Spencer Knight will compete for the starting job, Demko was #1 last year and played very well. Madison Bowey was signed to a big contract to be the leader on the defense for the Wings. After four succesful seasons in Anaheim he is up for the task and it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers he can put up for DET. Jacob Larsson, Vaakanainen and Cale Fleury are the other established d-men. Not overly impressing after those boys. Look for 2020 7th overall pick Ryan O'Rourke to make his debut.
The Detroit 1st line will be lethal with former 1st overall pick C Ryan McLeod with superstar Patrik Laine and Grundström, Bowey providing support. Much is depending on how the other lines can help. Kiefer Bellows is probably the #2 C and Cole Cassels is a dependable veteran. DET needs some stepping up behind the 1st, but they will be close again.
9. Ottawa
The Senators had to move Ryan Murray due to cap reasons. That weakens the defense considerably. Goaltending remains good from last year, with Brizgala and Minney. Andreas Englund and Erik Karlsson form a part of the defense that would fit on pretty much any team. Matej Ilencik and Nate Allendsen are the next guys in line and who knows which players follow them on the depth chart. Despite the superstar power of EK, the Senators defense looks like a shadow of the force it was some seasons back.
On offense Ryan Johansen, Zibanejad, Duclair, Bäckström, Hall and Rizzo are the top-6, definitely enough talent there but how about the rest? Very interesting to see how the Seanators begin their defending of the cup.
10. New york Islanders
Solid starter in net for the Islanders in Mike Comrie, who posted good numbers again last season. The defense has a literally big leader in Victor Hedman who is as dominant as ever. Ryan Merkley has emerged as legit top-4 piece and Nolan Kneen and Markus Niemeläinen will probably be the others. Beside those guys it's pretty even between the two remainig spots.
John Tavares is not showing any signs of slowing down. Expect him to have a good season with the talented Josh Ho-sang on his wing. Kyle Turris was recently signed to center the 2nd line and much of the Islanders success will depend on how that goes. The 1st will produce as always, but to be successful in the east you need more than one line. Good young wingers in Lafreniere and Morand to complete the top-6.
11. Toronto
The enigmatic Maple Leafs have now missed the plaoffs twice after their cup win. Stuart Skinner was excellent on goal last season and the Leafs are looking for similar performances from him. Olli Määttä, Oliver Kylington, Pouliot and former Conn Smythe winner Ryan Murphy for the top-4 on defense. Kylington had a very good season last time out and it will be interesting to see if he can finally build on that and be a top player in this league.
Bad seasons by offensive leaders Nugent-Hopkins and Stelios Mattheos were a part of the Leafs downfall last year. The top-6 now is Nugent-Hopkins, Mattheos, Wennberg, Wise, Strome and Brendan Leipsic maybe if he can find his old form. Not quite the force like back when the won, but some good pieces still and one of the few with cap space, the Leafs have the possibility to strengthen.
12. Washington
Daccord with a .923 save pct in 60+ games last season will carry the load again and hope to not face as many shots this time around. The defense is led by Provorov and Prapavessis. KPG and Savchenko, possibly Sandin complete the top-4. Defense might need a few years still to reach it's final potential, but getting there for sure.
On offense the Capitals traded for Leon Draisaitl to lead the first line and Bo Horvat to center the second. A very solid 1-2 in this league and it will be interesting to see how Draisaitl fares away from Vancouver, where he did really well for so many years. On the wings are three 20+ goal scorers from last season, Gagne, Moreau and Groulx. The Capitals now have a solid top-6 with decent depth too.
13. Montreal
Seven seasons now with an early vacation and on the outside watching in. Hayden Hawkey was the starter last season and he posted a .911 save pct, which is acceptable. Undrafted 25-year old Ville Ruokonen was brought in from Finland to compete for the job. Top-4 players on the defense would be PK Subban, Kris Letang and Michael Brodzinski, who quite couldn't reproduce his form in his first season with the habs. Defense seems thin for iNHL standards and much is depending on the veterans and how Cale Makar will make the transition from the KHL.
Mitch Marner is the franchise player here and will again team up with Jonathan Toews and Alex Ovechkin, who were still going very strong last year. The end is growing near for these guys though, and MTL is surely looking for a breakout season from the likes of Wernblom, Barlage and Parent.
14. Pittsburgh
Solid netminder Petr Mrazek continues in goal for the Pens. Damon Severson and Joe Hicketts are the established top-4 pieces on defense. Behind them there is some young talent, but it will take a lot of growing for this defense to keep up with the potent offenses in the east. Klikorka had a strong debut season and look for him to grow his playing time for sure.
Strong 1-2 punch at center in Pavel Zacha and Alex Galchenyuk. Shinkaruk and Tkachyov will bbe among the PIT top wingers and look for Lucas Raymond to have a good season too. The Penguins shouldn't have big problems in scoring but the defensive side seems too weak for making the playoffs this year.
15. Tampa Bay
The Lightning acquired Aaron Ekblad from the cap strapped Whalers. That would make any team instantly light years better. Lightning also have Vasilievsky returning in goal, Swedes Bouramman and Cederholm on defense. Add Kenny Johnson, Casey Fitzgerald and Andrei Mironov, you'll get a very solid iNHL defense.
Anyway you look at it, the offense doesn't look good enough. Rasmus Asplund had a down year last time around, which Asplund will we see now? Even if he returns to his earlier form the offense is thin on difference makers. Simoneau had 24 goals, Couture was brought in, remains to be seen what he can bring. Behind those guys, not much in the way of proven talent.
16. Hartford
After having to trade away star players Barkov and Ekblad, not much of a chance for a succesful season, right? Right. That would kill the season for pretty much every team. There is still talent left, though. Jared McIsaac had his final breakthrough last season and will probably see even more icetime with the departure of Ekblad. Other proven talents on the defense are Welinski, Hronek and possibly Doudera. Hugo Styf who came over from Tampa will probably also get his shot.
Offense will be hoping for the likes of Sam Steel, Gignac, Poulin and Graham Knott to take over. From the old guard Nick Bjugstad remains together with Landeskog. It's more or less retooling time for the Whalers and anything close to a playoff spot would be a huge success.