With the four best teams in the conference last year, the Atlantic division was a battle right until the end. The Rangers were the surprise champions but the Devils ended up having the last laugh in the playoffs. This is what I see happening this year:
New
Jersey Devils
Offseason
Moves
In - Krystofer Barch
Out - Zach Parise,
Alexi Ponikarovsky
The Devils were THE
surprise team from last season. If someone told you the Kings would win the Cup
last offseason, it would have been plausible. If someone told you the Devils
would be within 2 games of the Stanley Cup, you would have called them insane.
New Jersey has been ignoring media expectations for years and has been able to
continuously ice a competitive team even after the lockout - but I think next
year will be a down one for the Devils. They lost their heart and soul (and
captain) in Zach Parise, and have done nothing to get it back. Yes, they still have
high end talent up front in Elias and Kovalchuk to go with a young, exciting
and apparently clutch player in Adam Henrique. A healthy Zajac will also do
wonders to replacing Parise's production, but none of these players can replace
the drive and passion he brings to the game.
Not only did the
Devils strike out in acquiring offensive talent this offseason, but they also
have not done anything to stabilize their net presence. Brodeur had a fantastic
year last season and I am the first to admit I did not see it coming, but with the
oldest goaltending tandem in the league these net minders are on their last
legs. If Brodeur returns to his 2011 form they are in trouble. With some nice
defenders in Zidlicky, Volchenkov, Greene and the promising Larsson, the Devils
are in good shape on the blue line if they can stay healthy. However, in a
strong division with the amount of question marks they have, I see the Devils
on the outside looking in by a small margin next year.
Why they'll make it - Great goaltending,
someone on offense (I'm looking at you,
Mattias Tedenby) steps up
Why they'll miss - Parise left too big a hole,
aging core comes up short
New
York Islanders
Offseason
Moves
In - Lumbomir
Visnovsky (pending), Brad Boyes, Matt
Carkner
Out - P.A.
Parenteau, Milan Jurcina, Al Montoya, Jay Pandolfo
The Islanders are
one of my dark horse teams in the East. If their players perform to their
potential they have a chance to make some noise next year, but I feel their
tough division will keep them out of the playoffs. Look for John Tavares to
break out, finishing in the top 5 for scoring. He will carry the team
offensively, but they will also need big years out of underachievers like
Okposo and Bailey, as well as continued production from Grabner and Moulson if
they want to strike fear in the opposition up front.
Garth Snow
legitimized the defense when he traded for Lubomir Visnovsky, although the move
is still pending and could fall through. The also have a mini Shea Weber in
Travis Hamonic and the experienced Mark Streit to shoulder the load. Calvin De
Haan should compete for a position this year after being picked 12th overall
with his buddy Tavares in 2009. It is always an adventure in goal on the
Island, but Nabokov is still a good goaltender and should be a sufficient stop
gap until DiPietro gets healthy or they fix the problem in another
way. For now, the Islanders are a good young team with some nice pieces, but I
just don't see them getting over the hump quite yet.
Why they'll make it - Stay healthy and players
play up to their potential.
Why they'll miss - Too many green players
playing prominent roles.
New
York Rangers
Offseason
Moves
In - Rick Nash,
Arron Asham, Jeff Halpern, Taylor Pyatt
Out - Brandon
Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Ruslan Fedotenko, Brandon Prust, John Mitchell
The Rangers made one
of the biggest splashes in the league when they traded for Rick Nash in late
July. Glen Sather worked his magic again when he landed the star winger for
Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and Tim Erixon. It's always nice as a GM when
you can trade depth for elite talent. Without losing any impact player on their
lineup, Sather seems to have made a 1st place team even better. Nash joins an
impressive list of forwards in Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik, and Brad
Richards, complimented with talented youngsters like Derek Stepan, Carl
Hagelin and Chris Kreider. The signings of Pyatt, Halpern and Asham really
solidify the team's bottom 6 and should fill the void of any lost presence
left by the Anisimov and Dubinsky departures.
The Ranger blue line
remains in tact, and one of the deepest in the league. Staal, McDonagh, Girardi
and Del Zotto all play their role to perfection and are still improving. I know
Bickel isn't the best option as a #6 defenseman, but if that is my biggest weakness
on paper, I'm a happy camper. Add these already big names to a team led by the
best goaltender in the world (well, top 2 with Rinne at least) in Henrik
Lundqvist and you have a team built for success. Needless to say, I like this
Ranger team top to bottom, including their coaching staff and front office. I
would emulate a lot of their philosophies on the game if I were to run a team
(it also helps when you have all the cash in the world). They fooled me once
when they were a first place team last year, and I do not get fooled twice. I
have the Rangers once again in tops of the conference, and if I were a Ranger
fan anything less than a Stanley Cup final appearance would be a let down with
the amount of talent on paper. Stranger things have happened though.
Why they'll make it - 1st place team last year
that only improved
Why they'll miss - Injury bug takes out at
least 3 star players
Philadelphia
Flyers
Offseason
Moves
In - Luke Schenn,
Ruslan Fedotenko, Bruno Gervais
Out - Jaromir Jagr,
James VanRiemsdyk, Matt Carle, Pavel Kubina
After being a part
of one of the most exciting series (with the least amount of defense) in last year's
playoffs, I'm not sure that either Pennsylvanian team improved this offseason.
The Flyers watched as veteran star Jaromir Jagr signed in Dallas and Matt Carle
followed the money to Tampa, and have done little to mend these holes. They
also traded former 2nd overall pick James VanRiemsdyk to the Leafs for Luke
Schenn and lost more offense in the process. I'm not convinced that Luke Schenn will be able to have a
complete 180 in his play immediately next season especially under the offensive system Laviolette employs. I
think a full year under Randy Carlyle would have done much more for Schenn's
development, though I still think he will have a much better year in his new
environment (plus playing with his brother should help).
The Flyers still
boast one of the best lineups in the East, led by the immensely talented Claude
Giroux. For a little man, he shoulders a lot of pressure as the leader of this
team and only knows how to thrive under it. Though they lost some size up front,
they still have enough sand paper in Wayne Simmonds and Scott Hartnell. Look
for Jakub Voracek to replace Jagr on the top line and have a break out season.
On the back end, it is more than likely (especially after the Schenn trade)
that they will have to go without their captain Chris Pronger as his career is
likely - and sadly - over. Timonen is still a very underrated force and a great
#2 Dman; amd with Cobourn, Mezaros and Grossman they should be fine on the back end
even if it isn't their strength. Bryzgalov is the X factor for this team and
they need him to regain his form and stay consistent if they want to see
success. As of now, I have the Flyers finishing right around where they did
last season, anywhere from 4-6.
Why they'll make it - Talent throughout their
lineup, have one of the top players in the game in Giroux
Why they'll miss - Recurring concussions
continue to haunt them, forcing young players like Schenn and Couturier to step
up, poor goaltending
Pittsburgh
Penguins
Offseason
Moves
In- Brandon Sutter,
Benn Ferriero, Tomas Vokoun
Out - Jordan Staal,
Steve Sullivan, Zbynek Michalek, Arron Asham, Brent Johnson
As I mentioned in
the Flyers section, the Penguins seem like another team that have downgraded
heading into next year. They had their hands tied with the Staal situation and
I certainly don't blame them for getting something for him now rather than
losing him for nothing next offseason. I like Brandon Sutter, but he is
slightly behind Staal defensively and cannot replace his presence on the ice or
his offensive creativity. The move I found bizarre was shipping out Zbynek Michalek
for a draft pick. The Pens have probably the best crop of defensive prospects
in the league, but it remains to be seen if anyone is ready for full time
action in the big league. For a team
that has the ability to make noise and win now, it was a downgrade in a
position that was already the squad's biggest weakness (and it showed up in the
playoffs). Paul Martin will have to
rebound and Letang stay healthy if the team wants to prevent pucks from going
in their net.
Sidney Crosby
starting the season healthy will
obviously provide a boost for the club, as it would for any team that had
the best player in the game. The addition of Vokoun was an interesting one as
it showed Ray Shero's faith (or lack thereof) in goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury,
and provides them with a very nice backup option in case he falters. The Pens will have no
problem scoring goals and should have a successful year, finishing right around
where they did last year with Philly in the middle of the pack (but perhaps the
2nd or 3rd best team in the conference). With their question marks regarding
team defense, I don't expect them to make much noise in the playoffs.
Why they'll make it - High end talent, with 2
of the best centers in the game and Letang to boot
Why they'll miss - Lack of team defense,
Malkin and Crosby never stay healthy at the same time
Final
Predictions
This is how I see
the seeding next year for the Atlantic Division:
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
With the top 3 teams
making it to the dance.
No comments:
Post a Comment