It was a phrase Kings general manager Dean Lombardi used following the team's 2014 Stanley Cup. He had a few roster decisions to make, as most Cup champs do, but felt confident in his team’s ability to contend as long as his microcore was intact. We hear a lot about the core of a team, but he had drilled it down to the microcore: the No. 1 goalie, No. 1 defenseman and No. 1 center. He liked his chances in Los Angeles as long as Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty were healthy and playing well.
Teams with those positions in place tend to be championship contenders. It’s certainly played out that way the past several years.
The consistent quality of the Stanley Cup winners is that they’ve all had a franchise center, franchise defenseman and strong goaltending. Pittsburgh had Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang playing at a high level last spring. There’s Kopitar and Doughty, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. The list goes on.
So as we try to identify teams with the best chance of winning it all during a time in the NHL when parity is at its highest, the microcore is a good place to start.
What follows is a ranking of the microcores of all 30 NHL teams.
The methodology: We identified the No. 1 center, No. 1 defenseman and starting goalie on all 30 teams. If there wasn’t an obvious choice, we went young, since this is meant to be a projection. Then a panel of four from the ESPN hockey group (myself, my editor Tim Kavanagh, prospect guru Corey Pronman and the great Joe McDonald) rated each player on a scale of 1-10. Each player got an average, and then we added them up to get the team score (out of 30).
The results:
1. Chicago Blackhawks: 27.6
The microcore:
Corey Crawford: 8.4 (average rating)
Jonathan Toews: 9.6
Duncan Keith: 9.6
The Blackhawks' microcore remains the cream of the crop. Crawford’s play the past couple of seasons has helped erase doubts about his role in the Blackhawks' success. The challenge is surrounding these three with the right cheap talent, as contracts mature and the core ages.
2. (tied) Los Angeles Kings: 26.9
The microcore:
Jonathan Quick: 7.4
Anze Kopitar: 9.5
Drew Doughty: 10
It's interesting that Quick’s 7.4 rating drops the Kings down below the Blackhawks. It shows how the perception of Crawford and Quick has changed through the past few years, and the numbers back it up. Since the 2014-15 season, Crawford has a regular season save percentage of .924 (No. 3 in the league, among goalies with at least 100 games) in 123 games. Quick has a save percentage of .918 in his past 141 games in that same stretch.
2. (tied) Montreal Canadiens: 26.9
The microcore:
Carey Price: 10
Alex Galchenyuk: 7.1
Shea Weber: 9.8
There’s no questioning Price and Weber’s place in the game. The true test for whether or not the Canadiens can win a Stanley Cup may rest on the shoulders of Galchenyuk’s development as a center. If he continues to improve and can help neutralize guys like Steven Stamkos, Nicklas Backstrom and Sidney Crosby in the playoffs, Montreal is in a great place.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins: 26.0
The microcore:
Matt Murray: 6.9
Sidney Crosby: 10
Kris Letang: 9.1
The beauty of the Penguins is that they have two franchise centers. They might have two franchise goalies, too. This group has star power and depth, a lethal combination. As Matt Murray proves himself over time, their overall number will go up.
5. Florida Panthers: 25.9
The microcore:
Roberto Luongo: 7.8
Aleksander Barkov: 8.9
Aaron Ekblad: 9.3
No surprise that the architect of this team, Dale Tallon, has structured them exactly as he did the Blackhawks. This is a great microcore that has a combination of youth and experience. The clock may be ticking on Luongo though, giving the otherwise young Panthers core a sense of urgency to win now.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning: 25.6
The microcore:
Ben Bishop: 7
Steven Stamkos: 9.3
Victor Hedman: 9.4
Bishop's rating feels a little low considering he has a .919 save percentage in his past 130 games. He’s also proven he can win big games. But there’s no doubt this microcore can win, and it’s surrounded by depth. At least this season, anyway, before the new contract bill comes due on a handful of them.
7. San Jose Sharks: 25.3
The microcore:
Martin Jones: 7
Joe Thornton: 9
Brent Burns: 9.3
The Sharks are set up to win now, and the longer the Burns contract talks drag out, the more the urgency goes up. Joe Thornton is a North American treasure, remaining one of the top centers in the game at 37 years old. The Sharks also have Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture as options in the middle, making them one of the premier teams in the league.
8. Washington Capitals: 24.8
The microcore:
Braden Holtby: 8.8
Nicklas Backstrom: 8.4
John Carlson: 7.6
The Capitals are right up there with the league's elite microcores, and this doesn’t even factor in Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin gives the Capitals a game-breaking element that few elite teams can match, in addition to the No. 8 microcore.
9. Boston Bruins: 24.3
The microcore:
Tuukka Rask: 7.6
Patrice Bergeron: 9.4
Zdeno Chara: 7.3
If some of the young players acquired in the past couple years start to emerge, there might be a Sharks-like renaissance coming for a microcore in Boston that is fantastic. It may hinge on how much high-end hockey Chara has left.
10. New York Rangers: 23.5
The microcore:
Henrik Lundqvist: 9.1
Derek Stepan: 6.8
Ryan McDonagh: 7.6
The Rangers are winning with speed and depth right now, and it’ll be interesting to see how far that can get this team come playoff time. The knock on the construction of this group is that it hasn’t had a No. 1 center to go with Lundqvist and McDonagh. The Rangers may be the best candidate to win it all without a top center because of the goalie.
11. Nashville Predators: 23.3
The microcore:
Pekka Rinne: 6.8
Roman Josi: 9.5
Josi could have easily been replaced by P.K. Subban, but the ultimate score might not have changed. Rinne at 6.8 is on the low side, and the Predators will go far if he proves he’s better than that. In his past 137 regular season games, Rinne has a .915 save percentage, which puts him just about average.
12. Philadelphia Flyers: 23.0
The microcore:
Steve Mason: 6.9
Claude Giroux: 8.5
Shayne Gostisbehere: 7.6
Of the rebuilding teams, the Flyers may be the closest to Cup contention because they started with Claude Giroux already on the roster. That’s a nice advantage, and Philadelphia is only going to trend positively as the young players mature into NHL regulars. This team is set up nicely if it gets its goaltending squared away.
13. Anaheim Ducks: 22.6
The microcore:
John Gibson: 5.9
Ryan Getzlaf: 8.6
Hampus Lindholm: 8.1
Ducks GM Bob Murray is betting on Gibson as his goalie for a team that has enough talent to make a long run this spring. Right now, he leads the league with 10 games played, and has a .911 save percentage. He has to be better than that to achieve the high expectations in Anaheim.
14. Winnipeg Jets: 22.4
The microcore:
Connor Hellebuyck: 5.9
Dustin Byfuglien: 8.4
The emergence of Scheifele is a game-changer, since he gives this franchise the bona fide No. 1 center it never had in Atlanta or Winnipeg previously. His selection at No. 7 overall in 2011 was seen as a stretch at the time. Now, if you were redrafting, he may be the No. 1 guy off the board in that draft.
15. Calgary Flames: 22.0
The microcore:
Brian Elliott: 6.9
Sean Monahan: 7
Mark Giordano: 7.5
The play of Monahan this season is a little puzzling. He hasn’t been particularly good coming off a summer in which the Flames invested heavily in him. He’s still looking for his first assist of the season and is sitting at a minus-8. The Flames are controlling just 44.4 percent of the even-strength shot attempts when he’s on the ice. He needs to play like a No. 1 center for the Flames to join that group above as Cup contenders.
16. Edmonton Oilers: 21.6
The microcore:
Cam Talbot: 6.3
Connor McDavid: 10
Adam Larsson: 5.4
McDavid has quickly reached Crosby status in the game. Talbot is trending in the right direction and may be a better goalie than his rating here indicates. It now comes down to the Oilers landing or developing a true No. 1 defenseman, something the roster currently doesn’t have.
17. Ottawa Senators: 21.1
The microcore:
Craig Anderson: 6.4
Kyle Turris: 5.6
Erik Karlsson: 9.1
It sure would be fun to see what Karlsson looked like on a great team on the biggest stage in hockey. You can’t help but hope his best seasons aren’t being wasted on an average team.
18. Minnesota Wild: 20.9
The microcore:
Devan Dubnyk: 7.6
Eric Staal: 4.8
Ryan Suter: 8.5
It’s no secret. The Wild need a center. Everything else in Minnesota is pretty darn good. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Dubnyk has the NHL's second-best save percentage (minimum 100 games), at .925.
19. Toronto Maple Leafs: 20.8
The microcore:
Frederik Andersen: 5.6
Auston Matthews: 8.5
Morgan Rielly: 6.6
If Andersen is good in Toronto, and that remains to be seen, they move up the list. As good as the Maple Leafs' young forwards are, there’s still lots of work to be done on that defense before they're considered a Cup contender.
20. St. Louis Blues: 20.6
The microcore:
Jake Allen: 5.5
Paul Stastny: 6.6
Alex Pietrangelo: 8.5
Can you win a Stanley Cup by having one of the deepest teams rather than stars at the right positions? The Blues are the case study. It hasn’t worked yet, but I’m still not ready to count this group out.
21. Colorado Avalanche: 19.6
The microcore:
Semyon Varlamov: 5.8
Matt Duchene: 8.4
Erik Johnson: 5.5
Perhaps Tyson Barrie should have been listed as the defenseman. That’s fair. And Nathan MacKinnon has the talent to emerge as a No. 1 center. There are nice pieces in Colorado, but they still aren’t fitting together properly. This season still has to play out, but Colorado remains a candidate to make a trade similar to the one Nashville and Columbus struck to swap a top center for a high-end young defenseman. Those are hard to make.
22. New York Islanders: 19.3
The microcore:
Jaroslav Halak: 4.9
John Tavares: 9.4
Nick Leddy: 5.0
If I’m John Tavares, I’m running out of patience with the Islanders. A franchise center like him is one of the hardest pieces of the puzzle to acquire, and so far, management has failed to surround him properly.
23. (tied) Arizona Coyotes: 18.6
The microcore:
Mike Smith: 4.5
Dylan Strome: 5
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: 9.1
One of the great what-ifs will be wondering what this franchise would have looked like if it had landed Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews during its rebuild to go with Ekman-Larsson. There are some talented young forwards, but it remains to be seen whether or not there’s a true No. 1 center in the group.
23. (tied) Buffalo Sabres: 18.6
The microcore:
Robin Lehner: 4.6
Jack Eichel: 6.9
Rasmus Ristolainen: 7.1
The best center on the Sabres' roster may be Ryan O'Reilly, if you’re trying to win a big game right now. Eichel and Ristolainen have to take a step forward in their development for the Sabres to move to the next level. Lehner, with a .921 save percentage in six games this season, is showing signs that he’s capable of fulfilling the faith GM Tim Murray has placed in him. In fact, he’s at .924 overall in 27 games with the Sabres. He’s an intriguing piece to the puzzle in Buffalo.
23 (tied). Dallas Stars: 18.6
The microcore:
Kari Lehtonen: 2.8
Tyler Seguin: 8.8
John Klingberg: 7.1
One of those ratings is not like the others. GM Jim Nill has worked magic before in Dallas, and he needs to do so again. Add Marc-Andre Fleury or Ben Bishop to that roster, and the Stars catapult up these standings considerably. Klingberg still has room to grow as a player, as his performance in the postseason showed last spring.
23. (tied) New Jersey Devils: 18.6
The microcore:
Cory Schneider: 9.5
Pavel Zacha: 4.5
Andy Greene: 4.6
Schneider may be the Erik Karlsson of his generation of goalies. One of the best who didn’t get the chance to show it at the highest level. He’s so good. In 176 starts with the Devils, Schneider has a .924 save percentage.
27. Detroit Red Wings 18.5
The microcore:
Petr Mrazek: 7.1
Dylan Larkin: 7.5
Danny DeKeyser: 3.9
It’s pretty clear where the Red Wings need to add a top player in order to return to their spot as a championship-caliber team. The defense in Detroit has some decent pieces, but not a player who is a clear No. 1 defenseman. A guy like Cam Fowler or Jacob Trouba would go a long way in giving the Red Wings a nice, young microcore.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets: 17.3
The microcore:
Sergei Bobrovsky: 7.5
Pierre-Luc Dubois: 3.4
Zach Werenski: 7.3
The success of GM Jarmo Kekalainen's rebuild will hinge on Dubois. Columbus needs its young center to go with Bobrovksy and Werenski. If Dubois is the answer, they’re in great shape. If not, that’s trouble. Werenski is a 7.3 who is trending toward a nine.
29. Vancouver Canucks: 16.6
The microcore:
Ryan Miller: 4.9
Henrik Sedin: 7.4
Olli Juolevi: 4.4
There’s still a lot of work to be done in Vancouver, but Juolevi has the potential to be a good one for the Canucks.
30. Carolina Hurricanes: 14.6
The microcore:
Cam Ward: 4
Justin Faulk: 8.1
There’s a great young defense being formed in Carolina, but this rebuild is missing a high-end center. Lindholm was supposed to be that guy after being drafted fifth overall in 2013, but it hasn’t played out that way. He has one point in nine games this season. Yikes. If I’m GM Ron Francis, I’m trying to convince Colorado to move a center in return for one of the Hurricanes' good, young defensemen.