Eastern Conference Rankings

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(Updated - October 1, 2009)
With only two weeks remaining until the 2009-10 regular season opens, it's high time for Conference rankings. And yet, as DGB successfully pointed out in his article about NHL Predictions, an 82-game NHL season is almost impossible to predict with any sort of accuracy. So many factors are involved, and so much can change. Injuries, trades, breakouts, and slumps are all next to impossible to control for, and, unless you have an inside with all 30 teams, it's tough to know what the locker room chemistry is like around the league. With that in mind, I have decided to rank the teams in terms of classes, or tiers [...]

Each Conference is divided up into four different groups; Tier I - The Leaders, Tier II - The Contenders, Tier III - The Disruptors, and Tier IV - The Scavengers. The Leaders are teams who are well balanced, have had recent success, and are poised to lead their respective divisions. The Contenders are teams who should push for the top, but may have a few question marks to satisfy before being promoted. The Disruptors are those teams who have had solid rosters, and could upset some of the higher-ranked teams, but have a lot left to prove and will need to to fight out each other to make the post-season. As for The Scavengers, they are the teams who will try to pick up wins however they can, but will likely stay out of the Playoff picture for most of the season. So, without further ado:

Tier I - The Leaders
Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

Tier II - The Contenders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Ottawa Senators
Carolina Hurricanes

Tier III - The Disruptors
Atlanta Thrashers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Tampa Bay Lightning

Tier IV - The Scavengers
New Jersey Devils
Florida Panthers
Buffalo Sabres
New York Islanders

Not happy with your team's ranking? Let me have it in the comments section! Western Conference rankings will be up later in the week, and all of the rankings will be reviewed in depth next week, starting with the Atlantic Division.

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