In fact, according to a new set of composite power rankings compiled by http://www.thesportmarket.biz/, the Canucks would win the 2010 Stanley Cup based on their overall strength as an NHL franchise.
They are arguably the NHL’s best all-round club on the strength of the composite power ranking which spans both hockey operations and business operations. At a minimum, the case can be made that no NHL franchise has achieved better results both on and off the ice during the 2009-’10 regular season than the Canucks.
Vancouver had the fifth-best regular season record with 103 points but was even more impressive in business operations, ranking fourth in the NHL on the strength of box office revenues this year. If financial performance counted as much as on-ice results, the Canucks would be on their way to a Stanley Cup victory over Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Along the road, the Canucks would post sport business wins over the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks in the western conference final before facing the Caps in this version of the Stanley Cup championship.
They’d do so on the basis of composite power rankings rating the 30 clubs in the NHL on the basis of their final regular season standing, which is clearly the best available measuring stick of hockey operations success across all lines of the game: management, coaching, scouting, sport medical, science and training support and player development personnel.
This ranking gives equal weighting, however, to each club’s box office performance; the best barometer of business operations as attendance and average ticket prices typically reflect each franchise’s capacity for sponsorship, merchandise and broadcast sales.
With a composite power ranking of 4.5, the Canucks rank first among the 30 teams in the NHL, just ahead of the fast-rising Chicago Blackhawks (with a performance index of 6) and the Capitals (7.5). Next in line are the San Jose Sharks (9) in fourth place, the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins (10) in fifth and last year’s Cup finalists, the Detroit Red Wings (10), in sixth.
Rounding out the top-10 best-run organizations in the NHL in 2009-’10 are the 7th-place Montreal Canadiens (10.5), 8th-place Philadelphia Flyers (10.5), 9th-place Calgary Flames (10.75) and the New Jersey Devils (11.5) in 10th position on the composite power rankings.
The Ottawa Senators (11.5) are 11th, Toronto Maple Leafs (15) are 16th and the Edmonton Oilers (19) are 21st. The Leafs finished ahead of only the Oilers in on-ice results this season but are by far the league’s most powerful business unit, generating more than $2 million in box office revenues per home game at the Air Canada Centre.
When considering both on-ice and off-ice results in 2009-’10, the Tampa Bay Lightning were the worst-performing NHL franchise this season (ranked 30th with a composite power ranking of 27). The other bears in the NHL marketplace this season include the New York Islanders (29th with a composite index of 25.5), just ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes (28th) and the Atlanta Thrashers (27th).
This season’s most compelling story – both on and off the ice – are the Phoenix Coyotes, who place 19th in the sport business composite rankings, with a fourth-place on-ice record juxtaposed against a league-worst box office.
Four of the league’s five weakest performers in 2009-’10 hail from southern U.S. markets (Tampa Bay, Carolina, Atlanta and Florida) while five of the top 16 are the Canadian franchises based in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Montreal and…yes, Vancouver; with the Canucks at the top of the list of overall performers this year.
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