It happens every year: right after NHL season begins, so too do the power rankings. I know you're curious to see where the pundits are placing your San Jose Sharks. Let's investigate together.
ESPN places the Sharks firmly in the top 10. Well, right at the number 10 spot, actually. San Jose came in below the Penguins and above the Canucks, who checked in at number 11. ESPN doesn't exactly explain how they arrived at their ranking of the Sharks, but they do have this to say:
Road wins over New Jersey and Boston helped steer the ship after a shaky start. Congrats to Joe Thornton on career game No. 1,000 on Friday. Classy move by the Bruins to acknowledge it Saturday night in Boston.
ESPN picked the Washington Capitals as the number one overall team.
FOX Sports on MSN also picked the Caps at number one, which I don't think anyone is going to disagree with at this stage in the season. The Sharks didn't fare quite as well in this list, just missing the top 10 and coming in at number 11, behind the Dallas Stars. FOX had only nice things to say about San Jose. If the Sharks keep playing well, they'll find their way into the top 10 and stay there.
Finally, The Hockey News places San Jose way down at number 13, behind the Anaheim Ducks, but ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. As is typical in a young season, all of the teams are jockeying for position, and it's hard to get an accurate ranking with such a small sample size. Except for the Caps, of course. They show up here as the number one team yet again.
Agree? Disagree? Feel like discussing the rankings? You can always find your fellow Sharks fans on Fear The Fin.