2022 Analysis
|
Team |
Average Ranking |
#1 Rankings |
Highest Ranking |
Lowest Ranking |
Standard Deviation |
Commentary |
|
The Favourites |
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| Colorado Avalanche | 2.98 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 2.33 | For the second year in a row, the Avalanche are the overall favourites, with an average ranking more than a point better than any other team, and a whopping 13 picks (32.5% of all entries!) to win the Cup... |
|
The
Dark Horses |
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| Calgary Flames | 4.18 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 2.70 | The top Canadian team and second-best overall, there's consensus that the Flames will do well, although only four entries pick them to actually win the Cup... |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 4.90 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 3.10 | The Canes wind up as the favourite team in the East, 16 years after their first Cup win... |
| Florida Panthers | 5.08 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 3.51 | The President's Trophy winners this year get minimal respect, with only the fourth-best average ranking and only three picks to win the Cup... |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 6.38 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 4.22 | The Leafs have the highest standard deviation this year, and the second-highest #1 rankings, so many entries will depend heavily on how they fare... |
|
The
Longshots |
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| Edmonton Oilers | 7.60 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 3.37 | Can the Oilers finally put their recent playoff disappointments behind them and make a real run at the Cup, or will they crash and burn in the first round again? There is a real lack of consensus on that question among poolies, so we'll have to wait and see... |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 7.85 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 3.88 | The defending champions appear to punch above their weight, as the highest average-ranked first round lower seed...while they're not a consensus pick to get past the Leafs, those who have picked them to win in the first round largely have them going much deeper still... |
| Minnesota Wild | 8.35 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3.75 | The Wild come into the playoffs as the second seed in the Central, after a strong second half, but few have faith they'll last very long... |
| New York Rangers | 8.38 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3.17 | The lowest of the teams with home-ice advantage in the first round, the Rangers appear to be a longshot, but with a relatively low standard deviation, most entries appear to be hedging with them close to the middle... |
| St Louis Blues | 8.58 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3.35 | Only three years out from winning it all, the Blues come very close to the Wild in average ranking, but are not quite favoured to get past the first round... |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 9.05 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 3.44 | The corollary of the Rangers being the lowest higher seed in average ranking is that the Penguins are one of the higher average-ranked lower seeded teams, with a few believers that Sid and company can make a run deep into the playoffs... |
|
The
Faint Hopes |
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| Los Angeles Kings | 11.38 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 2.87 | The Kings are the only team besides the Predators not predicted by anyone to make the conference finals, but curiously they only have the fifth-worst average ranking, indicating that a fair number of entries are hedging with them in the third quartile... |
| Boston Bruins | 11.53 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 3.19 | The Bruins are the most favoured of the wild card teams, but not picked by anyone to make it past the conference finals... |
| Washington Capitals | 11.73 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 3.49 | The Capitals have the third-worst average ranking, but with a relatively high standard deviation, there are a few entries that have them going deep into the playoffs... |
| Dallas Stars | 13.43 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 2.97 | There isn't much confidence in the Stars, facing the Flames in the first round... |
| Nashville Predators | 14.65 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 2.15 | The first unanimous pick since 2010 is that the Predators won't make it out of the first round, giving them the worst average ranking of any team since 2013... |