<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Though arbitator &lt;b&gt;Richard Bloch&lt;/b&gt; made &lt;b&gt;Ilya Kovalchuk&lt;/b&gt;'s ultimate destination a bit hazy as of this writing, it is possible to get a decent handle on where all 30 teams stand as summer glides toward September training camps.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;A reminder:&lt;/b&gt; These rankings are based on many factors, and not one is scientific. They're heavily influenced by taking into account expectations versus achievement and my uncannily intuitive gut calls on how each team stacks up against the rest of the Original 30. Please note that I, unlike some referees, do not have it in for your team and no homer glasses of any color were worn during the establishment of these rankings. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Want to send me a comment about the rankings or maybe a cool video clip that cries out to be shared? Scroll to the bottom of this page for my Mailbag. I read 'em all and if you're halfway civil -- or at least clever in your skewering of my decisions -- I'll try to get back to you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Biggest climb:&lt;/b&gt; Flyers (25 to 4)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Biggest fall:&lt;/b&gt; Flames (14 to 23)\t\t\tNHL Power Rankings\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1Last Week: 1\t\t\tWashington Capitals (54-15-13)Possibly the most important offseason in club history has been little more than re-signing several young components (&lt;b&gt;Eric Fehr&lt;/b&gt;, &lt;b&gt;Tomas Fleischmann&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;Jeff Schultz&lt;/b&gt;, etc.) and sweeping out the trash on the blueline to create real opportunities for &lt;b&gt;John Carlson&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;Karl Alzner&lt;/b&gt;. But honestly, what else did &lt;b&gt;George McPhee&lt;/b&gt; need to do? The Caps are loaded up and down the roster. Rather than make some regrettably overpriced free agent acquisition, he can fine tune the engine down the stretch. All things considered, it's the right approach.\t\t\t\t&amp;#160;\t\t\t\t\t2Last Week: 6\t\t\tChicago Blackhawks (52-22-8)Tough not to rank the defending Cup champs at No. 1 until you consider that just 11 members of last season's squad will be on hand for the banner-raising ceremony. GM &lt;b&gt;Stan Bowman&lt;/b&gt; saved the ship, but threw everything that wasn't nailed down overboard, including starting goalie &lt;b&gt;Antti Niemi&lt;/b&gt;. To his credit, Bowman kept the defense intact, and that should make life easier for new stopper &lt;b&gt;Marty Turco&lt;/b&gt;. But with so many forwards wearing Hello, My Name Is tags, it could take time for the offense to gel.\t\t\t\t&amp;#160;\t\t\t\t\t3Last Week: 10\t\t\tPittsburgh Penguins (47-28-7)No doubt some among the Pens' faithful are still stinging from the loss of &lt;b&gt;Sergei Gonchar&lt;/b&gt;, but the savvy signings of free agents &lt;b&gt;Paul Martin&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;Zbynek Michalek&lt;/b&gt; give the team what should be a more effective top-four. GM &lt;b&gt;Ray Shero&lt;/b&gt; is still shopping for a top-six winger (in other news, dogs make great pets!), but the Pens will hardly struggle to score without one. This looks like a very dangerous team.\t\t\t\t&amp;#160;\t\t\t\t\t4Last Week: 25\t\t\tPhiladelphia Flyers (41-35-6)The Stanley Cup finalists will continue to face questions about goaltending, but from this vantage point they look like a more formidable unit thanks to a deeper blueline (&lt;b&gt;Andrei Meszaros&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;Sean O'Donnell&lt;/b&gt; make for a dangerous third pair) and a forwards corps that includes 15 legitimate NHL skaters. If &lt;b&gt;Ville Leino&lt;/b&gt; keeps up his playoff pace and &lt;b&gt;Nikolai Zherdev&lt;/b&gt; delivers on his talent, the Flyers are a strong bet to win the East.\t\t\t\t&amp;#160;\t\t\t\t\t5Last Week: 5\t\t\tSan Jose Sharks (51-20-11)Despite all the positive spin suggesting that this year's playoff exit was a far cry from a choke job, the fact is the Sharks failed to advance out of the conference again. Someone had to pick up the tab for yet another disappointment, and &lt;b&gt;Evgeni Nabokov&lt;/b&gt; got stuck with the check. For now, &lt;b&gt;Antero Niittymaki&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;Thomas Greiss&lt;/b&gt; man the pipes. Despite strength advantages elsewhere on the roster, is anyone in San Jose really excited by that prospect?\t\t\t\t&amp;#160;\t\t\t\t\t6Last Week: 4\t\t\tVancouver Canucks (49-28-5)GM &lt;b&gt;Mike Gillis&lt;/b&gt; recognized that his blueline simply wasn't salty enough to man up against the best in the West. His bold response might have altered the balance of power in the conference. Signing free agent &lt;b&gt;Dan Hamhuis&lt;/b&gt; and swapping for &lt;b&gt;Keith Ballard&lt;/b&gt; should pay big dividends next spring. Both are reliable minute-munchers who'll help mitigate the loss of perpetually injured &lt;b&gt;Sami Salo&lt;/b&gt;. They could still use some additional scoring punch, but the Canucks are in the mix.\t\t\t\t&amp;#160;\t\t\t\t\t7Last Week: 12\t\t\tLos Angeles Kings (46-27-9)An NHL exec described them to me earlier this summer as a bona fide contender. I politely disagreed. No doubt the pieces are in place for a run long-term, but the inability to address their most pressing need (no, &lt;b&gt;Alexei Ponikarovsky&lt;/b&gt; is not a reliable top-six forward) or bring in a veteran blueliner suggests that, while they are trending up, the Kings are not quite in the same class as the big boys just yet.\t\t\t\t&amp;#160;\t\t\t\t\t8Last Week: 9\t\t\tNew Jersey Devils (48-27-7)Tough to get an accurate read on this team until the Kovalchuk situation is settled, but it's been an eventful offseason even without taking that cap-flaunting contract into consideration. The Devils repatriated &lt;b&gt;Jason Arnott&lt;/b&gt; from the Preds to solidify the middle, brought in &lt;b&gt;Anton Volchenkov&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;Henrik Tallinder&lt;/b&gt; to replace the departed &lt;b&gt;Paul Martin&lt;/b&gt;, and signed "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/12/12/offseason-rankings>