Saying Goodbye to 14 Teams

Happy opening week of the playoffs!  As 16 teams move a step closer to their ultimate goal, we wave goodbye to the other 14 teams who couldn't cut it this year.  Let's take a quick look at each (in reverse order of finish).

30.  Edmonton Oilers (25-45-12, 62 pts)

Probably not the best way to rebuild.

No one expected Edmonton to go anywhere this season.  The pre-season predictions were filled with talks of a lottery draft pick and an infusion of youth into the team.  The Oilers met expectations by securing the highest chance of receiving the #1 overall pick.  Aside from the bottom of the standings finish, there were some bright spots to this team.  Jordan Eberle, Linus Omark, and Taylor Hall came onto the scene and demonstrated enormous potential to score.  Ryan Whitney was off to a great first half before requiring season ending surgery.  And in net, Devan Dubnyk started to show signs that he can act as a #1 goalie.  This team definitely has a bright future, the biggest question will be how long will fans have to wait before it arrives.


29.  Colorado Avalanche (30-44-8, 68 pts)

Much like their namesake, the team fell fast and hard.

The Avs had a roller coaster ride of a season that proved to be an incredible disappointment.  Considered a team with playoff potential, the team got off to an average start.  Following a trade for Tomas Fleischmann, the Avs went on a hot streak that vaulted them towards the top of the conference.  As soon as Fleischmann got hurt, the team went straight downhill, leading to the blockbuster trade of Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk to St. Louis and a dismal finish.  The Avs also traded away Craig Anderson for Brian Elliot, which led to even worse goaltending stats.  Colorado can score, but their defense and goaltending was non-existent.  Receiving Erik Johnson back in the Stewart/Shattenkirk trade will hopefully provide the Avs with a fresh start next year.


28.  Florida Panthers (30-40-12, 72 pts)

This year's version wasn't exactly ferocious.

Florida was a team that no one had a great read on early in the season.  Always a contender in any game with Tomas Vokoun in net, the question throughout the season was whether the Panthers could stay in contention with Vokoun or if they would go the fire sale route to fully rebuild.  The Panthers stayed tight in the race for the 8th seed until a few weeks before the trade deadline and then went the fire sale route.  Curiously, they did not receive any offers to warrant trading Vokoun, and kept him along for the crash course to end the season.  The Panthers finished off the campaign losing 9 out of 10 with a largely rookie lineup.  The future for Florida still looks murky.  They didn't acquire any difference makers for the future and do not have a great minor league system to work with right now.


27.  NY Islanders (30-39-13, 73 pts)

Rick DiPietro's career in a nutshell.

The Islanders had one of the most disruptive seasons possible and still managed to play respectable hockey (at times).  New York led the league in man games lost to injury with almost 600.  The team went through 7 different goalies before acquiring Al Montoya from Phoenix at the trade deadline and playing him most of the last 2 months.  Much of the publicity surrounding the Islanders focused on suspensions and questionable decisions, namely in the form of Trevor Gillies.  Despite all of the insanity, the Islanders appear to have a very bright future.  Michael Grabner came on the scene to lead all rookies in goals and all players in short handed goals.  Matt Moulson added another 30 goal season to his list.  Meanwhile, having a fully healthy John Tavares and Mark Streit next year will help this team improve greatly.  The Isles will likely be contenders next year, as they were one of the hottest teams in the 2nd half of the season.


26.  Ottawa Senators (32-40-10, 74 pts)

Ottawa was projected to be a playoff team, with the scoring depth of Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, along with the addition of Sergei Gonchar on the blue line.  The result? - Gonchar was being shopped around at the trade deadline, along with every other player that could skate.  The Senators never got it together, pretty much underachieving in all facets of the game until the last few weeks of the season.  Two bright spots came at the end however, as Craig Anderson came into his own and played fantastic in net and defenseman Erik Karlsson showed an improved scoring prowess and potential to be a top end blue liner next year.  Ottawa's biggest problem is going to be they have a lot of dead weight in veterans holding a big portion of the salary cap.


25.  Atlanta Thrashers (34-36-12, 80 pts)

Pavelec carried this team despite an early season scare.

Atlanta was one of the only teams in the NHL this season to actually play consistently all season.  The Thrashers hovered a little below the playoff race all season, playing into it when Dustin Byfuglien was hot but dropping out of it when Tobias Enstrom got hurt.  Ondrej Pavelec played very well in net and definitely gives this team a way to build from the back end.  The transition of Byufglien from forward to defense was also an astounding success, though he cooled off as the season progressed.  Moving forward, Atlanta needs to find more scoring depth at forward, but they have the makings of a solid defense first team.


24.  Columbus Blue Jackets (34-35-13, 81 pts)

There is no question this season turned out to be a disappointment for Columbus.  The team was expected to fight for a playoff spot behind the goaltending of Steve Mason and with the scoring of Rick Nash.  Instead, fans were left with one of Nash's most inconsistent seasons, and some of the worst defense and goaltending in the league.  Steve Mason and Mathieu Garon took turns between shutouts and 7 goal games leaving a huge question mark in net.  Getting Steve Mason back into his rookie form is definitely the main goal of this offseason.


23.  New Jersey Devils (38-39-5, 81 pts)

"Ok, the goal is to lull them to sleep, then win 1-0."

The Devils began the season with John MacLean behind the bench, Martin Brodeur on the IR, and Ilya Kovalchuk laughing his way to the bank as the Devils were by far the worst team in the NHL.  But their season ended as the hottest team in the NHL, making a very unlikely playoff run, and with Jacques Lemaire behind the bench.  The Devils season is in some ways a waste and yet still provides hope for the future.  The 2nd half run demonstrated the Kovalchuk can win in this system, and the team has enough talent, even before getting Zach Parise back from an injury that cost him most of the season.  The downside is, another year has passed for Brodeur, who isn't exactly getting younger.  I would be shocked if this team didn't make the playoffs next year, but they will have to find the right coach to do it as Lemaire slipped into retirement yet again.


22.  Toronto Maple Leafs (37-34-11, 85 pts)

Hey, in 57 years, that'll only sound like it was a year ago!

The Leafs were another team that turned their season around as it progressed.  After underachieving for most of the first half of the season, injuries to JS Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson allowed James Reimer to step up in net in a fantastic way.  "Optimus Reim" took over the reigns for Toronto and led them to a hot 2nd half that had them in the playoff race until the last days of the season.  The team didn't even plan to keep Reimer up, but was forced to due to his play.  This season turned out to be a step in the right direction for Toronto, and if Reimer can keep his play up, they may see the playoffs again soon.


21.  Minnesota Wild (39-35-8, 86 pts)

Minnesota was in the middle of the playoff race for most of the season but fell off drastically in the last month.  When Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat were healthy, the Wild could give problems to any team in the NHL.  However, keeping them both healthy was an issue, and Koivu's injury towards the end of the season was detrimental to the team.  Injuries on the blue line also hurt the team, especially as Cam Barker went down.  This team has been built with a lot of mediocrity thus far, and the smallest harm to their lineup is very threatening to the team.  As such, without a big splash in the free agent market, I think Minnesota is going to struggle even moreso next year.


20.  St. Louis Blues (38-33-11, 87 pts)

Much of this recap can be done by reading through the Colorado Avalanche recap.  The Blues and Avs took similar paths through the season leading to the Erik Johnson and Jay McClement for Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk trade.  The Blues ended the season much differently though, and Stewart and McClement proved to be a great influence on the Blues roster, both in the locker room and on the ice.  Stewart was quoted as saying that the team was not going to quit on its fans, and the Blues finished the season strong.  With Jaroslav Halak in net, and the additional help in the scoring department thanks to the Avs trade, St. Louis has a bright future again.


19.  Carolina Hurricanes (40-31-11, 91 pts)

He may look 12, but he plays at a 24 year old level.

Carolina began the season with small playoff hopes as their GM and ownership had set a self-imposed cap and the plan was to use this year to rebuild.  Rebuilding occurred fast and furiously in a matter of months as the rookies stepped up, led by 18 year old Jeff Skinner.  Skinner, a Calder contender, showed poise beyond his years and led Carolina through some rough periods.  Eric Staal and Cam Ward both returned to form after a dismal 2009-2010 season, but alas, it was not enough for the Hurricanes.  They went down to the 2nd to the last day of the season, needing a win to make the playoffs, and were thwarted by rival Tampa Bay.  Though the disappointment is massive right now, the Hurricanes are well ahead of their rebuilding schedule and will be challenging for the division next year.  The big key is going to be how much ownership is willing to spend this offseason to make it all come together.


18.  Calgary Flames (41-29-12, 94 pts)

Calgary started the season in chaos and came just short of the playoffs in the end.  Jarome Iginla showed that he will continue to age gracefully in Calgary, scoring his 1000th career point, and Olli Jokinen demonstrated a renewed vigor down the stretch to keep the team in the hunt.  Add in a fantastic season by Rene Bourque, and Calgary showed they have the offense to keep up.  Mikka Kiprusoff played solid in net as always, but may have been overworked as the season went on.  The team's defense needs an upgrade to be a serious contender next year without taxing Kiprusoff excessively.  Though playoffs were a reasonable expectation for this team, the season still showed some ability for the future.


17.  Dallas Stars (42-29-11, 95 pts)

Dallas had an up and down season, starting off the season near the top of the conference, dropping out of the playoff race, and then fighting til the very last day of the season.  However, they were unable to win the final game of the regular season which would have given them the 8th spot in the West.  The acquisition of Alex Goligoski from Pittsburgh was a very promising move for the Stars as they found a defenseman to anchor the powerplay.  After coming so close and dropping the ball with their futures in their hands, this season was undoubtedly disappointing for Dallas.