Training camps and preseason games are officially underway for all 32 NHL teams, and the new season is just around the corner. For those of you who are new to CPF Hockey, I have a life goal of watching every NHL team play in person, and I have had the privilege of being able to do so for six teams thus far: the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, and Seattle Kraken. I wanted to release a personal ranking post before the start of the 2023-24 regular season, and in this one, I will rank the 26 NHL teams I have yet to see play in person from least desirable to most desirable. This list will be based on a few factors: the current state of each franchise heading into the 2023-24 season, my general opinion of each team regardless of current on-ice product, specific players that I find intriguing, and my overall desire to travel to certain NHL cities. Each spot in the ranking will be followed by a brief explanation as to why each team is ranked in its respective spot.
In addition, I have considered teams in general for this ranking more so than arenas because as of now, it would be easier for me to catch any of these 26 teams and cross them off the list when they make their way through California on a road trip during the regular season, especially when they face the Sharks at SAP Center. Therefore, this factor makes the teams life goal more achievable than the arenas life goal. One final note: I would be down to see any of these teams play in person in the near future, but definitely some more than others. Without further ado, let's begin:
26) Arizona Coyotes
Out of all the teams I have yet to see play in person, I am the least interested in seeing the Arizona Coyotes play in person. I have never been a big fan of this team, and they've generally had a poor track record ever since they relocated to Arizona from Winnipeg when they were the previous Jets franchise. Although they have added a few players in free agency to become more competitive and have a fairly loaded farm system, the Coyotes are still not expected to be a serious playoff contender, and I find them less intriguing to watch than practically every other team on this list. Also keep in mind that their future in Arizona as the Coyotes is uncertain in the long term, as they have yet to find a permanent new home.
25) Winnipeg Jets
I have the Winnipeg Jets ranked next-to-last on this list because they seem to be heading in a downward spiral after their finish to last season and some of their top players not wanting to stay in Winnipeg long-term. In addition, the Jets have had a less-than-stellar track record after relocating to Winnipeg from Atlanta in 2011, and Winnipeg would be one of the toughest cities to travel to for catching an NHL game during much of the hockey season due to heavy snow and frigid cold temperatures during that time of year. However, Winnipeg has some intriguing talent that is worth watching, such as Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Cole Perfetti.
24) St. Louis Blues
Like the Jets, the Blues seem to be trending downward heading into the 2023-24 season, and I am not a huge fan of either team. However, the factors placing the Blues ahead of the Jets on this list are the Blues' having more recent success and St. Louis being a more appealing travel destination than Winnipeg.
23) Calgary Flames
The Flames have the potential to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season, but this is far from guaranteed. I'm not a big Flames fan in general, but Calgary has some appealing propositions that rank them above three other teams on this list.
22) Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are a mediocre franchise with seemingly little to no direction, but Vancouver is a beautiful city that I've previously traveled to and would love to experience again. In addition, the Canucks currently have an amazing young talent and faces of their franchise in Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. The only time I visited Vancouver was during the summer in the middle of the hockey offseason. Although this may be the best time to travel to Vancouver, I have yet to see Rogers Arena up close and attend a Canucks game, and I view the latter as a quintessential aspect of anyone's Vancouver experience.
21) Columbus Blue Jackets
Although the Blue Jackets have been the least successful franchise in NHL history thus far, they currently have some things I enjoy about them: cool logo and uniforms, a loaded farm system, and a cannon inside their home arena. These positive aspects alone make the Blue Jackets worth watching and have propelled them this far up my list.
20) Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo can be a very unpleasant place during the winter months, and the Sabres may have the longest active playoff drought in the NHL, but they are an up-and-coming team loaded with young talent. I especially like how Tage Thompson has blossomed into a superstar for the Sabres this past season and look forward to his further progression in his playing career. This Buffalo Sabres team is becoming more fun to watch, and they have the makings to end their playoff drought in the next few seasons if all goes to plan.
19) Edmonton Oilers
I don't like the Oilers all that much, but they crack the top 20 because they have two of the absolute best players in the NHL in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who can do some unbelievably amazing things on the ice. In addition, the Oilers have a cool state-of-the-art arena in Edmonton known as Rogers Place that not only looks the part, but has an incredible atmosphere as well.
18) Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers may be entering a rebuild and probably aren't expected to compete for the playoffs anytime soon, but there's something about the Flyers that has always made them likeable to an extent. In addition, their mascot Gritty is the greatest mascot in the NHL not named S.J. Sharkie, mainly because his antics are purely hilarious and entertaining.
17) Minnesota Wild
The Wild logo and uniforms are some of the best in sports, and Minnesota has one of the best goal-scorers and overall talents in Kirill Kaprizov. In addition, the Wild have one of the best goalie tandems in the league in Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. However, the only things keeping the Wild from moving any further up this list are their lack of additional firepower and playoff success, and Minnesota's frigid winters making it tough to travel to Xcel Energy Arena to catch a Wild game there.
16) New York Islanders
The Islanders have a cool new arena with a great atmosphere filled with passionate fans, along with some intriguing players like Mat Barzal, Anders Lee, Ilya Sorokin, and Bo Horvat. However, they have a more boring style of play compared to other teams on this list.
15) Ottawa Senators
The Senators are an up-and-coming team with the pieces in place to compete for the playoffs. I have never been a huge fan of the Senators, but there's something about Eastern Canadian-based teams that make them appealing to watch in person. Canadian Tire Centre may not be the best arena or the easiest arena to access, but it would still be fascinating to experience an Ottawa Senators game there.
14) Vegas Golden Knights
Las Vegas is an amazing and unbelievable city worth experiencing multiple times, T-Mobile Arena is an incredible arena with a lively atmosphere, and the Golden Knights have cemented themselves as a juggernaut in nearly every season they have played since entering the NHL in 2016-17. However, the Golden Knights are one of my absolute least favorite sports teams, and the more seasons and games they play, the more unlikable they become. The best scenarios for me to watch the Golden Knights play in person would be against an opponent I undoubtedly want to see the Knights lose to. The only gripe I would have against attending a Knights game in Vegas would be that the arena environment might be hostile for Sharks fans like me who actively root against the Knights nearly all the time. Still, watching the Vegas Golden Knights play in person would be very exciting in pretty much any situation nonetheless.
13) Nashville Predators
Nashville looks like a fun city worth visiting one day, and it wouldn't be a trip to the Music City for me without taking in a Predators game at Bridgestone Arena. The atmosphere at Bridgestone Arena during Predators games is absolutely incredible, and this team has had a solid track record of regular-season success and some playoff success thus far. In addition, the Predators have a great core consisting of Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros, along with an intriguing new offseason addition in Ryan O'Reilly. The Predators have some other unique and interesting traditions as well, adding to their already electrifying gameday atmosphere.
12) Montreal Canadiens
Being an original-six franchise based in Eastern Canada with a rich and extensive history of success makes the Montreal Canadiens a must-see product in person. The Habs may not have the best on-ice product heading into the 2023-24 season, but they have some intriguing young talent in Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky, and are certainly heading in the right direction towards becoming a perennial playoff contender once again.
11) New Jersey Devils
After years of mediocrity, the New Jersey Devils broke out and became one of the best teams in the NHL last season. They have the core and farm system in place to become serious Stanley Cup contenders for many years to come, led by Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier to name a few. This Devils team is fun to watch, and the sky's the limit on what they can achieve in the coming years.
10) Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings are a storied original-six franchise and one of my top-five favorite teams in the NHL. They may be in a rebuild as of now, but the Red Wings have some building blocks in place that can help them towards becoming a playoff team once again, such as Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Moritz Seider. Detroit also added an intriguing new piece this past offseason in Alex DeBrincat. Besides the currently mostly mediocre on-ice product, the other major factor making the Red Wings the least appealing to watch live out of my top-five favorite NHL teams is the city of Detroit not having much to offer that isn't the auto industry or all four of its major pro sports teams being located close together.
9) Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are coming off of one of the most phenomenal playoff runs in recent memory last season, and are becoming more of a fun team to watch. In addition, South Florida is one of my top bucket list destinations, and the weather in Florida is great during hockey season. Although the Panthers' arena is located outside Miami, catching a Panthers game is a must when traveling to South Florida.
8) Boston Bruins
The Bruins are a storied original-six franchise who just came off of quite possibly the greatest regular season in NHL history last season. Although they will be without two significant veteran presences in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in 2023-24 due to both of them retiring, Boston is no slouch, still being led by the likes of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Linus Ullmark.
7) Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are a team loaded with talent on all areas of the ice. In addition, the atmosphere at PNC Arena in Raleigh is absolutely electric, and their victory tradition known as the Storm Surge has taken the hockey world by storm. I've begun to appreciate this Hurricanes team more, especially after they acquired Brent Burns, one of my all-time favorite San Jose Sharks, two offseasons ago and seeing Andrei Svechnikov pull of the lacrosse/Michigan goal twice. The Canes are a ton of fun to watch and difficult to hate, and I would love to take in one of their games someday.
6) Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are my favorite Canadian-based NHL team, and Toronto is one of my top bucket-list travel destinations, especially since the Hockey Hall of Fame is located there. In addition, the Leafs' top four star players of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander are an even bigger reason to watch Toronto play in person more than most other NHL teams.
5) Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have become a very captivating team during the past five seasons, up to the point where they've become my sixth-favorite NHL team and favorite team in the Central Division. Two huge reasons for this are Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who are one of the greatest players in the world and the greatest all-around defenseman in the world respectively. Besides MacKinnon and Makar, there are plenty more reasons that make the Avs an extremely likeable team, such as their logo, uniforms, and depth scoring.
4) Pittsburgh Penguins
The biggest reason why the Penguins are this high on my list of teams I want to see play in person is Sidney Crosby, who is quite possibly the greatest player of our generation and still performing at a very high level. In addition, as long as the Pens have their core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, they will always be a threat to make the playoffs and go on a deep run. In addition, Pittsburgh just added one of my all-time favorite San Jose Sharks and one of the greatest offensive defensemen in NHL history in Erik Karlsson to bolster their scoring and power play. However, there is a greater sense of urgency to see the Penguins' core of Crosby, Malkin, and Letang play in person since each of them are on the wrong side of 30 and may not stay together on the Pens for too much longer.
3) Washington Capitals
Not only are the Capitals my fifth-favorite NHL team, but there is really only one reason why they are in my top three teams I want to see play in person: Alex Ovechkin. Not only is Ovi one of the greatest goal-scorers of all-time, he has an amazing personality, is the heart and soul of this Caps team, and could potentially break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. In addition, Washington has some great supporting cast players in Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, and John Carlson. Like with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, there is a greater sense of urgency to see Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals play in person than with most teams because Ovi is on the wrong side of 30 and may not be able to produce at a high level for much longer.
2) New York Rangers
The Rangers are my third-favorite NHL team, but there's much more as to why they are second on my list here. Out of all the NHL arenas I haven't been to yet, I am most interested in catching a game at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have no shortage of players who are either great or have the potential for greatness, such as Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere, and others. In addition, they pull off their primary jersey design better than any other team can.
1) Tampa Bay Lightning
Coming in at the top spot of my list and edging out the second team on my list slightly is the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts are my second favorite NHL team, have an excellent core of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy, and hold an incredible track record of success highlighted by back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021. In addition, Tampa has an overall great climate during hockey season, and Amalie Arena looks like an amazing venue to take in a hockey game at.
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