Eastern Conference: 2010-11 on the horizon
Entry posted by ReverendMayhem93
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Team to beat in the East?
39 members have voted
Hello, all. First off, I just want to say that I am not looking to be loved or hated and sometimes this blog will be fairly controversial and love it or hate it, I am here to entertain first and foremost.
This blog will be about the forecast for next season. No, not the weather. Rather, who has the best chance to win the Cup where I rank the teams and why they are ranked there. Keep in mind I am trying to take this from a hockey analyst position and not a Canucks fan position. Cause it's so long I'll do the East tonight and the West tomorrow.
Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals - they have so much offense and a good, young netminder, but need to find some consistency on the blueline at both ends of the rink, I am also not sold on Ovie as a captain. (point range: 115-120)
2. New Jersey Devils - Martin Brodeur in net. Parise, Elias, Zajac and Arnott up front. Volchenkov, Tallinder and White patrolling the blue line. To boot, they'll likely end up having Ilya Kovalchuk, in my mind. How good? As Rick Jeanneret would say, "Scary good." (point range: 107-112)
3. Boston Bruins - Added Nathan Horton to shore up the offense, good defense and two more than capable netminders in net and recently drafted Tyler Seguin as well. These guys will also be great, however, not as good as New Jersey or Washington, but definitely something to write home about. (point range: 100-105)
4. Pittsburgh Penguins - Lost Sergei Gonchar but ended up with two defenseman every bit as good as Sergei with Martin and Michalek. Only question is, how long can Malkin/Crosby produce without some decent wingers? (point range: 100-107)
5. Philadelphia Flyers - Bolstered an even better defense. Lost some scoring up front with Gagne gone. One of Briere or Carter will needed to be shipped out of there soon as Briere showed how great he was at center last playoffs. But goaltending will get you nowhere if you are in Philadelphia. (point range: 95-100)
6. Ottawa Senators - Added Sergei Gonchar. Powerplay, improved. Offensive ability, improved. Heart and soul? Meh. They are a pretty good team with little defensive depth and a goaltending controversy to sort out this season. (point range: 95-100)
7. Tampa Bay Lightning - Stamkos is one year better, Dan Ellis certainly adds some goalie insurance as a successful tandem is waiting for October to arrive. Kubina adds to some defensive depth and Lecavalier couldn't get any worse, could he? (point range: 92-97)
8. Buffalo Sabres - Ryan Miller. He became a stonewall last season and I think he's not a one-hit wonder. Nothing really changed for Buffalo this offseason lost Lydman and Tallinder, gained Niedermayer (see: Rob), Morrisonn (see: Shaone) and Leopold. They remind me a lot of the 2007-08 Canucks, in the sense that if injuries hit, it will be bad. (point range: 90-97)
9. Atlanta Thrashers - Added grit and goaltending two important factors and I think they could surprise people if you add in an intanglible. Coaching. Craig Ramsay is an excellent coach and well-respected in the league. I think he'll get the most out of all his players, but they'll need a dominant offensive force to step up if they go anywhere. (point range: 85-92)
10. Montreal Canadiens - Ah, Le Canadiens. You may assume my low ranking is in part to goaltending. Non, Non. I think Price will do well, but playoff heroes like Cammalerri, Hal Gill, and Andrei Markov will step it down next year. As a result, fans will publicly humiliate Price even though, he'll play acceptable. (point range: 85-90)
11. Carolina Hurricanes - Where they would be if they had any depth, I'm not sure. What I am sure of, though, is that they lost one of their key components, Ray Whitney and that'll hurt a guy like Eric Staal or Erik Cole. Lots of guys will need to step it up if they want a taste of the playoffs. (point range: 80-87)
12. Toronto Maple Leafs - Named Phaneuf as captain, acquired Versteeg and Armstrong, OK, Burke's trying to build a team for the playoffs. Problem is, they'll need either tons of unexpected offense or goaltending heroics on a nightly basis if they go anywhere. But don't take my word for it. If the Giguere-Allaire magic reappears, there goaltending heroics may just be enough. A bubble team in every sense of the word. (point range: 80-90)
13. New York Rangers - Thank god for Lundqvist. I think Gaborik will return to himself and get injured after a stellar 09-10 season. But I don't think they are a great team and won't be again until Sather is fired or quits. Have fun with that, Rags fans. (point range: 77-82)
14. New York Islanders - Are intterchangeable with NY Rangers, Tavares will get better, Okposo will get better, hell, may be even Dipietro suits 20-30 games, Who knows? Don't let their ranking fool you, though. They are definitely a team on the rise within the next few years. (point range: 77-82)
15. Florida Panthers - Yay for Vokoun! Seriously, though. They lost Horton, so there goes their most prominent offensive weapon. They got McCabe-Wideman as a good first pair, but I think Vokoun will be gone for prospects or picks or both come March as Tallon will be doing some rebuilding a la Chicago. (point range: 65-75)
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