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 |
A look at the projected lineups and pre-game interviews.
A daily roundup of Jets, Moose coverage — all the pro hockey news that matters…
Recap of the game.
Last season they finished with most points in the NHL. This season, not so much.
Marc Denis joined That's Hockey to discuss