And then there were two. The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers remain standing after a gauntlet that took the NHL's 32 teams through training camp, early-season jitters, trade deadlines and playoff pushes, and they'll begin play for the Stanley Cup Final this weekend in Miami. So where does that leave the other 30? Well, the remainder of the league finds itself in many places as the calendar advances into June, with some teams nursing recent postseason hurt, while others are knee-deep in planning for the draft later this month and the free-agency rush that begins July 1.
The B/R hockey team took that as a cue to get together in the (unofficial) early summer swelter and rank the teams not playing Saturday night in terms of where they stand when the focus is turned to the opening of the 2024-25 season in October. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the comments. Previous Ranking: 29 There's room for at least some offseason optimism in middle Ohio thanks to the arrival of new general manager Don Waddell, who took the reins in Columbus just four days after resigning from a similar position with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Previous Ranking: 30 The Ducks will draft third as they prepare for a second season under head coach Greg Cronin, who became the ninth man behind the bench since 2000 when he replaced Dallas Eakins and finished 30th overall in 2023-24. Previous Ranking: 32 It's all about Macklin Celebrini in northern California, where the Sharks won the lot.
