It's gonna be the Roots of hockey blog information. Or not. With camps opening in just two weeks I thought it would be a good time to start breaking down the divisions and see how things are shaping up. I'll start things off with arguably the most competitive division in the league: the Atlantic Division.
The New Jersey Devils: A team that hasn't missed the playoffs since 1996. If I do my math right that's 14 years. That's some consistency. Something has to be said about how this team is run. The only complaint one could make about the devils is that they haven't made it out of the first round the past three seasons. Despite putting up great regular season numbers, one has to suspect that as Brodeur gets older, he's not as durable as he once was. the days of 65-70 starts are behind him. Unfortunately the Devils haven't had a solid backup they can really count on. Credit to Scott Clemmenson for filling in during Brodeur's injury though. I think the devils have a back up now that they can actually use for more than a game at a time if need be. Johan Hedberg was one of their best off season acquisitions albeit and underrated one. A less than stellar career in Atlanta will do that to you.
The Devils have also missed the physical presence that left with Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko. the pick up of Anton Volchenkov will add some muscle to a blue line that sorely needs it. They also picked up Henrik Tallinder, who will prove to be a solid D man. The Devils will miss Paul Martin, but it shouldn't prove to be too big of a loss.
Offensively the Devils haven't done too much aside from create the biggest soap opera the league has seen since god knows when. Ahh Ilya Kovalchuk, we thank you for the ridiculous amounts of overhyped drama and bullshit. What would this off season have been like without you? He's the 2nd leading scorer since the lockout, second only to Alexander Ovechkin. Sure they gave up a decent prospect in Nicklaus Bergfors to get him, as well as other players, but barring a ridiculous season and career from Bergfors, the trade is still worth it. The biggest issue with Kovalchuk, aside from the whole god damned contract dilemma, is whether or not he can actually be a part of a team. He was forced to carry the load in Atlanta, but in NJ he won't have to. He'll be a big part of the scheme for sure, but it's going to be all Ilya all the time. if John McLean has a more uptempo attacking coaching style, Devils fans can be in for a real treat. The question remains who will be traded to make room for Kovy's colossal contract.
New York Islanders: Oh Islanders faithful, all three of you, I salute you. I salute you for sitting through mike millbury's crippling business decisions. Zedeno Chara gets traded for Alexi Yashin. God you're still paying for Yashin and his idiotic contract. Roberto Luongo for a bag of pucks from Florida. And the perpetually injured Rick DiPietro. Now i almost understand getting DP because when healthy he's one of the better goalies in the league....but when the fuck is that?!
All credit to Garth Snow for inheriting a shit storm and actually managing to steer it clear. Well as close as he can anyway. They have an impressive crop of young talent, especially John Taveres and Kyle Okposo, who are going to be superstars shortly. Mark streit has been an excellent pick up as well. If they Islanders can get their goaltending shored up by either DiPietro finally being healthy enough to compete for a full season, or getting someone else to play with Dwayne Roloson (another great pick up), i can see this team upsetting someone and getting the last playoff spot in the east. Having said that though, this team is still a ways off from being a true contender. At least they have decent building blocks and a smart GM, which is more than our next teams.
The New York Rangers: Honestly, what can I say? This team is completely ridiculous. Glen Sather is running this team like it's 1987. Signing Derek Boogaard for 4 years and 6 million dollars. Seriously? His career stats are as follows. 255 games, 2G 12A 14 points, -12 and 544 penalty minutes. Wow, that really deserves a 1.5 mil cap hit. But i suppose you have to replace that offensive juggernaut that was jody shelley. Oh and of course you still have Wade Redden's fantastic contract. Bury him in the minors, or see if you can loan him to some european club for the rest of his life. These absurd contracts are going to bury this team.
The Rangers still need a number one center to play with Gaborik, if he can stay healthy enough. Part of me believes last year was a fluke and he will eventually blow out his knee waiting for a cab outside MSG. Or Boogaard will break his leg during practice. At least you still have Lundqvist. It's too bad he's not a government mule. I see him going the way of Brodeur, ridden hard only to falter when it counts. too bad henrik doesn't have all the hardware marty does to warrant such a comparison. Also, what on earth are they doing with Mark Staal? Kid looked solid enough on the back end, so let's take a million years to re-sign him. way to go Glen. A fucking dead dog could run this team better than you.
Philadelphia Flyers: After their miraculous cup run (in which they actually won a game!!!) that still stings if you're a flyer faithful, you have to admire their additions to the defense. Re-signing coburn, trading for Andrej Meszaros and FA signing of Jeff O'Donnell have given them a deep 1-6 pair and Oskar Bartulis still has the potential to become a top 4 d-man. in spite of it all, it wouldn't be a Philadelphia Flyers write up if goaltending wasn't mentioned. While no one could predict the Spinal Tap like shenaningans that occured in the crease last season, the lack of any acquisition this off season does lead to some head scratching. Despite the terrible goal in game six, Michael Leighton had a tremendous year for the Flyers. He came in and saved them after Emery went down and Boucher couldn't catch a cold. At the very least he deserved a chance to compete for the job for 2010-2011. It seems this was the intent all along, but after just about every goalie passed philadelphia over like fruit cake, he has become the starting goaltender by default. With the improved defense in front of him, goaltending should be OK for the orange and black.
the question marks now are on the offense. Can Giroux and JvR become the talents they're expected to be? Can Ville Leino continue his playoff dominance in the regular season? Will Zherdev be a fair replacement for Simon Gagne? Can carter make the move to wing or will he still be a selfish center with a poor back check? According to Peter Laviolette the only line remaining in tact will be Leino-Briere-Hartnell, which was phenominal in the playoffs. Apparently Bill Guerin has been working out with the flyers, and will be looking for a try out contract. this would be a nice addition of experience and veteran leadership. He can still contribute, and in a 2nd or 3rd line role would really fit in well.
Pittsburgh Penguins: they are once again three strong centers, with no wingers. Crosby, Malkin and Jordan Staal are all #1 centers, and would be on any other team, but they're 1-2-3 respectively on the penguins. something will definitely change in the next season or two. I would see Malking being traded for a top winger to play with crosby, because staal is a vital part of their PK. I could be wrong though. They increased their blue line with Paul Martin replacing Sergei Gonchar, and Zbynek Michalek, but their big forward acquisition was....Aaron Asham? this makes Asham's 4th atlantic division team, with only the Rangers left on his list.
It's not too much to write home about if you're a Pens fan, but the biggest question mark going into this season will be the play of Marc- Andre Fleury. The guy was lights out in their cup run, but last season was rather inconsistent. Look for him to have a bounce back year. If he doesn't i think the pens will be in for another early exit.
Predicted Division Standings: NJ-Philadelphia-Pittsburgh-Islanders-Rangers. 4 and 5 could change if the islanders get the injury bug or have more goaltending issues. Still look for 3-4 teams from the atlantic division to make the playoffs.
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