Teams are going to be gunning for the top dog, so who knows how teams are going to finish this year. That's where this comes in. Here's who I have finishing where in the NHL this season.
Western Conference
Pacific Division
1. Los Angeles Kings*
The champions are one of the most solid teams in the entire league. Goaltending will again stand out with Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones patrolling the pipes. On the blueline, nothing was really changed. On offense, there is going to be asking more of their young guns in Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson, both of whom look ready to deliver. Also throw in the fact that the Kings will have a full season of Marian Gaborik in the lineup. He had the magic working in the playoffs paired with Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Throw all that into a pot and I'd say you got another division title out in LA. Only thing that has me worried is will there be a possible fatigue factor from the long playoff run last season.
2. Anaheim Ducks*
Last year the Ducks were the top dog in the West and then were upset in the playoffs by the Kings. Now this year, the stakes are still high for the Ducks, with a few changes. Selanne and Koivu retired while Hiller was shipped out. Ryan Kesler and Dany Heatley were brought in to help take some of the scoring pressure off Getzlaf and Perry. What's going to be the big test for the Ducks is in goal. Their success will depend on whether goalies Frederik Andersen and John Gibson can turn potential into results. They still good enough to be a top tier team and possibly hit the Conference finals.
3. Vancouver Cancuks*
New GM and New coach plus some new faces in the sweaters were brought on board to help right the ship in Western Canada. Mike Gillis and John Tortorella both let go and replaced by Jim Benning and Willie Desjardins respectively. Now throw Ryan Miller in to stabilize the goaltending position. Nick Bonino and Radim Vrbata where brought on board to help boast the offense and try and get the Sedin twins back on track. Both of the Twins will have bounce back years. The new look will help the Canucks get back into the playoffs.
4. San Jose Sharks
After blowing the 3-0 lead in the opening round last year, things haven't gotten better in the Bay Area. San Jose still has a good team, but some people around the organization my not be happy. Joe Thorton was stripped of the Cwhile Patrick Marleau lost the A. Dan Boyle, Martin Havlat and Brad Stuart all gone, with nobody in town to replace them. San Jose is hoping for big things from Tomas Hertl, whose rookie season was interrupted by a knee injury. Brent Burns is back with a defense corps that’s so-so after Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Another thing that hasn’t changed, the need for heart and leadership. This team is still decent, but they are getting older.
5. Arizona Coyotes
The desert Dogs took a bit of a step backwards this offseason. Here's a team that lost its top two scorers from last year, Radim Vrbata and Mike Ribeiro, to free agency. So Sam Gagner is brought on board to try and fofset that, which might be the spark he needs to get his career going. They have a solid goaltending tandom in Devan Dubnyk backing up Mike Smith. But the inability to hold a lead hurt them last year and it may not get better this year.
6. Edmonton Oilers
This is a hockey club that has been in a rebuild for the last number of seasons. Edmonton may have a decent goalie tandom in the form of Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth, who are each going to see a lot of rubber. Andrew Ference leads an average team on the blueline, while the forwards have potential, but still have some holes. Yes they brought in Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcell to help up front, but behind Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, there's lack of depth in that spot. The Oilers have some of the pieces, but its not enough in a loaded Western Conference.
7. Calgary Flames
Much like the Oilers, this team is in a rebuild mode. They lost top goal scorer from last year, Michael Cammalleri, due to free agency. They did add some good pieces in the guys like Jonas Hiller, Deryk Engelland, Mason Raymond and Devin Setoguchi but they aren't balanced enough to really be able to compete in this tough conference.
Central Division
1. Chicago Blackhawks*
For the last three years running, the Blackhawks have reached the Western Conference Finals. Heading into this season, Chicago took a bit of a hit with losing Nick Leddy, Brandon Bollig and Michal Handzus. Antti Raanta looked good as the backup to Corey Crawford down the stretch last year, so expect much of the same in goal. The blueline looks pretty much the same, minus the trade of Nick leddy. On offense they did address a need, by adding a second center. Jonathan Towes really had no support on that second line. Well now he has it in the form of Brad Richards. Unless injury takes over, this team is deep, loaded and going to be top dog in this division again.
2. St Louis Blues*
St. Louis headed into the playoffs last year beat up and struggling, which is why they were bounced again by the Hawks. During the offseason, they lost Ryan Miller, Vladimir Sobotka, Roman Polak, Derek Roy and Brenden Morrow. Adding free-agent center Paul Stastny to a very solid forward corps was a good move. The defense is rugged and productive, led by Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester and Kevin Shattenkirk. Off-season acquisition Carl Gunnarson, projected for the fourth spot, is recovering from hip surgery. David Backes provides excellent leadership, but the West is unforgiving. St. Louis may be just short of being a cup contender again, but they are still a playoff bound club.
3. Dallas Stars*
A season ago, the Stars were a good, solid, yet to a degree one dimensional hockey club. That was a big need that was addressed this summer. The offense is powered by Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, but when those guys got shut down early in the playoffs, Dallas couldn't really score. Now they bolstered the offense, adding in the likes of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky. The Stars defense may be a tad thin behind Sergei Gonchar, Trevor Daley, and Alex Goligoski, which could pose a small problem. Still the Stars are a good enough team to take 3rd in this division.
4. Colorado Avalanche (Wild Card)
Here's a team that went to great heights a season ago, finishing atop the Central Division. Now I think Colorado may come back down to earth just a little bit this season. Colorado took a bit of a hit up front, losing Paul Stastny and P.A. Parenteau. They did add a few pieces to replace them though, bringing in the likes of Daniel Briere and Jarome Iginla. Colorado will have good firepower up front, and solid goaltending from Semyon Varlamov, who will have to duplicate his numbers from last year. The only thing that I see hampering Colorado is the thin defense. That's why I have them falling to fourth and a wild card. They may be fighting it out with Dallas for the last lock playoff spot for the division.
5. Minnesota Wild (Wild Card)
Last year, this Wild team, who was a low scoring team a year ago, knocked off the Avalanche in the opening round and pushed the Hawks to the limit. Sure Matt Moulson and Dany Heatley are gone but Thomas Vanek was locked up to a contract, giving the Wild a solid top six forwards. The blueline, lead by Ryan Suter, is still very solid and will be a strength of the Wild this year. But there are two things that the Wild need to move up in the West. They need to stay healthy for one thing. Another thing is goaltending. Between Niklas Backstrom, Ilya Bryzgalov, Josh Harding and Darcy Kuemper, one of them needs to lock down the job for the Wild to try and go deep into the playoffs. They will get in there's no doubt.
6. Nashville Predators
Nashville now has a new era behind the bench, with Barry Trotz no longer around and Peter Laviolette taking over behind the bench. This was a team that missed the playoffs by three points last year, but may not be quite that good this season. Sure they have strength in goal with Pekka Rinne between the pipes and Shea Weber leading a solid defense corps. What has me a tad concerned is the offensive depth in the Music City. I know they added James Neal, Mike Ribeiro, Derek Roy and Olli Jokinen. At the same time the lack of depth at center is going to hurt the Preds.
7. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets have missed the playoffs all three seasons since their relocation. They’ll make it four. They have young talent in defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Mark Scheifele, and winger Blake Wheeler is a scoring threat. But they need better from goalie Ondrej Pavelec than last season’s 3.01 goals-against and .901 save percentage. They must decide whether to keep or trade Evander Kane, who scored 30 goals in 2011-12 but only 19 in 63 games last season.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1. Boston Bruins*
Boston is a salary cap strapped team. They had to part ways with both Jarome Iginla and Johnny Boychuk, both key players to Boston a season ago. Loui Eriksson will be counted on to try and replace some of the production lost with the departure of Iginla, but he is coming off an injury plagued season last year, so it's a bit of a question mark. Otherwise, Boston is still one of the deepest teams in the entire league. Pending they can stay healthy it'll come as a bit of a surprise if they aren't playing for the Stanley Cup come June.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning*
This was a team last year that finished 2nd to Boston, even without Steven Stamkos for most of the year due to the broken leg. Now they have Stamkos back in the lineup and fully healthy. But wait there's more with this Lightning team. Ben Bishop was hurt near the end of the season, which is why the Bolts fell short in the playoffs. Now they have him healthy, and bolstered the position with Evegni Nabokov as a solid backup. Then throw in the upgrades by adding in the likes of Brian Boyle, Brenden Morrow, Jason Garrison and Anton Stralman. Tampa Bay is going to be more of a force in the East this season.
3. Montreal Canadiens*
This team pulled off a magic run to the conference finals a year ago, with the chance to do it again this year. I know the offense took a bit of a hit losing the likes of Thomas Vanek, Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges, Daniel Briere and Francis Bouillon. i know P.A. Parenteau, Tom Gilbert, Manny Malhotra and Jiri Sekac were brought on board to help with scoring. That's going to be a small area of concern is the scoring. Sure they have Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk but the depth of scoring could be a concern. Thisteam though has solid goaltending, thanks to Carry Price. Plus throw in an outstanding defense corp lead by PK Subban. Montreal is still good enough to get into the playoffs, but if the scoring slumps badly during the year, they may be in trouble to miss out.
4. Detroit Red Wings (Wild Card)
It always seems that this streak is going to finally come to an end. During one stretch of the year it always seems like this team might miss the playoffs. But for the last 25 years now the Wings somehow manage to make it into the playoffs. This year will be just another year in the Motor City. I know they are getting a little older with Datsyuk and Zetterberg both getting up there in years, and Datsyuk will miss the start of the year with injury. Still the team has enough talent, when healthy, to be able to lock down the final wild card spot.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto remains one of those hockey clubs that remain on the bubble. New team President Brendan Shanahan was put in charge to help right this ship in Toronto. Stephane Robidas, Roman Polak, Leo Komarov, David Booth and Mike Santorelli, where brought on board to help try and solidify the offense, which is being powered by g Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak and Nazi Kadri. Jonathan Bernier is expected to have another strong year in net this seaosn. The big question mark with this team is the defense, considering they didn't really do much to help out a team that surrendered a league-worst 35.9 shots against last year.
6. Ottawa Senators
Defenseman Erik Karlsson recently became the Senators’ third captain in three seasons. He follows Jason Spezza, who was traded to Dallas (where winger Ales Hemsky signed as a free agent). The Senators did well to keep winger Bobby Ryan with a seven-year, $50.75-million extension, but they have too many holes at both ends to reach the playoffs. Losing the firepower of Spezza and Ales Hemsky hurt the team a little bit. Sorry but there isn't enough scoring punch here in Ottawa to take them to the postseason.
7. Florida Panthers
This is a club that won't be making the playoffs, but on paper they are a better team then they were a year ago. New bench boss Gerard Gallant is going to have a lot to work with this year. he has Roberto Luongo back between the pipes for quite a while in the place where his career really took off. Free-agent defenseman Willie Mitchell, twice a Stanley Cup winner with the Kings, should improve the Panthers’ 30th-ranked penalty killing while adding physicality and mentoring their talented kids. The offense still leaves quite a bit to be desired, even with bringing in the likes of Dave Bolland, Jussi Jokinen, Derek Mackenzie and Shawn Thornton. They will be better, but not playoff caliber.
8. Buffalo Sabres
Here's a team who hit a lot of bad luck a season ago, finishing dead last in the entire league. Buffalo will be a little better than they were a season ago, thanks to the additions of Matt Moulson, Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges, Andrej Meszaros and Cody McCormick. Sabres management did a good job bolstering the lineup, but there still a problem with goaltending. Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirt are good but not outstanding. It's going to be another long winter in Western New York.
Metropolitan Division
1. Pittsburgh Penguins*
The Penguins are trying to rebound from a 2nd round exit from the playoffs a season ago. But this offseason was a rough one in the Steel City. Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero were both shown the door, being replaced by Mike Johnston and Jim Rutherford respectively. James Neal, Matt Niskanen, Joe Vitale, Jussi Jokinen, Chris Conner, Tanner Glass, Brooks Orpik and Deryk Engelland all left town for other cities. New faces emerged in their place in the form of Christian Ehrhoff, Patric Hornqvist, Thomas Greiss and Steve Downie. Oh and the Penguins still have their biggest guns of Crosby, Malkin and Fleury. The Pens are still the class of the division, but what happens after that remains to be seen.
2. New York Rangers*
This team was three wins short of the Cup a season ago. This ofseason saw some of their key parts leave town. Brad Richards, Anton Stralman, Brian Boyle and Benoit Pouliot are all in other cities. Some of that lost talent, to a degree, has been replaced with the likes of Dan Boyle, Mike Kostka, Tanner Glass and Lee Stempniak. It was a bit of a downgrade that's for sure. Missing a top line center hurts the Blueshirts quite a bit, which could make it tougher on them for a deep playoff run. But with a solid defense and Henrik Lundqvist in goal, the Rangers are still going to be a tough team to contend with this year.
3. Columbus Blue Jackets*
Last season was a cinderalla year for the Jackets, making the playoffs and picking up their first postseason win in franchise history. The contract holdout by Ryan Johansen put a bit of a kink in the plans but he's now back where he belongs.One problem for the team at the start of the year will be not having Nathan Horton and Boone Jenner in the lineup due to injury. But when both guys are healthy, and playing with the likes of Scott Hartnell will add to the big tough Jackets lineup. Having Sergei Bobrovsky be on his game is a big plus too. But lake of depth on defense has me a tad worried. Still the Jackets are a good enough team to finish 3rd and make the playoffs once again.
4. New York Islanders (Wild Card)
This may come as a surprise to a few people but with what's here now on the Island I like their chances. They added a little depth by bringing in the likes of Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin and Cory Conacher will add to a decent lineup. Throw in a healthy John Tavares and Kyle Okposo coming off a career year, this Islanders team has some depth to it up front. Throw in the additions of Johnny Boychuck and Nick Leddy on the blueline gives the Isles something to work with and improve on one of their weak points from a season ago. And factor in the new goalie tandom Jaroslav Halak and Chad Johnson, it gives the Islanders more credability. They are a bit of a long shot but I think they have enough, if they can stay healthy, to get into the playoffs.
5. Philadelphia Flyers
Don't get me wrong the Flyers are a good, and very physical, hockey club. The team still has plenty of talent up front even with trading away Scott Harnell. But there isn't much otherwise that the Flyers were able to do because of a restriction on the salary cap. Despite the Flyers’ strength up front, Philly will take a minor step back without Hartnell and fail to qualify for the playoffs. Even with solid goalteding in the form of Steve Mason, they don’t have enough on the back end to get over that hump.
6. New Jersey Devils
Again a case of another team sitting right on the bubble. An era ended when the Devils didn’t re-sign NHL goalie wins leader Martin Brodeur, but it was time for Cory Schneider to own the crease. Their forwards are old, though 42-year-old Jaromir Jagr (24 goals, 67 points in 82 games) defies the calendar and 32-year-old Michael Cammalleri had 26 goals in 63 games with mediocre Calgary last season. Not enough here for a playoff berth.
7. Washington Capitals
This team still has the scoring punch there's no question about that. But the Caps are the type of club that is inconsistent from season to season. you never know which Caps team is going to show up. Will they play some D, or will they try to blow your doors off? Having Barry Trotz come in behind the bench will help right the ship, but not enough this year to get back into the playoffs.
8. Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes’ season ended when center Jordan Staal broke his leg in an exhibition game, sidelining him three to four months. His brother Eric, who led the team last season with 61 points, is recovering from “core muscle” surgery. They did nothing to improve their 28th-ranked power play. New Coach Bill Peters and GM Ron Francis will need patience.
So there you have it. The preview and predictions for the 2014-15 National Hockey League Season!
(Note: all previews and predictions were made BEFORE the start of the regular season)
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