Athletic rankings of 32 teams heading into the season

[McVespa99]

NHL season previews 2023-24: Counting down the teams from worst to first

The Athletic’s 2023-24 edition of the team season previews, a deep dive into what to expect from each team.

theathletic.com

Definitely a few headscratchers in this one

32. Sharks
31. Habs
30. Hawks
29. Ducks
28. Flyers
27. Jackets
26. Blues
25. Caps
24. Coyotes
23. Wings
22. Sabres
21. Preds
20. Kraken
19. Islanders
18. Canucks
17. Senators
16. Kings
15. Lightning
14. Jets
13. Flames
12. Pens
11. Wild
10. Panthers
9. Bruins
8. Devils
7. Knights
6. Avs
5. Leafs
4. Stars
3. Rangers
2. Oilers
1. Canes

Rangers, Flames and Jets seem way too high to me
Lightning and Kings too low
Bruins are probably too high also
Sabres up a few spots

 

[Three On Zero]

Over the past half decade, there are 5 teams that separated from the pack. Toronto is one of them. Boston and TB likely on the downswing from that group but the others likely still good bets.

I don’t think Toronto has the history or had a remarkable off season to be considered so high. They haven’t improved much to put them where they are

 

[wetcoast]

From the surface, it's a decent projection. Look at it more in tiers, not as a straight ranking:

And it's based on analytics, so sure there are going to be some flaws in the model. I think it's reasonable to expect the Devils be ahead of the Rangers, considering how last season went and even looking at this pre-season. But 3v8 makes it sound more dramatic than it is. They are ranked in the same tier.

It's not the worst list but then again I thought last season that the Bruins might have problems making the playoffs so what do I know eh?

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Canes are too low

 

[belair]

Switch the Bruins and the Kings and there's no argument from me.

 

[EMcx2]

Over the past half decade, there are 5 teams that separated from the pack. Toronto is one of them. Boston and TB likely on the downswing from that group but the others likely still good bets.

Tampa
Vegas
Colorado
Boston

I only count 4. Toronto hasn't come close to winning a cup so they haven't separated themselves from the pack.

 

[Tralfamadore]

And at 13!

What are you talking about? Leafs are at 5

Lol okay that makes way more sense. Not sure what I saw earlier.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Every time Dom's name pops up I wonder if his insatiable hatred for Drew Doughty extending to the Kings will ever expire

But every time the answer is no

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

f*** the athletic.

 

[ToDavid]

From the top down

Edmonton - Too high (should be where Toronto is)
Rangers - Too high (Should be where Vegas is)
Leafs - Too high (Should be where Jersey is)
Knights - Too low (Should be where Edmonton is)
Devils - Too low (Should be where New York is)
Vancouver - Too high (Should be where Seattle is)
Seattle - Too low (Should be where Vancouver is)

I feel like this really highlights why the ranking teams 1-32 is nearly meaningless. Each of the placements you’re disagreeing with is a gap of about 1 win.

 

[fsanford]

Every time Dom's name pops up I wonder if his insatiable hatred for Drew Doughty extending to the Kings will ever expire

But every time the answer

His twitter account seems to indicate he did not agree with where Kings ended up. (too low) There were 3 of them doing rankings.

Sean did the story on the Kings.

That said TMac could be the millstone around the Kings neck in terms of ranking

 

[Divine]

Tampa
Vegas
Colorado
Boston

I only count 4. Toronto hasn't come close to winning a cup so they haven't separated themselves from the pack.

Neither have the Canes, Oilers, or Rangers, and they're 1, 2 & 3.

 

[Jersey Girl]

3. Rangers
8. Devils

Lol what? Rangers are even slower than last year, when the devils skated them into the ground in the playoffs.

Yes this is strange. I bleed blue but I would have NJ top five and us closer to 10.

If you want to make an argument for NJ being a little lower due to possible goaltending questions I’m there for the discussion, but I don’t see any reason to have us this high.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Tampa
Vegas
Colorado
Boston

I only count 4. Toronto hasn't come close to winning a cup so they haven't separated themselves from the pack.

You even counted one of the wrong ones. I’ll give you a hint: emphasis is on regular season.

 

[HBK27]

To their credit, The Athletic ran a follow-up article that incorporated fan voting as to whether the ranking was too high or too low:

Overrated or underrated?: Where fans think we might be wrong with our NHL team projections

Fans overwhelmingly thought the Boston Bruins' point projection was off — how else did they disagree?

theathletic.com

Here's the ultimate results of the too high vs. too low splits as well as an adjusted ranking:

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

From the surface, it's a decent projection. Look at it more in tiers, not as a straight ranking:

And it's based on analytics, so sure there are going to be some flaws in the model. I think it's reasonable to expect the Devils be ahead of the Rangers, considering how last season went and even looking at this pre-season. But 3v8 makes it sound more dramatic than it is. They are ranked in the same tier.

Is this a new Blackhawks logo?

 

[BigEezyE22]

i got it for 1$ a month, then when I went to quit they gave me another year for 1$ a month. like you know why not

Why not? Because that $24 is a case of beer.

 

[HBK27]

Is this a new Blackhawks logo?

Nope - and they even use the regular logo on the rest of the site.

Guessing whoever put together the chart didn't want to "offend" anyone by using the main Blackhawks logo, which is very on brand for The Athletic.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Why not? Because that $24 is a case of beer.

if I dont go to the cottage that 24 would prob last longer then a year. lol
i only really drink at the cottage or at the bar but I also dont bring my own beer to the bar.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Nope - and they even use the regular logo on the rest of the site.

Guessing whoever put together the chart didn't want to "offend" anyone by using the main Blackhawks logo, which is very on brand for The Athletic.

Consider me offended, buddy

 

[beowulf]

Pretty bad ranking lol

 

[mphmiles]

From the top down


Rangers - Too high (Should be where Vegas is)
Leafs - Too high (Should be where Jersey is)
Devils - Too low (Should be where New York is)

The difference between these teams is literally less than two points in the projection. They're all separated by less than one win during the season.

Most of the outrage in here seems to be based on people just reading OP's list because they didn't/can't read the article. Basically, Dom's model thinks there are a handful of teams that are really, really close near the top of the league.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

From the top down

Edmonton - Too high (should be where Toronto is)
Rangers - Too high (Should be where Vegas is)
Leafs - Too high (Should be where Jersey is)
Knights - Too low (Should be where Edmonton is)
Devils - Too low (Should be where New York is)
Vancouver - Too high (Should be where Seattle is)
Seattle - Too low (Should be where Vancouver is)

Wouldn’t be 3 on 0 without complaining about the Oilers. The day they win the cup is going to be sweet, just to see how you squirm.

 

[Three On Zero]

Wouldn’t be 3 on 0 without complaining about the Oilers. The day they win the cup is going to be sweet, just to see how you squirm.

Complaining?

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Canes #1? Right. They’re quickly becoming the most overrated team in the league.