ESPN releases controversial rankings for the upcoming NHL season.

To say that fans of the National Hockey League don't have the utmost respect for ESPN would be an understatement, the sports has often been shafted by the "World Leader" and only it's recent return to prominence has prompted ESPN to battle for things like the broadcast rights to the World Cup.

On Tuesday ESPN created another controversy by releasing their preseason rankings for every team in the National Hockey League and there are more than a few surprises on this list.

Notably the number one ranked team on the list are not the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, but rather at number one are the finalists for that prize, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Penguins have been relegated all the way to the number three spot, with a very surprising entry at number two, the ever improving Florida Panthers.

The bottom end of the list may also comes as a surprise to many, with Columbus escaping the bowels of the league this year ranking in at the number twenty-eight spot on the list. Rounding out the final two sports are two Canadian teams, the Vancouver Canucks come in at number twenty-nine and the young and also improving Maple Leafs have been ranked dead last by ESPN.

Here's the full list courtesy of ESPN:

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1 Tampa Bay

2 Florida

3 Pittsburgh

4 San Jose

5 Washington

6 Chicago

7 Montreal

8 Dallas

9 Nashville

10 Anaheim

11 Los Angeles

12 NY Rangers

13 St. Louis

14 Edmonton

15 Buffalo

16 Philadelphia

17 NY Islanders

18 Boston

19 Detroit

20 Ottawa

21 Colorado

22 Carolina

23 New Jersey

24 Minnesota

25 Winnipeg

26 Calgary

27 Arizona

28 Columbus

29 Vancouver

30 Toronto