It’s that time of the NHL offseason when tumbleweeds can be spotted rolling across ice rinks. Training camps are still weeks away, but the biggestThat means it’s the perfect time to construct goofy rankings with arbitrary criteria, and this week, that means posing a question that’s relevant toDefining the word is tricky. The loose idea: a collection, but unspecified number, of a team’s best players around whom said team is building its roster.
Even that has its limitations, though, hence the “goofy” label assigned to this undertaking. A strong core might be necessary to winning a championship, but a team’s fate isn’t necessarily determined by its core. It’s a square/rectangle situation. Case study No. 1 isthat lacked a true star but was brimming with depth.
The subjective ranking that follows should reveal results that mostly accurately reflect the best and worst teams in the NHL, sprinkled with amusing exceptions.Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Carter Hart, Noah Cates30. Chicago Blackhawks:Nick Suzuki, Michael Matheson, Samuel Montembeault, Cole CaufieldClayton Keller, Mathew Dumba, Karel Vejmelka, Nick Schmaltz25. Columbus Blue Jackets:Elias Lindholm, Mackenzie Weegar, Jacob Markstrom, Jonathan Huberdeau22.
The Nashville vs. Toronto comparison is a head-spinner. They’re perfect foils: The Predators have a top-three goalie-defenseman duo in the NHL with Saros and Josi, but Forsberg and O’Reilly are just fine as core forwards. Nothing extraordinary. Meanwhile, the Leafs are Edmonton Lite. The forward pair of Matthews and Marner is almost as good as it gets. But Rielly is fine, not elite as a top defenseman, as with Samsonov in net.