I’m by no stretch a sports journalist or a numbers expert. Just a dedicated fan making observations. Here are my 2009-2010 Eastern Conference predictions.
15. The Ottawa Senators. I don’t see sunny days for the Sens from their on-ice product to their new nickname “The Sens.” The Heatley situation means two things. Ottawa loses Heatley, and they lose a big chunk of their offensive punch (albeit such can be filled with the addition of Kovalev), or Ottawa keeps Heatley, and you have an uncommitted superstar and a potentially out of place power forward in Kovalev. Unfortunately for the Sens, young, healthy, and full of spunk doesn’t compute for Kovalev. A playoff berth would be a miracle, and a basement finish shouldn’t surprise anyone.
14. The Tampa Bay Lightning. A lot of ifs lie on the Bolts. If Hedman is the savior to the Bolts subpar-at-best defense, if Stamkos will continue an upward trend or move sideways this season, if the loss of Prospal means anything… It’s too preliminary to say Hedman, Ohlund, and Walker are the real answers after last season’s offseason splash ending up a colossal disaster.
13. The New York Islanders. The Isles are finally ready to climb out of the hole, but are nowhere near ready to return to glory. Like the Lightning, the Islanders depend on many ifs. The show is the John Tavares show, and the Islanders did a superb job overhauling their goaltending into something potentially spectacular. Don’t let your guard down on these Islanders, but don’t worry about battling for a playoffs spot.
12. The Florida Panthers. Florida has suffered one of the worst offseasons in the last decade in losing Bouwmeester. It’s not hard to find talent in scoring, but it is a stretch to find anyone committed to bringing the Panthers back to the playoffs.
11. The Atlanta Thrashers. As a Thrashers fan, I have a lot to say, but I’ll keep it short. The Thrashers are a better, stronger team. Unfortunately, the Thrashers could either reach a low playoff berth or could sink to the bare bottom depending on how Ilya Kovalchuk sees the team’s progress and how he will play out the final year of his contract. The only additions are addition by subtraction plus Pavel Kubina on the blueline, Nik Antropov thrown in the Thrashers rising scoring talent. I personally think this team has improved vastly, but will still need to perform some miracles to make another playoffs appearance.
10. The New York Rangers. Replacing Gomez, Naslund, and Zherdev with Gaborik was foolish. Marian Gaborik has yet to prove that he can stay healthy for a whole season, and if the trend continues, the Rangers don’t have much to fall back on. Defense isn’t quite elite, and Lundqvist can only take the team so far by himself. The Rangers will trade in sticks for clubs after a short season.
9. The Toronto Maple Leafs. A team clearly working harder and on the rise. Except for Antropov at the deadline, this team hasn’t suffered much loss, but did gain Komisarek which will greatly boost their defensive woes. They will be a legitimate fighter for a playoffs spot, or perhaps even slide their way in with ease. Luke Schenn should make the Maple Leafs a talked-about team in the near future, too.
______________________________________
8. The New Jersey Devils. This is undoubtedly a team heading in an ugly direction, but nothing leads me to believe they’re no longer a playoffs contender. They still hold arguably the greatest goaltender in league history, and the loss of Gionta and Madden may prove insignificant for a team looking to become younger and faster, which will make for an interesting training camp in New Jersey.
7. The Buffalo Sabres. Strong organization, and very good (at best) on the blueline, and a great scoring that seems to never improve. I’m very keen on Montador replacing Spacek, and that should help their quality goaltending tandem in Miller and Lalime. The Sabres have consistently put in a good fight for the playoffs, and I think this is the year for them.
6. The Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens seem to be going in a direction that most teams never think about…chipping off Europeans that nearly caused the Habs to miss the playoffs and replacing them with North Americans like Cammallerri and Gionta that could turn Montreal into a scoring powerhouse. The Habs are on a slow and steady recovery, and are a team that shouldn’t miss the playoffs this season.
5. The Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers may have made a terrible mistake in letting young talent like Sbisa and Lupul free for Chris Pronger. Granted Pronger may be the final piece to Philadelphia defensive puzzle, there’s the ifs of Philadelphia: if Briere stays healthy, if Emery is ready to re-appear in the NHL. Until we have a clear answer, the Flyers don’t look like a team to take a division title. Still, the Flyers can’t and won’t miss the playoffs.
4. The Carolina Hurricanes. After the way the Canes finished the 08-09 campaign, and knowing that the Hurricanes suffered no major losses neither at the trade deadline nor the offseason (but did add Alberts to boost their blueline), and knowing that Cam Ward finished that season playing some of his best goaltending I’ve seen, the Hurricanes are equipped to soar in the standings this season.
______________________________________
Southeast Division Champion
3. The Washington Capitals. Realistically, if the Capitals aren’t ready to make a finals appearance this coming season, it’s next season. The Caps continue to improve piece by piece, and have an ownership that’s committed to carefully putting pieces in place. With a strong ownership, confident coaching, and no major losses, the addition of Knuble can only improve the team. Also, if Varlamov lives up to expectations and shows consistency, a finals appearance for the Capitals is not at all out of the realm of possibility. Keep your eyes open on this year’s Capitals.
Atlantic Division Champion
2. The Pittsburgh Penguins. An elite team whose core still has yet to hit their primes, and an essentially unchanged team, the Penguins are still elite, and the story will not change in the foreseeable future. They are a team that plays strong with one man down (see Crosby in 07-08), a team that nearly missed the playoffs and improved fast enough to win the Stanley Cup (08-09), the Pens are nearly invincible. Should the Pens lose in any round of the playoffs, including a likely consecutive finals appearance, it won’t happen in less than 7 games. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you will hear about the success of the Penguins for a long time.
Northeast Division Champion
President’s Trophy Winner
1. The Boston Bruins. Make no mistake. The Bruins are the best team in the NHL, and of the two conferences, they are the PT winners. I’m not keen on losing Montador to Buffalo, but Morris is a fine substitute for a blueline that is excellent at worst. I argue that team Thomas/Fernandez is also the best goaltending tandem in the league. I still question how they fare in the playoffs, but for the regular season, you can put your money on the Bruins taking the Northeast, the Conference, and depending on how you see San Jose, the President’s Trophy.