The season hasn't started yet, but it's never too soon to evaluate how the power in the NHL is shifting. Find out where your team ranks in Hockey Primetime's first power rankings of the new season:

1

2

Vancouver Canucks – The Canucks addressed their primary need this off season: defense. The addition of Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard means a few things for the team. One, they still have some cap room to clear up before the season starts; two, Roberto Luongo will be as protected in net as he's ever been; three, Luongo is going to need to learn how to duck in a hurry. 

3

Pittsburgh Penguins – The signing of Mike Comrie means that, one way or the other, Pens' fans will have something to cheer about during the season: Either for the play of their team on the ice, or for sightings of Hillary Duff around the arena. (As an aside, she's got to be a shoo-in for the National Anthem for at least 10-15 games, right?)

4

San Jose Sharks – San Jose did something out of the ordinary this off-season. They were relatively quiet, except for that offer sheet to Nicklas Hjalmarsson. Oh, and the signing of Antti Niemi. Hey, you don't think they were related? Nah ...

5

New Jersey Devils – The good news? Kovi-Gate was resolved in the favor of the Devils, finally. The bad news? The Devils are going to have to unload at least one high-priced player, and any plans for a Stanley Cup parade through Newark will first have to be approved by a league-appointed arbitrator.

6

Detroit Red Wings – The Wings have found their goalie in Jimmy Howard and hit their stride late last season. The additions of Mike Modano and Ruslan Salei, and the return of Jiri Hudler from the KHL, is only going to make this team more dangerous as long as they're healthy – no small feat for this franchise.

7

Washington Capitals – It's hard to believe that the Capitals could have dropped so far down the rankings after winning the President's Trophy this past season. But playoff success is a barometer for success in the league. The Capitals haven't accomplished that yet, but don't expect a dropoff in Washington.

8

Boston Bruins – The news that Marc Savard has been shut down by the squad because of post-concussion syndrome symptoms is awful news for both Savard and the Bruins. There's no timetable for his return, but the Bruins and NHL rumor mongers alike are hoping that his return is sooner rather than later.

9

Los Angeles Kings – The addition of Willie Mitchell to the blue line makes the Kings a better team, and was a  solid consolation prize for losing out on the Kovalchuk debacle/sweepstakes. Along with Mitchell, the fact that Jonathan Bernier is finally arriving in the NHL makes this a very exciting year for Kings fans.

10

Chicago Blackhawks – The Blackhawks' garage sale is now complete, and it's apparent that a lot is going to ride on the players not among Chicago's core. Adding Ryan Potulny was a very underrated move. The hope is that Marty Turco will find his form behind a better defense than he had in Dallas.

11

Buffalo Sabres – One thing you can be sure of each and every off season: The Sabres won't make any earth-shattering moves. That was certainly the case again this summer. What moves they did make, however, will stay the course for a team that won the Northeast Division. Not a bad thing.

12

Phoenix Coyotes – I'll make this solemn promise about the Phoenix Coyotes this season: Not a single one of these will mention their attendance. With that out of the way, the ‘Yotes are going to have a hard time following up their surprising 2009-10 season. The team has a good system, a good coach and has signed a couple good offensive players that should help make them an exciting team to follow.

13

Nashville Predators – The Preds have been one of the steadiest, most consistent franchises over the last few seasons. Unfortunately, that's carried over to their playoff performances as well: Five postseason appearances in six seasons, five first-round exits. The addition of Matthew Lombardi and a full season from Colin Wilson should help, but the team has got to start improving in the playoffs.

14

Tampa Bay Lightning – There is no doubt that Steve Yzerman is going to be a great general manager in this league. He's brought Pavel Kubina back into the fold, he traded for Simon Gagne and he's keeping Dan Ellis from poverty. What's more, he's given Vincent Lecavalier some semblance of stability with the organization, and that should mean big numbers for their big center.

15

Calgary Flames – Many question marks surround the Flames organization. First and foremost, "Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen?" After that the biggest question mark is surrounding Daryl Sutter. The team is up against the cap, and 10 of their 23 signed players have no-trade clauses of some sort. That sort of cap mismanagement certainly raises eyebrows.

16

Montreal Canadiens – The Carey Price strike was avoided and the Habs locked up the young goaltender for at least two more years. It's now time for him to prove that he's capable of being a true number one and that he has the work ethic needed to be a top-flight goaltender in the NHL.

17

Colorado Avalanche – Last season was a pleasant surprise for the Avs, who far exceeded all expectations and made the playoffs. It's going to be an uphill battle in the tough Western Conference, but Craig Anderson has proven himself capable of being a number one goalie in the NHL, and you can bet Colorado is ready to prove its naysayers wrong again.

18

Ottawa Senators – Filip Kuba's injury certainly hampers the Senators' hopes for the coming season, but there's no doubt that they have high hopes after giving the Penguins all they could handle in the playoffs. Neither Brian Elliot or Pascal Leclaire have proven themselves in net yet, but both will get ample chances handling the load, bringing the Sens back to the promised land.

19

Anaheim Ducks – The Ducks have been busy this off-season. Bobby Ryan is re-signed and the team has turned its eyes back to the playoffs. Ryan, along with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, provide three solid top-line scorers, and Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu provide a solid secondary line. If their defense can protect Jonas Hiller, there's no reason why this team shouldn't make its way back to the playoffs.

20

Carolina Hurricanes – The ‘Canes have started their youth movement and are optimistic about the future. The team managed to find a place for Rod Brind'Amour in their organization as Director of Forwards Development. If he's able to help young forwards like Brandon Sutter and Zach Boychuck develop, it will be worth the vagueness of the title.

21

St. Louis Blues – The Savior of Montreal is finally at camp in St. Louis and its sink or swim time for this young squad. It's going to be up to the Blues' youth to get this team back into the playoffs. It's got to be disconcerting, though, that their new savior in net spent his entire summer making appearances in Montreal.

22

New York Rangers – Glen Sather followed up the masterful signing of Martin Biron by the shockingly bad signing of Derek Boogaard, which he followed with the shrewd trade for Todd White and the shrewd signing of Alexander Frolov. Now, if your head is spinning you know the feeling of being a Rangers fan.

23

Atlanta Thrashers – The Chicago Blackhawks South had an interesting off-season that saw them get much, much harder to play against. The additions of Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Ben Eager give the team some extra grit. Despite Byfuglien's move back to defense, Thrashers fans have to hope that he's going to be retaining his role of sitting on goalies' foreheads on the power play.

24

Minnesota Wild – The Wild have to be one of the most frustrating teams in the NHL to be a fan of. Just when there is any sort of optimism surrounding the team, it's quickly squashed by bad news. Most recently, James Sheppard broke his patella in an off-ice incident and concussed forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard is progressing but likely won't be ready for the beginning of the season.

25

New York Islanders – The Islanders like first-round draft pick Nino Niederreiter more and more as he continues to impress as the season approaches. That's good news for the squad, as Kirill Kabanov has looked less than impressive. The additions of James Wisniewski, Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina will certainly help protect their goaltenders; with Rick DiPietro still under contract, that's a very good thing.

26

Florida Panthers – Rebuilding hurts. There's no doubt about it. But when you're rebuilding as long as the Panthers have, it tends to hurt a lot more when you have to start over again. At the NHL Draft it was apparent that at least Dale Tallon has a plan for this organization, which makes the process a lot easier to swallow. Their young players will get a chance to shine this season and next.

27

Dallas Stars – The biggest question hanging over the Dallas Stars is which team will show up. Will it be the team that missed the playoffs the last two seasons or the team that was two wins from the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008? The answer to that question lies squarely on Kari Lehtonen's shoulders – or rather, his lower body. If Lehtonen's healthy, there's a good chance that things could be looking up in Dallas.

28

Toronto Maple Leafs – It's easy to pile on the Leafs for their lack of accomplishments on the ice, but the fact remains that this team is going to be difficult to play against. They've got one of the better defensive units in the East, a solid goaltending tandem, and a group of young forwards with a yet-undiscovered up side. There are a lot of ifs involved, but IF everything falls into place the Leafs could be dangerous.

29

Columbus Blue Jackets – This season is going to be a telling season for the Jackets. They'll have Nikita Filatov back from the KHL and Steve Mason will try to show that his sophomore season was an aberration. Under new head coach Scott Arniel and not the iron fist of Ken Hitchcock, their youth will seek to thrive.

30

Edmonton Oilers – This is going to be another difficult season for Oilers fans. It won't be as bad as the last one, and there's optimism on the horizon for a franchise coming off one of its worst seasons ever. The trio of Hall, Paajarvi and Eberle will be on the roster and Ales Hemsky is going to be healthy. So, that's something. But the Oilers will struggle again.

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