Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Southeast Division
Southeast Division Preview:
Carolina - As the defending champs, the Hurricanes can be expected to win their division but they might not be quite as good this time around after losing Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, and Martin Gerber. The offense will be powerful with Eric Staal as a scoring title candidate as well as Erik Cole, Justin Williams, and Ray Whitney to contribute. Cory Stillman can be added to that list in the second half of the season when he returns from injury. Rod Brind'Amour and Scott Walker add toughness and scoring ability as well. The defense is devoid of any star power, but that didn't matter last year as defense by commitee led them to the Stanley Cup, though Frantisek Kaberle will miss the first three months with an injured shoulder. Cam Ward should be the number one goalie now that Martin Gerber is gone, but backup John Grahame should see some time as well. If the Hurricanes can stay the course with Ward in net, they will be a threat to repeat, especially when Stillman and Kaberle return.
Tampa Bay - The Lightning have completely flown under the radar after last season's pitiful attempt at defending the Cup. Few people are considering them a threat at all, but the Lightning could surprise. The most noticable change will be in goal. Marc Denis gives them a bonafide top-15 goaltender, unlike last year where John Grahame and Sean Burke were costing them games. The defense is not great, but should get the job done, and Dan Boyle and free agent Filip Kuba will provide ample offense. The forwards will be led by two excellent scoring lines. Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier are one of the best one-two punches at center in the league, and 2004 MVP Martin St. Louis could rebound after a disappointment last season. Even last year where a lot went wrong the Lightning still made the playoffs, and they should do the same this year, possibly challenging the Hurricanes for top spot.
Florida - The Panthers' biggest off-season move was obviously acquiring Todd Bertuzzi for Roberto Luongo, but they probably wont be that much better off. Alex Auld and Ed Belfour will split goaltending duties, but neither will be able to replace Luongo. The Panthers defense is unheralded, but Jay Bouwmeester could have a breakout year after a few years of slowly improving. Olli Jokinen and Bertuzzi should form a good top line that boasts great size, but after those two there are question marks. Nathan Horton could emerge in the same way Eric Staal did last year, but after himself and Steven Weiss who was having a good year
in 2005-06 until he got hurt, the Panthers are thin. Unless of course Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, and Chris Gratton discover the fountain of youth. Florida was in the hunt for a playoff spot last year, but that was with Luongo stealing 1-0 games. They don't have that luxury this year, so the scorers need to step up if they have any hope of reaching the playoffs.
Atlanta - The Thrashers seem to take one step forward and two steps back. They were very close to the playoffs last year, missing out thanks to a bad start caused by all of their goaltenders getting hurt. So you'd think this year they'd take the final step, but they lost 97-point producer Marc Savard to free agency. Steve Rucchin will not replace him. Goalie Kari Lehtonen will have to stay healthy this year, and perform up to the capabilities that got him drafted in the first round a few years ago. The defense is not high scoring, but they can take care of their own zone, and traded for hard-hitting Vitaly Vishnevski from Anaheim. Up front it will be a two man show, the two being Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. They are both capable of 100-point seasons, but aside from possibly Slava Kozlov, there are no other sure things at forward. Unless the Thrashers get a Vezina-candidate season out of Lehtonen, they will likely not have
enough scoring to get into the playoffs.
Washington - The Capitals were bad last season, but in reality they actually over-achieved. Unfortunately they did nothing to improve the team over the summer. Olaf Kolzig will be going at it alone again this year because the defense is still a crew that looks like it belongs in the AHL. There's potential in Mike Green, Steve Eminger, and Shaone Morrisonn, but they're certainly not ready to carry the load by themselves. Brian Pothier was signed away from Ottawa and appears to inherit the number one defenseman tag. At forward the situation is a little more promising with Alexander Ovechkin. At least Danius Zubrus, Alexander Semen, and Chris Clark might be able to impersonate first-liners playing with Ovechkin. There are also several young forwards capable of a break-out year. The Capitals had plenty of cap space available to try to improve the team, and the fact they they didn't do anyhting with it makes you question their commitment to winning. It will be another long year, but there's at least a little hope
that Ovechkin will score 200 goals and get the Caps to the playoffs.
Carolina - As the defending champs, the Hurricanes can be expected to win their division but they might not be quite as good this time around after losing Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, and Martin Gerber. The offense will be powerful with Eric Staal as a scoring title candidate as well as Erik Cole, Justin Williams, and Ray Whitney to contribute. Cory Stillman can be added to that list in the second half of the season when he returns from injury. Rod Brind'Amour and Scott Walker add toughness and scoring ability as well. The defense is devoid of any star power, but that didn't matter last year as defense by commitee led them to the Stanley Cup, though Frantisek Kaberle will miss the first three months with an injured shoulder. Cam Ward should be the number one goalie now that Martin Gerber is gone, but backup John Grahame should see some time as well. If the Hurricanes can stay the course with Ward in net, they will be a threat to repeat, especially when Stillman and Kaberle return.
Tampa Bay - The Lightning have completely flown under the radar after last season's pitiful attempt at defending the Cup. Few people are considering them a threat at all, but the Lightning could surprise. The most noticable change will be in goal. Marc Denis gives them a bonafide top-15 goaltender, unlike last year where John Grahame and Sean Burke were costing them games. The defense is not great, but should get the job done, and Dan Boyle and free agent Filip Kuba will provide ample offense. The forwards will be led by two excellent scoring lines. Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier are one of the best one-two punches at center in the league, and 2004 MVP Martin St. Louis could rebound after a disappointment last season. Even last year where a lot went wrong the Lightning still made the playoffs, and they should do the same this year, possibly challenging the Hurricanes for top spot.
Florida - The Panthers' biggest off-season move was obviously acquiring Todd Bertuzzi for Roberto Luongo, but they probably wont be that much better off. Alex Auld and Ed Belfour will split goaltending duties, but neither will be able to replace Luongo. The Panthers defense is unheralded, but Jay Bouwmeester could have a breakout year after a few years of slowly improving. Olli Jokinen and Bertuzzi should form a good top line that boasts great size, but after those two there are question marks. Nathan Horton could emerge in the same way Eric Staal did last year, but after himself and Steven Weiss who was having a good year
in 2005-06 until he got hurt, the Panthers are thin. Unless of course Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, and Chris Gratton discover the fountain of youth. Florida was in the hunt for a playoff spot last year, but that was with Luongo stealing 1-0 games. They don't have that luxury this year, so the scorers need to step up if they have any hope of reaching the playoffs.
Atlanta - The Thrashers seem to take one step forward and two steps back. They were very close to the playoffs last year, missing out thanks to a bad start caused by all of their goaltenders getting hurt. So you'd think this year they'd take the final step, but they lost 97-point producer Marc Savard to free agency. Steve Rucchin will not replace him. Goalie Kari Lehtonen will have to stay healthy this year, and perform up to the capabilities that got him drafted in the first round a few years ago. The defense is not high scoring, but they can take care of their own zone, and traded for hard-hitting Vitaly Vishnevski from Anaheim. Up front it will be a two man show, the two being Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. They are both capable of 100-point seasons, but aside from possibly Slava Kozlov, there are no other sure things at forward. Unless the Thrashers get a Vezina-candidate season out of Lehtonen, they will likely not have
enough scoring to get into the playoffs.
Washington - The Capitals were bad last season, but in reality they actually over-achieved. Unfortunately they did nothing to improve the team over the summer. Olaf Kolzig will be going at it alone again this year because the defense is still a crew that looks like it belongs in the AHL. There's potential in Mike Green, Steve Eminger, and Shaone Morrisonn, but they're certainly not ready to carry the load by themselves. Brian Pothier was signed away from Ottawa and appears to inherit the number one defenseman tag. At forward the situation is a little more promising with Alexander Ovechkin. At least Danius Zubrus, Alexander Semen, and Chris Clark might be able to impersonate first-liners playing with Ovechkin. There are also several young forwards capable of a break-out year. The Capitals had plenty of cap space available to try to improve the team, and the fact they they didn't do anyhting with it makes you question their commitment to winning. It will be another long year, but there's at least a little hope
that Ovechkin will score 200 goals and get the Caps to the playoffs.
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