NHL Season Preview

Thursday marks the opening night (on US soil) for the National Hockey League. While we realize hockey may not be the most popular of sports, here at WAY Back Sports we never leave a sport behind...unless its Nascar (you will NEVER see a Nascar post on this site).

Anyway, heres a look at how we think the season will finish:

Eastern Conference:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins - The defending Eastern Conference champions have two of the top five best players in the the NHL (Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin) and enough firepower along side them to make it back to the finals. They will have to weather the storm the first two months without top defensemen Sergi Gongar and Ryan Whitney but they have enough good young talent to hold the fort until they return.
2. Montreal Canadiens - Last season the Canadiens finished with the best record during the regular season before being bounced in the first round by the Flyers. The offseason saw the departure of RW Micheal Ryder and D Mark Streit but a little offensive fire power was brought in to replace them in LW Alex Tanguay and C Robert Lang. This season also marks the first full season for goaltender Carey Price as starter. If he has a strong sophomore season the Canadiens will be contenders in the East.
3. Washington Capitals - Third only by virtue of winning the Southeast, not necessarily the third best record. The Capitals have arguably the most exciting player in hockey in reigning MVP Alexander Ovechkin. They have a good mix of veterans (Sergi Federov, Chris Clark) and rising stars (Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin) to make for a good supporting cast for Ovechkin. The big question mark will be in goal. The Capitals will only go as far as Jose Theodore takes them.
4. Philadelphia Flyers - Having a healthy Simon Gagne back will do wonders for a team that was not that far away from having a big year last season. In the 07/08 playoffs they knocked off the #1 ranked Montreal Canadiens before falling to the Penguins in the Conference finals. The offseason saw the departure of promising young star R.J. Umberger which will sting, but I would think they Flyers would rather have Gagne than Umberger anyday.
5. Boston Bruins - Picking the Bruins to finish 5th may surprise some people but Boston is a gritty team who, with the guidance of coach Claude Julien, will win a lot of close games. The biggest difference this season for Boston will be the return of all star forward Patrice Bergeron who missed all but ten games last season following a career threatening concussion. The addition of Bergeron and the signing of free agent forward Michael Ryder will make the Bruins a team to watch out for in the East.
6. New York Rangers - The Rangers suffered some major losses over the offseason seeing forwards Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shannahan, and Martin Straka all announce their retirement from the NHL. Perhaps the player they will miss the most is not one listed above but instead agitator Steve Avery who signed with Dallas. They were able to bring in decent replacements in Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev, add that to a group that already includes Scott Gomez and Chris Drury and you have a team who will be a strong playoff contender.
7. New Jersey Devils - The Devils are a playoff team for one reason: Martin Brodeur. In Brodeur's 14 seasons as the Devils' goaltender New Jersey has made the playoffs 13 times. Coincidence? I think not.
8. Ottawa Senators - It seems that the Senators and Penguins meet in the playoffs every year, so why change that this season. Ottawa boasts the best line in hockey in Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Dany Heatley. Aside from that there isn't a whole lot to be dangerous.
9. Tampa Bay Lightning - Most improved team in hockey, but still not quite enough.
10. Carolina Hurricanes - Loss of Eric Cole means loss of playoff contention.
11. Buffalo Sabers - Ryan Miller will keep them in a lot of games, but he is just one man.
12. Florida Panthers - Good defense, not so good offense.
13. Atlanta Thrashers - They have Ilya Kovalchuk and um...who else?
14. Toronto Maple Leafs - Poor Leafs fans. Its gonna be a long season.
15. New York Islanders - They will battle the Leafs for the basement all year.

Western Conference:

1. Detroit Red Wings - The addition of Marian Hossa make the defending Stanley Cup Champions even that much better. There is no reason why the Red Wings will not go back-to-back.
2. Dallas Stars - Like the rest of the Western Conference, the Stars are just playing for second place. The addition of Sean Avery will add an element of grit to Dallas which will go a long way. Any team with that likes of Brenden Morrow, Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro, and Marty Turco will be a team that contends.
3. Calgary Flames - The Flames made perhaps the most underrated move of the offseason picking up LW Mike Cammalleri from the LA Kings. Cammalleri will likely be paired with super star Jerome Iginla on the top line making for a nice 1-2 punch. If Miikka Kipprusoff can regain his elite status between the pipes the Flames could be dangerous this season.
4. San Jose Sharks - San Jose has become a perennial powerhouse in the Western Conference and that will likely continue this season. Led by center Joe Thornton and the emergence of Evgeni Nabokov the Sharks will be right in the mix in the West. The addition of D Dan Boyle could be another overlooked acquisition.
5. Anaheim Ducks - Like the Sharks, the Ducks are another team you can count on to be in the mix in the West each season. The young stud first line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Chris Kunitz will power Anaheim to another strong season.
6. Chicago Blackhawks - In the Eastern Conference the Blackhawks might be the second best team. Unfortunately, they play in the stacked Western Conference where they will be in the middle of the pack. Chicago is just loaded with young talent and made some nice offseason acquisitions in D Brain Campbell and G Cristobal Huet. It would not be a surprise to see Chicago make some noise in the West this season.
7. Edmonton Oilers - The additions of Erik Cole and Lubomir Visnosky are big ones for the Oilers. Expect LW Dustin Penner to have a bounce back year this season after a slow first season in Edmonton. The Oilers are a solid team who will fight for one of the final playoff spots.
8. Minnesota Wild - The Wild will be as good as Marian Gaborik is healthy. They added a few nice role players in LW Andrew Brunette, RW Owen Nolan, and D Marek Zidlicky. If Gaborik plays 65 games the Wild are a playoff team.
9. Phoenix Coyotes - Young and improved, but still a year or two away.
10. Colorado Avalanche - Could sneak into the playoffs if Peter Forsberg returns.
11. Nashville Predators - Why is there hockey in Nashville?
12. Columbus Blue Jackets - Could be a sleeper team in the West.
13. Vancouver Canucks - If they got Roberto Luongo some help they could make some noise.
14. St. Louis Blues - Some good young pieces, but not enough.
15. Los Angeles Kings - Very young. Still two or three years from being a contender.

Cup Finals: Detroit Red Wings over Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.