NHL Top Ten: Preseason

The preseason is officially over, It is time for the 2023-2024 NHL regular season. These are some of the best teams entering the season and who are the favorites to win and sit atop the standings throughout the year.

10.) New York Rangers (Last season: 47-22-13)

The New York Rangers are coming off a very good season, but maybe not as good as some Rangers fans would’ve hoped for. The Rangers seem to have regressed compared to the 2022 season where they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Rangers went all in last season after picking up both Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, but their Stanley Cup hopes ended in the first round against their rival New Jersey Devils. The Rangers still have a very talented roster coming into the season and have high expectations again.

9.) Tampa Bay Lightning (Last season: 46-30-6)

Coming into the season, the Tampa Bay Lighting are already dealing with the injury bug and will be missing their Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender ​​Andrei Vasilevskiy for the first two months.

The Bolts still have a very talented roster and can outscore a lot of opponents on a nightly basis.

They are looking to get through those first couple months of the season with the goaltending issues and they should be just fine.

8.) Boston Bruins (Last season: 65-12-5)

The Boston Bruins are coming off a historic season last year in the NHL where they finished with the best record in the league.

In the offseason, they lost their longtime captain Patrice Bergeron, and another big leader on the team David Krejci. This squad will be heavily reliant on their two young goalies in the pipe. It's going to be interesting to see where this Bruins team will end up in a tough Atlantic Division.

7.) Colorado Avalanche (Last season: 51-24-7)

The Colorado Avalanche were rattled with injuries last season after coming off winning the Stanley Cup in the 2022-2023 season.

They were without their Norris Trophy-winning defensemen Cale Makar and superstar forward Nathan MacKinnon. In the offseason, they made some key acquisitions at the center position such as Ryan Johansen and Ross Colton.

6.) Dallas Stars (Last season: 47-21-14)

Last season the Dallas Stars had a tremendous run for a very young and talented team. A lot of the hockey world seems to be sleeping on this Stars team.

They have a very good group of young core players at different positions and it all starts with the guy that tends the crease. If Jake Oettinger has another good regular season, the young goaltender should get his first Vezina nomination by the end of the season.

5.) Carolina Hurricanes (Last season: 52-21-9)

The Carolina Hurricanes had a terrific regular season last year and finished with 113 points, which was the most points in a very tough Metropolitan division. The Canes ran into some injury issues last year at the end of the regular season and lost one of their top scorers Andrei Svechnikov to an ACL Injury.

Over the summer the Canes acquired some key additions to their lineup such as Michael Bunting and Dmitry Orlov. If the Canes can stay healthy this season they can easily find themselves back in the Stanley Cup Finals this season with a very talented roster.

4.) Toronto Maple Leafs (Last season: 50-21-11)

After an impressive first-round playoff win for the Maple Leafs last season, they would get stunned in the next round by the worst-seeded Florida Panthers in the second round.

The Leafs still have a very good core heading into this season with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and company, but made a bunch of offseason shakeups. They signed some very gritty two-way players like Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves.

3.) Edmonton Oilers (Last season: 50-23-9)

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are arguably the best duo in the league but have not found success in the playoffs. This Oilers team revolves a lot around their dynamic offense, especially on the power play.

There are many questions surrounding this team's defense and goaltending, but if they can find some solid goaltending from Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner this team could be very dangerous once again.

2.) New Jersey Devils (Last season: 52-22-8)

New Jersey shocked a lot of people last season and dominated during the regular season and was one of the top teams in their division. They were impressive in the first round of the playoffs and beat a very talented New York Rangers team in Game 7 at home.

This Devils team is led by their youth, players like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer will be the key to success for this team again this season. They also acquired a dynamic forward in Tyler Toffoli this offseason.

1.)Vegas Golden Knights (Last season: 51-22-9)

The Vegas Golden Knights are the reigning Stanley Cup champions and will attempt to defend their title again this season, led by forwards Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault.

It won't be easy to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, but this team can certainly do so. They are incredibly talented with an explosive offense and solid defensively as well. Their goaltending is very solid as well and will have Adin Hill back in the net for another season.

Christian Holtzapple is a fourth-year student majoring in journalism, To contact him email cmh7064@psu.edu