After a week hiatus, I'm back and here to give you all my predictions for the season. I will give you my predictions on who will make the playoffs, the conference finals and win the Stanley Cup.
Well lets start with the Western Conference:
1.Detroit Red Wings - If Dominic Hasek can stay healthy they will be a force, if not they will be out early. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsuyk proved last year that they can take this team deep into the playoffs if a little luck is on their side.
2. Anaheim Ducks - It's difficult for champions to repeat, but with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry a year older and J.S Giguere re-signing their hard hitting brand of hockey will be hard to beat.
3. Vancouver Canucks - Roberto Luongo will further his claim to being the best goalie today, by leading the Canucks to a division title. He of course will have a little help from the ever improving Sedin twins.
4. San Jose Sharks - Joe Thornton and his charges will be back and better than ever. However, they better hope that putting all their eggs in one basket doesn't backfire. Their Marleau Thornton Cheechoo line will have to perform every night if they are to be a Cup threat.
5. Colorado Avalanche - A lot will depend on Petr Budaj continuing to his stellar play. The Avs will be a safe bet to make the playoffs, with the likes of Joe Sakic and the impressive Paul Statsny and Wojtek Wolski to lead the charge.
6. Minnesota Wild - The Wild's chances will depend on Marian Gaborik staying healthy, but after a new off-season regime he is primmed to have a outrageous year. The Wild's defence first style will serve them well in the long haul of the season.
7. Calgary Flames - Mike Keenan's style may not be to everyone's liking, but he's the type of tough, disciplinarian coach that the Flames need. He will bring a system that will help Jerome Iginla's team reach the playoffs.
8. St Louis Blues - This pick may come as a shock to many, but I think they have built a core of young players like Lee Stempniak, Eric Johnson and the addition of Paul Kariya will vault them ahead of the Stars and Predators for the final playoff spot.
Now for the East Conference:
1. Ottawa Senators - There is no surprise here, a freshly signed Dan Heatley will lead last year's Stanley Cup finalists, back to the Promised land. This team is just plain sick, with Redden, Spezza, Alfredsson and of course Heatley leading the way.
2. New York Rangers - The addition of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury have propelled the Rangers into Cup contenders and although it will be a tough fight, the Atlantic should be theirs by season end.
3. Carolina Hurricanes - They had a rash of injuries and slumps, but this team is just too good not to win the Southeast division. A healthy Cory Stillman will go a long way to helping Eric Staal recapturing his 2005-2006 form.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins - Sidney Crosby the reigning NHL MVP has a strong supporting cast of Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Petr Sykora to name a few. However, much will depend on their defence which is still shockingly weak in it's own end. One area that shouldn't be a question mark anymore is their goaltending, Fleury won 40 games last year putting him behind only Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo.
5. New Jersey Devils - Despite the loss of Brian Rafalski and Scott Gomez the Devils have a long history of overcoming high profile loses and this year will be no exception. They still have Martin Brodeur and he can still carry a team on his back. They also have a proven winner in Brent Sutter as their new head coach.
6.Buffalo Sabres - The Sabres will drop off a lot this year, as a result of losing Daniel Briere and Chris Drury to free agency. Their season will rest on the performance of Ryan Miller, Derek Roy and the heavily overpaid Tomas Vanek. There is enough talent left for this team to make the playoffs.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning - Goaltending is still a big question mark for this team, but as last year showed, Martin St-Louis and Vincent Lecavalier can carry this team to the playoffs. They will hope that Brad Richards can rebound from an off year and take off some of the load.
8. Philadelphia Flyers - This was a tough choice and could have gone either way, but with the lack of top line centers on Atlanta I had to give it to the Flyers. They Flyers are completely revamped with the additions of Daniel Briere, Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to name a few. The Flyers will take time to gel as a team, but there will be no repeat of last year and with Simon Gagne and a possible return of Peter Forsberg, this will be a playoff team again.
Western Conference Finals:
Detroit RedWings vs Anahiem Ducks
Winner = Detroit RedWings
Eastern Conference Finals:
Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers
Winner = Pittsburgh Penguins
Stanley Cup final:
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit RedWings
Stanley Cup Winner = Pittsburgh Penguins finally reaching their potential possible dynasty starting.
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4 comments:
For the most part Oz, you have done a fine job in selecting the top 8 of the West. You just need to tweak the "seedings" a tad and remove St. Louis.
1. San Jose Sharks: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek, Craig Rivet, Evgeni Nabokov. Ready, set, we win.
2. Detroit Red Wings: They still play in a bad division and will be a top 3 seed in the West when the playoffs start. They lost a couple of key components to competitors, but they always seem to play well during the regular season.
3. Anaheim Ducks: Replacing Selanne with Todd Bertuzzi and Niedermayer with Matthew Schneider should replace a portion of the offense lost, but it still appears Anaheim will be much less prolific on offense. Lets not forget Dustin Penner was an emerging power forward for Anaheim when he signed a restricted free agent offer sheet with Edmonton.
4. Colorado Avalanche: The Avs appear to be on the way back after some wise drafting. The addition of power forward Ryan Smyth will boost the offense and the defense will be better than average with the addition of Scott Hannan.
5. Vancouver Canucks: The team defense is sound ranking 5th in the league. Offense remains the major concern as aging Markus Naslund is producing less. Luongo carries them to the playoffs once again.
6. Calgary Flames: Owen Nolan arrives from Phoenix as additional veteran presence. This team is solid defensively and has a superior stopper in Mikka Kiprusoff to protect the bottom line.
7. Minnisota Wild: Minnesota added some pieces to a team that has continued to improve and remains the number one defensive team under Jacques Lemaire’s trapping system and solid goaltending.
8. Dallas Stars: The Stars are one of the best defensive teams in the league ranking 3rd and has one of the best stoppers in the league in Marty Turco. Offense remains the issue with aging veterans Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen carrying the load. Hope is the young guns Jussi Jokinen, Brendan Morrow can continue to mature and add more offense.
Rankings are harder to predict after the division leaders, as for St-Louis well I like their game and they have a legitimate shot to make it. Dallas have to stay healthy all around to make it this year. But if they can then they would be more likely to make it than the Blues. However, that is a big "IF".
Luongo can carry that team so far, Nucks dont have enough to get to the Cup, not at this point anyhow. Sharks and Ducks have to be the favorites, both are deep teams that get scoring from all their lines, and play physical all the time. Wings will win the improving Central Division (couldnt get worse) but lack of scoring depth may hurt them in the long run.
Again Oz, not a bad 8 for the East... but...
1. Ottawa Senators: This team remains one of the premier teams in the league ranked 2nd in team offense last year. Roster changes were minimal. Shean Donavan arrives to fill a third line checking role.
2. Carolina Hurricanes: Expect a rebound this season as Cam Ward is in prime condition, Matt Cullen returns to the forward ranks, and Frantisek Kaberle and Cory Stillman are healthy once again.
3. Pittsburg Penguins: Sid the Kid returns to dazzle the league. Newly acquired Petr Sykora may be the lucky recipient of passes from Crosby on the first line. Daryl Sydor was signed to improve average defense.
4. New Jersey Devils: Despite the loss of Rafalski this team will work hard and play solid defense. Dainius Zubrus replaces the loss of Scott Gomez at center ice. Brodeur continues to man the net impressively.
5. New York Rangers: Chris Drury and Scott Gomez arrive and are nice additions for sure, but will that bang for the buck happen? No additions on defense other than 6th or 7th defenseman Andrew Hutchinson. Expect a playoff berth but where is the grit here beyond disturber Avery?
6. Tampa Bay Lightning: Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis will produce big points and game winning goals. The Lightning added Jan Hlavac and Michel Ouellet to work each side of Richards. Goaltending and defense remain a concern. Lukowich fills out and improves team defense.
7. Philadelphia Flyers: Acquiring Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timmonen from Nashville prior to free agency should payoff. Daniel Briere to anchor the first line with 40 plus goal scorer Simon Gagne. Joffrey Lupol and Jason Smith arrive to solidify team chemistry.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs: Raycroft was an underachiever last season with a 2.99 gaa and .894 save percentage. Hello Vesa Toskala. The addition of Jason Blake to help Sundin should add a dynamic edge to the first line.
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