As training camps begin to open in the National Hockey League, it is never too early to look into the crystal ball and see how this season will play out. This off-season saw its share up interesting head scratches and stories. We started the off-season with even more of the human soap opera that is Todd Bertuzzi, and then ended with the summer blockbuster of Evgini Malkin. This has been one amazing off-season. So, who’s going to win the drink and who’s going to be on the clock in Columbus? In a six part series, we will look at the six NHL conferences and how they will stack up at the end. We’ll break them down alphabetically, and look at the one major off-season transaction that will determine where they go.
We only start where we can, at the top. Our first visit around the world of the ice takes us to one of the most laughed at conferences just four years ago, the Southeast. Four years ago, no one even thought that this division belonged in hockey. The Hurricanes looked like they were clueless, the Panthers were just a shadow of the team who looked like they were going to take the league by storm, The Lightning were always the league’s doormat, the Thrashers were just a lousy expansion team with a lot of potential, and the Washington Capitals were just, awful and very painful to watch. Then, something happened. The Lightning just came out of nowhere and took the league by storm winning the final Stanley Cup before the lockout that canceled the entire 2004 season. After the lockout, another team that no one expected to even contend for a playoff spot, the Carolina Hurricanes won it all.
So, what can become of this division? It’s quite simple; it has the potential to be one of the best divisions in hockey. In Atlanta, a young team with a great coach is being built. Of course the center pieces of this is goaltender Kari Lehtonen and forward Ilya Kovalchuk. In the off-season, they picked up Steve Rucchin from the Rangers, Niko Kapanen from the Stars, and Vitaly Vishnevski from the Ducks. Rucchin will bring in something the Thrashers need, a good face off man. He is a great two way center, and played well last season for New York, notching thirteen goals and twenty-three assists for the Blueshirts, as they made the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The downside of this is that Rucchin is now on the downside of his career, and one has to wonder at what level he can play. With that being said, this team has a solid core, they aren’t at the level of a division championship yet, but they are a year off. Don’t be surprised if they finish with a seven or and eight seed.
The Stanley Cup Champions are the Carolina Hurricanes. They took full advantage of the new rules, by having young, speedy forwards, and smart defensemen. Players like Eric Staal and Erik Cole are the backbone of this young team. Cam Ward’s rookie campaign really started in the playoffs, when Martin Gerber went down in the first round. Ward willed the ‘Canes all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. His performance won him the Con Smythe. This team didn’t change much in the off-season, which might not be a good thing. Now, this season, Gerber is gone, and Ward finds himself as the starter of this top tier team. The major question for the ‘Canes is can Ward shake off the sophomore jinx, and become the goalie everyone seems to be comparing him to, Patrick Roy. One of the main pickups for the ‘Canes was Scott Walker from the Predators. At 33, Walker is still a good tough guy, but his size keeps him from being one of the better tough guys in the league. He has a heart the size of Texas, the kid has no quit in him. He is a great penalty killer and can work the corners with some of the best in the league. However, his size does make him injury prone, and the ‘Canes will have to watch that, also they need to watch Walker’s temper as he does have a tendency to take stupid penalties. All and all the Hurricanes should win this division, as the other teams will beat each other up just enough. Expect them to have a one or two seed as well.
One team that was a walking soap opera this off-season was the Florida Panthers. Is Keenan staying, how bad is the feud between Keenan and head coach Jaques Martin, then they acquired the walking soap opera Todd Bertuzzi. We got the answer to one of the two questions when Mike Keenan resigned, and Jaques Martin was given the duel role of coach and GM. This team has a ton of questions, especially between the pipes. To get Bertuzzi, the Panthers sent their top-tier goalie Roberto Luongo. To replace him, they did sign Ed Belfour, but at this stage in his career, Belfour is just a shell of himself. Once a solid lock for the Hall, now he’s just nothing more than a minor-league goalie. However, their offense should be one of the better ones in the league, with Olli Jokinen leading the way. Bertuzzi will give them that punch, but one has to wonder if his lack of performance last season was just a fluke, or did the Steve Moore incident affect him in ways we don’t know just yet. Only time will tell that. With that being said, the Panthers just have way too many question marks to even consider them a contender for a playoff spot. Expect them to finish thirteenth or fourteenth in the Eastern conference.
Tampa Bay had a solid season last year, with a respectable second place finish. However, their goaltending situation caught up with them in the playoffs, and they were defeated in six games by the Ottawa Senators in the first round. Last season, they turned to Sean Burke, John Grahame, and Gerald Coleman to backstop the team. This year, they have no more questions in net, as they traded for former Blue Jacket Marc Denis. Denis is a good, legit number one goaltender. He has what he needs to take the Lightning back to the cup finals, but he is a very streaky goalie. If he can change this, the Lightning can contend for the cup. Expect them to finish second in this division, and fifth overall.
Last but not least are the Washington Capitals. This team is still not quite there, but will be extremely fun to watch. Alex Ovechkin will enter his second season in the league, he has impressed so much that the Caps even thought about handing the captaincy to him. How much maturity does this young man have? He declined one of the greatest honors in hockey. The Capitals are much more than Ovechkin, the only problem is, it’s not that great. The main problem with this team is youth, or should I say too much of it. Sure, they have one of the league’s oldest goalies in Olaf Kolzig, but for the most part, this team is way too young to contend. Kolzig is the other problem. His years are way behind him, especially with this defense. One key pickup for the Capitals and the one savior from last place will be Don Brashear. Brash can still play and is still one of the meanest on the ice. He’s also a great skater with a powerful stride. However, he’s a bit too picky these days and still takes stupid penalties. Expect this team to finish a respectable fourth in the division, but still around eleventh in the conference.
The way I see the Southeast division is with Carolina, Tampa, Atlanta, Washington, and Florida bringing up the rear. The division does look good, and has a bright future. We will be talking about the Southeast division for years to come. In part two, we’ll look at the weakening Atlantic division.
