NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
Email Puck Drops
OK, time to finish up the previews. Again, these are in order of their projected finish. Once you get through the predictions, you get the added bonus of my shot-in-the-dark Stanley Cup playoff predictions.
Here we go...
San Jose Sharks: It's Stanley Cup or bust for the Sharks. After an all-too-quick exit from the 2008 playoffs courtesy of the rival Anaheim Ducks, the Sharks reinvented themselves again, and now they have Dany Heatley to add to their impressive arsenal. Gone are former Rocket Richard Trophy winner Jonathan Cheechoo and do-it-all young winger Milan Michalek, who left in the Heatley deal, but beyond that the Sharks pretty much return the same team that won the President's Trophy last season. The Sharks' window of opportunity is still open, but it might not be for long. If the Sharks don't go all the way this year, one wonders what else they can possibly do to bring the Cup to California for the first time. Projected finish: 53-23-6, 112 points, 1st in Pacific, President's Trophy champions
Chicago Blackhawks: It's been so long that the Detroit Red Wings have been on top of the Central Division (seven straight division championships) that putting anyone else here might seem like heresy. But it's been that long for a reason: the Wings have been far and away the best team in the division for a long, long time, and the Blackhawks are poised to take that title away. If their run to the Western Conference Final didn't convince you that this team is for real, their signings of John Madden and Marian Hossa firmly establish the Hawks as the team to beat in the Central, and they'll give the Sharks a run for their money in the President's Trophy race. Projected finish: 52-22-8, 112 points, 1st in Central
Vancouver Canucks: Mats Sundin retired, and the Canucks may have improved. Go figure. Outside of Sundin and Mattias Ohlund (sorry, Taylor Pyatt), the Canucks lost no one of consequence, and added Mathieu Schneider, Christian Ehrhoff and Mikael Samuelsson to the ranks. The Canucks shocked everyone with their meteoric rise last year, and with the Sedins and Roberto Luongo back (and, in Luongo's case, fully healthy) there's no reason the Canucks can't be in the conversation for a deep playoff run. Projected finish: 47-29-6, 100 points, 1st in Northwest
Detroit Red Wings: Just because they have competition for the lead of the division that's been their own personal fiefdom for years doesn't mean they'll roll over. On the contrary, even losing Hossa, Samuelsson and Jiri Hudler -- a one-year exodus that would doom other teams to the draft lottery -- doesn't drop them below 100 points in our projections. The Wings are the Devils of the Western Conference, minus the obsession on defense; they'll be right there no matter who suits up for them. Experience means quite a bit, and the Wings have made two straight Cup Finals while keeping largely the same roster. Don't write the Wings off, even given the upstarts above them in the standings. Projected finish: 48-27-7, 103 points, 2nd in Central
Calgary Flames: Mike Keenan didn't even hit his normal three-year shelf life, but the Flames are still primed for a solid finish in a quickly-weakening Northwest Division. Miikka Kiprusoff got old in a hurry last year, and the Flames' starting goaltender might be on his last legs, but he still has enough to backstop the team into the postseason. Like the Sharks, the Flames didn't make much of a splash in the offseason, but their big signing (Jay Bouwmeester) actually merited the title of a big signing. It might be a stretch to call the Flames a Cup contender, but they're still good enough to keep the Northwest a two-horse race. Projected finish: 44-31-7, 95 points, 2nd in Northwest
Anaheim Ducks: Much credit is being given to GM Bob Murray for overhauling and improving a roster that knocked the Sharks out in the first round of last season. Most of that credit is well-deserved. The Chris Pronger trade to the Flyers netted Joffrey Lupul and Luca Sbisa, two players who will jump right into a stacked lineup that already boasts one of the best lines (Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan) since the heyday of the West Coast Express in Vancouver years ago. The Ducks have a goalie controversy brewing, as Jonas Hiller outdueled Jean-Sebastien Giguere last year, but both goaltenders are potential #1s and give coach Randy Carlyle flexibility that other coaches can only dream of. This might even be low for the Ducks, given the only other significant losses on the roster were easily replaceable bottom-6 players. Projected finish: 43-30-9, 95 points, 2nd in Pacific
Dallas Stars: No one predicted the free fall the Stars would take last season. Sure, Mike Modano is a year older, but they'll have captain Brendan Morrow back after missing most of last season due to injury. They still have Brad Richards, one of the best playmaking centers in the game, and the young defense grew up significantly with lots of playing time last year. One wonders how new coach Marc Crawford will impact this team, but the Stars are a better team than they showed last year and they might overachieve this year as the pendulum swings back the other way. But will oft-maligned goaltender Marty Turco be up to the challenge, after two straight underachieving years? Projected finish: 43-31-8, 94 points, 3rd in Pacific
Columbus Blue Jackets: Every year, there's a young team that makes a flight up the standings that absolutely no one foresees. Two years ago, it was the Washington Capitals. Last year, the Blackhawks did the honors. Even though I have the Jackets eighth in the conference, I think they're the most likely candidate to do the same, and the only thing that might hold them back is playing the Blackhawks and Red Wings a total of twelve times. Steve Mason, last year's Calder Trophy winner, needs to prove that he can avoid the sophomore jinx, but if he does there's no reason Ken Hitchcock can't coax 90 points out of his charges this year. We're going just under, but the Jackets are the most likely team to bust my bracket. Projected finish: 40-32-10, 90 points, 3rd in Central
St. Louis Blues: I'm playing nothing but a hunch, but the Blues really overachieved last year on their way to a playoff spot, and they're such a young team that the team might suffer a collective "sophomore slump". Chris Mason returns after backstopping the Blues to the postseason after Manny Legace injured himself on Sarah Palin's red carpet last October, but this is his first full season as a starter and some inconsistency is to be expected. Paul Kariya and Eric Brewer are a year older, and the only signing of note was the ancient Darryl Sydor. The Blues can play their way in, but it says here they'll fall just short. Projected finish: 39-32-11, 89 points, 4th in Central
Edmonton Oilers: Much like the Leafs and Lightning, this is a team that's still a year away. Too much is being made of the situation where Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid were dangled as trade bait for Dany Heatley, but for the Oilers to succeed they need to see their youngsters raise their game in what is the third full season for most of them. The hiring of Pat Quinn (and, maybe more importantly, associate head coach Tom Renney) will bring some discipline on the blue line, but the Oilers will be feeling their way through the first portion of the schedule. Even if they get hot late in the year, they'll be climbing from behind and it will be a tough assignment to make the postseason. Projected finish: 37-34-11, 85 points, 3rd in Northwest
Los Angeles Kings: A good bit of noise surrounds this Kings team, but again, this is a team that needs one more year to let the pot mix together a bit more. Adding Justin Williams to the lineup gives the Kings a secondary scoring threat next to Anze Kopitar, but where the Kings will really shine is on the blue line. Drew Doughty would have run away with the Calder Trophy if not for Steve Mason, Jack Johnson keeps getting better and should hit his stride in his fourth NHL season, and the addition of Rob Scuderi gives the Kings one of the top defensive corps in the Western Conference. Next to the Blue Jackets, the Kings are the other team that threatens a big jump, but unfortunately for them they play in a tough division and I don't think they'll be able to overcome it. They'll be worth watching for the first time in years, though. Projected finish: 39-36-7, 85 points, 4th in Pacific
Minnesota Wild: This will be a transition year for the Wild, who cleaned house both behind the bench and in the front office for the first time in their history. They'll certainly be more watchable than they were at any time in the past (that 2003 run to the Western Conference final was trap and hold hockey at its absolute worst), but the changes are so significant that it will take a good length of time for young players like Pierre-Marc Bouchard and James Sheppard to get used to playing with the shackles off. The days of playing for a 1-0 game are over, but the Wild will still have trouble scoring goals, and that will be their downfall. Projected finish: 39-37-6, 84 points, 4th in Northwest
Nashville Predators: Aside from Shea Weber, there isn't a whole lot to get excited about on this roster. Every year it seems like this is finally the year David Legwand will score 30 goals, and it has yet to happen after eight years in the NHL. The ageless Jason Arnott can't be asked to carry the load by himself, but unless Legwand or Martin Erat can pot career highs, even the hope of having Steve Sullivan for a full season won't be enough for the Preds to break through. One wonders when GM David Poile, who's one of the best in the business, will begin a full-scale rebuild. Coach Barry Trotz's teams tend to overachieve as a rule, but overachieving with this bunch only means they'll finish 10th instead of 13th. Projected finish: 37-39-6, 80 points, 5th in Central
Phoenix Coyotes: They can say all they want about not having the bankruptcy circus affect them, but even the '76-77 Canadiens wouldn't be able to succeed with these conditions. Dave Tippett is certainly an upgrade from Wayne Gretzky behind the bench, but since he was hired about ten minutes before the season started he will pretty much be stuck working with the hand he was dealt. There are some things to like here -- Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal should take big steps forward, and Shane Doan will always be good for 70 points -- but the Coyotes will have to be content with not being in the basement. Anytime a team doesn't know where it will play in the succeeding season, the situation hangs over the team's head like the sword of Damocles; just ask the 1995 Winnipeg Jets, who stumbled their way to fifth place in a six-team division the year before they moved to Phoenix. Projected finish: 27-44-11, 65 points, 5th in Pacific
Colorado Avalanche: The only saving grace for the Coyotes is the presence of the Avalanche, who saw the wheels fall off for the first time since they moved to Denver in 1995. Joe Sakic is now a retired number instead of the top-line center, Milan Hejduk got old in a hurry, the defense is shaky at best and Peter Budaj is on approximately his fiftieth attempt at claiming the #1 goalie mantle that hasn't been claimed since Patrick Roy retired. It's Wojtek Wolski and not much else, which doesn't exactly portend success; pardon me if I don't believe Joe Sacco is the answer behind the bench. About the only thing worth watching in Denver will be how well third-overall pick Matt Duchene adapts to the NHL, and that isn't exactly good news for the Avs' chances. Projected finish: 23-48-11, 57 points, 5th in Northwest
Playoff predictions:
East 1st round
PHI over MTL
WAS over FLA
NJ over BOS
PIT over CAR
East 2nd round
PHI over NJ
WAS over PIT
East final: WAS over PHI
West 1st round
SJ over CBJ
CHI over DAL
ANA over VAN
CGY over DET
West 2nd round
SJ over CGY
ANA over CHI
West final: SJ over ANA
Stanley Cup Final: SJ over WAS
Finally...it's time to drop the puck. The Canes take to the ice in less than 24 hours, and we'll be here with a live blog tomorrow night!
West 1st round
SJ over CBJ
CHI over DAL
ANA over VAN
CGY over DET
West 2nd round
SJ over CGY
ANA over CHI
West final: SJ over ANA
Stanley Cup Final: SJ over WAS
Finally...it's time to drop the puck. The Canes take to the ice in less than 24 hours, and we'll be here with a live blog tomorrow night!
No comments:
Post a Comment