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Part 20 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 11. Ottawa 12. Minnesota 13. Colorado 14. Phoenix 15. Detroit 16. Toronto 17. Boston 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #11: Ottawa Senators Top Fws: Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek Top Ds: Erik Karlsson, Sergei Gonchar Top G: Craig Anderson Top 3 Under-23s: 1. D Erik Karlsson (22) 2. F Kyle Turris (23) 3. D Jared Cowen (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Mika Zibanejad (19) 2. F Jakob Silfverberg (20) 3. G Robin Lehner (21) 4. D Cody Ceci (18) 5. F Stefan Noesen (19) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: B Bluechip Talent: B Diversity: B Overall: B Organizational Strengths: The Sens have built a diverse group of skilled blueliners. Even with the loss of Filip Kuba (who led the team in +/- and was third on the team in points by a defenseman) they have an offensive dynamo in Erik Karlsson, a veteran offensive leader in Sergei Gonchar, a veteran shutdown defender in Chris Phillips, and a burgeoning two-way blueliner in Jared Cowen. Jason Spezza is a true number 1 up the middle and Craig Anderson is a competent, if unspectacular, option between the pipes. Organizational Weaknesses: There is a lack of proven top 6 scoring wingers and scoring forwards in general. Milan Michalek can be counted on for at least 20 goals a season, but Daniel Alfredsson isn't getting any younger, Guillaume Latendresse has played 27 games in two seasons, Colin Greening is still young and the rest of the players on the flanks are depth and role players. Depth up the middle is lacking; Kyle Turris is pencilled in as the number 2 pivot but he hasn't shook off questions about his consistency and his overall game. Prospect Strengths: Ottawa's prospect pool strength lies in a few high-quality prospects. Mika Zibanejad looks like he'll be a force up front as early as next season. Robin Lehner has been knocking on the door to the NHL. Jakob Silfverberg was one of, if not THE, best player in the SEL last season. They have at least one highly skilled prospect at all positions; new arrival Cody Ceci on defense, Silfverberg on TW, Lehner in net and Zibanejad and Stefan Noesen can play all forward positions. Prospect Weaknesses: The organization lacks depth in goal and on the wing. Lehner is the only goalie prospect in Ottawa's professional system, and recent draftees Chris Driedger and Francois Brassard are still a few years away. While they have a good number of defenders in the system, most of them (besides Ceci) pan out as depth defenders at best. The center position is deep, but many of the forward prospects are boom-or-bust, including Matt Puempel, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Nikita Filatov. Outlook: Easily one of the biggest surprise stories of the 2012 NHL season, Ottawa, a team many had thought of to be in full-on rebuilding mode, forced its way into a playoff spot and pushed the top-seeded New York Rangers to a 7th game before bowing out of the postseason. The Senators rode a hot start to start the season and looked to be right up against the Bruins' rear bumper before letting up a bit and sneaking in as an 8th seed. The team got valuable contributions from all over the roster: JAson Spezza returned to form, Erik Karlsson followed up a breakout season with an even better one, Milan Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson managed to remain healthy for the most part and they got a wave of contributions from both rookies and veterans alike. Optimism runs high in the nation's capital, and for good reason. The team still has captain Daniel Alfredsson and star center Jason Spezza. Erik Karlsson is just 22. Jared Cowen is just 21. The future faces of the franchise are all in for the long haul and still have plenty of room to improve, and they'll be supplemented over the next few years by incoming prospects such as Swedes Mika Zibanejad, Robin Lehner, and Jakob Silfverberg. The Sens will again look to compete for a playoff spot come next season. and with Bryan Murray's eye for the future, the team will look to contend in the playoffs in the near future.

Part 19 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 12. Minnesota 13. Colorado 14. Phoenix 15. Detroit 16. Toronto 17. Boston 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #12: Minnesota Wild Top Fws: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Dany Heatley Top Ds: Ryan Suter, Tom Gilbert Top G: Niklas Backstrom Top 3 Under-23s: 1. D Marco Scandella (22) 2. D Jared Spurgeon (22) 3. D Justin Falk (23) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Mikael Granlund (20) 2. F Charlie Coyle (20) 3. D Jonas Brodin (19) 4. D Mathew Dumba (18) 5. F Zack Phillips (19) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: B Bluechip Talent: A Diversity: B Overall: A Organizational Strengths: The Wild, as always seem to be the case, have great goaltending in their professional system. Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding are about as steady a 2 man tandem as you can get, and Matt Hackett is also knocking on the door. They also have something they haven't had in a while; offensive depth. With the addition of Parise to a team that already has Koivu, Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Cal Clutterbuck and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, all of a sudden the Wild's offense actually looks dangerous if left alone. Organizational Weaknesses: In comparison though, the team's defensive depth is lacking. Ryan Suter is a true blue top pairing defender and Tom Gilbert is a good second pairing option, but Falk, Spurgeon, Scandella, Steven Kampfer and Clayton Stoner make for a very inexperienced bunch. While all 5 have talent, they also make plenty of mistakes from the backend and will be focused on and exploited by other teams. Prospect Strengths: There is a case to be made that the Wild have the league's best prospect pool. Not only do they have depth throughout every skating position, they have bluechip prospects at all of them. Names like Jason Zucker, Johan Larsson, Brett Bulmer, Erik Haula, and Cody Almond offer depth and leadership up front, while John Draeger, Tyler Cuma and Nate Prosser offer depth at defense. Matt Hackett leads a solid, if unspectacular, group of goalies. Prospect Weaknesses: The goalies lack a true top flight prospect, although names like Hackett and Kuemper are not bad at all. Charlie Coyle is a bluechipper, but the Wild are somewhat thin behind him with Brett Bulmer and Carson MacMillan being the only other players of interest at his position. While Brodin, Dumba and Cuma offer strength at the top of their defense pool, the talent behind them is only borderline NHL caliber. Outlook: Minnesota got off to the hottest start in the league last year, only to fall off a cliff after injuries hit and tumble to 12th in the Western conference. The league's lowest scoring offense (you know you're screwed when Warren Peters is your second line center, no offense to him) was hit by injuries to key players such as Mikko Koivu and Devin Setoguchi, and the team ended the year on the worst 40 game stretch in the league. It was bad; even the fans had started turning apathetic towards the Wild. Then the coup occurred. When Parise and Suter joined "flyover country", it changed the team overnight. A potent group of young prospects suddenly looks even better when none of them have to immediately step up and be the star on a bad team. And just 1 and a half years ago, this pool didn't even have much in it; the Wild clearly have the most improved developmental system in the NHL after trading shrewdly, drafting well and watching their older prospects develop into potential NHL players. At the NHL level, the team finally got a hometown Minnesotan to be the face of their franchise, and he's joined by some pretty darn good players as well. For the first time in a long time, Minnesota every reason to be positive about their team's upcoming season. And they'll have a ton of reason to be optimistic about their franchise's future as well. Count the Wild among the teams who will be in the playoff mix next season.

Part 18 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 13. Colorado 14. Phoenix 15. Detroit 16. Toronto 17. Boston 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #13: Colorado Avalanche Top Fws: Paul Stastny, Ryan O'Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog Top Ds: Erik Johnson, Jan Hejda Top G: Semyon Varlamov Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Matt Duchene (21) 2. F Ryan O'Reilly (21) 3. F Gabriel Landeskog (19) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Duncan Siemens (18) 2. D Tyson Barrie (21) 3. D Cameron Gaunce (22) 4. F Mark Olver (24) 5. G Sami Aittokallio (20) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: C Bluechip Talent: D Diversity: C Overall: C Organizational Strengths: The Avs have a glut of top-9 forwards. They have good depth and skill up the middle with highly touted Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly and Paul Stastny all able to line up in a top 6 role. Greg Sherman has surrounded that potent group of young centers with a good group of physical, feisty scoring wingers in David Jones, Landeskog, Steve Downie, Jamie McGinn, PA Parenteau and Milan Hedjuk. Semyon Varlamov has had flashes of brilliance and with JS Giguere backing him up, the team is solid in net. Organizational Weaknesses: The team lacks top pairing defenders and skill and depth on the D in general. Erik Johnson and Jan Hejda make up their top pairing, but Johnson and Hejda are both more suited to a number 3 role on a team's depth charts. Beyond Stefan Elliott and Johnson, the team lacks offensively skilled defenders and puckmovers. Beyond Elliott and Ryan Wilson, who are both very mobile, the defense is relatively slow-footed. Prospect Strengths: The defense is the strong point of the developmental system. There are a couple of players of interest on the back end, all of whom bring different qualities: Tyson Barrie is an offensive force, Cameron Gaunce is more of a smooth, two-way defender and Duncan Siemens is the one-man wrecking ball on the backend. They also have an excellent group of goaltenders; the group has both depth and skill, with Kieran Millan and Kent Patterson in the NCAA, Calvin Pickard out of the Dub and Aittokallio out of Finland. Prospect Weaknesses: The team lacks ANY skill or depth on the wing, on BOTH sides. The team's centers, while skilled, are small and their best prospect, Joey Hishon, has been unable to play in over a year due to concussion issues. While Duncan Siemens and Co. are decent prospects, none of them are bluechippers. The Avs have been bringing up their top prospects over the last few years and thus the majority in the system are either not ready for the NHL or are only going to be role players at best. Outlook: The Avalanche were one of the busier teams in the NHL last year. After bringing in Landeskog and young goalie Semyon Varlamov in the offseason, they then acquired Steve Downie and Jamie McGinn during trade deadline day. The two combined for 26 points in Avs sweaters in 37 combined games, but it wasn't enough and Colorado missed the postseason for the 3rd time in 4 years. And their first round pick, 11th overall, didn't even belong to them as aresult of acquiring Varlamov. GM Greg Sherman has some tools to work with however. He's got some great young pieces up front in Matt Duchene (who looked like he was going to be an elite scorer in the NHL just a year ago), Ryan O'Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog and "veteran" Paul Stastny. Erik Johnson has struggled with inconsistency issues, but he has all the tools to be a top pairing defender in the future, if not right now. Varlamov is a young star in the making in goal. And they have more players coming up who will be a part of what Colorado hopes will be a winning team in the next few years. If everything pans out great for Colorado this year, they'll be a bubble team and in the hunt for the playoffs. What's more likely to happen is that they will miss the playoffs, and hope that they will be able to ice a competitive team in a few years' time.

Part 17 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 14. Phoenix 15. Detroit 16. Toronto 17. Boston 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #14: Phoenix Coyotes Top Fws: Shane Doan*, Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal Top Ds: Keith Yandle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson Top G: Mike Smith Top 3 Under-23s: 1. D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (21) 2. F Mikkel Boedker (22) 3. D David Rundblad (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Brandon Gormley (20) 2. D Connor Murphy (19) 3. F Andy Miele (24) 4. G Mark Visentin (20) 5. D Chris Summers (24) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: C Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: C Overall: C Organizational Strengths: The biggest key to the team's success is the defensive core. The Coyotes own a group of highly skilled and diverse defenders, led by a young group of still-improving defensemen in Oliver Ekman-Larsson and David Rundblad. Keith Yandle is one of the best puckmoving defenders in the game; overall, their defenders boast a solid mix of speed, skill, grit and toughness. Mike Smith had a breakout year last season and will look to improve again this year. Organizational Weaknesses: The team lack a true high-caliber offensive player. The group of centers, while not bad overall, is not very skilled and lacks a player who can put up points on a regular basis. With the departure of Ray Whitney (and potentially Shane Doan as well), the Yotes look very weak in terms of scoring wingers beyond Radim Vrbata. Mike Smith is a good goaltender but he isn't elite, although with the kind of game Phoenix plays they don't need him to be. Prospect Strengths: Even with the graduation of two highly skilled defensemen in the aforementioned Larsson and Rundblad, the pool still has one of the best group of defenders in any team's developmental system. Adding the group of new draftees such as James Melindy to a group already composed of names like Brandon Gormley, Connor Murphy and Michael Stone can only be a positive for the Coyotes. They also have an intriguing group of goalies, with Canadian WJC candidates in Louis Domingue and Mark Visentin. Prospect Weaknesses: Just like their professional team, the Coyotes' system lacks potential top caliber point-producers up front. Andy Miele is a good prospect, but he's part of not even a handful of center prospects, let alone NHL-caliber centers. While Phoenix has depth on the wings, none of the prospects there can be considered high-quality either. Most of the highly skilled players, such as Brendan Shinnimin, are small while the prospects with size, such as Phil Lane, are lacking in skill. Outlook: Phoenix was able to do something this past season that even its previous incarnation hadn't been able to manage: piece together a deep playoff run. While the run ended with a crushing loss to the Kings, who were on a run for the ages themselves, the season can be considered a major success and could be the breaking point where the team establishes itself as a player in the hotly contested Western Conference. It's hard to find fault in the team thanks to one of the best coaching staffs in the league. The team lacks that sexy scoring type player and don't have a true centerpiece to their team, but what it lacks in appeal it more than makes up for in terms of productivity. With Dave Tippett running the show, the team doesn't need a star to put together a team. With a group of prospects that will offer even more assets for Don Maloney and Tippett to work with, there is a lot of promise for the team. The Coyotes will likely be on the bubble again this year. Walking across the playoff line is where the team usually finds itself, but they have a lot of potential moving forwards.

Part 16 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 15. Detroit 16. Toronto 17. Boston 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #15: Detroit Red Wings Top Fws: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula Top Ds: Niklas Kronwall, Ian White Top G: Jimmy Howard Top 3 Under-23s: N/A Top 5 Prospects 1. D Brendan Smith (23) 2. F Gustav Nyquist (22) 3. F Calle Jarnkrok (20) 4. F Tomas Tatar (21) 5. F Tomas Jurco (19) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: B Bluechip Talent: B Diversity: B Overall: B Organizational Strengths: The Wings boast a group of highly skilled and versatile forwards. Datsyuk and Zetterberg provide a real strong one-two punch up the middle, and they're flanked by the likes of Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Todd Bertuzzi, Mikael Samuelsson, and Dan Cleary. Jimmy Howard is at the forefront of their defense; after what seems like forever, he's developed into a bona fide starting goalie. Organizational Weaknesses: The defense, an area of strength not so long ago, now looks pretty thin. The Wings, who've lost Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart, and Nicklas Lidstrom from the core of their championship defense, are relying on a top 6 of Kronwall, White, Kyle Quincey, star rookie Brendan Smith, Jonathan Ericsson, and Jakub Kindl. Not the most inspiring of groups; Quincey has been dogged by consistency issues, Kindl has been disappointing in his professional career to date, Ericsson took a step back in his play last year and Smith is still learning the NHL game. Prospect Strengths: The Detroit Red Wings have one of the deepest groups of forward prospects, if not THE deepest, in the league. With names like Tatar, Nyquist, Pulkkinen, Jurco, Jarnkrok and Frk, the Wings can take their time and develop these prospects to their full potential. Smith leads a decent group of defenders in Detroit, with Ryan Sproul, Xavier Ouellet, and Adam Almqvist all figuring to be a part of future Red Wings incarnations. Prospect Weaknesses: If there's a single area of concern, it's that the goaltending lacks a top tier prospect, although there is some depth with Petr Mrazek, Jake Paterson, Jordan Pearce and Thomas McCollum. The defense and center positions aren't quite as stacked with strong prospects as the wing position, although as a whole the depth is just fine. Some center prospects like Landon Ferraro have tailed off and that has left Jarnkrok as the only skilled center in the system. Outlook: The Red Wings are entering uncharted territory. For years, the Wings were blessed with the likes of leaders and star players such as Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov, Dominik Hasek, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larianov, and Nicklas Lidstrom. That era officially came to an end after Lidstrom's retirement, and that has left the Wings with one of the largest holes they've ever had to fill in the history of their franchise. With him, the Wings were always capable to being a contending team, but that security blanket is gone. The Wings aren't trying to make up for that loss without some key assets, however. The team, as per usual, has built a prosperous farm system full of mid-to-late round picks. They also have something they haven't had in a long time; plenty of cap space. While free agency hasn't worked out for them yet, the Wings are capable of making moves to shore up their team, and the prospects that will be making the jump to the NHL in the near future will be NHL-ripe and ready to contribute. The Wings will likely find themselves in an unusual situation next year: that of a bubble team among the group of 6 or 7 in the playoff dogfight. While it may take a bit of time for the Wings to build up their team into a powerhouse again, the future looks promising, if somewhat foggy.

Part 15 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Halfway through! Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 16. Toronto 17. Boston 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #16: Toronto Maple Leafs Top Fws: Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Mikhail Grabovski Top Ds: Dion Phaneuf, John-Michael Liles Top G: James Reimer Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F James van Riemsdyk (23) 2. D Jake Gardiner (22) 3. F Nazem Kadri (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Morgan Rielly (18) 2. F Joe Colborne (22) 3. F Carter Ashton (21) 4. D Stuart Percy (19) 5. D Matt Finn (18) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: C Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: C Overall: C Organizational Strengths: The Leafs have a promising group of forwards, led by wingers Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. They're joined by players who offer some depth behind them in Clarke MacArthur, Nikolai Kulemin, and Matt Frattin. The defense, while lacking in top pairing, high-caliber players, has 6 NHL caliber blueliners, including young stud Jake Gardiner. Organizational Weaknesses: While the team has depth down the middle, none of the centermen are true number 1s. The defense is either slow, soft or makes poor on-ice decisions, sometimes on the same night. The Leafs are currently relying on James Reimer in net, but he isn't a sure thing and is not yet of starting quality. Inconsistency among all players is a major issue. Prospect Strengths: The Leafs have amassed a decent group of young prospects. The defense has a couple of high-quality blueliners in Rielly, 2011 first rounder Stuart Percy, and 2012 second rounder Matt Finn. Up front, the team has a few wingers of note in Biggs, Brad Ross and Carter Ashton. The goaltending prospect pool is deep. The Leafs overall have a few prospects at every position that possess good pro potential. Prospect Weaknesses: Morgan Rielly looks like a potential diamond in the rough, but beyond him none of the prospects are likely to become top-line players anytime soon. The team's goaltending prospects do not figure to be high quality players and are unlikely to amount to anything more than a backup netminder. Most of the high-quality prospects have become NHL regulars and the ones that aren't seemed to have hit snags in their development. Outlook: The Leafs are the only team to have not made the playoffs in any year after the NHL's work stoppage. Despite the best interests and attempts of Brian Burke, many believe that his head may be on the chopping blocks if his team cannot find a way to make the playoffs next season. A combination of poor goaltending, brash words and seemingly insurmountable mountains of bad luck have conspired to relegate his team to the NHL's doormats. That isn't to say that he hasn't done anything right. The team has a bona fide scorer in Phil Kessel (whether he's a franchise forward or not is another story), an apparent linchpin in Dion Phaneuf on defense (if Phaneuf can ever fix his habit of on-ice brain cramps) and he's surrounded them with a cast of players that, while not fantastic, should help keep the team competitive. The prospect pool has been rebuilt and the team has seen young players such as Carl Gunnarsson come up and flourish in a Leafs sweater. The Leafs, for whatever reason, have been unable to coax a winning season out of its team. Even though they'll be in the playoff mix next season, it's going to take a lot of things going right for the team to make the playoffs, whether it be next year or even beyond that.

Part 14 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 17. Boston 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #17: Boston Bruins Top Fws: Tyler Seguin, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron Top Ds: Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg Top G: Tuukka Rask Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Tyler Seguin (20) 2. F Jordan Caron (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Doug Hamilton (19) 2. F Alex Khokhlachev (19) 3. F Jared Knight (20) 4. F Ryan Spooner (20) 5. F Max Sauve (22) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: B Diversity: D Overall: C Organizational Strengths: The team has a glut of depth up front. Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Rich Peverley, and Chris Kelly make up what is arguably the deepest group of NHL centermen in the league; guys like Tyler Seguin and Greg Campbell are natural centers as well and fill in whenever they can. Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and Nathan Horton round out what is on paper a strong group of wingers. Zdeno Chara is still a Norris Trophy contender at 35. Organizational Weaknesses: Not much. The defense lacks a high caliber player to fill in some of Chara's minutes; the backend is mostly a group of role players led by one elite, and large, superstar defenseman. While Ference, Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk are serviceable players to be sure, none of them are top pairing defenders. Beyond Chara, the defense lacks a puckmoving player capable of putting up offensive numbers. Prospect Strengths: Doug Hamilton is the best defensive prospect in the world right now and offers potentially a jolt of energy and offense along the Bs' blueline next season. He's follwed by a solid, if unspectacular, group of defenders that have the potential to develop into NHL contributors. The Bruins also have a couple of promising forward prospects in Jared Knight, Ryan Spooner and Alex Khokhlachev. Prospect Weaknesses: The Bruins lack depth at the wing positions. While Malcolm Subban is a top notch goaltending prospect, the rest of the goalies in the pool are average at best and there is no real depth behind Subban. The center position lacks skill and depth after Max Sauve. Alex Khokhlachev has let it be known that he'll return to Europe if he doesn't make the NHL team, and there's no guarantee he's coming back. Beyond Dougie Hamilton, there isn't another elite prospect in the organization. Outlook: The Bruins were the best team in the league up until February. The reigning Cup champs seemed to hit a snag after the big game against Vancouver and were never really able to regain their groove, and ended up dropping out of the postseason in the first round to the Washington Capitals. During that amazing run however, they demonstrated what made them the Cup winners of 2011; they were big, fast, skilled, and absolutely dominated in the corners and on the cycle. The Bruins clearly have what it takes to win another Cup. Most of the cast of players during their Cup run remain on the team. Tyler Seguin looks like he's gong to be an elite forward sooner rather than later. Tuukka Rask will get a chance to prove himself after Tim Thomas decided to take a year off from playing hockey. With most of the core players signed beyond this season, they don't really need much help from their prospect pool at this point. Boston will be looking to improve on their focus in anticipation of the playoffs and will be competing for one of the top 4 slots in the Eastern conference playoff race. They should remain among the elite teams for at least the coming season.

Part 13 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 18. Washington 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #18: Washington Capitals Top Fws: Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Ribeiro Top Ds: John Carlson, Mike Green Top G: Braden Holtby Top 3 Under-23s: 1. D John Carlson (22) 2. F Marcus Johansson (21) 3. D Karl Alzner (23) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Evgeni Kuznetsov (20) 2. F Filip Forsberg (18) 3. F Stanislav Galiev (20) 4. F Thomas Wilson (18) 5. G Philipp Grubauer (20) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: F Bluechip Talent: B Diversity: D Overall: D Organizational Strengths: The Caps have built a highly skilled team up the middle. A top 2 of Backstrom and Ribeiro is a lot better than what most teams have on just their first line alone. Johansson and Brooks Laich can all play center as well and there's depth behind them with grinders like Matt Hendricks and Jay Beagle. The defense is deep and talented with 8 NHL caliber defensemen, although names like Mike Green and Roman Hamrlik have not played up to par due to injuries. Organizational Weaknesses: Beyond Alex Ovechkin, the Caps lack that top line winger and scoring wingers in general (although the converted Johansson and Laich can fill a top 6 role). The two goalies are still raw and inexperienced, and have suffered bouts of inconsistency. The biggest problem is that their top players have not been consistent: Ovechkin has gone from the league's deadliest scoring machine to a less-than PPG player, Green has not been able to develop anything substantial after 2 fantastic years, and depth players like Joel Ward and Jeff Schultz have been disappointing. Prospect Strengths: The Caps have two of the best young prospects in the entire NHL with Filip Forsberg and Yevgeni Kuznetsov. In general, they've managed to find some decent prospects on the wings, including bruiser Tom Wilson, slick playmaker Stanislav Galiev and small forward Chandler Stephenson. There's depth at the goaltending position, with Grubauer, Steffen Soberg, and Brandon Anderson all waiting in the wings. Prospect Weaknesses: There is really no NHL caliber talent anywhere after the first few prospects. Most of the team's prospects max out at the AHL level. Since most of the team's best prospects have already hit the NHL and the Caps have traded away valuable picks for players that could help them now, the development system is completely drained. To compound that fact, Yevgeni Kuznetsov, arguably the top player in the world outside of North America not playing in the NHL, has decided to stay in Russia for at least 2 more years. Outlook: The Capitals have been one of the better teams in the NHL for a few seasons now. Last year, after GM George McPhee signed names like Joel Ward and Tomas Vokoun to fill some big roles on the team, there was a lot of optimism to start the year. However, after a string of losses that threatened to knock the Caps out of postseason contention, McPhee decided to make a change behind the bench and brought in Dale Hunter. While he managed to get the Caps into the playoffs and Game 7 of the second round, the year ended with Washington failing to make a deep playoff run. There is still time for the Caps to make a push. If Ovechkin can get back into something resembling the tour de force he was for 5 seasons, there is definitely reason to say the Caps are a contender. And the team is young; Marcus Johansson, Dmitry Orlov, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, and Braden Holtby are already key contributors and will continue to improve as they get older. The Caps, facing weaker competition than they might have if they were located in the West, are likely to make the playoffs again next season. They'll have to learn to remain consistent in order to conserve their energy for the postseason.

Part 12 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 19. Winnipeg 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #19: Winnipeg Jets Top Fws: Evander Kane*, Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd Top Ds: Tobias Enstrom, Dustin Byfuglien Top G: Ondrej Pavelec Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Evander Kane (21) 2. D Zach Bogosian (22) 3. F Alexander Burmistrov (20) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Mark Scheifele (19) 2. F Carl Klingberg (21) 3. D Jacob Trouba (18) 4. D Paul Postma (23) 5. D Zach Yuen (19) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: C Overall: C Organizational Strengths: The core of the team is young and talented with most of its best players all well within their best-before dates. The team boasts a group of forwards that can get the job done; Kane and Wheeler are the key cogs but names like Olli Jokinen, Bryan Little, Nik Antropov, and Burmistrov add depth and skill to the top 3 lines. Byfuglien, Enstrom and Zach Bogosian form a potent 1-2-3 on the backend and Ondrej Pavelec looks like he's just getting started with his ascension into elite status. Organizational Weaknesses: While the Jets have 3 solid anchors at the top of their defense, the trade of top 4 defender Johnny Oduya has left the team a little thin behind them; the defense could overall use a little more grit and toughness. Up front, the Jets lack a go-to-player (although Kane and Wheeler have both shown promise). Ondrej Pavelec is solid but he has no proven backup behind him. Prospect Strengths: The defense position has a couple of notable prospects, each with different attributes: Jacob Trouba is a hard-nosed defender, Paul Postma is a PP QB, and Zach Yuen is a smooth-skating two-way blueliner. Mark Scheifele is a top-quality prospect; he's part of a group of forwards that mixes size with various levels of skill, with Klingberg, Brassard and Lowry chief among them. The forwards group in general has quite a bit of overall grit. Prospect Weaknesses: Beyond Mark Scheifele, there isn't any player in the system you would consider to be a top-notch prospect. There's also a lack in potential top 9 skilled forwards in general, which is compounded by the number of players that have hit a wall in the former Thrashers' organization. On the back end, they lack a true high-caliber player and depth behind the top 3 or 4 prospects. The goaltending prospects in the organization are not high-quality. Outlook: There's a case to be made that the Jets' previous incarnation was arguably the worst-run franchise in the NHL since the turn of the new millennium. And the Jets followed a similar seasonal path as the Thrashers did, looking as if they could be a playoff team right up until gut-check time, where they bowed out of the postseason race and ended up finishing 11th in the East. The team, playing in front of the best home crowds in the league, ended up losing out on the postseason race due to inconsistency among depth names such as Nik Antropov and Ron Hainsey. But there is reason to be optimistic again this season. Evander Kane looks like he'll be an NHL star for a long time, Blake Wheeler broke out despite just 17 goals, Zach Bogosian seemed to finally be living up to the hype of his 3rd overall selection, and Ondrej Pavelec was one of the few things keeping the team competitive. And with the annual "Our young guns will improve" in Alexander Burmistrov, Paul Postma and Mark Scheifele, the Jets look like they could be a player in the East if everything works out alright in Winnipeg. The Jets will hope to build off of a box office success in their first season with playoff success in the second. While nothing is a sure bet in the NHL, the Jets look to be near the top of the teams fighting for the last few playoff berths in the East.

Part 11 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Already a third of the way through! Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 20. Tampa Bay 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #20: Tampa Bay Lightning Top Fws: Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier Top Ds: Victor Hedman, Matt Carle Top G: Mathieu Garon Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Steven Stamkos (22) 2. D Victor Hedman (21) 3. F Dana Tyrell (23) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Vladislav Namestnikov (19) 2. F Richard Panik (21) 3. G Andrei Vasilevski (18) 4. D Mark Barberio (22) 5. D Slater Koekkoek (18) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: C Overall: C Organizational Strengths: Quite simply, the teams is run on Steven Stamkos. With him in the folds the team has a chance to win every night just based on his offensive abilities alone; no one in the league is a more deadly player at the hash marks and in the slot. Lecavalier is a good insurance policy behind Stamkos, St. Louis is still one of the premier wingers in the league and the team has depth at the wing with Ryan Malone, Brett Connolly and Teddy Purcell. Organizational Weaknesses: Obviously the largest area of concern is the lack of a number 1 goalie at the NHL level. Anders Lindback and Mathieu Garon are serviceable to be sure, but they shouldn't be relied upon as a goaltending tandem for a playoff team. Victor Hedman is surrounded by a cast of average defenders, and the Lightning in general lack a true top pairing defenseman. Their depth on offense is also pretty thin. Prospect Strengths: The Bolts have a lot of depth in goal and with the drafting of top prospect Andrei Vasilevski, they finally have a bluechip goaltending prospect to round out the position. There are a few interesting Russian pieces up front in Vlad Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, and Nikita Gusev, to go along with a couple of small-but-highly skilled forwards in Cory Conacher, Matthew Peca and Tyler Johnson. Prospect Weaknesses: Overall depth in the organization's prospect pool is thin. Besides the goaltending position, the team has a few players with potential at every position, but it doesn't go much deeper than 1 or 2. Most of the organization's best forward prospects are 6 feet or lower; only Richard Panik can be considered big at 6'2". but he's also enigmatic in his play. Koekkoek, Barberio and Radko Gudas look like potential NHLers but the talent level on defense drops off after them. Outlook: The Lightning, coming a surprise run to the Eastern Conference finals, looked to build on that success by taking another step forward. The hockey gods, however, had other plans. There were a lot of risks associated with the Bolts' team blueprints, none larger than having the Chelios of his position, Dwayne Roloson, as their starting netminder. And make no mistakes about it; the decision was a disaster and the Lightning flopped their way to 21st place in the NHL. That being said, there is reason for optimism. Steven Stamkos is the kind of franchise cornerstone a team builds around, Victor Hedman is still developing and has the potential to be that number 1 defender, and names like Brett Connolly and Dana Tyrell will be among the future stars of the Florida franchise. However, they don't have a lot of time to develop into bigtime players; Lecavalier and St. Louis, the two remaining guards of the Lightning's championship run, aren't getting any younger and will need to be replaced eventually. It's unlikely with their current personnel that the Bolts have what it takes to be a contender now, but with the continued development of their prospects the Bolts will be looking at potential long-term success.

Part 10 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Already a third of the way through! Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 21. Carolina 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #21: Carolina Hurricanes Top Fws: Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner Top Ds: Joni Pitkanen, Jamie McBain Top G: Cam Ward Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Jeff Skinner (20) 2. F Jordan Staal (23)*(This one is kinda unfair, but he really doesn't turn 24 3. D Justin Faulk (20) until September and that's still 2 months away) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Ryan Murphy (19) 2. F Zac Dalpe (22) 3. F Victor Rask (19) 4. D Danny Biega (20) 5. D Bobby Sanguinetti (24) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: D Overall: D Organizational Strengths: They have accrued some highly skilled players up front. Eric and Jordan Staal make for a strong 1-2 punch up the middle while Skinner, Tuomo Ruutu, Jussi Jokinen and Alex Semin fill out what is on paper a very capable top 6. The Canes also have a solid group of defensemen and Cam Ward is a top goalie in the NHL. Organizational Weaknesses: Up front, the team lacks depth on its bottom 6 forward lines. While the Canes have two solid scoring lines, that benefit is mitigated somewhat by the uneven seasons they all had last year, and beyond Eric Staal none of the otehr forwards can be relied upon as a true top flight scorer. Joni Pitkanen is a solid top pairing defender but the rest of the cast is more suited to a 2nd pairing role (or lower). Prospect Strengths: Quite simply, Ryan Murphy is the jewel of the whole pool. An offensive dynamo not seen in the OHL since Ryan Ellis, Murphy leads a group of talented defenders in the Canes' development system. They have a few high-caliber players at the center position; Victor Rask made a seamless adjustment to North American hockey and Zac Dalpe has been plying his trade in the AHL. Prospect Weaknesses: They are weak in net in terms of both talent and depth, even with the two new prospects from this year's draft. The Hurricanes also lack in skilled players at the wing positions, particularly on the right side. While they have a few defenders who look like they'll be NHL caliber players, they don't really have a lot of depth at the position either. Outlook: Carolina has been middling beyond a surprise run to the Conference finals in 2009. Even though they've got two franchise cornerstones in Eric Staal and Cam Ward, the team has not been able to find any lasting success in the post-lockout era. Despite this, they've done very well with the development of many of their prospects, with names like McBain, Skinner, Faulk and the now-departed Brandon Sutter all playing key roles on their NHL squad. In an attempt to find some support up the middle, the Canes managed to acquire Jordan Staal. While Jordan Staal, a former second overall pick, is a skilled player, it's unlikely he'll turn around what ails the Canes. And for a team that has missed the playoffs each of the past 3 seasons, and 5 of the last 7, the team's prospect pool isn't as strong as it could be. The Canes will likely be among the teams fighting in the East for a playoff spot. However, their future remains cloudy at the moment.

Part 9 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 22. Los Angeles 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #22: Los Angeles Kings Top Fws: Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Mike Richards Top Ds: Drew Doughty, Willie Mitchell Top G: Jonathan Quick Top 3 Under-23s: 1. D Drew Doughty (22) 2. D Slava Voynov (22) 3. F Kyle Clifford (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Tyler Toffoli (20) 2. D Derek Forbort (20) 3. F Nick Shore (19) 4. D Jake Muzzin (23) 5. D Nicolas Deslauriers (21) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: D Diversity: C Overall: D Organizational Strengths: The Kings possess a group of forwards that perfectly blend grit and toughness with high-end skill. Kopitar has grown into one of the premier players at his position and he is followed by one of the toughest group of centers in the league with Richards, Jarret Stoll and Colin Fraser lining up behind him. Jonathan Quick is developing into a franchise tender and Drew Doughty is one of the top defensemen in the world, meaning the Kings have one of the best players at each respective position. Organizational Weaknesses: Behind Doughty, the defense is a little thin (albeit serviceable). They lack another major puckmoving blueliner on the backend after the trade of Jack Johnson (although Slava Voynov looks to be growing into the role). Willie Mitchell and Rob Scuderi are not getting any younger. Prospect Strengths: The goaltending pipeline remains as deep as ever with Chris Gibson leading the charge. The Kings also have some depth up front with Tyler Toffoli leading a skilled group of somewhat diminutive scorers in Brandon Kozun, Jordan Weal and Linden Vey. The defense position has some decent prospects as well, and they've got a couple of players with potential at the NCAA level in Nick Shore and Derek Forbort. Prospect Weaknesses: Most of the high quality prospects in the Kings' system have already graduated to the big club, and even some of the lesser prospects as well. Andrei Loktionov, Slava Voynov, Dwight King and Jordan Nolan look to be in for the long haul and the Kings have not yet been able to replace the players in the system. Due to trades and postseason runs the Kings lack bluechip prospects in the system. Outlook: The reigning Stanley Cup Champions crushed just about everybody on their way to the franchise's first Stanley Cup. The Kings relied on a core of four homegrown talents in Kopitar, Doughty, captain Dustin Brown, and all-world goalie Jonathan Quick, supplemented by some key acquisitions through trade and free agency in Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Willie Mitchell, Justin Williams and Dustin Penner to bring the Cup to LA. While the franchise's prospect cupboards are thin, they have a group of young players at the NHL level which minimizes the need for young players in their development system. Dean Lombardi has shown an ability to find key complementary pieces for his team's pillars in Kopitar, Doughty and Quick. Given the fact that the Kings have locked up all of their players for at least the upcoming season, though, it doesn't seem like he'll need to make many moves to retain his team's status as a top team in the NHL. The Kings look like they've been built to win for the next few years and possibly the future as well. The Kings should remain among the top 8 in the West and will get a chance to show this season whether that dominating postseason run was an aberration or a sign of things to come.

Part 8 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 23. Philadelphia 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #23: Philadelphia Flyers Top Fws: Claude Giroux, Daniel Briere, Scott Hartnell Top Ds: Chris Pronger*, Kimmo Timonen Top G: Ilya Bryzgalov Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Wayne Simmonds (23) 2. F Jakub Voracek (23) 3. F Sean Couturier (19) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Nick Cousins (19) 2. F Eric Wellwood (22) 3. F Scott Laughton (18) 4. D Brandon Manning (22) 5. F Ben Holmstrom (25) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: C Bluechip Talent: D Diversity: D Overall: D Organizational Strengths: The amount of young talent they have on their current NHL roster is outstanding. Claude Giroux looks like he’ll be a franchise cornerstone for years to come (and is still just 24), Sean Couturier was one of the best rookies to play in the NHL last year and Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek are not yet past 23. Matt Read was a surprise last year and is just turning 25, and the Flyers have seen players like Erik Gustafsson and Marc-Andre Bourdon come up and hold their own on the backend. Organizational Weaknesses: Chris Pronger looks like he’ll be on the IR for a while, which is a devastating loss for the Flyers. Kimmo Timonen is getting up in years. When healthy the backend is one of the best from top to bottom but their best contributors are aging and they lack a true top pairing defenseman after the aforementioned Pronger and Timonen. Ilya Bryzgalov was spotty last year for the Flyers and without any help coming from within the organization the Flyers will have to hope that his next season will be much improved. Prospect Strengths: The Flyers are not lacking in grinding, two-way forwards. Tye McGinn, Scott Laughton, Eric Wellwood and Mike Testwuide all project to be bottom 6 contributors. They also have a few boom-or-bust prospects in Nick Cousins, Marcel Noebels and Brandon Manning, who all look to be potential contributors inside a team’s top 9 or top 4. Ben Holmstrom and Tom Sestito offer some sandpaper and toughness into the forward corps and there is some depth behind the D in Ricard Blidstrand, Blake Kessel and Colin Suellentrop. Prospect Weaknesses: There is no gamebreaking talent anywhere in their prospect ranks. For a team that has perennially struggled in net, they lack goaltending talent. There is also little in the way of true prospects at any of the forward positions. Their best young players have already hit the NHL ranks and because of that the cupboards are the barest in the league. Outlook: Paul Holmgren, he of the "Balls of Iron" himself, has crafted a skilled contender in Philadelphia. If there's one thing that can be said in Philly, it's that every year they are expected to contend for the Cup and if they don't, well, Holmgren is not afraid of making headlines. With their perennial playoff aspirations, the Flyers have been willing to trade high quality picks for immediate help, resulting in a depleted pool of prospects. However, that has not resulted in any problem at the NHL level. With the two big trades of last offseason, Holmgren managed to acquire 4 highly regarded young players in Simmonds, Voracek, Couturier and former top prospect Brayden Schenn. Adding these 4 players to an already potent group of 20 somethings such as Giroux, Andrej Meszaros, Braydon Coburn and the now-departed James van Riemsdyk allowed the Flyers to remain competitive while also getting younger and faster. While names like Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell are getting up there in age, the core group of players are all still just heading into their primes. The Flyers should remain a playoff contender next season and should be well-off in the future....at least for now.

Part 7 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 24. Nashville 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #24: Nashville Predators Top Fws: Patric Hornqvist, Martin Erat, Mike Fisher Top Ds: Shea Weber, Kevin Klein Top G: Pekka Rinne Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Colin Wilson (22) 2. F Craig Smith (22) 3. D Ryan Ellis (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Austin Watson (20) 2. F Pontus Aberg (18) 3. F Michael Latta (21) 4. F Zach Budish (21) 5. F Taylor Beck (21) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: D Diversity: C Overall: D Organizational Strengths: Character oozes out of their players in droves. While they may be lacking in overall talent, Nashville possesses a ton of character forwards and depth up front. While none of them are a threat to crack 70 points anytime soon the Preds can roll 4 lines at opposing teams with impunity. Pekka Rinne is one of today's top goaltenders and the team uses a workmanlike team system to take advantage of Rinne's talents. Organizational Weaknesses: The Preds, due to having their forward corps filled with team players, lack high end talent. The ones that do currently exist in the organization (Kostitsyn, Radulov, Legwand) are all enigmatic in their own ways. The defense could potentially be manned by 3 players under the age of 23 (Ellis, Blum, Josi) and that inexperience could potentially be exploited and beyond Ellis, Blum and Shea Weber the defense lacks high-end offensive skill. Prospect Strengths: Just like their NHL team, the Preds prospects pools are chalk full of two-way forwards and grit. Austin Watson, Michael Latta and Chase Balisy may not be top end talents but they're the kind of players that turn into unsung heroes at the NHL level. Zach Budish has recovered from a serious injury that took out his entire sophomore season and the organization has some depth at the goaltending position. Prospect Weaknesses: Also just like their NHL team, the prospect pool lacks a high quality offensive player. The years of drafting character players has resulted in a pool full of good, but not great, prospects, and skill forwards like Zach Stepan are a few years away from competing at even the AHL level. There is little depth on defense after Ellis and Co. advanced to the NHL team; Charles Olivier-Roussel looks like the only player of note at that position at this time. Outlook: Nashville's team is the embodiment of blue-collar; while they may not have a big name on their team with the exception of Rinne and Weber (more on him later) they find ways to win games through team play and reliance on special teams. They've also been augmented by the additions of young talented prospects such as Craig Smith, Colin Wilson, Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi. With a top goalie in Rinne behind a still-young core, the team has found some degree of success post-lockout. Behind the scenes, however, is a different story. The ongoing contract talks with all-world defender Shea Weber have been fruitless to this point, and the loss of fellow All-Star Ryan Suter has left a potentially gaping hole in the Preds defense. Should the Predators lose both players, the team would almost surely tumble down the standings; even with a hardworking group, talent is needed and Rinne alone is not enough to keep the Preds a playoff team. They will retain Weber for at least the next season, which will keep Nashville among the teams fighting for a playoff spot. Depending on what happens over the course of the season however, Nashville may come down to Earth in the near future.

Part 6 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 25. New Jersey 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #25: New Jersey Devils Top Fws: Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, Adam Henrique Top Ds: Marek Zidlicky, Anton Volchenkov Top G: Martin Brodeur Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Adam Henrique (22) 2. D Adam Larsson (19) 3. F Jacob Josefsson (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Jon Merrill (20) 2. D Alexander Urbom (21) 3. D Eric Gelinas (21) 4. G Scott Wedgewood (20) 5. D Reece Scarlett (19) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: D Diversity: D Overall: D Organizational Strengths: Ilya Kovalchuk remains one of the best players in the game, and he's joined on a forward corps that has Patrik Elias, who successfully converted to center, and rookie phenom Adam Henrique. The organization also has a solid group of young players both on the roster and in the system; names like Jacob Josefsson and Adam Larsson will likely be heard out of Newark for years to come. Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg make for a solid, if wizened, goaltending duo. Organizational Weaknesses: The Devils lack severely on the backend. Anton Volchenkov, Andy Greene and Marek Zidlicky are good players to be sure, but on any other squad they're number 3 or 4 guys at best. Mark Fayne and Adam Larsson are still young and prone to rookie slipups. There is no true scoring RW on the team, and even if David Clarkson is a good player he'll be hardpressed to match his career high 30 goals of this last season. Prospect Strengths: If there's one thing the Devils know, it's defense. And it's shown in their prospect pools; Jon Merrill, while controversial, is a potential top pairing defenseman, and he's joined by a cast of fellow prospects such as Urbom, Brandon Burlon, Damon Severson and Reece Scarlett that provide depth on the blueline. They've also built up their goalie pool and while none of the goalies look like franchise netminders, they have depth at the position. Prospect Weaknesses: Two words: scoring forwards. While the backend is solid, the forward prospect group is likely the worst in the NHL. Reid Boucher looks like the only potential top 6 forward, and he underwhelmed to begin his OHL career. Their latest first rounder, Stefan Matteau, projects as a very solid 3rd liner checker. Even grinding type 4th liners are few and far between. To compound that fact, there is no depth, especially on the right side. Outlook: New Jersey surprised most everyone when they elected to keep their first round pick in a year where they advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Lou Lamouriello has a penchant for pulling off risky moves that pan out and his team responded with a tremendous postseason after barely holding off the Florida Panthers, one that would have been labelled remarkable for a 6th seed had the LA Kings not overshadowed them with an even more unlikely romp through the playoffs as an 8th seed. Unfortunately, a largely successful campaign was overshadowed by the loss of their captain and face of the franchise in Zach Parise. However, the Devils have lost more than a few impact players over the years and have survived each time, and this time is no exception. They have a core of young talent to build around, led by 4th overall pick Adam Larsson and clutch rookie Adam Henrique, to go along with their savvy veterans on the roster. Depending on the development of players such as the aforementioned Larsson and Henrique, 2008 1st rounder Mattias Tedenby and 2009 1st rounder Jacob Josefsson, the team will remain among the teams fighting for the playoffs next season.

Part 5 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 26. Dallas 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #26: Dallas Stars Top Fws: Loui Eriksson, Jamie Benn, Michael Ryder Top Ds: Alex Goligoski, Stephane Robidas Top G: Kari Lehtonen Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Jamie Benn (23) 2. D Philip Larsen (22) 3. F Tomas Vincour (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Jamie Oleksiak (19) 2. G Jack Campbell (20) 3. F Alex Chiasson (21) 4. F Radek Faksa (18) 5. F Scott Glennie (21) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: C Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: B Overall: C Organizational Strengths: There is no shortage of scoring wingers at the pro level. Jamie Benn looks to continue his ascension towards elite forward status, Loui Eriksson already is one and there is depth behind them with Brendan Morrow, Michael Ryder, and newly acquired veterans Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney all more than capable of providing top 6 offense. Kari Lehtonen is a decent number 1 goalie and he's got talent pushing him in the pro ranks with Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany. Organizational Weaknesses: After the departures of Steve Ott and Mike Ribeiro, the Stars lack size and skill up the middle with Derek Roy being the only true top 6 center (and an undersized one at that). The defense is thin behind the top 3 of Goligoski, Robidas and Trevor Daley, with a likely combination of youngsters and veterans filling out the last 4 spots. In general, the team lacks grit and snarl up and down their lineup. Prospect Strengths: The Stars have a prospect of note at every position, so there is good variability there, but the biggest strength is up front. The enigmatic Scott Glennie headlines a solid group of wingers such as Reilly Smith and Brett Ritchie who look to have NHL potential. The team has also built a solid group of defensive prospects, with Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, and Ludvig Bystrom chief among them. Prospect Weaknesses: While they have plenty of prospects at varied positions and possessing different qualities, none of them are true "bluechip" diamond-in-the-rough talents. Jack Campbell, the one player who might have been, has been on and off through his career to this point. While the forwards in general are deep, the center and left wing positions are mostly populated by minor leaguers. Outlook: The Stars are in the midst of a massive overhaul. Long gone are the days of aging megastars like Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov; now the team's foundation has been laid upon names like Eriksson and Benn. That isn't to say that the team lacks veteran savvy; newly signed forwards Whitney and Jagr offer as much of that as any other pair in the NHL today and the team still retains key veterans such as Brendan Morrow and Stephane Robidas. Dallas, which has missed the postseason each of the past four seasons, has had to deal with the hiring of a new GM in Joe Nieuwendyk and an unstable ownership situation. With both issues having time to sink in, the Stars have chosen to go the route of a rebuild, signing veteran free agents to remain competitive while using their draft picks wisely. The team has 2 solid starting pieces and a few more that look like they can be and have chosen to rebuild their team around those pieces. The team, while maybe not playoff caliber, will likely still contend for a spot next season and will likely remain competitive throughout the rebuild process.

Part 4 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Perhaps I surprised some of you with this one? Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 27. Calgary 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #27: Calgary Flames Top Fws: Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay, Mike Cammalleri Top Ds: Jay Bouwmeester, Mark Giordano Top G: Miikka Kiprusoff Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Mikael Backlund (23) 2. D TJ Brodie (22) 3. F Roman Horak (21) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Sven Baertschi (19) 2. G Leland Irving (24) 3. F Maxwell Reinhart (20) 4. F John Gaudreau (19) 5. F Markus Granlund (19) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: C Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: D Overall: C Organizational Strengths: The Flames have an abundance of scoring wingers, seemingly too much. As far as on paper, the Flames look like a team that has a lot of potential offensive threats and with 4 well-balanced lines, Calgary looks like it'll be able to get contributions from up and down the lineup on any given night. Kiprusoff remains one of the league's top goalies, and the defense is mobile and has some depth at the NHL level. Organizational Weaknesses: The Flames have the oldest core group of players in the league; Iginla and Kiprusoff remain the linchpins on offense and defense, but both are north of 35. The defense currently lacks grit and snarl beyond Cory Sarich and occasionally Mark Giordano. The biggest weakness up front is at center; no other team has as unproven a group of centermen as the Flames. Prospect Strengths: The Flames under Feaster have done a complete 180 to the Sutter era. With an emphasis on speed and skill among forwards being placed, the Flames have benefited from that change in philosophy by building a group of forward prospects that possesses both skill and grit. The defensive group has an intriguing group of darkhorse-style prospects and there is depth at the goaltending position. Prospect Weaknesses: While there is depth in general throughout the organization's prospects, the RW side in particular is abysmally thin behind Greg Nemisz. At defense, the lack of a bluechip puckmoving defender remains the biggest issue in the pool. A lot of the forward prospects are boom-or-bust selections, and some of the more-skilled players are a few years away from contributing at the NHL level. Outlook: There has been a changing of the guard in Cowtown. While the two faces of the franchise remain constant, the Flames have quietly been phasing in younger players onto their main roster. The Flames have gone out of their way to find potentially rewarding talents (such as Roman Cervenka) and names like Sven Baertschi and John Gaudreau have given hope to a franchise that has long lacked a young homegrown talent. That being said, there is still a lot of work to be done before the Flames can legitimately be considered a rising team. There are a lot of question marks surrounding every single one of the Flames roster, including the two superstars. And the Flames still need more talent coming up through their ranks. While the drafting has improved, it will still be a while before any of their gambles will take fruit. If everything should pan out, the team could be a major playoff contender in the West. It is more likely however that the Flames will be among the group of teams fighting for the last 4 playoff positions.

Part 3 in my "State of the Franchise" series. I'm already prepared for the scathing comments I'm likely to receive for this one. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 28. Vancouver 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #28: Vancouver Canucks Top Fws: Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler Top Ds: Alexander Edler, Kevin Bieksa Top G: Roberto Luongo Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Zack Kassian (21) 2. D Christopher Tanev (22) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Nicklas Jensen (19) 2. F Brendan Gaunce (18) 3. F Jordan Schroeder (21) 4. F Anton Rodin (21) 5. G Eddie Lack (24) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: D Diversity: C Overall: D Organizational Strengths: The Canucks are well-off at every position, with depth and talent throughout their ranks. They have no major, immediate needs at the NHL level. They have two adept NHL goalies, one of (if not the) deepest group of defensemen in the NHL and 4 lines that possess a lethal combination of speed and skill. Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler combine to form a potent one-two punch at center, and any day they can line up with a mix of wingers such as Alex Burrows, Daniel Sedin, Chris Higgins, Jannik Hansen, David Booth, Zack Kassian and Mason Raymond. Organizational Weaknesses: Roberto Luongo looks like he’s on his way out and beyond Cory Schneider and Eddie Lack, the Canucks lack goalies at the professional level. The middle 6 wingers, while deep, have been streaky and tend to disappear for long stretches and with names like David Booth and Mason Raymond not living up to expectations, the Canucks may find a need there. Ryan Kesler will be injured to start the season and the Canucks will be hardpressed to replace his minutes. Prospect Strengths: They have a diverse and talented group of forwards, led by first round picks Nicklas Jensen and Brendan Gaunce. Jordan Schroeder, a former first-rounder himself, has begun to establish himself professionally and names like Anton Rodin and Alex Grenier look like they can provide depth for the NHL club at some point. Eddie Lack has been one of the AHL’s best goalies and looks to start the season backing up Cory Schneider. Prospect Weaknesses: There is little depth beyond the top prospects. On the wing, Jensen, Rodin, Grenier and Alexandre Mallett are the only prospects that could have the ability to carve out a career beyond just a 4th line presence. On defense, while names like Kevin Connauton, Yann Sauve and Patrick McNally have decent potential, none are likely to become major factors at the NHL level. The goalie pool looks weak beyond Eddie Lack and David Honzik. Outlook: The Canucks have built themselves to be contenders both now and for at least the foreseeable future. On paper, they remain the deepest team in the NHL and with a bevy of NHL talent already on the roster, the team has no need for a prospect to be forced into a role he may not be ready for. Most of their core is in the prime of their careers and the Canucks have been very careful with the development of their top prospects up to this point. While the lack of top talent in their prospect pool is discouraging, the truth of the matter is that even without them, the Canucks would likely remain contenders for the Cup. Having a prospect like Nicklas Jensen or Brendan Gaunce is a luxury rather than a necessity given the fact that the Canucks’ top players at those positions are locked in for the long term. However, they will need to prepare for the coming years as the team heads down the path of the Sharks and watches their core players age through their Cup window. With the majority of the core players still relatively young, the Canucks are in no hurry to improve a shallow prospect pool. They will continue to contend in the competitive Western Conference for at least the coming year, barring drastic changes.

Part 2 in my "State of the Franchise" series. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 29. Columbus 30. San Jose ------------------ #29: Columbus Blue Jackets Top Fws: Rick Nash*, RJ Umberger, Derick Brassard Top Ds: Jack Johnson, James Wisniewski Top G: Steve Mason *since traded Top 3 Under-23s: 1. C Ryan Johansen (19) 2. D John Moore (21) 3. W Cam Atkinson (23) Top 5 Prospects 1. D Ryan Murray (18) 2. D Tim Erixon (21) 3. D David Savard (21) 4. F Boone Jenner (19) 5. F TJ Tynan (20) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: C Bluechip Talent: C Diversity: D Overall: C Organizational Strengths: The Blue Jackets have amassed a strong group of defensemen at the NHL level. Jack Johnson and James Wisniewski are at the center of a group that includes former prospect John Moore, veteran Fedor Tyutin, and Nikita Nikitin. Also, newly signed Adrian Aucoin looks to battle it out with top prospects Ryan Murray and David Savard for the 6th and 7th spots on the D. Not only is their NHL team filled on defense, they have plenty of depth behind them with Cody Goloubef and Will Weber among the many pro defensemen at their disposal. Organizational Weaknesses: With Rick Nash looking like he’ll depart, the BJs are left without a gamebreaking scorer. While Derick Brassard, Vinny Prospal and RJ Umberger are good players, none of them are the kind of talent that Nash is. The biggest gap however is in net; Mason has been ineffective since a stellar rookie season, Bobrovsky was unable to carve out a spot in Philadelphia and their goalie prospects still look to be a few years away. Prospect Strengths: They have talent and depth on defense which should have them set for the next few years. Prospects run the gamut from AHL scoring machines and solid two-way players to shutdown defenders and players with natural skating ability. Up front, guys like Tomas Kubalik and Matt Calvert are going to compete for NHL spots in training camp. Oscar Dansk looks to be their best goalie prospect in a long time, though he appears to need some seasoning before he will compete for an NHL role. Prospect Weaknesses: Up front, they lack a major talent who will be able to score at a high level for years to come. While TJ Tynan and Matt Calvert look like they can be top 6 players, neither is going to be a franchise forward for the Jackets, which is an area they will sorely lack after their captain’s inevitable departure. At the AHL level, Allen York is merely serviceable. They also don’t have a lot of depth after York and Dansk. Outlook: The Blue Jackets have been one of the worst teams almost since its inception. You could argue they've never really had any luck; even the Rick Nash selection was a case of them giving up assets to move up in the draft order. Every year they seem to be among the first few teams selecting, yet somehow they've been unable to score in the draft at all. Only four of their first round draft picks remain with their team, and one of them was just drafted this year. But all hope is not lost in Ohio. The Jackets have begun the difficult process of tearing it all down and starting again, and this time they have a few pieces with which to work: one is the return that Rick Nash will bring, which would likely be rich in prospects and/or picks. The second is the fact that they've got some talent already on their roster. Their defense looks very solid in comparison to other bottom-feeders, and names like Ryan Johansen are already at the forefront of their rebuilding process. While they won't make the playoffs next year, there is some optimism that the Jackets can turn it around. But it'll take a few lean years to rebuild their prospect pool and NHL squad.

Starting a new blog. I'll be looking at each NHL team's fortunes, both at the moment and in the future. I've got the teams ranked in order of their overall youth and potential, and I'll be putting them out from worst to best. This is something new, so please work with me here; I'm not a professional writer and I'm a raw rookie when it comes to writing these types of articles. Feel free to leave comments; I'm always willing to take feedback and I readily accept that I'm not the next Charles Dickens, so any constructive criticism would be great. Current Rankings List: 30. San Jose ------------------ #30: San Jose Sharks Top Fws: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture Top Ds: Dan Boyle, Brent Burns Top G: Antti Niemi Top 3 Under-23s: 1. F Logan Couture (23) Top 5 Prospects 1. F Tomas Hertl (18) 2. D Taylor Doherty (21) 3. F Matt Nieto (19) 4. F Freddie Hamilton (20) 5. G Alex Stalock (24) Prospect Pool Rating: Depth: D Bluechip Talent: D Diversity: D Overall: D Organizational Strengths: The Sharks boast top talent at every position at the NHL level. Joe Thornton remains one of the best centers in the game, Joe Pavelski combines defensive jazz with offensive spark, and talented scoring forwards like Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Martin Havlat round out the top 6. On defense, Dan Boyle continues to be the PP quarterback while Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are solid contributors in the top 4. Organizational Weaknesses: There isn’t a lot of depth at any position. Beyond the top two lines and top two defensive pairings, the Sharks are underwhelming. They also lack young NHL talent on their roster; beyond Logan Couture, a large portion of their best players have already hit the wrong side of 30 and with little in the way of NHL caliber talent waiting in the wings, it’s unlikely they’ll be getting any help from their prospect pool in the near future. Prospect Strengths: Primarily, their strengths lie on the backend and in net. While none of their netminding prospects are bluechippers, they have depth at the position with Alex Stalock, Harri Sateri and JP Anderson waiting in the wings. They also have a defensive pool that is not lacking in big physical defenders with Taylor Doherty, Nick Petrecki, William Wrenn and Konrad Abeltshauser chief among them. Prospect Weaknesses: The biggest weakness is a lack of a high-quality prospect to look forward to. They have no game-breaking talent at any position including their areas of strength. Up front, the Sharks really lack any players with offensive potential beyond Freddie Hamilton, Matt Nieto and the newly drafted Tomas Hertl. Their best prospects on defense only project to be role players, if that, at the NHL level. Outlook: The Sharks have been one of the NHL’s best teams for the past few years, but last year’s struggles may serve as a telling sign of things to come. In an effort to find that top player that would put the team over the hump and towards a Cup Championship, the Sharks have traded away countless first round picks and prospects. This lack of high-caliber young talent has started to become an issue as the Sharks have been forced to rely on their top two lines almost exclusively. The Sharks still have time, however, to make a push towards a Stanley Cup. They have two fantastic scoring lines, two solid defensive pairings and a goaltender who has won it all before. Their biggest weakness, a lack of speed and scoring in their bottom 6, can be remedied by the group of talent already in their system. But Joe Thornton is 33, Dan Boyle is 35, Patrick Marleau is 32 and Martin Havlat is 31, so the Sharks do not have a massive window for their Cup contending hopes. They’ll likely be competing for a playoff spot again next season, however the franchise’s long term fortunes are still up in the air at this point.