unifiedtheory
Thank you #54...
I decided to put on my Miss Cleo hat for the week and came up with an Eastern Conference NHL Preview. I'm working on the West, trophy winners and other predictions that I'll post in the next week.
I know prediction threads can be annoying but I thought that maybe it would start some debate and discussion amongst the NHL fans that frequent FinHeaven.
Warning: This is a VERY long post...Here we go...
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Thrashers
What I know: The destiny of this team is on Kari Lehtonen’s young shoulders. The best goalie prospect in years, he must produce. Newly acquired Marian Hossa and Kovelchuk will produce. Look out for Marc Savard, new could have a great year. They have been weak in goal for years and Kari is the key.
Big Weaknesses: Goaltending and youth.
Young/surprise player to watch: Kari Lehtonen is the one to watch He is world class. Young goalies usually take a few years to season but he is ready.
What they’ll do: If Lehtonen has a good year they will be a playoff team. This is a young team on the rise…will anyone in Atlanta even notice?
Boston Bruins
What I know: The Bruins opened the vault to bring back Thornton, Samsonov and Murray and sign Zhamnov, Leetch and Scatchard. This team potentially has three quality lines. Andrew Raycroft was rookie of the year and looks to give the Bruins their first quality, young goaltender since Pete Peeters.
Big Weaknesses: The defense. Leetch is old. Can Nick Boynton continue his progression into a potential #1 defenseman?
Young/surprise player to watch: Patrice Bergeron. He is already a polished NHL player at age 21. He will only get better.
What they’ll do: With quality goaltending and if the defense holds up they are a top 3 seed in the Eastern conference. Will this be the year they get past the first round?
Buffalo Sabres
What I know: Chris Drury has to regain his early career form. This is a one-line team and he needs to produce. Martin Biron is a very good goalie stuck in a bad place.
Big Weaknesses: Depth. They have none. This is a team with underachieving young players (Afinogenov, Connelly, Pyatt, Jilson) who need to break out.
Young/surprise player to watch: Ryan Miller. Even with Martin Biron Miller could get a lot of starts. He is worth watching.
What they’ll do: Unless all the young underachievers break out all at once this is a bottom tier team. They could be drafting in the top 3.
Carolina Hurricanes
What I know: Is there a more non-descript franchise in professional sports? They have some good young players (Staal, Williams) but this team is too young in goal to do much of anything.
Big Weaknesses: Their defense is a mis-mash of has beens and never weres. They are loaded with young goalies but none of them are ready yet.
Young/surprise player to watch: Andrew Ladd is really the only young forward they have and he is a good one. Although Eric Staal is a good young player, Ladd is the one to watch.
What they’ll do: They will play their young players and finish in the bottom five in the standings.
Florida Panthers
What I know: The old guys (Nieuwendyk, Roberts, Gelinas, Gratton and Stumpel) have to stay healthy and the youngsters (Huselius, Weiss, Horton) have to grow up. This team has a good balance of older players that will be relied on in key situations and young players who will offer a jump to the offense. They also have the best goalie outside of New Jersey in hockey.
Big Weaknesses: The defense (besides Bouwmeester) is slow. If Luongo gets hurt this team is done.
Young/surprise player to watch: Jay Bouwmeester. He’s had his time to season. This is the year he breaks out into the elite.
What they’ll do: If Luongo is Luongo, the defense holds up and the older players don’t break down they could win their division. This team looks like it is built for the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens
What I know: Their top 6 forwards (Kovalev, Koivu, Bonk, Zednick, Ribeiro and Ryder) have to make teams pay on the power play. This is a very fast, talented team. If their power play is top 10 and they get the goaltending from Theodore they are a playoff team.
Big Weaknesses: Size. Their forwards are very small. If the NHL keeps its promise to crack down on obstruction this could be a dangerous team. If they get into a physical game they are in trouble though.
Young/surprise player to watch: Alex Perezhogin, Andrei Kostsitsyn, or Chris Higgins. Take your pick. The Habs are loaded with young forwards ready for the jump to the NHL.
What they’ll do: This is a playoff team that isn’t built for the playoffs. I expect a playoff appearance but a quick exit.
New Jersey Devils
What I know: They lost their best defenseman so they went out and signed solid replacements. They go three lines deep, can play any style you want and have the best goaltender in the World. Their only real “key†player is Marty Broduer and he’ll be his usual Vezina self. Watch out for Alex Mogilny. He’s healthy for the first time in years.
Big Weaknesses: Their defense (besides Rafalski) is slow. When you have Broduer though, that might not matter.
Young/surprise player to watch: If Zach Parise can crack the lineup he is worth watching. The Devils have a history of letting their youngsters play in the minors for awhile though.
What they’ll do: Win the division and go far in the playoffs. They could be a Stanley Cup team.
New York Islanders
What I know: An enigma franchise. As soon as they look like they are on the edge of doing something good they fall back. Mike Milbury will do that to you. This team is loaded with underachievers. Rick DiPietro is not one of them though. He is a star in the making.
Big Weaknesses: Disinterest. The whole team seems to have it. This is a team that should be blown up and started again.
Young/surprise player to watch: Petteri Nokelainen is a gritty young forward who is more of the kind of player this team needs.
What they’ll do: Finish out of the playoffs in the East.
New York Rangers
What I know: This team has no hope of making the playoffs. They are firmly in rebuild mode. As soon as they are officially out of the playoffs you will see the flood of their young players arrive in the NHL.
Big Weaknesses: They are weak throughout. This is a team that has a lot of good young prospects.
Young/surprise player to watch: Pick one of their young players Fedor Tjutin, Henrik Lundqvist, Al Montoya, Jozef Balej, and Jarkko Immonen.
What they’ll do: Probably finish in the bottom five and add more youth to the organization. If the Ranger fans remain patient, good things could happen in a few years though.
Ottawa Senators
What I know: This team is loaded and ready to make a run. They have speed everywhere at forward (Alfredsson, Havlat, Fisher, Spezza) and Heatley adds some grit. He’ll score the dirty goals. Can he regain his pre accident form? The defense is also in great shape. Zdeno Chara could be the best defensman in the World.
Big Weaknesses: Goaltending. Yes, Dom Hasek is the best goalie in a generation, perhaps ever. He’s also old and three years removed from a good season. If he gets hurt this team is in big trouble.
Young/surprise player to watch: Andrej Meszaros is expected to step in and play now. Ray Emery could start 20 games this year to lessen Hasek’s workload.
What they’ll do: If Hasek shows old form the team is in the top 3 seeds in the East.
Philadelphia Flyers
What I know: Bob Clark wasted no time jumping into the new NHL with both feet. He added three huge defenseman and the best player in the World (Peter Forsberg). Forsberg and Gagne could be electric. This team is ridiculously deep at forward. The defense has a nice blend of size and skill.
Big Weaknesses: It’s the Bob Clark run Flyers so it has to be in goal. Robert Esche has been good in the past but is he ready to carry the 65 game workload and the weight of expectations on his shoulders?
Young/surprise player to watch: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, and R.J. Umberger are all legit forward prospects. They will all see time mixing and matching throughout the line-up this year. They are the future of the franchise and the future is bright.
What they’ll do: Another top 3 team in my opinion. If Esche holds up they could go a long way. IF the NHL keeps it’s promise to crack down on obstruction look for Gagne and Forsberg to be in the top 5 in scoring.
Pittsburgh Penguins
What I know: This team looked like a candidate for the glue farm before the lockout. How quickly do things change when you add the best prospect in 20 years (Crosby) and the playing field is evened so you can add veteran free agents (Recchi, LeClair, Gonchar, Palffy) and not break the bank.
Big Weaknesses: As much as expectations in Pittsburgh have gone up this is a team who’s best years are ahead of them. They are quite thin on defense and the goaltending is a bit of a question mark for now.
Young/surprise player to watch: This is where the team is stacked. Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeny Malkin (who’ll stay in Russia for one more year) are all potential franchise players.
What they’ll do: With the mix of young and old they are a playoff team. If one of their goaltenders (Fleury or Thibault) catches lighting in a bottle they could do some serious damage in the East.
Tampa Bay Lightning
What I know: The salary cap hurt them more then any team. They were able to lock up Lecavalier and St.Louis but lost their goalie. This team has questions going forward. They are paying their top three forwards almost 45% of the salary cap. Look for one of them (Brad Richards) to be moved next off-season to balance the scale a little bit.
Big Weaknesses: Goaltending. Nik Khabibulin won them a Cup. They just couldn’t afford to hold on to him. Sean Burke has been dominant but is older and John Grahame has had the word “potential†next to his name for far too long. This team will score and be exciting to watch but they only go as far as the goaltending takes them.
Young/surprise player to watch: John Grahame. Only because they could end up depending on him so much.
What they’ll do: A playoff team without a doubt but their goaltending will be their undoing.
Toronto Maple Leafs
What I know: The salary cap hammered this team. They have been built in the past through free agency. They had so many older players that they depended on. No one knows how they will do in the new era. They have a thin list of young players and the players they depend on (Belfour, Sundin, McCabe, Tucker) are getting up there in age. Adding two major injury risks (Lindros and Allison) doesn’t help. Allison could be the steal of the decade though is he can stay healthy.
Big Weaknesses: Age. This is an old team. If Ed Belfour can manage one more quality season they could be a playoff team. They are also a slow team and in the new NHL that could hurt them more then anything.
Young/surprise player to watch: Carlo Colaiacovo and Matt Stajan will be relied on heavily this year. They add a young dynamic to a team in desperate need.
What they’ll do: So many variables. If Belfour, Lindros and Allison all stay healthy and Jeff O’Niel finds his old form this is a playoff team that looks like it could do damage in the playoffs. I think it will be a mixed bag of those things and they could squeeze in as a 7-8 seed.
Washington Capitals
What I know: They will be very, very young. They have top-notch prospects at forward and in goal. They did nothing during the free agency period. This is a learning year for this team. They will play their young players a lot and see what happens. Look for Olaf Kolzig to play a ton during the first half of the season and then get traded to a team that has goaltending issues.
Big Weaknesses: Youth. The players they will rely on to score will be learning on the job. The defense is very thin.
Young/surprise player to watch: Pick one. Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Maxime Ouellet, Eric Fehr, Shaone Morrisonn and Steve Eminger will all play. This team has a very bright future. Especially if they are able to get good talent in return for Kolzig.
What they’ll do: Finish last in the East. Add more young prospects and dive into free agency next year. They could make a playoff run in ‘07
Eastern Conference Playoff Teams:
#1 Flyers (division champ)
#2 Ottawa (division champ)
#3 Tampa Bay (division champ)
#4 Boston
#5 New Jersey
#6 Florida
#7 Montreal
#8 Pittsburgh
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I know prediction threads can be annoying but I thought that maybe it would start some debate and discussion amongst the NHL fans that frequent FinHeaven.
Warning: This is a VERY long post...Here we go...
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Thrashers
What I know: The destiny of this team is on Kari Lehtonen’s young shoulders. The best goalie prospect in years, he must produce. Newly acquired Marian Hossa and Kovelchuk will produce. Look out for Marc Savard, new could have a great year. They have been weak in goal for years and Kari is the key.
Big Weaknesses: Goaltending and youth.
Young/surprise player to watch: Kari Lehtonen is the one to watch He is world class. Young goalies usually take a few years to season but he is ready.
What they’ll do: If Lehtonen has a good year they will be a playoff team. This is a young team on the rise…will anyone in Atlanta even notice?
Boston Bruins
What I know: The Bruins opened the vault to bring back Thornton, Samsonov and Murray and sign Zhamnov, Leetch and Scatchard. This team potentially has three quality lines. Andrew Raycroft was rookie of the year and looks to give the Bruins their first quality, young goaltender since Pete Peeters.
Big Weaknesses: The defense. Leetch is old. Can Nick Boynton continue his progression into a potential #1 defenseman?
Young/surprise player to watch: Patrice Bergeron. He is already a polished NHL player at age 21. He will only get better.
What they’ll do: With quality goaltending and if the defense holds up they are a top 3 seed in the Eastern conference. Will this be the year they get past the first round?
Buffalo Sabres
What I know: Chris Drury has to regain his early career form. This is a one-line team and he needs to produce. Martin Biron is a very good goalie stuck in a bad place.
Big Weaknesses: Depth. They have none. This is a team with underachieving young players (Afinogenov, Connelly, Pyatt, Jilson) who need to break out.
Young/surprise player to watch: Ryan Miller. Even with Martin Biron Miller could get a lot of starts. He is worth watching.
What they’ll do: Unless all the young underachievers break out all at once this is a bottom tier team. They could be drafting in the top 3.
Carolina Hurricanes
What I know: Is there a more non-descript franchise in professional sports? They have some good young players (Staal, Williams) but this team is too young in goal to do much of anything.
Big Weaknesses: Their defense is a mis-mash of has beens and never weres. They are loaded with young goalies but none of them are ready yet.
Young/surprise player to watch: Andrew Ladd is really the only young forward they have and he is a good one. Although Eric Staal is a good young player, Ladd is the one to watch.
What they’ll do: They will play their young players and finish in the bottom five in the standings.
Florida Panthers
What I know: The old guys (Nieuwendyk, Roberts, Gelinas, Gratton and Stumpel) have to stay healthy and the youngsters (Huselius, Weiss, Horton) have to grow up. This team has a good balance of older players that will be relied on in key situations and young players who will offer a jump to the offense. They also have the best goalie outside of New Jersey in hockey.
Big Weaknesses: The defense (besides Bouwmeester) is slow. If Luongo gets hurt this team is done.
Young/surprise player to watch: Jay Bouwmeester. He’s had his time to season. This is the year he breaks out into the elite.
What they’ll do: If Luongo is Luongo, the defense holds up and the older players don’t break down they could win their division. This team looks like it is built for the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens
What I know: Their top 6 forwards (Kovalev, Koivu, Bonk, Zednick, Ribeiro and Ryder) have to make teams pay on the power play. This is a very fast, talented team. If their power play is top 10 and they get the goaltending from Theodore they are a playoff team.
Big Weaknesses: Size. Their forwards are very small. If the NHL keeps its promise to crack down on obstruction this could be a dangerous team. If they get into a physical game they are in trouble though.
Young/surprise player to watch: Alex Perezhogin, Andrei Kostsitsyn, or Chris Higgins. Take your pick. The Habs are loaded with young forwards ready for the jump to the NHL.
What they’ll do: This is a playoff team that isn’t built for the playoffs. I expect a playoff appearance but a quick exit.
New Jersey Devils
What I know: They lost their best defenseman so they went out and signed solid replacements. They go three lines deep, can play any style you want and have the best goaltender in the World. Their only real “key†player is Marty Broduer and he’ll be his usual Vezina self. Watch out for Alex Mogilny. He’s healthy for the first time in years.
Big Weaknesses: Their defense (besides Rafalski) is slow. When you have Broduer though, that might not matter.
Young/surprise player to watch: If Zach Parise can crack the lineup he is worth watching. The Devils have a history of letting their youngsters play in the minors for awhile though.
What they’ll do: Win the division and go far in the playoffs. They could be a Stanley Cup team.
New York Islanders
What I know: An enigma franchise. As soon as they look like they are on the edge of doing something good they fall back. Mike Milbury will do that to you. This team is loaded with underachievers. Rick DiPietro is not one of them though. He is a star in the making.
Big Weaknesses: Disinterest. The whole team seems to have it. This is a team that should be blown up and started again.
Young/surprise player to watch: Petteri Nokelainen is a gritty young forward who is more of the kind of player this team needs.
What they’ll do: Finish out of the playoffs in the East.
New York Rangers
What I know: This team has no hope of making the playoffs. They are firmly in rebuild mode. As soon as they are officially out of the playoffs you will see the flood of their young players arrive in the NHL.
Big Weaknesses: They are weak throughout. This is a team that has a lot of good young prospects.
Young/surprise player to watch: Pick one of their young players Fedor Tjutin, Henrik Lundqvist, Al Montoya, Jozef Balej, and Jarkko Immonen.
What they’ll do: Probably finish in the bottom five and add more youth to the organization. If the Ranger fans remain patient, good things could happen in a few years though.
Ottawa Senators
What I know: This team is loaded and ready to make a run. They have speed everywhere at forward (Alfredsson, Havlat, Fisher, Spezza) and Heatley adds some grit. He’ll score the dirty goals. Can he regain his pre accident form? The defense is also in great shape. Zdeno Chara could be the best defensman in the World.
Big Weaknesses: Goaltending. Yes, Dom Hasek is the best goalie in a generation, perhaps ever. He’s also old and three years removed from a good season. If he gets hurt this team is in big trouble.
Young/surprise player to watch: Andrej Meszaros is expected to step in and play now. Ray Emery could start 20 games this year to lessen Hasek’s workload.
What they’ll do: If Hasek shows old form the team is in the top 3 seeds in the East.
Philadelphia Flyers
What I know: Bob Clark wasted no time jumping into the new NHL with both feet. He added three huge defenseman and the best player in the World (Peter Forsberg). Forsberg and Gagne could be electric. This team is ridiculously deep at forward. The defense has a nice blend of size and skill.
Big Weaknesses: It’s the Bob Clark run Flyers so it has to be in goal. Robert Esche has been good in the past but is he ready to carry the 65 game workload and the weight of expectations on his shoulders?
Young/surprise player to watch: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, and R.J. Umberger are all legit forward prospects. They will all see time mixing and matching throughout the line-up this year. They are the future of the franchise and the future is bright.
What they’ll do: Another top 3 team in my opinion. If Esche holds up they could go a long way. IF the NHL keeps it’s promise to crack down on obstruction look for Gagne and Forsberg to be in the top 5 in scoring.
Pittsburgh Penguins
What I know: This team looked like a candidate for the glue farm before the lockout. How quickly do things change when you add the best prospect in 20 years (Crosby) and the playing field is evened so you can add veteran free agents (Recchi, LeClair, Gonchar, Palffy) and not break the bank.
Big Weaknesses: As much as expectations in Pittsburgh have gone up this is a team who’s best years are ahead of them. They are quite thin on defense and the goaltending is a bit of a question mark for now.
Young/surprise player to watch: This is where the team is stacked. Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeny Malkin (who’ll stay in Russia for one more year) are all potential franchise players.
What they’ll do: With the mix of young and old they are a playoff team. If one of their goaltenders (Fleury or Thibault) catches lighting in a bottle they could do some serious damage in the East.
Tampa Bay Lightning
What I know: The salary cap hurt them more then any team. They were able to lock up Lecavalier and St.Louis but lost their goalie. This team has questions going forward. They are paying their top three forwards almost 45% of the salary cap. Look for one of them (Brad Richards) to be moved next off-season to balance the scale a little bit.
Big Weaknesses: Goaltending. Nik Khabibulin won them a Cup. They just couldn’t afford to hold on to him. Sean Burke has been dominant but is older and John Grahame has had the word “potential†next to his name for far too long. This team will score and be exciting to watch but they only go as far as the goaltending takes them.
Young/surprise player to watch: John Grahame. Only because they could end up depending on him so much.
What they’ll do: A playoff team without a doubt but their goaltending will be their undoing.
Toronto Maple Leafs
What I know: The salary cap hammered this team. They have been built in the past through free agency. They had so many older players that they depended on. No one knows how they will do in the new era. They have a thin list of young players and the players they depend on (Belfour, Sundin, McCabe, Tucker) are getting up there in age. Adding two major injury risks (Lindros and Allison) doesn’t help. Allison could be the steal of the decade though is he can stay healthy.
Big Weaknesses: Age. This is an old team. If Ed Belfour can manage one more quality season they could be a playoff team. They are also a slow team and in the new NHL that could hurt them more then anything.
Young/surprise player to watch: Carlo Colaiacovo and Matt Stajan will be relied on heavily this year. They add a young dynamic to a team in desperate need.
What they’ll do: So many variables. If Belfour, Lindros and Allison all stay healthy and Jeff O’Niel finds his old form this is a playoff team that looks like it could do damage in the playoffs. I think it will be a mixed bag of those things and they could squeeze in as a 7-8 seed.
Washington Capitals
What I know: They will be very, very young. They have top-notch prospects at forward and in goal. They did nothing during the free agency period. This is a learning year for this team. They will play their young players a lot and see what happens. Look for Olaf Kolzig to play a ton during the first half of the season and then get traded to a team that has goaltending issues.
Big Weaknesses: Youth. The players they will rely on to score will be learning on the job. The defense is very thin.
Young/surprise player to watch: Pick one. Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Maxime Ouellet, Eric Fehr, Shaone Morrisonn and Steve Eminger will all play. This team has a very bright future. Especially if they are able to get good talent in return for Kolzig.
What they’ll do: Finish last in the East. Add more young prospects and dive into free agency next year. They could make a playoff run in ‘07
Eastern Conference Playoff Teams:
#1 Flyers (division champ)
#2 Ottawa (division champ)
#3 Tampa Bay (division champ)
#4 Boston
#5 New Jersey
#6 Florida
#7 Montreal
#8 Pittsburgh
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