Honestly. You could feel it, could feel the wave of despair that cascaded through NHL precincts (well, maybe not New York; well, maybe not Philadelphia; well, maybe not Columbus) upon receiving the news of Sidney Crosby’s latest concussion.

For even though there are other stars in the league, young and dynamic ones notably including the onrushing Connor McDavid in Edmonton, Nikita Kucherov in Tampa Bay, Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado and Auston Matthews in Toronto, and older, more familiar ones such as Alex Ovechkin in Washington and Carey Price in Montreal (and Henrik Lundqvist on Broadway and John Tavares in Brooklyn), Crosby had re-ascended to his pedestal following a dominant World Cup championship performance only a few months after his masterful Stanley Cup championship run.

Crosby, who skated lightly on Tuesday and whose recovery period of course remains unknown, had re-established himself as the face of his sport and the face of his country’s sporting pride after a few years in which his legend had stalled in conjunction with Penguins’ postseason disappointments and firings of coaches.

He had re-established himself as an older, more mature, somehow more universally accepted bearer of the torch after it had been carried and passed on by Richard, Beliveau, Howe, Orr, Lemieux and Gretzky. It’s a rare treat to be on top, get knocked down and then get all the way back up again, but Crosby had done it — and within less than a calendar year after No. 87 had been off to the worst start of his career and whose pedigree was under question.

And now this. Another concussion that represents a blow to an NHL that needs as many faces as it can get in an era of studiously stifled brilliance, and needs as many players to spread the gospel the way that Crosby does both on and off the ice.

Maybe this one won’t sideline Crosby for too long. But now there’s no escaping it. Another one is always just around the corner. That’s not the kind of cloud the league or anyone associated with it needs or wants as the Penguins get set to raise their banner and defend their title.

1. Tampa Bay

Almost everything that could wrong did go wrong last season for the Lightning, who still made it to Game 7 of the conference finals without a minute of playoff time from Steven Stamkos. Jonathan Drouin will play an essential role, the Triplets should be in full flight if Tyler Johnson stays healthy, depth up front is impressive and the back end led by Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman remains formidable. Will Andrei Vasilevskiy win the No. 1 goaltending job and if so, will Ben Bishop be traded before he suffers his annual playoff injury?

2. Pittsburgh

It’s a copy-cat league so everyone will try to imitate the Penguins’ speed game that simply crushed opponents once Carl Hagelin joined forces with Phil (Tweeter) Kessel and a bevy of in-season precocious call-ups. Depth on defense could be an issue and the goaltending battle between Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray will be an interesting one.

3. St. Louis

The Blues settled on Jake Allen — presumably with input from assistant general manager Martin Brodeur — as their No. 1 in nets while sending Brian Elliott to Calgary. GM Doug Armstrong has built a deep, young, fast, talented group including prime timer Vladimir Tarasenko that is structurally sound enough to incorporate buy-low Nail Yakupov into the mix. The defense is strong and deep, especially so on the right side.

4. Washington

If the Yankees were once Pedro Martinez’s daddy, then so it is as relates to the Crosby/Ovechkin relationship following a five-month span on which a pair of No. 87 and his teams eliminated No. 8 and his teams from the Stanley Cup playoffs and World Cup. The Capitals are deep, Lars Eller should be a good fit, Braden Holtby is outstanding but the Caps’ rise or fall will be dependent upon Ovechkin far more than his supporting cast.

5. Dallas

The Fun Bunch is back again after coming up short early in the playoffs because of an unfair format that remains in place, the injury that KO’d Tyler Seguin and mediocre goaltending. There’s oodles of offensive talent and a go-for-it mentality in place, but so too is the inequitable playoff format and the same question marks in goal.

6. Nashville

So when does P.K. Subban sing a duet with Rayna James? The Predators, formidable from top to bottom, went big and bold in the deal in which franchise granite block Shea Weber was exchanged for Subban. It’s risk-reward for GM David Poile and coach Peter Laviolette, who could reap the ultimate reward if Pekka Rinne returns to elite status in nets.

7. San Jose

The team that looked so fast in winning three rounds in the West could barely keep up with the Penguins in a rather one-sided final. The Sharks are structurally sound but the clock is ticking.

8. Chicago

Still loaded up top at both forward and defense but the strains of attempting to keep an elite team together under the cap has cost mightily, the Blackhawks sacrificing consequential forwards Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen this time.

9. Florida

There’s an enormous amount of young talent under the roof, probably enough to withstand the extended loss of Jonathan Huberdeau to an Achilles injury. But the Puddy Tats will need another big year from both Jaromir Jagr and Roberto Luongo to ensure the team can put its best paw forward again.

10. Calgary

As long as Elliott can fill the No. 1 job in nets, the Flames should thrive as a prototypical up-tempo, puck moving team as Johnny Gaudreau elevates himself to elite status.

11. Anaheim

A kinder, gentler Randy Carlyle behind the bench? Don’t know if anyone’s really buying that. The Ducks may have an excess of defensemen, and they still have the big guys up front, but time is running out quickly on this crew.

12. Montreal

Carey Price is likely the singular most valuable player to his team in the NHL, good enough to provide security and success to an otherwise fairly ordinary team that should get a significant boost from Shaw’s addition and from Weber’s ability to play exactly the type of disciplined, buttoned-down game favored by coach Michel Therrien.

13. Rangers

Faster, younger, bigger, re-energized and more committed. Notice how I didn’t mention the defense?

14. Los Angeles

Not nearly as imposing as they’ve been over the previous handful of seasons, but strength down the gut from Jonathan Quick through Drew Doughty through Anze Kopitar is a darn formidable place to start. It remains to be seen whether there are ramifications from stripping the captaincy from Dustin Brown and awarding it to Kopitar. Marian Gaborik’s injury doesn’t help.

15. Islanders

John Tavares will have to adapt to two new linemates and the Islanders will continue to try and adapt to Barclays, this time without three foundation pieces in Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and Matt Martin. More is needed from next generation guys like Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson and the “D” needs sprucing up as well.

16. Devils

Taylor Hall’s addition and Mike Cammalleri’s return to health should produce a different dimension for this team that will still be dependent on Cory Schneider’s ability to steal points. It might not be so easy to replace Adam Larsson’s minutes.

17. Edmonton

Connor McDavid seems to have taken a quantum leap off his World Cup performance, Milan Lucic provides a veteran top-six presence and Cam Talbot can be counted on as the No. 1 as the Oilers fall out of lottery contention.

18. Boston

Tuukka Rask had too many below-par nights behind consistently insufficient D-zone work a year ago. David Backes probably has more to offer in the room than over the long haul on the ice.

19. Minnesota

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are great guys and great competitors both, but the Wild sure hasn’t gotten the bang for the buck on their twin contracts and aren’t likely to, even with Bruce Boudreau behind the bench.

20. Philadelphia

A step-back year for a team that has an inordinate amount of trouble scoring even with Shayne Gostisbehere on the back end.

21. Carolina

The team that seems on the precipice of making a dramatic run into a playoff spot with the acquisition of Teravainen up front and a developing young, mobile defense, but Cam Ward and Eddie Lack back again in goal?

22. Winnipeg

The Ondrej Pavelec Era seems to have come at end just as the Patrick Laine Era is about to begin. Fast, strong, pleasing to the eye.

23. Ottawa

Ownership/management seems to be operating under the assumption that the Senators are poised to win a championship. They’re not.

24. Detroit

The consecutive playoff streak comes to an end after a quarter of a century, a necessary step in a rebuild to follow the gone Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and the soon-to-be-going Henrik Zetterberg.

25. Buffalo

Okposo should provide a veteran presence for the Baby Sabres and Jack Eichel, who was somehow lost in a crowd on Team North America.

26. Toronto

They’re putting a great deal of trust in Frederik Andersen to provide a safety net for the corps of crowd-pleasing kids including Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner.

27. Arizona

The team that’s being lauded for loading up on dead cap space might need some additional live talent.

28. Colorado

The lines of communication are set following Patrick Roy’s departure but more than that is needed behind top-end guys Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Tyson Barrie.

29. Vancouver

Ownership doesn’t think the reconstruction project wouldn’t have been handled a bit more capably by Mike Gillis as GM?

30. Columbus

A necessary overhaul from truculent to talented seems to be under way here but there is a very long way to go.

Staff predictions

Brett Cyrgalis

East: 1 Capitals; 2. Lightning; 3. Penguins; 4. Panthers; 5. Canadiens; 6. Rangers; 7. Islanders (WC); 8. Red Wings (WC)

West: 1. Blues; 2. Sharks; 3. Blackhawks; 4. Ducks; 5. Kings; 6. Wild; 7. Flames (WC), 8. Predators (WC)

East finals: Washington over Tampa Bay

West finals: Chicago over St. Louis

Cup finals: Washington over Chicago

Hart: Alex Ovechkin, Washington

Norris: P.K. Subban, Nashville

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers

Calder: Auston Matthews, Toronto

Adams: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis

First coach fired: Claude Julien, Boston

Larry Brooks

East: 1. Lightning; 2. Caps; 3. Penguins; 4. Panthers; 5. Canadiens; 6. Rangers; 7. Islanders (WC); 8. Devils (WC)

West: 1. Blues; 2. Flames; 3. Stars; 4. Predators; 5. Sharks; 6. Ducks; 7. Blackhawks (WC); 8. Kings (WC)

East finals: Lightning over Penguins

West finals: Blues over Predators

Cup finals: Lightning over Blues

Hart: Connor McDavid, Oilers

Norris: Kris Letang, Penguins

Vezina: Carey Price, Canadiens

Calder: Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs

Adams: Lindy Ruff, Stars

First coach fired: Claude Julien, Bruins

WC — wild card