Know Thy Enemy
The Balance of Power in the BRHL
With all of the recent trades - and there have been A LOT of them - I've been curious as to how each of the teams stack up against one another.
And as an Oilers fan of the Eighties, I’m taking a look at the only ratings that matter – firepower!
Now obviously there will be a lot more changes between now and the start of the season, but I thought it would be fun to see who the “Haves” and the “Have Nots” are in the league at this moment in time, and for those who see themselves as ‘contenders’ to use guide see how they measure up against the other teams in their conference and with the rest of the league for trades and Free Agency.
As a reminder, ratings of 80 and above are generally considered ‘elite’ or top line player ratings whereas ratings of 70 and above are generally considered secondary scoring.
Here’s how the league shakes out currently:
| 80+ | 70+ | |||
| Team | SC | PA | SC | PA |
| Avalanche | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Blackhawks | 7 | 3 | 9 | 9 |
| Blue Jackets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Blues | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Bruins | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Canadiens | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Canucks | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Capitals | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Coyotes | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Devils | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| Ducks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Flames | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Flyers | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| Hurricanes | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Islanders | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Jets | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Kings | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Lightning | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Maple Leafs | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Oilers | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Panthers | 3 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| Penguins | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Predators | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Rangers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Red Wings | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Sabres | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Senators | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Sharks | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Stars | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Wild | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| UFA | 9 | 13 | 20 | 20 |
The major thing to remember when looking at the chart is that this doesn’t mean that the Blues have 2 guys with elite scoring and 3 guys with secondary passing abilities. In a lot of these cases, the scorers and passers shown on a team are the same player; i.e. Patrick Kane is a 95 SC and a 96 PA.
UFAs still listed on rosters were ignored in these counts but unsigned RFAs were included since the assumption is that they would be re-signed eventually.
What does this all mean?
As you can see, most teams have a decent amount of secondary scoring and at least one or two ‘elite’ scorers or passers.
The most balanced team in the league would have to be Kevin's Flames with guys that can not only score, but pass the biscuit as well with tons of secondary scoring to back them up.
Closely following the Flames for a balanced offence would be Kirk and his Senators and Junya and his Stars.
Teams like my Blackhawks and Rob’s Canucks have the firepower, but no one to pass them the puck whereas teams like Rex’s Flyers, Eric’s Blues, Rumpy’s Kings and Leon’s Oilers have the exact opposite problem.
The Aves, Jackets, Caps, Ducks and Rangers will be hard pressed to score… at all… and most likely will be cannon fodder for the rest of the league.
Now of course as I stated initially, a lot can change between now and the start of the season, but with only 9 ‘elite’ goal scorers available in UFA, they are going to be in demand.
Start planning your trade and UFA strategies now folks!