2008-2009 NHL Eastern Conference Preview
Is There a True Stanley Cup Contender or is it Detroit's to Lose?
The Montreal Canadiens' Stanley Cup playoffs quarter-final loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last spring proved just how close the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference was. Montreal had been the conference's regular-season champs, yet they were ousted in five games by the sixth-seeded Flyers. The fact that the Flyers then went on to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins (also in five games) in the next round served as overkill to much the same point. That degree of parity most definitely defines the conference this year around as well. For your reading pleasure, a look at how the top eight Eastern teams will be seeded come next April.
The Division Champions
1) Washington Capitals: They let starting goaltender Cristobal Huet go in the offseason, in favour of Jose Theodore. Huet was undoubtedly effective in between the pipes for his short stint with the Caps, but there's little indication that Theodore is a downgrade considering his bounce-back season last year. Consider it a wash in nets. With a young group of talent one year older - and better - last year's Southeast Division champs will repeat, and snag the top spot in the conference. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Alexander Ovechkin is only 23, which is a scary thought that will most certainly scare the opposition into submission time and again... if he isn't beating them on his own, anyway. Word is he's got mad skills.
2) Montreal Canadiens: Alex Tanguay, Georges Laraque, and Robert Lang will make this team better offensively. Furthermore, Carey Price proved he is the man to protect the red, white, and blue crease during the Habs' stretch run into the playoffs last spring. There's no reason why he's not capable of carrying the load this year as well. Losing Michael Ryder hurts, even if his production dropped off significantly last year, but the Habs did what they did last year with Ryder playing most of the year on the third and fourth lines, so the Habs will no doubt challenge to repeat without him.
3) New York Rangers: Yeah, Jaromir Jagr left for the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, but the Rangers got a decent return back when they hit the free-agent market. Markus Naslund can still put the puck in the net, no matter what his critics say. Nikolai Zherdev, who was acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, answered some critics of his own when he netted a career-high 61 points last year. The Rangers may have lost the underrated Sean Avery, but they've still the likes of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, and perennial Vezina Trophy candidate Henrik Lundqvist is still this team's most valuable player.
The Playoff Teams
4) Pittsburgh Penguins: While Ryan Malone's stats were most definitely inflated last year by playing alongside Evgeni Malkin, there's little denying the two had chemistry. The Pens will be hard-pressed to reproduce the same degree of production they got last year from their secondary scoring. They essentially replaced Malone and Jarkko Ruutu with Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko, both of whom have been gross underachievers the lengths of their careers. A healthy Sidney Crosby (limited to 53 games last year) will help this team's chances, but it remains to be seen who he plays with and how he plays without past linemates Marian Hossa and Colby Armstrong. Satan, despite his name, isn't making anyone a believer.
5) Boston Bruins: The Bruins have a wealth of young talent and a back-end that just screams intimidation (led of course by hulking defenseman Zdeno Chara). Heart-and-soul player Patrice Bergeron will be back after a near-season-long recovery from a concussion, and he will contribute on the scoresheet as well. An unorthodox, yet underrated Tim Thomas is back in nets, but time will tell if the job is his to keep with Manny Fernandez presumed healthy. Whoever gets the call in nets, they're capable of answering it.
6) New Jersey Devils: Everyone knows the Devils can play defense, even with relative no-names making up their back-end. The notable off-season changes came up front: A more balanced attack now includes Brian Rolston and the return of Bobby Holik (of course Rolston was a Devil once, too, but no one seems to remember that bit, maybe not even him). Any team that already plays the likes of Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Gionta, and Dainius Zubrus has depth. Adding Rolston and Holik to the mix gives the offense more of a punch and some defensive spice too. An eternally young Martin Brodeur in nets is just the proverbial icing on the cake.
7) Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres will get in, but just by the skins of their teeth. A newly re-signed Jason Pominville will not distract from all that this team is trying to accomplish this year, or re-accomplish just two years removed from their Presidents' Trophy victory. They missed the playoffs last year, barely, and logic dictates a renewed sense of motivation will get Maxim Afinogenov going, Thomas Vanek to start earning his keep and his annual $7,142,857 salary-cap hit, and Derek Roy to continue proving the naysayers wrong. Ryan Miller in nets is nobody's fool and a bolstered blue-line, which now includes Craig Rivet, has plenty of upside.
8) Philadelphia Flyers: It's hard to deny the talent this organization posseses. Harder still, though, to give them the credit they may deserve for their dismantling of Washington and Montreal last year in the playoffs. That being said, an eighth-place finish seems about right. An underrated R.J. Umberger is now a Blue Jacket, and underachieving defender Steve Eminger is now in the mix. Talk about subtraction by addition... and subtraction. Eminger likely won't get many minutes however, with Kimmo Timonen, Derian Hatcher, Braydon Coburn, Randy Jones, and Lasse Kukkonen all vying for ice time and an up-and-coming Ryan Parent vying for a spot as well. Newly christened captain Mike Richards is still the pilot of this ship. It's no Hindenburg, but it remains to be seen how far off it is.
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