Welcome to the NHL season. And with every season comes the ranting and raving from the populace. ESPN.com kicks off the season with our first edition of Power Rankings. And that's right, the Avs are the best. Why not start the champs out on top like we always do? Two words to New Jersey: Arnott and Niedermayer. If you don't have 'em, you don't get the love of the top post.

ESPN.com's secret formula has taken it all into account. To right any wrongs, click here and give us a few Rank Comments of your own. If you don't like our Rankings, make up your own, and the best will be published next week.

Team	'99-00 W-L-T-RT	ESPN.com says
1. Avalanche	42-29-11-1	Joe Sakic's in a contract year. All key players signed. And everyone loves to win for Raymond.
2. Stars	43-29-10-6	Stars not fading. Ed Belfour is now the game's best money goalie, and Mike Modano is just plain money -- and he knows he's money.
3. Devils	45-29-8-5	See lead to this feature.
4. Blues	51-20-11-1	How can they be better in regular season? Worse in the postseason?
5. Red Wings	48-24-10-2	Right now, they're as good as anyone. Let's see what happens when the old boys get tired.
6. Maple Leafs	45-30-7-3	So, they added grit. That's good. Let's wait 82 games and see if it really makes a difference.
7. Flyers	45-25-12-3	Blah, blah, blah. No Eric Lindros. Blah, blah, blah. No Roger Neilson. blah, blah, blah. Do we ever say goodbye to Bob Clarke?
8. Senators	41-30-11-2	All the team's stock is on a goalie (Patrick Lalime) who wasn't in the NHL two seasons ago.
9. Sabres	35-36-11-4	The Dominator's back. As long as he uses Andy's pizza warmer on that groin, he'll make as many saves as Dominos sells pizzas.
10. Coyotes	39-35-8-4	Until the Great One takes over and brings in Claude Lemieux and Nikolai Khabibulin, this team will remain in Dallas' shadow.
11. Panthers	43-33-6-6	It's no secret that Pavel Bure is everything to this team. Panthers will protect him at every turn. Hit him and be prepared to get payback in spades -- or stars, if you know what we mean.
12. Kings	39-31-12-4	Jozef Stumpel is overseas. Ziggy Palffy is hurt. This might be too high ... But we like coach Andy Murray, so he gets a week to justify No. 12.
13. Capitals	44-26-12-2	Is Adam Oates too old? Is Chris Simon asking for too much? If these guys get together again, things look good. If not ...
14. Penguins	37-37-8-6	Jaromir Jagr a.k.a. the Charles Atlas of Pittsburgh. Let's hope he did a lot of military presses this summer.
15. Rangers	29-41-12-3	You know what this means, don't you? That's right. No. 15 means we actually think the Rangers are playoff worthy.
16. Sharks	35-37-10-7	Some franchises get that fovever-.500 label. The Sharks hope to avoid being labeled forever sub-.500. Without Owen Nolan, they won't avoid it.
17. Oilers	32-34-16-8	New everything. As always: Good young talent but not enough of it.
18. Canucks	30-37-15-8	The Swedish sensations hit town. Let's see how they handle the hits when things start for real. Goalie Felix Potvin remains key.
19. Hurricanes	37-35-10	Question of the day: Who has a shorter list of followers, the Hurricanes or Ralph Nader? Neither will win.
20. Ducks	34-36-12-3	Paul Kariya, the stick-swinging goon. What's next, a second line that can score?
21. Flames	31-41-10-5	See Oilers note.
22. Bruins	24-39-19-6	One-of-three. The ratio of free-agent holdouts to signees or the ratio of wins to losses.
23. Islanders	24-49-9-1	They will be better, but no one really knows by how much. Keep an eye on Tim Connolly.
24. Lightning	19-54-9-7	Vincent Lecavalier is a rising star. Let's just hope Lightning don't burn him out.
25. Canadiens	35-38-9-4	Team turmoil -- off the ice, at least. Habs short on talent and long on coaching and heart.
26. Blackhawks	33-39-10-2	Is this the first Alpo dog food reference ... or the second ... or the 10th? Who knows, but that guy better do something with this team.
27. Predators	28-47-7-7	Year No. 3 means these guys better take a step forward. Per usual, Preds play tough ... and come out with a lot of tough losses.
28. Blue Jackets	N/A	If the Buckeye football team stays undefeated, let's see who gets more cover splash in the Columbus Dispatch.
29. Wild	N/A	Great organization. Good colors. Bad team. Cold winter.
30. Thrashers	14-61-7-4	Why do Wild and Blue Jackets get ranked higher? Because Thrashers haven't proven they're better, that's why.