NHL Eastern Conference Preview 2009/2010
A Look Ahead With Predictions At The Team's From The East 2009/2010
Oct 5, 2009
Here’s a team-by-team preview of the NHL’s Eastern Conference as the first weekend of action gets underway along with predictions:
15. New York Islanders- Jonathan Tavares gives Islanders fans something to cheer for along with a group of other young players. New York is finally heading in the right direction and Scott Gordan’s team won’t be pushovers, but they do need at least one more season.
14. Toronto Maple Leafs- Brian Burke followed through on his promise to overhaul the Leafs and the result is a more physical team that will compete hard under Ron Wilson. However, scoring will be a problem and Toronto will struggle in a Conference with so much parity.
13. Atlanta Thrashers- Ilya Kovalchuk is in a contract year so Atlanta will want to compete. Young players Bryan Little, Tobias Enstrom, Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian make it and intriguing squad and if Kari Lehtonen stays healthy they could sneak into the playoffs.
12. Ottawa Senators- Ottawa are better than they are given credit for. Dany Heatley is a loss but the likes of Alexei Kovalev and Milan Michalek give them decent scoring depth. Pascal Leclaire gives them a genuine #1 talent but again is a netminder with fitness issues.
11. Florida Panthers- Florida have a talented group of young forwards on the verge of breaking out offensively, Tomas Vokoun gives them a solid presence in net and Peter DeBoer gives them a great coach. The defense looks very solid but Jay Bouwmeester leaves the Panthers a big hole to fill.
10. New York Rangers- Marian Gaborik is on Broadway as the Rangers had another off-season of massive change. Other than Gaborik, New York is once again short on scoring while Michael Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy must learn fast on defense. How far can Henrik Lundqvist take them?
9. Tampa Bay Lightning- Victor Hedman and Steve Stamkos are two pillars for Tampa to build around, they are already an improved team having also added Mattias Ohlund on defense. Vincent Lecavalier will be the real key to the success or failure of this team as they should be right in the playoff race.
8. Montreal Canadiens- Bob Gainey completely re-modelled his team over the off-season and its going to take a while for them all to mesh. Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri bring scoring though size is a concern in the forwards. Carey Price will have a better season in 09/10.
7. Buffalo Sabres- GM Darcy Regier decided to stick to his guns and stand pat this off-season. Buffalo are a young, fast, physical and well-coached team with the potential to catch the Conference off-guard. If Tomas Vanek and Ryan Miller have big years the Sabres will be dangerous.
6. New Jersey Devils- Every season the experts pick the Devils to struggle, but winning is a habit that is hard to break. Martin Brodeur is more than capable of carrying the team on his back, Jacques Lemaire will have the team playing tough defense and Zach Parise is one of the league’s best all-round forwards.
5. Carolina Hurricanes- Eric Staal and the Canes shocked everyone by beating New Jersey and Boston in last year’s playoffs and they return with much the same look. Puck movement on defense and a deep forward group led by Staal should translate to a strong season.
4. Philadelphia Flyers- Chris Pronger transforms a very good, deep Flyers outfit into one of the early favourites for the Stanley Cup. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards are the leaders of a physical group of forwards that won’t have trouble scoring. Ray Emery is the big wild card on this team, how will he perform?
3. Pittsburgh Penguins- If they can avoid Stanley Cup hangover Pittsburgh will be one of the best again led by their two offensive superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The defense will have no trouble moving the puck but don’t under-estimate the loss of shutdown pair Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill.
2. Boston Bruins- Phil Kessel departed this off-season but the Bruins still have the reigning Norris Trophy winner in Zdeno Chara and Vezina trophy winner in Tim Thomas. Boston plays a strong two-way game with a deep group of forwards led by Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron.
1. Washington Capitals- Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals still have unfinished business so expect them to be just that bit extra motivated in 2009/10. Ovechkin is supported by Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom in what is arguably the best group of forwards in the NHL, Mike Green will look to make up for a disappointing playoffs as he will lead a fairly deep defense. Goaltending is the issue again, Jose Theodore starts as the team’s #1 but don’t be surprised to see Semyon Varlamov take the job at some point, and if either of them can step up in the playoffs then the Caps have a shot at the cup.
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