The NHL's holiday break can't come soon enough for some teams, while other clubs seem to have hit a new stride as winter officially begins. How far did the New Jersey Devils fall this week? Which Eastern Conference team surged up seven spots?
We rank all 32 teams here, and offer a reason for optimism for every fan base.
How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors rates teams against one another -- taking into account game results, injuries and upcoming schedule -- and those results are tabulated to produce the list featured here.