Super 16: Lightning top offseason rankings

An offseason edition of the Super 16?
Why not?
Understanding that things could change at any moment with a seismic trade or free agent signing, now that we are more than two weeks past the start of NHL free agency, it feels like as good a time as any to present our first power rankings for this season.

To create this offseason Super 16, which runs weekly during the regular season, 12 participating staff members put together a version of what they think the rankings should look like now that most of the major offseason roster reshuffling has taken place.
Those were submitted, and a point total was assigned to each. The team picked first was given 16 points, second got 15, third got 14 and so on down to No. 16, which received one point.
Here is the offseason Super 16 with records from last season in parentheses and a look at the comings and goings for each ranked team:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (62-16-4)

Total points:182
Hit:The Lightning, who won the Presidents' Trophy last season but got swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference First Round, have made minor changes. They bolstered their goalie depth by signing Curtis McElhinney to a two-year contract, re-signed defenseman Braydon Coburn for two years and defenseman Jan Rutta for one, and signed veteran defenseman Luke Schenn to a one-year contract.
Miss: Defenseman Anton Stralman left as a free agent, signing a three-year contract with the Florida Panthers. Tampa Bay traded forward J.T. Miller, who had 47 points (13 goals, 34 assists) in 75 games last season, to the Vancouver Canucks and will put forward Ryan Callahan on long-term injured reserve because of a likely career-ending degenerative back disease.
To-do list:Re-sign restricted free agent center Brayden Point, who had 92 points (41 goals, 51 assists) in 79 games last season.

2. St. Louis Blues (45-28-9)

Total points: 162
Hit:The Stanley Cup champions re-signed goalie Jordan Binnington to a two-year contract, avoiding a salary arbitration hearing. The Blues haven't made any other significant additions.
Miss:
Pat Maroon
is not expected to return. The forward, a St. Louis native who had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season, is an unrestricted free agent. Defenseman Michael Del Zotto signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks.
To-do list: Re-sign forwards Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist, and defenseman Joel Edmundson. Each is an RFA. Sundqvist (July 24) and Edmundson (Aug. 4) have scheduled arbitration hearings.

3. Boston Bruins (49-24-9)

Total points: 156
Hit:The Bruins have been relatively quiet since losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Blues. They signed forwards
Par Lindholm
(two years) and Brett Ritchie (one year), re-signed forward Danton Heinen to a two-year contract, and gave defenseman Connor Clifton a three-year contract extension. He has one year remaining on a two-year contract.
Miss:Ritchie could replace Marcus Johansson, Boston's third-line left wing during the playoffs who signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres. Lindholm was a necessary depth signing because Noel Acciari left to sign a three-year contract with the Panthers.
To-do list:Re-sign RFA defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.

4. Nashville Predators (47-29-6)

Total points: 138
Hit:The Predators signed Matt Duchene to a seven-year contract. He is penciled in as their No. 2 center behind Ryan Johansen.
Miss: Nashville traded defenseman P.K. Subban to the New Jersey Devils for defensemen Steven Santini and
Jeremy Davies
, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. The Predators didn't re-sign forwards Wayne Simmonds (Devils) and Brian Boyle (UFA).
To-do list:Re-sign RFA forwards Colton Sissons and Rocco Grimaldi, who each has an arbitration hearing scheduled (Sissons on July 26; Grimaldi on Aug. 4).

5. Toronto Maple Leafs (46-28-8)

Total points: 135
Hit:The Maple Leafs revamped their defense by adding Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci and Ben Harpur in trades with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators. Forward
Alexander Kerfoot
, who had 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 78 games, also came in the trade with Colorado. Toronto signed center
Jason Spezza
to a one-year contract and re-signed forwards Andreas Johnsson (four years) and Kasperi Kapanen (three years), and goalie
Michael Hutchinson
(one year).
Miss:The trades with Colorado and Ottawa led to Toronto parting with forwards Nazem Kadri (Avalanche) and Connor Brown (Senators), and defensemen Nikita Zaitsev (Senators) and Calle Rosen (Avalanche). The Maple Leafs also traded forward
Patrick Marleau
to the Carolina Hurricanes to create NHL salary cap space. Marleau was bought out by the Hurricanes and is a UFA. Defenseman Ron Hainsey signed a one-year contract with the Senators, and defenseman
Jake Gardiner
is a UFA and not likely to re-sign. Lindholm signed with Boston.
To-do list:Re-sign RFA forward Mitchell Marner, which has always been the most important task since the end of last season, when Marner led Toronto with 94 points (26 goals, 68 assists) in 82 games.

6. Washington Capitals (48-26-8)

Total points: 133
Hit:The Capitals have tinkered with their depth by signing forwards Richard Panik and Garnet Hathaway each to a four-year contract and acquiring defenseman Radko Gudas in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Matt Niskanen. They also re-signed forwards Carl Hagelin (four years) and Jakub Vrana (two years) and signed forward Brendan Leipsic to a one-year contract.
Miss:The depth tinkering included losing forward Brett Connolly, who scored 22 goals last season; he signed a four-year contract with the Panthers. Forward Andre Burakovsky was traded to the Avalanche. Defenseman
Brooks Orpik
retired. Forward
Devante Smith-Pelly
is a UFA.
To-do list: Re-sign forward Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Christian Djoos, who each is an RFA and has scheduled an arbitration hearing (Djoos on July 22; Stephenson on Aug. 1).

7. Dallas Stars (43-32-7)

Total points: 110
Hit:The Stars were busy July 1, signing UFA forwards Joe Pavelski (three years) and Corey Perry (one year), and defenseman Andrej Sekera (one year). The hope is that the veterans -- Pavelski is 35, Perry is 34 and Sekera is 33 -- give Dallas the added scoring, depth and experience it needs to compete for the Central Division title. Pavelski scored 38 goals last season for the San Jose Sharks.
Miss: Mats Zuccarello, a forward who had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 13 playoff games for the Stars last season, signed a five-year contract with the Minnesota Wild. Spezza left to sign with Toronto, and Ritchie signed with Boston. The Stars bought out the last year of forward
Valeri Nichushkin
's contract, making him a UFA.
To-do list:Re-sign RFA defenseman Julius Honka.

8. Calgary Flames (50-25-7)

Total points: 97
Hit:The Flames signed goalie Cam Talbot to a one-year contract so he could join David Rittich in a 1A-1B goaltending scenario. Rittich is a restricted free agent.
Miss: Talbot replaces Mike Smith, who signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
To-do list: Re-sign Rittich, and RFA forwards Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Andrew Mangiapane. Bennett (July 27) and Rittich (July 29) each has a scheduled arbitration hearing.

9. San Jose Sharks (46-27-9)

Total points: 91
Hit: The Sharks kept defenseman Erik Karlsson from becoming a UFA by signing him to an eight-year contract June 17. They also re-signed forwards Timo Meier (four years) and
Kevin Labanc
(one year). Meier had 66 points (30 goals, 36 assists), and Labanc had 56 points (17 goals, 39 assists) last season.
Miss:Pavelski, who was San Jose's captain for the past four seasons, signed with Dallas. Forward Joonas Donskoi signed a four-year contract with the Avalanche, and the Sharks traded defenseman Justin Braun to the Flyers for a second-round pick in the 2019 draft and a third-round pick in the 2020 draft.
To-do list:The Sharks will likely re-sign 40-year-old center
Joe Thornton
. It's possible they're trying to sign Marleau too. The 39-year-old forward is San Jose's leader in games (1,493), goals (508) and points (1,082).

10. Colorado Avalanche (38-30-14)

Total points: 81
Hit:The Avalanche improved their center depth by acquiring Kadri in the trade with the Maple Leafs and signing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, formerly of the Vegas Golden Knights, to a two-year contract. They believe they're improved on the wing too after signing Donskoi and trading with the Capitals to get Burakovsky. They re-signed forward J.T. Compher to a four-year contract.
Miss:Their goalie depth took a hit when Semyon Varlamov left as a free agent to sign a four-year contract with the New York Islanders. The Avalanche also traded Kerfoot and Barrie to the Maple Leafs but think they can make up for it by getting Kadri and elevating defenseman Cale Makar to take Barrie's place in the top four.
To-do list: Re-sign RFA forwards Mikko Rantanen, who had 87 points (31 goals, 56 assists) in 74 games last season, and
Vladislav Kamenev
.

11. Vegas Golden Knights (43-32-7)

Total points: 78
Hit:The Golden Knights haven't made any significant additions, but re-signed center William Karlsson (eight years) and forwards Brandon Pirri (two years) and Tomas Nosek (one year).
Miss: Vegas traded forward Erik Haula to the Hurricanes for forward
Nicolas Roy
and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, and defenseman Colin Miller to the Sabres for a second-round pick in 2021 and a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The Golden Knights must replace Bellemare, who signed with the Avalanche.
To-do list: Sign or trade forward Nikita Gusev, who is an RFA and is looking to make his NHL debut after leading the Kontinental Hockey League with 82 points (17 goals, 65 assists) in 62 games with SKA St. Petersburg last season. Gusev signed a one-year contract with Vegas on April 14 that expired June 30.

12. Florida Panthers (36-32-14)

Total points: 58
Hit:The Panthers have made arguably the most noteworthy series of additions since finishing 12 points out of the playoffs last season. They hired three-time Stanley Cup winning coach Joel Quenneville on April 8. They signed goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year contract July 1, when they also signed Connolly, Stralman and Acciari.
Miss:
Roberto Luongo
, a potential Hockey Hall of Fame goalie, announced his retirement June 26. The Panthers also traded goalie James Reimer to the Hurricanes for goalie
Scott Darling
and bought out Darling's contract to make him a UFA.
To-do list:Florida has three RFAs to sign: forward Denis Malgin, and defensemen MacKenzie Weegar and Ian McCoshen. Weegar has an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 22.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins (44-26-12)

Total points: 57
Hit:The Penguins, who were swept in the first round by the Islanders last season, have made some drastic changes. They acquired forward Alex Galchenyuk in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes for right wing Phil Kessel, acquired forward Dominik Kahun from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade for defenseman Olli Maatta, and signed forward Brandon Tanev to a six-year contract.
Miss:They traded Kessel, who had 82 points (27 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games, and Maatta. Center
Matt Cullen
announced his retirement.
To-do list:Re-sign two RFAs, forward
Zach Aston-Reese
and defenseman Marcus Pettersson. Aston-Reese has an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 22.

14. Winnipeg Jets (47-30-5)

Total points: 52
Hit:The Jets haven't made any major additions because they need to use their salary cap space to sign their players. Their biggest addition might have been re-acquiring the first-round pick in the 2019 draft that they traded to the New York Rangers. They got it back from the Rangers with defenseman
Neal Pionk
in a trade, but it came at the cost of defenseman Jacob Trouba, who had 50 points (eight goals, 42 assists) last season. Winnipeg used the pick to select defenseman
Ville Heinola
.
Miss: In addition to Trouba, who is an RFA, the Jets weren't going to re-sign center Kevin Hayes, so they traded him to Philadelphia for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft. Hayes signed a seven-year contract with the Flyers. The Jets also lost Tanev and defensemen Tyler Myers (Canucks) and Ben Chiarot (Montreal Canadiens) in free agency.
To-do list:They need to use the cap space they saved with the trades to re-sign RFA forwards Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Andrew Copp, who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 21. Pionk is an RFA with an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 24.

15. Carolina Hurricanes (46-29-7)

Total points: 39
Hit:The Hurricanes matched the five-year contract offer sheet the Canadiens tendered to center Sebastian Aho, keeping their leading scorer from last season (83 points in 82 games). They also re-signed goalie Petr Mrazek to a two-year contract, acquired Haula from the Golden Knights and Reimer from the Panthers, and signed forward Ryan Dzingel to a two-year contract. Carolina added goalie
Anton Forsberg
and defenseman
Gustav Forsling
in a trade with the Blackhawks.
Miss:It's not known if forward
Justin Williams
will return. The captain, who had 53 points (23 goals, 30 assists) in 82 games, is a UFA and deciding between returning or retiring. Forward Micheal Ferland, who had 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 71 games, signed a four-year contract with the Canucks. Carolina traded defenseman Calvin de Haan to Chicago to get Forsberg and Forsling.
To-do list:Forward Brock McGinn, Carolina's only remaining RFA who was a regular in the lineup last season, has an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 20. Forsberg is an RFA with an arbitration hearing scheduled for Aug. 4.

16. New York Islanders (48-27-7)

Total points: 38
Hit:The Islanders re-signed forwards Brock Nelson (six years) and Jordan Eberle (five years) before each could become a UFA. They re-signed forward Anders Lee (seven years) on July 1, hours after the captain became a UFA, and signed Varlamov to a four-year contract.
Miss: They chose Varlamov instead of Robin Lehner. Center
Valtteri Filppula
left to sign with the Detroit Red Wings.
To-do list:Re-sign RFA forwards Anthony Beauvillier and
Michael Dal Colle
.

Others receiving points: Arizona Coyotes 5, New York Rangers 5, Montreal Canadiens 3, Philadelphia Flyers 3, New Jersey Devils 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Chicago Blackhawks 2, Buffalo Sabres 2

HERE'S HOW WE RANKED 'EM

TIM CAMPBELL
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Calgary Flames; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Washington Capitals; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. New York Islanders; 9. St. Louis Blues; 10. Dallas Stars; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Winnipeg Jets; 13. Vegas Golden Knights; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. Buffalo Sabres; 16. New York Rangers
BRIAN COMPTON
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Tampa Bay Lightning; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. Carolina Hurricanes; 12. New York Islanders; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. Arizona Coyotes
NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
1. Toronto Maple Leafs; 2. Tampa Bay Lightning; 3. Colorado Avalanche; 4. Boston Bruins; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Washington Capitals; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Pittsburgh Penguins; 10. San Jose Sharks; 11. St. Louis Blues; 12. Florida Panthers; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Arizona Coyotes; 16. New York Islanders
TOM GULITTI
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Tampa Bay Lightning; 4. Colorado Avalanche; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Washington Capitals; 9. Calgary Flames; 10. Pittsburgh Penguins; 11. Vegas Golden Knights; 12. Nashville Predators; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Carolina Hurricanes; 15. New York Islanders; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Nashville Predators; 3. St. Louis Blues; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Boston Bruins; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Carolina Hurricanes; 9. Dallas Stars; 10. Florida Panthers; 11. Calgary Flames; 12. Winnipeg Jets; 13. Colorado Avalanche; 14. Vegas Golden Knights; 15. Philadelphia Flyers; 16. Pittsburgh Penguins
ROBERT LAFLAMME
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. St. Louis Blues; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Washington Capitals; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Nashville Predators; 11. Winnipeg Jets; 12. New York Islanders; 13. Florida Panthers; 14. Colorado Avalanche; 15. Dallas Stars; 16. Philadelphia Flyers
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Boston Bruins; 3. Tampa Bay Lightning; 4. Calgary Flames; 5. Nashville Predators; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Dallas Stars; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Carolina Hurricanes; 11. Washington Capitals; 12. New York Islanders; 13. Pittsburgh Penguins; 14. New York Rangers; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. New Jersey Devils
TRACEY MYERS
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Tampa Bay Lightning; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. San Jose Sharks; 5. Colorado Avalanche; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Boston Bruins; 8. Dallas Stars; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. New York Islanders; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Florida Panthers; 13. Carolina Hurricanes; 14. Winnipeg Jets; 15. Chicago Blackhawks; 16. Arizona Coyotes
BILL PRICE
1. Nashville Predators; 2. Tampa Bay Lightning; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. St. Louis Blues; 5. Boston Bruins; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. San Jose Sharks; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Winnipeg Jets; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. Washington Capitals; 12. Carolina Hurricanes; 13. Calgary Flames; 14. Florida Panthers; 15. Pittsburgh Penguins; 16. New York Islanders
SHAWN P. ROARKE
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. St. Louis Blues; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. Boston Bruins; 6. Winnipeg Jets; 7. Calgary Flames; 8. Pittsburgh Penguins; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. San Jose Sharks; 12. Vegas Golden Knights; 13. Dallas Stars; 14. New York Islanders; 15. Florida Panthers; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
DAN ROSEN
1. Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Toronto Maple Leafs; 3. Washington Capitals; 4. Nashville Predators; 5. St. Louis Blues; 6. Boston Bruins; 7. Dallas Stars; 8. San Jose Sharks; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Florida Panthers; 11. Vegas Golden Knights; 12. Calgary Flames; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Pittsburgh Penguins; 15. Carolina Hurricanes; 16. Arizona Coyotes
MIKE ZEISBERGER
1. St. Louis Blues; 2. Tampa Bay Lightning; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Washington Capitals; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Nashville Predators; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Calgary Flames; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. Pittsburgh Penguins; 12. Florida Panthers; 13. Winnipeg Jets; 14. Montreal Canadiens; 15. New Jersey Devils; 16. New York Rangers