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NHL Team-By-Team Previews - Eastern
Conference
The sport
Americans love to hate and Canadians
hate that Americans love to hate is
about to drop the puck on its second
post-lockout season. The NHL made
some big strides in 05-06 with a serious
clamp-down on clutching and grabbing
that made for more scoring and, at
times, wide open play.
With the
new salary cap in place even small
market teams have a shot in the NHL,
as proven when the Carolina Hurricanes
defeated the Edmonton Oilers to win
last year's Stanley Cup.
What's in
store for this year? Alphabetically,
here's the Bodog Beat's very own Eastern
Conference NHL preview:
Atlanta
Thrashers (Last year: 41-33-8, 10th)
Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava
Kozlov make the Thrashers one of the
most explosive teams in the league.
Atlanta scored 276 goals, good for
fifth in the league, but it was one
of the worst teams defensively. Goalie
Kari Lehtonen played in just 38 games
last year due to injuries. He'll have
to stay healthy if his team hopes
to make the playoffs.
Boston
Bruins (Last year: 29-37-16, 13th)
The B's had a terrible time in 05-06
missing the playoffs by a long shot
while watching Joe Thornton, traded
to San Jose mid-season, carry the
Sharks. But new GM Peter Chiarelli
actually spent some money in the offseason
signing all-star defenseman Zdeno
Chara and top playmaker Marc Savard.
Believe it or not, there's a hockey
buzz in Beantown.
Buffalo
Sabres (Last year: 52-24-6, 4th)
No one expected the Sabres to be an
offensive powerhouse, but there they
were, tied with Atlanta with 276 goals.
They also put together the league's
third-best power-play. And they did
it all without a top-40 scorer. Maxim
Afinogenov led the team in scoring
with 73 points while rookie goaltender
Ryan Miller went 30-14-3 in the regular
season and was also terrific in the
postseason (11-7). Whether or not
he experiences the sophomore jinx
in 06-07 will determine the Sabres'
direction.
Carolina
Hurricanes (Last year: 52-22-8, 2nd)
It was another nightmare for hockey
purists who still hadn't recovered
from the Stanley Cup traveling to
Florida when Tampa Bay won it all
in 03-04. The Carolina Hurricanes,
formerly the Hartford Whalers, won
the cup for the first time in the
franchise's modest history. The Canes
lost a number of players in the offseason
- Martin Gerber, Matt Cullen, Aaron
Ward, Josef Vasicek, Dough Weight,
and Mark Recchi are all gone - but
if Cam Ward can repeat his amazing
playoff performance in goal, Carolina
could replace the departed with Sterling
Marlin, Terry Labonte et. al and still
have a shot.
Florida
Panthers (Last year: 37-34-11, 11th)
Mike Keenan traded Roberto Luongo
to Vancouver for the often indifferent,
and occasionally dangerous (in many
ways) Todd Bertuzzi. Keenan then promptly
resigned, leaving Jacques Martin as
both GM and head coach. Not a good
start. Alex Auld, who came over in
the Bertuzzi trade, is the new man
in net. He'll have to be good, too,
because the Panthers figure to be
thin in the scoring department. Only
team captain Olli Jokinen surpassed
60 total points last season.
Montreal
Canadiens (Last year: 42-31-9, 7th)
Les Habitants were left with a sour
taste in their mouths after blowing
a 2-0 series lead to the eventual
champion Carolina Hurricanes in the
first round of the playoffs. They
lost Richard Zednik, Jan Bulis, Todd
Simpson and Niklas Sundstrom in the
offseason but added Sergei Samsonov
and Mike Johnson. Hopefully for Canadiens
fans, Samsonov can help a team whose
243 goals were the third-lowest of
all playoff squads.
New
Jersey Devils (Last year: 46-27-9,
3rd)
GM Lou Lamoriello made a major move
to get under the NHL salary cap by
sending suspended defenseman Vladimir
Malakhov to San Jose. However, the
Devils still have to sign 48-goal
scorer Brian Gionta and defenseman
Paul Martin. In other words, stay
tuned. Goalie Martin Brodeur, now
34, isn't getting any younger but
still managed to play in 73 games
last year. His .911 save percentage
and five shutouts didn't speak to
a player on the decline either. Fantasy
players watch out for Patrik Elias,
who returned to rack up 45 points
in 38 games after missing more than
half the season recovering from hepatitis.
New
York Islanders (Last year: 36-40-6,
12th)
The one thing you can say about the
Islanders is this: There is no question
about goaltending. Rick DiPietro is
the man and will be until around the
year 3000. Okay, the math might be
a little off, but DiPietro's 15-year
contract was one of the most newsworthy
(and laughable) signings of the offseason.
Additions to the island include Rick
Berry, Peter Ferraro, Andy Hilbert,
Sean Hill, Tom Poti, Mike Sillinger
and a bunch of other guys who won't
make a lick of difference for new
coach Ted Nolan.
New
York Rangers (Last year: 44-26-12,
6th)
The Ran-juhs made the playoffs for
the first time since 1997 and promptly
got swept by the Devils. Still, if
Jaromir Jagr can build on, or just
maintain, his 05-06 season in which
he put up 54 goals and 69 assists,
as well as get some help from free
agent signings Brendan Shanahan and
Matt Cullen, the blueshirts should
be okay up front. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist
finished with a 30-12 record and a
2.24 GAA in his rookie season, but
fell flat in the playoffs. Whether
he can regain his form is of upmost
importance in Manhattan.
Ottawa
Senators (Last year: 52-21-9, 1st)
No more Zdeno Chara. No more Martin
Havlat. No more Dominik Hasek. The
perennial contender that always gets
ousted earlier than it should in the
playoffs will face the difficult challenge
of getting over key losses. To replace
the 6-10 Chara, who signed with Boston,
the Senators added two puck-moving
defensemen, Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing.
They have Martin Gerber between the
pipes and a collection of young forwards
who will vie to fill Havlat’s
speedy skates. The combination of
Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley will
be magic again.
Philadelphia
Flyers (Last year: 45-26-11, 5th)
The Flyers didn’t adjust to
the new NHL and their slow, plodding
play couldn’t compete with the
fleet Buffalo Sabres in the first
round of last season’s playoffs.
They didn’t do much in the offseason,
but expect young stars Jeff Carter,
Mike Richards and R.J. Umberger to
play many more minutes (they combined
for 114 points as rookies in 2005-6).
The defense remains immobile, though,
and that’s going to hurt.
Pittsburgh
Penguins (Last year: 22-46-14, 15th)
Sidney Crosby scored 102 points (39
goals) in a rookie campaign that was
disappointing only to those who expected
him to score 216. The Penguins finished
last in the East, though, and coach
Ed Olczyk was fired in December. If
Crosby is to get this team into the
playoffs and truly assume the Savior
title, he will need help. The Penguins
added more offense, but the blueline
remains sketchy and former No. 1 overall
pick Marc-Andre Fleury has been poor
in net during the preseason.
Tampa
Bay Lightning (Last year: 43-33-6,
8th)
No offseason acquisition may be as
important as Tampa Bay’s deal
that brought it goalie Marc Denis.
The former first-round pick who was
blistered by pucks in Columbus gives
the Lightning the opportunity to return
to contender status. Denis, who holds
the NHL record for saves in a season,
will still see plenty of rubber as
the Lightning play a wide-open game.
They also score a lot and knowing
they have a goalie who can stop the
puck should only instill more confidence
in Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards,
Martin St. Louis and Co.
Toronto
Maple Leafs (Last year: 41-33-8, 10th)
The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs
and that doesn’t go over well
in Toronto. Gone are Eric Lindros,
Jason Allison and Ed Belfour. The
Leafs added the inspirational Michael
Peca and dealt for goalie Andrew Raycroft.
It may not be enough. They still have
a lot of inexperienced skaters who
get too many minutes. Guys like Kyle
Wellwood and Matt Stajan have talent,
but not enough of it to ever be elite
superstars. The Leafs are in a rebuilding
mode that could take a few years to
take shape.
Washington
Capitals (Last year: 29-41-12, 14th)
Alexander Ovechkin scored 52 goals
and 106 points en route to Rookie
of the Year honors. The sniper spoiled
The Crosby Show, stealing the thunder
and hardware that was set aside for
Sidney. Ovechkin’s fun to watch,
even if the Caps aren’t. They
do have some skill, though, and if
the defense can give Olaf Kolzig a
chance they just might make the playoffs.
Western
Conference Preview >>
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