The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are already looking a bit different than normal.
Gone are some of the usual suspects in the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. The Seattle Kraken, meanwhile, will make their first-ever playoff debut in short order. And the impetus behind all of this seems to be the shifting powers across the NHL landscape that have coalesced behind one team in particular.
The first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins on Monday, with weeks of chaos sure to follow. One of the best parts of playoff hockey season is the massive upsets we bear witness to every spring and this year seems to be no different. One team in particular, the Tampa Bay Lightning, might just be set to fall out of favor earlier than expected. But don’t worry, we’ll get into it soon enough.
As the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway, here are our power rankings of all 16 playoff teams ahead of the chaos to come.