1. Chicago Blackhawks It’s hard to knock the defending champs from their top spot, especially not having played a single exhibition game at this point in the year, so why try? The Blackhawks proved to be deep enough to win Lord Stanley’s Cup, but that didn’t stop them from making moves this summer. Left wing, Viktor Stalberg, acquired via trade with Toronto, provides additional size and talent in an already potent offense, adding further depth to one of the elite frontlines in the game. It may be tough to repeat as league champions, but with the core of Toews, Kane and Hossa still intact, it may be even tougher to knock of the Hawks.
2. Vancouver Canucks With Roberto Luongo in net, Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis coming in to shore up the defensive unit and the Sedins attacking the net with no regard for netminders’ well-being, the Canucks are arguably the biggest threat to take down Chicago over the course of the season. Vancouver’s elite goaltending/defense actually provides an advantage over the Blackhawks, though the Canucks may lack the top end firepower to contend with the champs in a shootout. Still, steady defense should put Vancouver in position to challenge for the Cup come playoff time.
3. San Jose Sharks The loss of Nabakov makes the Sharks outlook more nebulous than we’ve grown accustomed to over the past several years, however, this team simply has too much talent to write off. Assuming Antero Niitymaki and/or Thomas Greiss prove to be capable of handling a fulltime workload between the posts, the Sharks should once again be on the short list of Western Conference crown contenders. After all, if a line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley is good enough for the Canadian National Team, it’s certainly among the best in the NHL.

Dark horse: St. Louis Blues Though the Blues missed the playoffs last season, bringing in Jaroslav Halak suddenly makes an already competitive squad among the the West’s elite. T.J. Oshie and David Backes head up a young group that could take a major leap in 2010-11.

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