This week I look at how sports books have ranked all 30 NHL squads and compared them to last year’s rankings. What’s changed?
| Rank | Team | Previous | Comment |
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | Best team in NHL last few years |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2 | Defending Champs |
| 3 | San Jose Sharks | 3 | Perennial regular season monsters |
| 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | 12 | Young players getting better |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 19 | Last year’s surprise team |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | 6 | Met expectations last year, few changes |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 11 | Pronger but questions in net |
| 8 | Calgary Flames | 13 | Bouwmeester |
| 9 | New Jersey Devils | 9 | Consistently in top 10 |
| 10 | Anaheim Ducks | 5 | Fall in rankings after disappointing season |
| 11 | Vancouver Canucks | 17 | Exceeded expectations |
| 12 | Carolina Hurricanes | 18 | Played a strong second half in ’09 |
| 13 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Failed to follow succesful ’08 campaign |
| 14 | New York Rangers | 7 | Questions on offense and defense |
| 15 | St. Louis Blues | 26 | Young, talented, strong finish to ’09 |
| 16 | Ottawa Senators | 10 | Disappointing ’09, Heatley |
| 17 | Buffalo Sabres | 20 | Unable to recreate magic of previous years |
| 18 | Dallas Stars | 8 | Biggest disappointment of ’09 |
| 19 | Edmonton Oilers | 21 | What’s changed since last year? |
| 20 | Minnesota Wild | 15 | Quietly disappointing year |
| 21 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 25 | Improve after 1st playoff birth in team history |
| 22 | Nashville Predators | 24 | What has changed? |
| 23 | Florida Panthers | 22 | Adjusted well under new coach |
| 24 | Los Angeles Kings | 30 | Improved but by how much? |
| 25 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 27 | Still building for the future |
| 26 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 14 | Think the books got this wrong last year |
| 27 | Colorado Avalanche | 16 | Suddenly rebuilding |
| 28 | Phoenix Coyotes | 23 | Team in turmoil |
| 29 | Atlanta Thrashers | 29 | The second worst team in the league…again |
| 30 | New York Islanders | 28 | The worst team in the league |
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Good insight from number 37.