NHL Summer Power Rankings: The case for the Bruins as a top-5 team

The dust has pretty much settled on the NHL offseason, with little remaining in the way of impact unrestricted free agents. Some notable restricted free agents still need to be signed (ahem, Jeremy Swayman) and some teams will need to clear some cap space before opening night, but none of that should dramatically alter the league’s landscape over the next couple months.

So, how do the Boston Bruins stack up right now? That was a topic we discussed on the latest Skate Pod (listen above) as we took a look around the league. Here’s my take: People are sleeping on the Bruins, especially nationally.

For starters, the Bruins currently have the 11th-best Stanley Cup odds in most sportsbooks, including Fanduel , where they’re tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning at +2000.

Eleventh? Let me remind you that the Bruins had the sixth-best record last season, made it to the final eight in the playoffs, took the eventual Cup champs to six games, and then addressed two key needs in free agency by signing an all-around, top-of-the-lineup center in Elias Lindholm and a big, physical defenseman in Nikita Zadorov.

Do oddsmakers and bettors think that the departures of Linus Ullmark and Jake DeBrusk outweigh the additions? Or do they just think that many other teams leapfrogged the Bruins?

ESPN’s post-free agency staff power rankings , published last week, are a little kinder to the Bruins. They have Boston seventh, behind (in order) the Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes.

In addition to those six, the betting odds also have the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights ahead of the Bruins.

Maybe I’m crazy, and maybe this will change as we get closer to the season, but I’m much higher on this team than even ESPN as we sit here today. I’ll put them in the top five with little hesitation. In fact, here are some way-too-early power rankings for you. I went to 13 just because that’s how many teams I think have a case to be ranked in the top 10.

1. Florida Panthers

They’re the defending champs and will be the team to beat until further notice. Losing Brandon Montour on defense and two-thirds of their bottom six up front hurts, but locking up Sam Reinhart was the best move they could make this summer, and they did that.

2. Edmonton Oilers

They took the Panthers to seven in the Cup Final and made a couple smart bets on Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner this summer. I still have some questions about the defense and goaltending, but this is a damn good team.

3. Dallas Stars

Love the forward core and the youth they have coming there. I don’t think Ilya Lyubushkin and Matt Dumba can adequately replace Chris Tanev on the blue line, though, so that’s probably an area they’ll be looking to upgrade ahead of the trade deadline again.

4. Boston Bruins

Here’s the thing: The Bruins might actually have a worse regular-season record simply because of the downgrade from Linus Ullmark to Joonas Korpisalo at backup goalie, but I firmly believe they’re better built for the playoffs, and I already thought they challenged the Panthers more in the playoffs than any other Eastern Conference team this spring. The Panthers remain the Big Bad, and the Bruins might still be a good trade deadline away from being able to knock them off, but give me Boston as the second-best team in the East. They have a strong, well-rounded defense, a top goalie, good depth up front, and they’re now better down the middle than they were last season.

5. Colorado Avalanche

If Valeri Nichushkin (Player Assistance Program) and Gabriel Landeskog (trying to return after missing two years with a serious knee injury) both play this season, slide the Avs up a couple spots. If neither plays, there are some serious holes up front and they might be lower than this. If one of the two plays, this feels just about right.

6. New York Rangers

I was never totally sold on the Rangers last season and thought they were lucky to win two games against Florida in the conference finals. I don’t like their offseason, either, as they lost some depth and didn’t do anything to improve their 5-on-5 play. There’s still some elite talent at the top of the roster, though, and Igor Shesterkin remains a great equalizer in net.

7. New Jersey Devils

I’m in on the Devils turnaround, but not to the extent of the sportsbooks that are giving them the fourth-best Cup odds. Jacob Markstrom was a huge add in net, Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon solidify the blue line, and I like what Stefan Noesen, Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar will bring up front, too.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs

It looks like the Leafs will be running it back with the “Core Four” once again, now with Craig Berube as coach. Is that the right approach? I have no idea. Probably not. But they’ll still be good. Chris Tanev is a big, necessary addition on defense, but losing Tyler Bertuzzi and not replacing him hurts up front. Anthony Stolarz should be an upgrade over Ilya Samsonov in net, but who knows if he and/or Joe Woll will finally be the answer there. In short: shrug emoji.

9. Vancouver Canucks

They lost Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to Boston and replaced them with former Bruins Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and Derek Forbort, while also swapping out a couple other depth pieces. I think it all amounts to a roughly net-neutral offseason overall, but with a bit of a downgrade on defense, for a team that took Edmonton to seven in the second round.

10. Nashville Predators

They had the splashiest offseason of anyone with the free-agent signings of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, plus an extension for goalie Juuse Saros. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they make the jump to legit Cup contenders, but I still have questions about the defense after Roman Josi and Skjei. Having Jeremy Lauzon (remember him?) play top-four minutes for a second straight season is tough. Also, they could use a second-line center and they’re old.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning

They had maybe the boldest offseason of anyone, letting franchise legend Steven Stamkos walk and shipping out a top-four defenseman in Mikhail Sergachev in order to spend big on star winger Jake Guentzel, while also bringing back Ryan McDonagh on D. They’re coming off a first-round exit in five games at the hands of the Panthers, though, and I don’t really think they got meaningfully better despite the splashiness of it all.

12. Vegas Golden Knights

Getting a full season of Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin will be nice, and this is still a strong roster on defense and down the middle. But man they lost a lot up front this offseason, led by the departures of Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson with little brought in to replace them. Vegas’ salary cap shenanigans may finally be catching up to them.

13. Carolina Hurricanes

I’m out on the Canes, at least as it relates to Cup contention. Last year felt like their best shot. They finally made an all-in trade for Jake Guentzel, and they still lost in the second round. They couldn’t re-sign Guentzel, and they also lost Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce on defense this summer. They still have to figure out the Martin Necas situation. They’re rolling it back in net, which probably won’t work. They’ll still win games in the regular season and should comfortably make the playoffs, but I have a hard time seeing a deep playoff run.