With the NHL playoffs right around the corner it’s time I put them out again, my official fear rankings. With playoff season coming up expect at least one weekly blog covering playoffs. Work will determine when this gets done. Best I can tell, Mondays and Fridays, there should be some new content up discussing the playoff happenings of the week and weekend in primarily the NHL but some NBA talk as well. Time to lock in folks, we sleep in June. 

The premise of the fear rankings is really as follows. I am a big time, die hard Colorado Avalanche fan. Lucky for me I have been able to spend most of my adult life watching them contend. The idea of the fear rankings popped in my head a couple years ago when I would often send tweets saying I did or did not fear X team. That premise still holds, and with the Avs this year being squarely in the top of the second tier of contenders there are a whole lot of teams I currently fear, specifically in the West, the East has some shouts as well and will get a blurb or two but this is a primarily Western Conference list. Let’s begin.

Dallas Stars

The number one team on my list, but not necessarily the team I fear the most is the Avs’ locked-in round 1 opponent, the Dallas Stars. This is a team that has weathered slumps from its stars, a constant barrage of injuries and playing in the toughest conference in the league they have a shot within the next few days, if things break right for them against the Winnipeg Jets tonight to win the entire division.

My Dad has the best hockey philosophy in my book, and I carry that over to my analysis on this site quite a bit, or at least I try to. My Fathers number one rule of playoff hockey, and specifically who will win the Stanley Cup each year, is who has the most depth and whose goalie is the hottest?

The Stars, even with injuries to key players like star D man Miro Heiskanen most certainly have the depth and with Jake Oettinger in net have not only one of my favorite goalies to watch but a player absolutely capable of stealing and entire series.

Jason Robertson, Matt Duchene, Roope Hintz, Thomas Harley, Jaimie Been, Wyatt Johnston, Mason Marchment, the list of absolute studs on this team seems to never end. Sure they might not have the same top end talent as teams like the Avs and Oilers but by god what they’ve got is pretty damn good. Oh and you just added Mikko Rantanen, a player that is now starting to hit his stride with his new team and does bring that top-end roster talent.

Sure the Stars have off nights, look no further than a one minute three goal collapse to the Canucks on Tuesday night, but make no mistake about it this should be the no doubt favorite team to come out of the Western Conference, and hell, probably to win the Stanley Cup.

Vegas Golden Knights

The NHL’s sleepiest Western Conference sits silently in the desert, quietly winning around 50 games and positioning themselves as the clear cut top dawg in the Pacific division.

They don’t garner the big headlines, they didn’t make the big trades this year, but make no mistake, like a rattler winding through the Nevada Desert the Vegas Golden Knights are deadly.

No team boasts a better home atmosphere in the playoffs, no team is designed to play playoff hockey outside of the state of Florida better than the Vegas Golden Knights. From day one I have known a simple truth, no matter what happens in a crowded central bracket the Golden Knights are most likely coming out of the pacific division. I’m high on the Blues, they are on this list, as are the Oilers but no one scares me quite like the Golden Knights.

The logo, the organization, the aura screams playoff hockey and had the Moose not been traded to Texas I would feel deeply confident in a Golden Knights Stanley Cup run. The core of the team remains unchanged, the goaltending remains unchanged, simply put the Vegas Golden Knights have been here and done this before. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Thomas Hertl and Aidan Hill are ready for another run. I for one am ready to watch some playoff hockey in the most violent environment in the Western conference, the Desert. People forget, Vegas is a hockey market.

The Florida Duo Panthers/ Lightning

I have two strong NHL takes. The first is that the Stanely Cup champion is coming out of the West. The second is that, whichever Florida teams makes it out of the Atlantic gauntlet, all disrespect to the Toronto Maple Laughs, will rep the East in the cup finals, and therefore have a damn good shot to win.

I like both these teams because they play my favorite style of hockey, fast, wide open, high skill all at the same time, the hockey word I love the most comes into play. The Panthers and Lightning play heavy games, they play downhill, they play hard and they want to punish you from horn to horn.

They’ve also got two of the best goalies in the sport in Bob and Vassy. A potential Avs rematch with the Lightning terrifies me, because I honestly don’t think they come out on top of that series with a win.

The Panthers meanwhile add Brad Marchand, the perfect player for their lets just call it “gritty and grimey” system. The Cup goes through Florida, that’s the most important lesson in this section.

Honorable Mentions But Not On The Fear List

• Edmonton Oilers: Talent-heavy, great home ice, but the consistency has not been there. A run is certainly possible but I am just not counting on it.
• St. Louis Blues: Could absolutely beat one of the teams on this list they’ve been the hottest team in the league, but they have to do that first. The variance is high in my opinion. Either this team is going to lose in the first round or make a run all the way to the Finals, there’s not really any in between.
• Maple Leafs: I am going to doubt them until they don’t blow up in April.
• Jets: Seen this before, regular season goes great, a lot of hype, they fall apart in round 1. They are kind of the Maple Leafs of the West.