2007 NHL Western Conference Preview

September 27th, 2007

It’s almost time for the NHL Hockey betting season to get under way. Before the puck drops on the regular season, here are some of Tim Furious’ picks for the top teams in the Westtern Conference. Complete with Stanley Cup odds, these Western powerhouse teams have Tim all riled up…

1. Anaheim Ducks (+450 to win Stanley Cup)

Respect goes to those who bear the title, but can Anaheim survive so many personnel losses? Teemu and Scott Niedermayer are on the fence, but teetering toward retirement and Dustin Penner was stolen by the Edmonton Oilers. So what do they do? They get older! They added bruising Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider from the rival Red Wings. Will it pay off? To be honest, it’s too early to tell if the Ducks will repeat and they’re not worth investing in just yet.

2. Minnesota Wild (+1600 to win Stanley Cup)

Buy! Buy! Buy! Why? Because this team is so far under the radar it almost makes me want to vomit with joy. The Wild are consistently left out of the hype because they are unsexy. Marion Gaborik, Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra are three of the strongest skaters in the league and displayed an insane ability to break through the blue-line last year. Nicklas Backstrom came from nowhere to finally give Minnesota a true number one goalie. They allowed the fewest goals in the league in 2006-07 and the smart NHL betting investor should take advantage of these favorable sportsbook odds before the oddsmakers catch up with the Wild. I like them to win the mega-competeitve Northwest.

The Wild ran into a juggernaut last season when they were taken apart by the Ducks in the first round of the playoffs. With the Ducks taking some severe personnel losses, the West is wide open. And I’m betting that the Wild are the ones that cash in.

3. Detroit Red Wings (+700 to win Stanley Cup)

The Red Wings were a surprise contender last year as Dominik Hasek looked timeless in net. The loss of Mathieu Schneider and Bertuzzi won’t hurt their offense or defense that much, especially since they added Brian Rafalski. Rafalski is one of the best puck-moving defenseman in the league. You can never count the Red Wings out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, especially after the miracles they pulled off last year. With Nicklas Kronwall back from injury, the defensively staunch Red Wings will pose a threat to the crown the Ducks so happily wear right now. With Babcock behind the bench, the Red Wings will always be contenders and continue to reward their regular season betting investors as they always do. Now about that Stanley Cup Finals appearance…

4. San Jose Sharks (+750 to win Stanley Cup)

I have two big questions here. Can Evgeni Nabakov be the main man now that Toskala is protecting the crease in Toronto? All signs point to yes, especially if you look at the team that he has in front of him. They were the second best power players in the league last year and not much has changed. Except…
…why the hell did these guys sign Jeremy Roenick? Is he the guy that can push this team to the Stanley Cup? The team has lacked that grizzly veteran leadership required to win the title, but J.R. barely has a head left sitting on his shoulders (not that he had much of one to begin with). If the Sharks were looking for leadership, then signing a 37 year-old concussion case who had 28 points last season isn’t the answer.

On paper, these guys should be the favorites to win the West. But their past record is working against them, and without a proven leader (sorry Thornton and Marleau, but you’re not cutting the mustard) the Sharks may be stuck circling the waters instead of filling them with the blood of their Western opponents.

5. Vancouver Canucks (+1600 to win Stanley Cup)

Someone desperately needs to enroll GM Dave Nonis in “Saving Your Job 101”. The fact they have Roberto Luongo's superhuman efforts in net saving a paper-thin roster should have been enough for any fan to pull his hair out and demand that Nonis go out and get a marquee blue-liner and a greedy lamp lighter. Instead, one of the most penalized teams in the league made absolutely no improvements to a team that ranked twenty-first in offense. As long as Luongo stands on his head, the Canucks have a chance. But, as the playoffs proved last year, they have no offensive punch. Luongo will make them favorites in the regular season, but don’t expect the Canucks to outlast the much more balanced Minnesota Wild, who only lost the division by two points last season.

6. Dallas Stars (+2000 to win Stanley Cup)

Dallas is a team built for the regular season, not the playoffs. They are tough against the puck-line because they sit on leads and rely on defense, which was enough to earn them 107 points in the standings, but rarely rewarded their NHL betting faithful. Marty Turco has been sensational in net for them, and has finally risen above the critics who pointed the finger at him for the Stars playoff ineptitude. Turco had a 1.30 goals against average and a 0.952 save percentage last year. Instead the finger should be pointed at Modano and the offense. It would probably be nice if Brendan Morrow could stay healthy. He is the captain, after all.

7. Calgary Flames (+2000 to win Stanley Cup)

And so the countdown begins. Will Iron Mike Keenan fix all the woes plaguing the Flames? Or will Calgary burnout once more as they did against Detroit in the 2007 playoffs? Signing Adrian Aucoin and Owen Nolan is a definite sign that this team is going for broke, because that’s what they’ll be if the Stanley Cup Finals is not in their future. Keenan hopes to restore some dirt and grit to this once proud team, which has lost some identity due to the new NHL. The Flames are stuck in the most competitive division in the NHL and can’t hold a candle to the Canucks and Wild. GM Darryl Sutter better know what he’s doing, or else he’ll have a lot to own up to if Jarome Iginla and Mikka Kiprusoff aren’t happy.

8. Colorado Avalanche (+3500 to win Stanley Cup)

Out go the Nashville Predators and in come the Colorado Avalanche. Four teams from one division? You bet. That’s how good the Northwest is. With Ryan Smyth adding character and grit to Joe Sakic’s team, this team is only going up. They have a great crop of youngsters including Wojtek Wolski, who officially has the coolest name in hockey. The question is the goaltending. Jose Theodore has phoned it in ever since his Hart and Vezina seasons and is pulling in a cool $6 million to backup starter Peter Budaj, who really hasn’t flourished as the leading man in net.

9. Nashville Predators (+2000 to win Stanley Cup)

Ring ring. Hello, Vegas? Yeah, you have the Preds here at +2000 to win the Stanley Cup here and I was just wondering if you were paying attention. They lost Forsberg, Kariya, Timonen, Hartnell and Tomas Vokoun and signed…well…nobody worth mentioning. Somebody fix this please. Thanks. Buh-bye.

10. St. Louis Blues (+4500 to win Stanley Cup)

The Blues might as well be called the Boomerangs. Two seasons ago they let Doug Weight wander off to Carolina, only to have him resign with the team. Last year, Keith Tkachuk was sent to Atlanta in exchange for a massive bevy of picks and re-signed with the Blues. This year, however, they welcome Asian sensation Paul Kariya to a roster filled with veterans and young talent. Kariya joins Lee Stempniak who is blossoming as a scoring threat. The Blues are still insanely thin at the blue-line, and their goaltending is questionable, which is a reason the oddsmakers are so against them.

11. Chicago Blackhawks (+8000 to win Stanley Cup)

The Blackhawks are one of the unluckiest franchises in recent NHL history. They have a bevy of young talent, but can’t seem to find the right guys to compliment them. It’s really hard to envision these Hawks being a playoff force until Patrick Kane can grow some stubble (which is probably four or five years away).

12. Edmonton Oilers (+5000 to win Stanley Cup)

Brand new look, same awful results. The Oilers made headlines this season as GM Kevin Lowe drove his peers crazy by offering players massive offer sheets. He finally got one to stick in Dustin Penner from the Ducks. They also added Sheldon Souray and Joni Pitkanen who will shore up the blue line, although Souray is a defensive liability with that shady minus-28 of his. Just like the weather in Edmonton, things look bleak for the Oilers.

13. Los Angeles Kings (+5000 to win Stanley Cup)

Forget about the Kings this season, because the front office already has. They are rightfully focusing on the future by bringing in some excellent young talent to compliment Anze Kopitar, Michael Cammalleri and Alexander Frolov. Nothing worthy of note here because the Kings are pedestrian at best and will be for at least one more season.

14. Columbus Blue Jackets (+6000 to win Stanley Cup)

It’s a shame that Michael Peca had to leave his hometown of Toronto to dwell in the cellar with the Blue Jackets. He deserves better than that. This team is old, broken and lacking in leadership. Ken Hitchcock is not the man to turn them around. What an atrocious roster.

15. Phoenix Coyotes (+8000 to win Stanley Cup)

The running joke in Phoenix is that the Coyotes are the team that hockey players go to, to die. But the Coyotes cleaned house and got rid of the old (Nolan, Roenick, Ricci and Joseph) and in with the not-so-old (Vrbata, Aebischer, Auld, Mike York). The good news is that GM Don Maloney has been brought in to rebuild the financially loaded Coyotes. He did a fantastic job rebuilding the Rangers. The bad news is that the effects of the rebuilding won’t be seen until 2010 at best.

For all NHL odds, visit Betus.com

Posted on 9/27/2007 7:29:09 PM
NHL Futures Betting - Western Conference Furious Top Five
By Tim Furious

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