The Hockey PDOcast - The Watchability Rankings For The 2026-2027 Season, Part 2

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Harman Dayal to put together our Watchability Rankings for the upcoming NHL season. In Part 2 we finish off our list by going through the top 13 teams we're most excited to watch this year.There will be a couple of new episodes each week that will be Patreon-exclusive only for our subscribers, and won't be appearing on the free feed. To gain access to all of that content make sure you've subscribed to the PDOcast's Patreon. The subscription provides you with the ad-free version of every single episode we do this season, and they will be available for you to listen as soon as we're done recording.We've also finally got some merch available for our listeners! If you'd like to get your hands on a PDOcast shirt or hat to rep the show, you can do so here. We've recently added a really fun new option on there to celebrate the start of the season. If you've already subscribed to the Patreon, one of the perks that comes with it is that you get a discount on all of the show merch.I'd also recommend subscribing to our Youtube channel. We'll be posting full shows on there more regularly this season so that you can watch along with us. I'm hoping to grow the channel this year, so each subscription, like, and comment is greatly appreciated.If you'd like to join the community we're building over on Discord, you can sign up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here. It's the best spot for you to submit any mailbag questions you may have for future shows, and it's also a great place to be part of the immediate conversation whenever there's a trade, signing, or big game this season. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Progressing to the mean since 2015. It's the Hockey PDOCast with your host, Dmitri Filipovich. Welcome to the HockeyPedioCast. My name is Demetri Filipovich. And joining me is my good buddy Harmon Dile. We're back here for part two of our 2026, 2027 watchability rankings, where we're ranking all 32 teams in the league based on how excited we are to tune into their games to start the season.

Now, we decided to split the shows up into two parts because we went way longer. that expected to start things off, very predictably for the PDO cast, I guess. And I wanted to make sure we weren't having to just blast through and rush through the actually important teams and the ones we're really excited to watch. This is where it gets really good. If you're watching us on YouTube, you'll probably have noticed that Harmon and I have changed outfits. Let's just go with the fact that we wanted to freshen up a little bit. Things were getting hot and spicy.

I wanted to personally put on my favorite fleece now that we're getting into the fall season to commemorate the occasion of talking about the top teams in the league to watch. In part one, we covered teams ranked 32 through 14. Here in part two, we're going to do the top 13 teams. We're most excited to watch this season. Let's get into it harm. Number 13, the Taram Maple Leafs. We were both pretty aligned on them.

I'll give you the floor here as the guest to kick us off with your notes on what you're excited to watch when you tune into Leafs games this season. Yeah, look, it's no secret that. the leaves were a pretty brutal watch last season they didn't control the puck much they were a nightmare defensively it was a top fit between baroubae and the players it felt like at times in terms of being on the same page in a very dump and chase style i think with this season though no organization has gone through more changes on and off the ice than the toronto maple leaves the pressure and stakes knowing that austin matthews is going to be extension eligible at the end of the

coming season and just what this represents is a make or break, a season potentially for his future with the organization. Gavin McKenna, number one pick. I watch him a ton in the NCAA, and I'm a big believer in the talent, but I'm unsure how quickly he's going to be able to make an impact, especially at five on five. And I'm fascinated to see whether he hits the ground running immediately

and is a top six driving force, maybe 60 plus points, whether his rookie season mirrors more of what we saw from Jack Hughes, at the age of 18. And then even like Darren Radish, is he, like, what does he look outside of Tampa system? Is he a one hit, one,

one year wonder? Will he be able to live up to that contract? They made the risky bet on Popovsky. I'm just dying to see what happens. And I think just terms of relevance to the league, I like having takes on the Leafs. I like watching teams where it feels like things actually matter.

It's a big market, lots of eyeballs on them. and people caring about that team, whether they like them or hate them, always fires me up. So Toronto is definitely a team I'm excited to watch. Yeah, I think you were being generous in your description of what it was like to watch them. Last year, I had in my notes they were absolutely hideous to watch. The bottom just completely fell out. I think you saw a culmination of a direction they'd gone in as an organization for a couple years,

even before last year, right, where they prioritized certain types of players, particularly. on the back end and ultimately kind of fell in a spot where they just didn't have players who could move the puck up the ice. And so they were constantly stuck in their own zone. They couldn't defend their defensive metrics in particular were catastrophically bad towards the end of the Brubé tenure. And they made a lot of changes in terms of personnel specifically. They totally remodel their bottom six.

They spend a bunch of money to acquire Baldiore, Darren Radish, who we love here in the PDO cast. And I think that even if he doesn't necessarily score as many goals as he did last year, is such an upgrade in terms of someone who can consistently move the puck up the ice, but then also provide some offense in zone. So it's not just Morgan Riley or bust there for him on the back end. They, of course, add Gavin McKenna. And I'm very excited, even if there's some growing pains defensively away from the puck at 515,

I imagine on the power play particularly you're really going to see at least flashes of his high-end skill, creating there, even a guy like Jack Rosslich, for example, just someone who can transition the puck through the neutral zone, push the defense back, give someone like Austin Matthews a chance to actually step into his shots more frequently, and hopefully he's healthy and available and getting back to his goal scoring for him. And so I know there's some skepticism, and I listen, I'm right there with everyone in terms of Jim Hiller being a bit of a strange hire,

especially after everything we saw from him in L.A. and all of the King's offensive failures that have been well documented here, I'm willing to give him a second chance in terms of maybe that said more about the organization he was with previously. I've heard good things behind the scenes about him in terms of his willingness to adapt and integrate certain offensive concepts

into his team's games. And so he's going to get an opportunity a second chance here to do so. And I'm not sure how it's going to work out, but I'm definitely going to be tuning in at the start of the season to at least see what it looks like. Yeah, it's not an endorsement necessarily of what they did this offseason

and us looking at and going, it's definitely going to work because there's easily a scenario where some of those bets don't work. Raj takes his big step back. McKenna has growing pains. Matthews doesn't look like Matthews, but Brovsky is old and simply wash, can't carry the mail the way he used to, and it implodes in their face. But even that would be entertaining to see in the beginning stages of season what direction they're trending in.

Yeah, undoubtedly. And I think that, you know, while it's not necessarily something you're tuning in for, just all the bodies they brought in on the bottom six will hopefully be able to absorb some of those defensive assignments and then free up the top two lines to do a lot of the heaving and lifting offensively. So it'll be fun to see how it all kind of coalesces. Number 12, the Dallas Stars. This was a tough rank for me. I feel like historically I've been on the higher end in terms of how I view the stars compared to consensus. their power play alone, if you had some sort of a, like a red zone type of thing for hockey, where it's like every time they get on the power play, it just pops up on your screen.

I would sign up for that because I want to watch every single time. They have the advantage. They scored, what, 11 goals per hour with their power play last year, which was a top 10 unit since 2007. It accounted for 10 of their 15 goals in their round one series against the wild. There's certainly some questions of 515 with this forward group, particularly. in terms of the foot speed, the lack of personnel that can kind of get up the ice

and actually disrupt you and I have talked about how Maverick Bork was one of the few guys last postseason that they had that could actually do that, and now he's gone and went to Nashville this offseason. So I have some questions there, but ultimately it's going to be a team that's going to play probably a pretty low volume

style of hockey, but a lot of quality over quantity, and they have a ton of high-end talent that's going to be responsible for a significant portion of the shots they do. take. And so that's pretty fun to watch. Like when Miko Ranjan is humming, we know how good Jason Robertson is. And there's that sort of shadow hanging over the season in Dallas as well in terms of what his future is going to be like with the team. I'm a bit surprised that I didn't actually have them higher because I think just the high-end talent wins out when you're tuning in and I want to

see all of these guys. But I guess some of my questions or qualms about their 5-15 game is what knocked them down a little bit relative to the top 10 teams we're going to talk about. That was exactly my thought process. It felt like a lot of times tuning into Stars games. last season, the power play, just dynamite, but at 5 and 5, just a little bit flat, just a little bit underwhelming relative to the top teams in league in terms of the speed, the rush offense, just how dynamic they looked as a group, not necessarily a team that was pummeling teams on the shot clock and scoring chance battle.

There were more just very efficient at turning shots and chances into goals. And look, that's part of, like, that is entertaining a lot, and Miko Ranton can go bar down that easily or Jason Robertson is scoring the way he can. But I remember breaking down, for example, a game between the sharks and stars last year. And it felt like it summed up the Dallas Stars experience very well where I didn't really enjoy watching them play for 80% of it. I felt like transitioning to the puck out of those own wasn't always great. with some of the injuries that they had throughout the year.

I think they were missing one of their centers, which affected their speed down the middle. San Jose had a greater share of the shots, probably the five-and-five chances as well. And yet Dallas's power play cooked in that game and was so much fun to watch. And then just even in the third period, about like a game where Dallas was never really important.

posing but always still kind of in control and just how effortlessly the few times they did get scoring opportunities. I think that was a game where it was either Robertson or Rantan and just took an ordinary third third period rush or an opportunity and went barred down and it was like, oh my God, like that's it. That's curtains. That's the game. I'm expecting a lot of their games this coming season to look similar to that where

even strength, not the most entertaining team, but lots of high and skill in the power plays obviously must watch. It's an entirely different team when Rupa Hintz is available and he's flying around because he adds that element you're talking about of someone who can drive the middle and push the defense back and kind of create and speed them up a little bit at even strength. And it's always a question with him in terms of how much he's going to play, when he's going to be available. But to start the season at least, having him back is going to be huge on that front. Next up is the New Jersey Devils, that number 11. on our list. Listeners will not be surprised to hear that I was very high on them. I had them eighth.

You had them 13th. I really hope I'm not falling for it again with this team. I do view their approach this offseason in their first summer with Sunny Mehta as the GM as a very encouraging signal that they're trying to get back to playing that style of hockey that made us fall in love with them back in 2023, playing fast-paced, run and gun, up and down to hockey in transition, a big, concern in the past couple years was just the forward depth. And when Hughes and Brad in particular weren't in the ice, where the offense was going to come from,

they addressed a lot of that this offseason and bringing in Manta and Evangelista and Evan Rodriguez, even a Jesper Boquist, I guess one of the potential drawbacks could be, especially if they have injuries on the blue line, do they have enough puck moving talent to actually play that style of hockey and facilitate it and enable it? But at least to start the season, I think things have fallen into place pretty nicely for them. and I'm not sure what the ultimate upside is for just this season, but I imagine they're going to be much more fun to watch and definitely not, whatever,

the 31st ranked 5-on-5 offense like they were last season. I agree with you. I feel optimistic about the devil's trajectory, but I just, I had them a little lower just because I had to find a middle ground where the last couple years, especially because of the injuries they always seem to run into, if Jack Hughes is out, that that team straight up becomes unwatchable. There were times.

And again, I think it'll improve this year because the bottom six is deeper. They don't have as many just like slow breaker bodies that can't really move. And I remember times where like Justin, their depth was so bad that Justin Dowling was listed as their 3C. So that has obviously remedied itself. But still, there's that worry of if Jack gets hurt or something happens to one of their other top players. there's just the life being sucked out of that offense. And I just, I feel like I've watched a lot of boring Devils games the last couple of years. Then I know they were a lot more fun after the Olympic break and that provides some reason for hope.

And that is why I have them in the top half, had the 13th. But I just, I couldn't justify getting them into the top 10 yet just because it's also a matter of, similar to what I was saying with Columbus, I've gotten my hopes up so many times to New Jersey Devils that thought, this is the year and then been let down to where I almost have to temper my expectations and make sure that I'm cautiously optimistic rather than full-blown optimistic. Yeah, it's fair. I think it was the blue jackets you were saying that you need to protect your heart. I do. I'm a hopeless romantic when it comes to the Devils. And so I just enjoy that season a couple years ago so much. And I'm hopeful that they can get back to that. I mean,

there were, to your point on Justin Dowling and, you know, Luke Lindening last year, there were so many just dead spots in their lineup where there was no, there was nothing going to happen. That was going to be productive when they were on the ice and you were almost waiting for the top players to get out there. All of a sudden, now you look and at least on paper to start the season, third line with Kritsich, Rodriguez, and Mercer, fourth line with Cody Glass and Connor Brown on it.

Like I think there's a lot more to build off of, so they hopefully won't be as one-dimensional. Number 10, the Utah mammoth. We each had them nine. On our list, I am once again, very mammoth-pilled. Cooley and Gunther are right up there for me on the short list of most dynamic combos in hockey. They combined for when they were on the ice together, 515, nearly four goals, four per 60.

Cooley missed a bunch of time last year. Hopefully he's going to be available, and those guys can kind of build off of it. It's a bit of a projection as well, right? because I know they lost that series ultimately in six to Vegas, but as I've noted, I felt like you could see the outline of what's going to make this team so difficult to play against moving forward. Their speed, particularly from those two guys,

really gave Vegas a lot of trouble before they ultimately figured it out later in that matchup. And so if they can keep developing and building on that, they've added some useful veteran players like Anders Lee and Vinny Trocheck and a guy like Lee will probably play on that line with them as well. it's still a projection because I get it like they weren't there yet last year but I feel like this could be the season where they really start to kind of build on that and I'm sort of choosing to view the positives here in terms of some of the concerns I have about usage and coaching and some of the stuff that kind of plague them throughout last season.

Yeah, they just play such an entertaining style. They're so quick. They're young. They're talented. They like to make plays off the rush. Most of their games are really enjoyable. experience in terms of the offensive creation and that ability to push the pace and certainly

in the playoffs I thought that Utah Vegas series was probably one of the most entertaining first round series and matchups that we saw all of last spring. Kooley and Gunther are absolutely electric. I'm expecting that this is the year that Kooley takes that next step toward being a point per game, bona fide star. It's such a shame last year that he had that serious leg injury.

It's kind of been stuck producing in that 65 points per 82 games pace. I think this is the year that he takes a leap, especially if the usage can finally catch up. And he isn't averaging 17 minutes a night or whatever it is. But those guys are one of the league's most fun dynamic duos. And then I also think another reason I am looking forward to tuning into Mammoth games this season is, and I think this is maybe more relevant to the second half. to see whether they get more young talent on the way in terms of,

like, I don't know if Tisha Gimlet's necessarily going to start the year with the NHL club. Maybe he spent some time in the American League, but at some point does he become a factor, especially in the second half? How does Dmitri Simashev look in his second pro season in North America? Danil Bute, he's got a fun skill set, right? Six foot five or six or whatever it is. he's got great hands, produced at the HL level.

It wasn't really much of a factory in the NHL, but again, he just turned pro, moved to North America, so you are hopeful that year two can look a lot better for him. Because if one of those guys can really start to hit their stride, and again, I'm not necessarily expecting it in the first half of the season because they're still so young, and I think a lot of times with players in that really early 20s age range, they can maybe like spend the first half building maybe spend some time in the American League

and then the second half kind of do the Logan Stancovent thing when you think about his first run with the Dallas Stars just can one of those guys become an impact contributor and start to raise the ceiling of this mammoth team yeah i do believe that both simbushab and boot who are a pair of physical freaks are going to get an opportunity in the everyday lineup to start and we'll see as the year goes along whether we see some more of those top prospects get integrated into the main group. But I think the usage would go a long way. And it was a big time point of frustration for me last year. We saw a change a little bit finally in that postseason series against Vegas where they started playing Kooli and Gunther kind of more as a 1A,

1B with Schmaltz and Keller and finally ramping up their usage. And I think that's a necessity for the entertainment value of this team. I think the power play as well, which was middle of the pack all year. They finished 18. There's certainly more firepower in this group to achieve greater heights than that. And they bring in Andrews Lee who can, you know, provide some net front utility. And then I think Vinie Trojic, just as importantly, I know we all kind of roll our eyes looking at faceoffs, but it is worth noting that Schmaltz and Kuli took a lot of their faceoffs last year and both guys somehow won under 50% of their draws, which is hard to do with the advantages you get with the man advantage. And Vinny Trojic was 66%.

And so kind of like what we talk about with Tomah Schurdle and that Vegas power play, if they can just gain possession more quickly, get set up in their sets. I think they can take advantage of that. Number nine, the Minnesota Wilde. You were higher on them than I was. You had them all the way up to sixth on your list. I had them 11th. The selling point is very clear that Shrambert of Hughes, Caprizov and Boldy in particular,

are absolutely electric. And whenever they're on the ice, it's must watch. And because of the way this team is constructed with some of the concerns I have, with their depth and how limited they are, they're probably going to have to play a lot. So that's a pretty good selling point. And it is worth noting that I think the Wilde have this reputation from all the years prior of being a low event defensive team. And after Quinn Hughes arrived, they jumped up from 25th in goals per 60 to 6th.

And their goals against as well went up from fifth to 50th. And so it's just much higher event, much more high scoring hockey in general at both. and that's a fun thing to tune in for. So maybe I was a bit too low on them and your ranking is probably more in line with where they actually should be. Yeah, I had a blast every time I watched them last season after the Quinn Hughes trade, revolutionized their power play, revolutionized their ability to create off the rush where there were one of the league's worst teams at creating and transition beforehand.

But you had Hughes's ability to not only transport the puck as a carrier, but his stretch passes and how often he finds guys in strife. for, you know, breakaways or just situations where you catch a team, especially in the second period with the longer change, sleeping a little bit. He completely changed how that team looked and really having Hughes, Capriza, Boldie. Boldie is also one of my favorite stars to watch. Just the range that he has, the power, the speed. he's such a game breaker on any given shift.

And the way he makes an impact is just, it's a style that is pleasing to watch. And on top of that, just the stakes of knowing what this season means for Minnesota, understanding that Quinn Hughes's future is uncertain. And hey, if they aren't a bona fide Stanley Cup contender, questions are going to be raised about what direction could things go with Quinn.

So it just feels like there's a ton on the line. And I had a blast every time I watched the play last year. Yeah, that's very fair. You know, one of my concerns is particularly with the bottom six, but really when you get out from that top tier on the team, I have a lot of questions in terms of just the functionality and what you're going to get from that. And in general, when you tune into a wild game,

particularly if it's like a national broadcast, there's just a disproportionate amount of time spent like singing the praises of the McCarron and felino line and it's like wow this line is incredible they're so important they're the heart and soul of this team and it's like no it's actually probably caprisov boldy and hughes and just the game breaking talent they have and some of that concern might just be alleviated by how high the usage rate is for those guys we saw last year there were times where you know you're going to get Hughes in the 30-ish minute range certainly but even caprizov and boldie would get into the mid-20s and so If they're just going to be on the ice as often as they were, then maybe you don't have to deal with some of the other stuff that comes with this team.

Number eight, the Anaheim Ducks. I didn't really know what to do with this team just because I feel like they were certainly higher. Last year, I would have had them in top five seasons end in terms of how much I enjoyed watching them. This nucleus of Leo Carlson, Cutter Goce, Beckett Seneca, and Jackson, Lecombe, combined with the state of the rest of the team, particularly the blue line. is a match made in heaven for fireworks. I think we're going to see a ton of high scoring games. They were incredibly high event last year as well. Like there were just so many shots and chances at both ends of the ice.

And so it's very viewer friendly. You're certainly going to get a lot of high-paced action and a lot of events. I just wasn't sure because I'm expecting a bit of a step back for them this season in terms of the relevance, I guess, and that component of our criteria here. And so that's why I knocked them down a little bit to go along with the fact that I really don't like their home broadcast. And so I'm actively seeking out the broadcast of whichever team they're playing against. But I think if you want to just lean the direction of the young players or must watch,

you want to see what elements they're able to add to their game this year and keep improving, that's a pretty good justification to have them even higher than we have them here. Yeah, I actually had them fifth. So I am higher on them than you are for the reasons you mentioned, right? Last season they were electric. off the rush and also with how freewheeling they were end to end, willing to take chances to try to make bold, daring plays. They also turn lots of pucks over and they don't really know what they're doing in the

defensive zone, which means the other team gets a chance to create lots of offense and make plays as well. It's extremely high event, a ton of speed at both ends of the rink in terms of they're going to take their chances and that's going to feel extra time and space for their opposition. Seneca, I, I'm curious to see how significant of a step he could take in year two. The bag of tricks that he has, making plays, and especially the power element of his game, especially as he just gets thicker and stronger, I think he's going to be one of the rare. I feel like any time there's a guy who's 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, and,

can score some goals that are immediately labeled a power forward, even if they don't really play with any kind of edge or actually incorporate power elements to their game. They're just given that label because they're big. Seneca is actually one of those players that he's got a quiet mean streak to him. And I think he's still quite lanky because of how young he is. As he keeps adding size on, I'm just so fascinated to see how does he look down low,

protecting the puck, reverse hits, just even with the speed and transition driving it hard to the net, getting under the skin of opponents, he's a player that I think is quickly becoming less watch. Obviously, in addition to Leo Carlson and Cutter Gochier, Lecombe took a huge step. Obviously, you have some concerns about the back end. And you're right, they could very well regress and are far from a lock to make the playoffs. but that's part of why I want to watch them this year is I don't know what exactly they're going to be.

And so are they able to build on what they did last season and winning the playoff series against the Oilers? Or are they going to take a step back and we're suddenly starting to have question marks about, is a team like San Jose passing them? Well, the thing with the blue line is it was already so bad last year. but it was a bunch of older players who didn't really have any long-term upside, either ability to kind of grow and get better as the year goes along. A lot of question marks this year undoubtedly will be heading into the season, but at least with some of these players, whether it's the Tristan Luna or Tyson-Hines

or even like a Pavl-Minchikov still at this point after the extension he got, at least there's the possibility that they're just going to get better and at least they can steer even further into what made them so effective last year, which was just that offense first ramping up the pace. and going for it approach. So I think it's really exciting. They're star players also have such trademark skills already, right? Like Leo Carlson's sort of north-south bullrush drive to the net,

cutter go-cha's shot and how beautiful his release is, the experimentation in Beckett Seneca's game. I love that even when he would try stuff, and you could see a young player like experimenting with the bounds of what he could pull off in an NHL format when he wouldn't make a mistake. He would just get back out there. and have a chance to atone for it and make amends. And so I think that's really bullish for him heading into the season.

And it seems like we're going to get Nikita Kluppoff to start the year as well. And he was their 15th overall pick in the first round this year and just adds another offensive weapon to this team. And so, you know, particularly when they bring back Troy Terry after he recovers from his injury, I think that's going to ramp up their watchability for me even further. Number seven, the Washington Capitals. Now, I kept going back and nudging them further and further up my list throughout the process as I was constructing my rankings. And I'm not convinced I had them even high enough just because their lineup construction is so unique and interesting to me. There's so much size, speed and skill.

Who do you think is going to lead this team in scoring by season's end? And do you think it's even going to be over 70 points? I think that's a fair question. yet they probably are going to have the most number of guys who are somewhere between like 45 and 65 points just because of how deep and talented this group is. And that's so different than the way a lot of other teams are constructed. So I can't wait to see what they do with all this personnel, how Spencer Carberry utilizes them and whether the additions of Cairo and Tuck, but also a full season of Lillia Proto and Cole Hudson,

is able to improve this team's rush game where they were 22nd in rush chances last year and whether they can get into the top half of the league to go along with all the puck possession and strength down low that they're clearly going to have based on this group. They're just a quality, deep, good team. It's really that simple. Even watching them last year,

I don't know they missed the playoffs, but at five on five, they still did so many things the right way. It's just an unfortunate case where their power play let them down and then now having this massive offseason where they've added in tuck and Cairo a couple guys that could juice their speed and rush attacking ability.

So deep from lines one to four. And you're going to have guys further down the lineup that I'm still so excited to watch. I don't know where exactly Ryan Leonard is going to fit within their forward group in terms of, is he full-time top six? Is he going to be playing on the third line? But wherever he plays, he, like with his hands, his creativity, the way that his playmaking has grown. It was so fun to watch him last season and I'm really curious to see what the year two step for him looks like

and just in general the wave of young talent with Ilya Proto one of the best U20 HL seasons we've ever seen and then looked ready and capable in the few NHL games he got toward the end of the season. Cole Hudson was electrifying in the back half of the campaign and especially now that Rasmus Sandine has hurt for the start of the season, there's a real opportunity for him to play a significant role to get lots of secondary offensive opportunities.

Of course, like Chickens, the guy offensively, he's going to be getting a lot of the prime opportunities, but there's still tons of room for Hudson to get offensive starts, play a lot of minutes, and electrify. So the youth, Justin sort of. How could I forget him? To think that Justin sort of on DailyFaithop.com is listed on their fourth line is just a laughable amount of depth. He was so effective at times even in the 2C role filling in for DuPois when he was hurt. 23, 24 years old, such a smart 2A game, 35 points.

They just got, like there's no dead spot in the lineup, if that makes sense with this team. And again, with the size that they have as well, their physical. they're a handful to contain just all around fun team. Regardless of which lines out there, what combination of players are out there, you know you're going to get something worth tuning in for something exciting. And when I kind of mentioned the high watermark for them

in terms of points, that's mostly just because there's so many cooks in the kitchen that I'm not sure what the ice time is going to be like for a lot of these players. This young guys in particular certainly have the talent to transcend that. And I imagine on a permanent basis, they're going to grade out quite well. I'm just curious to see, I guess, what the usage and ice time distribution is like for this team the Tampa Bay lightning are up next

I had them all the way up at fifth you had them tent they settle in with an aggregate score of sixth for us largely driven by the fact that Nikita kuturav is might be my first overall pick for player I just want to watch the most he's so unique in terms of how he thinks and processes the game the way he tries to pick you apart off the half wall brandon haigel honestly isn't that far behind like his growth as a player into what he's become over the past couple years is remarkable. And even their bottom six in depth players all have a ton of like speed or functionality in their role. It's a shame that Yanni Gord's going to be out to start the year after his offseason surgery,

that Dominic James got hurt again. And I broke his hand, I believe, and he's going to miss some time. But there's such an embarrassment of breaches in terms of weapons for them here. And I have confidence in John Cooper and the staff that like we saw last year, regardless of who's available, who's playing on any given night, they kind of keep playing their game because they're so well prepared and so connected and cohesive that you don't really have a lot of fall off from what their system's trying to get out of those guys.

So there is a plug-and-play element to it. And ultimately with Kuturov, like that's worth the price of admission alone. So I was a bit higher on them than you were. Was it just a matter of like kind of knowing what you're going to get in terms of them being so long now that you're a bit more, I guess curious to see some of these other more unproven teams. Absolutely. They're the team I watched besides Vancouver the most last season.

By far, I think. And because of that, I think there is a subconscious, maybe biased there. I've got a little bit of Tampa fatigue. Still so fun East West, right? East West creation. And again, because of Kutra, probably the most creative team in the NHL. And as a hockey analyst, it is very, very, very um it's very aesthetically pleasing to watch how low they're as nerdy as the sounds how low

their forwards come to support the puck um like their breakouts are by the book it's just it's very pleasing to to watch but i just can't get over the fact that it feels like i just don't have a lot of curiosity about this team i kind of know what they are it's an older core there isn't much novelty in terms of huge changes. I know they brought John Carlson in, but I just don't feel a lot of intrigue or curiosity. And I know you could say the same for maybe a team like Colorado where it's mostly the same core and you know what you're getting.

But at least in the case of Colorado, they're the best rush team in the NHL and the speed they play at is break neck. Whereas for Tampa, they're still reasonably quick. No one's going to call them slow. But they don't have that explosive. pace that let's say a Montreal does or or Buffalo does. And I think those other Atlantic division teams, I'm just with the youth they have, the players where it's like, okay, he's under 23 and has a lot of potential.

Is he able to take that next step? There are just unknowns that make me go, oh, I need to watch them play. Whereas at least for Tampa, I'm still going to be tuning into their games, but it's just a little bit lower on my list because I sort of feel like I know what I'm going to get from them on a night-to-night basis. I watched a ton of them last year, as well, I loved in particular and kind of the meat of the season. Whenever they play at home, John Cooper would so deliberately use that Gord, Holmberg-Gergensen's

line to just hard match them and give the other team's top line fits, and that freed up some of their other players to cook offensively. The power play was really the only weak point relatively in their statistical profile last year, and I'm fascinated to see what that looks, removing radishes one-timer from the top, and bring in Carlson, who's a bit more of a distributor at this point of his career, they once again did not address the lack of right-hand shooting talent to play opposite of Kutrov. And maybe the answer is just going to be actually finally using Brennan Hagel there full-time, which is not a bad idea considering how good he is, even though he can't, I guess, facilitate

the one-time East-West. I just love how many feisty players there are on this team as well, right? Like it always seems like particularly when they're playing Florida like there's something always happening post whistle they're engaging and there's just so much depth here. And I just love like how well prepared they are. I know like you're going to get a very professional product no matter like you could just call up random HL defensemen and they're just going to slot in and keep playing the way the guys higher on the depth chart were previously. So that's a big selling point for me. Number five, the Edmonton Oilers. I had them sixth.

You had them fourth. This is probably the lowest. I've personally had them in all the years I've done this and I couldn't justify having them lower because a team that employs Connor McDavid and Leon Dreis Idol is always going to be around the top five for me. You and I had a long discussion about them when we did our Pacific Division preview

in terms of what we're looking for from them this year. What are your notes on the Oilers or is it just kind of status quo in terms of why you're tuning in to watch them? Well, I mean those two are obviously always appointment viewing but I think for once the regular season actually matters for them. After last year, they just can't afford to take it for granted. They understand now that they can't flip a switch come playoff time

and just kind of coast through the way that, let's say, a team like Florida can. And especially with Mike Babcock, that's just that could go a number of different directions. I imagine we're never going to be star for storylines. Also, I need to tune in to see. what does their defensive structure look like with this new coaching change? And there are a couple of guys in the back end. Like, is Jake Wallman going to bounce back? And, you know, what does Ryan Shea look like?

And I know that's maybe, you know, a bit of a deep cut. But I think the reason those things matter a lot is because ultimately one of the biggest storylines in the NHL is always going to be is this year Connor McDavid finally gets his Stanley Cup. And it doesn't matter where he plays that year in, year out until he gets that. first cup is going to be such a burning question that you just have to tune in. And, you know, especially with some of the younger forwards now, like Isaac Howard, watching him in preseason against the Canucks was buzzing all around. Tor up the HL last year wasn't really able to make much of an impact when he got his cup

of coffee with the Oilers. But with another year of growth, is he ready to cook and give them some secondary offense? Matt Savoy took off after the Olympic break. And I know he's hurt now. but when he returns, can he hit the ground running again and give them another true top six caliber forward? That power play is just nuts to watch. And even just tuning into their games last year,

I gained a new appreciation for Evan Bouchard's ability to create offense on his own. I know that ultimately when you play with McDavid and Drysettle, there are a lot of advantages for that. But I was surprised at how many times at the Blue Line last year he could just make guys miss with his like a fake out or a deke and create a lane for himself to attack downhill. Not with the assistance of anybody else and with that shot that he has and even some of the tactical stuff they do have face off plays.

You know, finding dry settle for one timers near his office. They're just always a fun watch, especially because even if it's a tire fire, they, You want to watch it. You want to watch the tire fire. And I think the other way to kind of sum up the other viewing experience is it doesn't matter whether they're up 3-0 or down 3-0. The game's never over. And I think that matters to me a lot.

There are certain teams you tune into and it's like if they're up 3-0, they're too locked down defensively for the opposition to catch up. Or if they're down 3-0, it's really going to be a struggle. But a 3-0 game in either direction, it games. far from over, which I appreciate. Yes, I had that in my notes. Their highs are so high and their lows are so low where they have something of a self-sabotaging propensity as well, right, where like dumb things just tend to happen in their games more often

than for a lot of other teams. Jake Walman's return to health and effectiveness is a big storyline for me. He was unavailable for a lot of last year. And when he played, he just wasn't the player he was the past couple seasons. and when he's at his best, he's such an adrenaline shot and brings so much swag to this team. So I'm looking forward to that. I think not having Darnel Nurse on this team,

on the one hand, there's going to be fewer comical own goals that bounce in off of him. But I have to say one of my nerdiest takes is I couldn't stand how he would sometimes just like stop a game in its tracks by holding the puck behind his own net and waiting for players to cycle around and then ice it.

And then all of a sudden you'd spend 45 seconds coming back for a face off in their own zone and it's like this is the opposite of what I look for in NHL hockey. So I think there will just be more free flowing action now that he's not around. And I did want to shout our guy Leandro Seidel as well who was banged up at the end of last regular season. His run of efficiency as a shooter doesn't get enough attention. He's shot between 18.5 and 21.5% for eight straight seasons and just keeps doing it at a high volume. I know that sometimes it's because when he misses the net, he's trying to cut it so, so thin in terms of the margin that he just misses the net.

And so it doesn't affect his shooting percentage, but he's just so lethal from pretty much anywhere in the offensive zone. And I'd still argue one of the most fun plays in hockey for me is Evan Bouchard, kind of knocking down a puck in the neutral zone and immediately hitting Connor McDavid, who's blasting up the ice downhill at full speed. And so whenever you get that, it's holding on to your seat and just waiting to see what happens. So yeah, I think they belong to be fifth where we had them. Number four, the Buffalo Sabres. They boast a team full of my guys, pretty much everyone on this team heading into the season.

I'm excited to watch. I do view removing Alex Tuck from this operation as a net positive for me for a watchability perspective just because I thought he had a very selfish approach last year on the PK kind of cheating for offense, some of the low presented shots coming down the wing off the rush, removing that, I'm okay with it. They play such a distinct and unique playing style as well. They're constantly pushing particularly, and it's not just off the rush, right? Like when you get in the offensive zone, they have this motion offense where they're just swinging the puck around. Everyone is kind of detaching from their spot and moving around into different locations.

And that frees up so many downhill opportunities for their defensemen. We saw Bowen Byram score a ton of goals doing so. Olin Zellegger is going to get that chance now this year. but Dahlia Matia Samuelson had, what Owen Power can do as a facilitator. It creates all of these different looks that you don't often see when you watch other teams. And so there's a unique nature to it as well

that I just enjoy, and they really kind of doubled and tripled down on that last year. And I hope the success they had doing so emboldens them to keep going that direction. This year, and I want to see how some of these young players who are going to get more opportunity, take advantage of it, right? A full year of Consta Heleneus,

you're a colleague coming back, no, Ocelain being healthy. Zach Benson being a lock in the top six, but hopefully the top line, another year of Josh Doe. There's so many fun players with individual skills and I want to see how it all coalesces. So I had them third on my list. I even considered having them higher than that. You had them seven so you were still high on them and they wind up being fourth on our overall ranking.

Yeah, it's what you said. They play a style where their defensemen are so involved offensively because they've got the scrappy, hardworking wingers that can come back. to cover, which makes for just very fluid offense and lots of, lots of movement and with the young players, right? For, I mean, winning the division, what a story, mid-November onward, on fire. I think a lot of us are anticipating some level of regression just because the goal-tending they got from mid-November onward was among the best.

in the NHL. And when you look at line in Ukapakalukinin as a tandem on paper, there's not much of a track record there to necessarily believe that they're going to sustain elite goaltending. And that could affect them even on the penalty kill where their P.K. was lights out. So expecting a bit of a step back there, especially with, all right, you lose talk, you lose Byram. And those are sensible moves to not give talk that contract to make that Byram trade and get an absolute

haulback. It does make them a little weaker. And so this is where how much of a step back though, right? I do believe in this group and think that they're here to stay and that this is just the start of their window opening. But we're going to have to see how large some of the steps are that these under 24 players take. And that alone to figure out what's their projection, what's their ceiling as a team is going to hinge on that internal improvement

and those guys getting bigger opportunities. I think the reason that I didn't quite have them in my top five is because outside of Rasmus, Stalline and Tage Thompson, they're a little bit light on like superstar talent relative to some of the other teams in the top five. But that's obviously nitpicking. They're such a fun team to watch. Yeah, that's fair. I think some of the regression on the PK could be balanced by positive regression on the power play. And that's something I'll be watching for.

They were 21st last year despite having all of these players and how good they were at five on five. now ironically what made them so effective at 515 with all that motion you get to the power play and it would just completely stagnate right like you'd have dolly up top you'd have tage thompson at the circle and they'd just be kind of standing there trying to fire shots and so hopefully they can integrate more movement there get Zach benson down low as a facilitator and i think that could take off as well number three the montreal canadians i had them fourth you had them second they probably played more fun games than any team last year if felt like every game of theirs was coming down to the wire with late game heroics,

particularly at home where that bell center crowd is so electric. It translates, even when you're watching at home through your screen and kind of adds to the spectacle nature of it all. And, you know, Cole Caulfield's heroics and overtime certainly in his 50 goal season. But even the growth we saw from your ice Likovsky as a playmaker, Ivan Demidov, another year of him getting, you know, stronger and faster and just more assertive as a playmaker. His highs last year were right up there with anyone in the league on any given night. And so, yeah, I'm really excited about this team. Similar to what you said about Buffalo, I think people are expecting a bit of a step back

heading into this season just because they didn't do that much in the off season. And they're waiting for that one big acquisition via trade. And that's probably the right way to go about it. Yet the young talent on this team and the core of it is still. play such a fun style and you put all of that together and they're clearly deserving of this ranking and a lock for the top five yeah look am i expecting nick susuki to score 100 points again for kukovil to top 50 50 goals again probably not quite to those heights however they are still going to be so dominant and just the the star talent that they have also to see what heights can lean hudson

reach right it feels you like people forget in discussing Hudson, not all people, but some, that I always compare him to Quinn Hughes because I covered Quinn so closely in Vancouver and just as watching a young defenseman undersized with lead offensive potential coming up, that's always kind of been the bar because even in Hudson's rookie year, they had a game against the Canucks. The way Hudson was wheeling around, creating chances, I was like, I haven't seen a defense been create in this kind of style and this kind of way since Quinn. And for Hudson to already be this good after his sophomore season, like Quinn Hughes

after he had an unbelievable rookie campaign, his sophomore campaign, I think people forget he couldn't defend. And look, he was stuck on a nightmare Kanox team. This was the 56 game, shortened all Canadian division year. so weird things happen. But I remember there being questions about can Quinn defend? And is he ever going to be an elite number one defenseman? Whereas for Hudson, it's only year two and he's already at such a high level.

And so to see, all right, can he compete for Norris trophy? And especially for me, I'm going to be watching to see if David Reinebacker starts the season with the team and can solidify himself as an everyday defenseman, the Canadians will have three right shot defensemen. And if that's the case, then Lane Hudson can get back to playing the left side full time where I think he can be fully unleashed and unlocked. And the less of him that I can see playing his offside with Jaden Shruble, the better. So that's a reason obviously to tune in.

I also just love their broadcast. Just especially for their home games, you can just tell how electric that happens. atmosphere is. The commentary team does an unbelievable job. And then also to see, all right, what does sophomore Ivan Demadov look like? Yeah, you're getting either what Frank Grotto or Mike Johnson on color commentary typically. And so elite, very overqualified for a local broadcast. I think there's also an element that's so captivating or I guess exciting for their future in terms of like how collaborative all of their young players are as well.

And when I say that, I mean, like, look at the minutes when Hudson's out there with Suzuki, for example, on last year, 500, 5-15 minutes. They outscore teams 38 to 11 and add shares in, like, the mid-60s. Like, sometimes your best defenseman and best forward, I mean, generally you're going to win those minutes, but it's not always as symbiotic, I guess, as it is when those guys are out there. They almost kind of, like, play off of each other in such a beautiful, collaborative way that I think it leads to great results, but it's also translates to a really fun product. number two, the San Jose sharks. I had them second, you had them third, strongly considered having them number one on my list just because of the forwards.

And particularly seeing how it all shakes out, who plays with whom, what the final combinations are like. I think they can mix and match quite a bit, and I imagine they will do so throughout the start of the year, but I want to take that ride with them. I want to be part of that journey. I want to see how it plays out.

I want to see if they can take this next logical step in their development as an organization and make the playoffs this year in a wide open Pacific. I know you've kind of expressed some concerns about certain areas that they banked points last year that might not continue this year. And they could theoretically improve while not actually reflecting that in the standings. And I think that's a point well taken. But some of the flaws with this team also add to the entertainment value as well, right? Like there will be defensive mistakes.

They're going to have to outscore some of their issues. And at the worst, like some of the defensive personnel they brought in, at least has certain entertainment value to it. Like a Michael Kesselring, for example, I'm curious to see if he can bounce back. He's too big and fast and talented enough to be as bad as he was last year in Buffalo. You're always going to get shenanigans from Jacob Truba,

one way or another. So even their goalies are entertaining for better or for worse, right? The highs of Ned making crazy saves and then coming out to play a puck and missing it and then winding up in a catastrophic goal against Yarrislav Ascarov. when he's on, he's one of the best goalies in the world. When he's not on, like last year down the stretch, it's a disaster and you're going to get these six, five games.

You put it all together and it's going to be a pretty fun season, I think. And yeah, I just want to watch as much of it as can. I like that they're in the late game as well. And as two people living on the West Coast, it's nice. It's not too late for us tuning in during the spooky hours and just kind of seeing what happens in those games. And so, yeah, I think number two, on our list is the right call, and I can't wait to watch the sharks this season.

Yeah, Macklin is Macklin. He alone makes the must watch, but beyond that, he still got so much talent. Will Smith, Stenberg, obviously, and especially with him having pro-ready attributes and looking as great as he has in preseason so far, he's going to be such an exciting talent. Even a guy like Michael Misa, I feel like he goes, he slips under the radar, which is kind of crazy to think because he himself was the number two pick. But between all the attention that Celebrity and Smith get and the buzz around Stenberg's rookie season, I feel like people forget

the strides that Mises started to take in the second half. And while he was still only averaging 13, 14 minutes of ice time, I believe there's a chance he could take a significant leap this year. And then even certain guys like Chernoshov so much fun to watch with his with his wheels, with his power elements, a little bit Valensuchin-Coded in that kind of way. And then like a calling graph, always buzzing around, forechecking, making the PK fund to watch. They're just loaded.

Kiefer Sherwood, right? Like, Kiefer Sherwood's hitting everything that moves. He's playing every shift like it's his last in the NHL. So to have him further down the lineup as well, he's an entertaining player to watch. This is just a fun, dynamic group. And because the Pacific is wide open, it feels like there's such a wide open opportunity for them.

And we don't know whether they're going to be good enough to quite make the playoffs. And I think that's part of why you have to tune in. Yeah, year one of Ivers, Denver, year two of Michael Misa and Chernishov bringing in Sherwood, midway through last year and then Mason Marchment this offseason there's so many fun pieces here up front and speaking of collaborative efforts

I love when Macklin Celebrity does something outrageous and then Randy Hahn on the call just loses his mind and just keeps screaming Celebrini so yeah I'm very excited to watch this team number one on our list we each had them first in our ranking the Colorado Avalanche

still the gold standard for me in terms of entertainment no one is a better bet to just go absolutely off for an offensive explosion on any given night. They scored between six and nine goals 12 times in the regular season last year. And the thing about them is, you know, some of these other teams, like even a Tampa, for example, if they get you early, they'll manage their minutes and kind of take their foot off the gas and just push the result across the finish line. It feels like with the abs, they're just going to go full blast at all times and run up the score on you. and it's going to be an unstoppable landslide.

And so it's remarkable. You know, it's a testament to how fun this group is that it's a lot of veteran players. We sort of know how they're going to play. They've been doing it for a while. And yet still, I find myself tuning into every single last game because McKinnon and McCarra in particular can just do stuff physically than no one else in the world can. Yeah. And as a forward line, McKinnon and Naches are unlike any other duo in the NH.

I'm not saying they're the best duo because you still have Connor and, Leon when they play together or an absolute treat. But the way that McKinnon and Nate just attack together is one of one. It feels like something out of like an EA NHL video game with the outrageous level of pace that they both have on the same line. It feels like a cheat code. It almost feels unfair. I remember when they were first put together, I was like after the trade going like this is going to be such a fun science experiment to see. you've got two like 99th percentile skaters,

99th percentile zone entry and rush creators. There's one puck. Are they going to be able to work off of each other? Can a guy like Natchez adjust to having last puck touches? And that's been part of the fun in watching them is they each take turns, just going on these dynamic forays through the neutral zone. And I think NACIS has gained a level. of just like understanding how to play off of those guys.

And if McKinnon's commanding all the attention or if McCar is dancing at the blue line, Nate just understanding how to find the soft spots and him quietly developing a pretty lethal shot from that slot area has been a ton of fun to watch. But just the way that this team attacks off the rush is so terrifying for opponents. They're the best transition team in the NHL. And just the collection of superstar talent that they have makes them must watch. Yeah, I think no team in the league does us get a job of building up momentum the way they do leading to a crescendo. Now, they bring in Svechkov, Leroux, Jane Schwartz.

This summer, they bring back Brett Kulak. They bring back Brent Burns. They're pretty much rolling over the same blue line as last year. I do wish they'd brought in some more. kind of like young legs slash fresh blood into this group, just particularly for the regular season and kind of managing this 84 game schedule because a lot of their top players are either in or approaching their mid-30s with a ton of miles on them. I imagine they don't want to burn them out.

So I guess I'm curious to see sort of how they approach that and whether some of these younger guys can step up and take on some of that burden throughout the regular season. But the power play somehow has room for growth as well, despite leading the league in scoring last year. They were 29th with the man advantage and it was much better after Nazim Khadry arrived and they finally started moving McKinnon around a bit more having Natchez in his shooting spot. And so if that could tick up and it's almost impossible to fathom that it's going to be as bad as it was last year, then maybe there's even a bit more offensive upside for this team in the regular season. And there is good a bet as anyone to lead the league in

scoring, I think. 100%. And even the guys they have further down the lineup, we've spoken countless this time is about San Malinski and the Pock Moving Valley. They have them in Carolina and maybe Tampa, you could say, are cream of the crop in identifying a playing style and a system and then finding guys that are a perfect fit for that environment to and can optimize the player's output. But they just seem to always be so aligned and constantly finding guys that fit their playing style. You rarely have a guy that they bring in, end up being awkward fit for the quickness and pace

at which they want to play. All right, buddy. Well, that's it. We've finished our watchability rankings heading into the season. It was a really fun exercise. I hope our listeners enjoyed it. A quick disclaimer, I should have mentioned this off the top. I think it goes out saying, but I really hope people don't get too balked out.

with like the specific ranking for some of these teams like oh my favorite team was 22nd they should have been 19 like the way i viewed it was putting teams in tiers almost and then it comes down to just personal preference of what you're looking for in a game and your mileage can vary on whether that team should be at the top of the tier at the bottom of the tier i think the tearing is much more important and ultimately the reason why i love doing this is a it just allows us to kind of nerd out about a lot of these teams and some of the details we see when we watch them but also i think is good for giving people an insight into like when you're tuning in to watch them, what you can expect, what to look for and what we value. So that was a lot of fun. I will let you promote some stuff here on the way out. I know you're going to be busy heading into the start of the season so let the listeners know what they can expect from you moving forward. Yeah, just wrapped up all the season previews for every team at the athletic.

So me, Dom, Shana, Sean Gentilly have worked tirelessly over the last two weeks to do that. So you can check that out at the athletic. If you enjoyed today's show and you just want more of the PDOCAST, please make sure you subscribe to the Patreon. Get in there if you haven't already now that the season's starting. You're going to get immediate access to every single show we do in ad-free forum. And we'll be putting a lot out there at the start of the season, especially when the game start.

I'm excited to just break all of that down. Check out the PDO gas YouTube channel as well where you can watch full shows like this one moving forward this year. Pick up some PDOCass merch for yourself. We've got hats and t-shirts available. And that is all for today. The regular season kicks off on Tuesday. We'll be back here, I think midweek, once we actually got some games to watch and discuss.

And so we'll have a lot of stuff towards the end of next week. Enjoy the start of the regular season. And thank you for subscribing and listening to the Hockeyedio cast.