"Wonder how Bruins fans feel" "Would Detroit not get the same respect?": NHL fans debate on salary-cap era franchise rankings

The Athletic recently ranked the NHL teams in the salary cap era starting from the 2005-06 season. In this annual ranking, they considered the teams' successes in the playoffs and Stanley Cup wins.

The No. 1 team was Pittsburgh Penguins with 52 points and they maintained the top spot from the 2023 rankings. Then came Tampa Bay with 47 points, who also maintained their spot from 2023.

In third, were the Chicago Blackhawks with 44 points, who were also third last year. At the bottom of the list, there are the Seattle Kraken, Utah Hockey Club, and Columbus Blue Jackets, with Seattle at No. 32.

Fans reacted to the ranking on Reddit:

"I wonder how Bruins fans feel. Only 1 Cup during this stretch, but pretty much the most consistent domination from a team in the regular season and playoffs overall, even if they only got the thing done one."

Comment byu/DekexelDragon55 from discussion inhockey

"Would Detroit not get the same respect? More finals appearances, 1 cup, and even with the last several years they still had an 11 year playoff streak in the cap era."

Comment byu/DekexelDragon55 from discussion inhockey

'Seems a little goofy to do all the rankings based on results from the last 2 decades, but then have all the blurbs mostly talk about what happened in the last 3 months. I would have liked to see more of a discussion of longer franchise trends," one fan opined,

Here are some more reactions from fans on Reddit:

"Vegas is way too low. What they have accomplished is totally unprecedented in pro sports," a fan said,

"Underwhelmed tbh. I recognize how lucky we’ve been to not be Buffalo and consistently make the playoffs and go to multiple cups, but I also recognize we’re one game away from being in the same conversation as teams MUCH lower in these rankings - a long history of 'almost but not quite,'" one fan said,

A Dallas Stars fan shared their thoughts:

"Couldn't have asked for a more accurate Dallas Stars ranking as the 16th of 32. The curse of mediocrity is real for the past 20 years of just good enough, but not enough to win it all. Pain."

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Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers early Stanley Cup favorites for the 2024-25 NHL season

The 2023-24 NHL season saw teams have a variety of highs and lows and got very interesting as we neared the playoffs. Connor McDavid and the Oilers were not even in consideration of contention after a poor start to the season, but they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, where they fell short to the Florida Panthers.

This season we might get to witness something similar. Considering the way the Florida Panthers won the cup after losing in the 2022-23 finals, the Oilers will hope to do the same.

That certainly won't be easy, with teams like the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Colorado Avalanche all gearing up for a challenge. Not to mention the Panthers, who will look to defend the cup, and the Dallas Stars, with these two being the early favorites.

Florida and Dallas are 9-1 to win the Stanley Cup as per ESPN, and are followed by the Hurricanes and Oilers at 10-1. It will be interesting to see if the odds reflect reality, or if another contender will emerge during the season.