So it took me like 8 years to do this because I’m lazy and the Penguins have played 3 games a day to start the season. But here’s my Eastern Conference Preview finally! (BTW – I had these predictions written down before the season started) I’m going to do an NHL preview (awards, playoff results) at some point this week, but who knows when with how slow I am with these things.
And here we go…
Ottawa Senators
Last Season’s Record: 32-40-10, 74 pts (5th Northeast, 13th East)
PP%: 17.5% (15th)
PK%: 83.7% (9th)
Goals For: 190 (29th)
Goals Against: 245 (25th)
Acquisitions: Tim Conboy, Zenon Konopka, Mark Parrish, Lee Sweatt
Departures: Cody Bass, Curtis McElhinney, Ryan Potulny, Ryan Shannon, Derek Smith, Marek Svatos
Prediction: The Senators struggled mightily last year in both scoring and allowing goals until a late season trade for Craig Anderson boosted their goaltending significantly. Nevertheless, they still were beaten handily in the East and did very little to improve their team through free agency. Their big guns (Gonchar, Alfredsson, Spezza) continue to age and show durability issues, and their young guns aren’t quite up to speed yet. This is going to be a rough season for Ottawa.
5th Northeast, 15th East.
Winnipeg Jets (formerly Atlanta Thrashers)
Last Season’s Record: 34-36-12, 80 pts (4th Southeast, 12th East)
PP%: 18.3% (12th)
PK%: 77.5% (27th)
Goals For: 218 (20th)
Goals Against: 262 (29th)
Acquisitions: Aaron Gagnon, Tanner Glass, Randy Jones, Kenndal McArdle, Derek Meech, Kyle Wellwood
Departures: Anthony Stewart, Eric Boulton, Radek Dvorak,
Prediction: The Jets are going to get a massive boost from having a home crowd that actually exists as opposed to the weak attendance figures in Atlanta. However, a very rough travel schedule is going to plague them all season while they remain in the Eastern Conference despite being located out west. The travel schedule is going to hurt them, along with the fact that this roster just isn’t very strong at all. There are some younger up and coming players in the system, but this team isn’t built for a good season yet.
5th Southeast, 14th East.
Florida Panthers
Last Season’s Record: 30-40-12, 72 pts (5th Southeast, 15th East)
PP%: 13.1% (30th)
PK%: 84.6% (6th)
Goals For: 191 (28th)
Goals Against: 222 (14th)
Acquisitions: Sean Bergenheim, Matt Bradley, Tomas Fleischmann, Marcel Goc, Ed Jovanovski, Tomas Kopecky, Jose Theodore, Scottie Upshall, Brian Campbell
Departures: Niclas Bergfors, Mike Duco, Darcy Hordichuk, Kenndal McArdle, Patrick Rissmiller, Sergei Samsonov, Tomas Vokoun
Prediction: The Panthers were the worst team in the East last year despite having one of the best goalies in the league. So what did they do? Got rid of the goalie…oh and everyone else on the team. The Panthers faced the greatest overhaul of the offseason and honestly, I’m not sure where it will lead them. Chemistry is going to be hard to come by, but there is a lot more talent on this team than there was last year. It will be interesting to see if Theodore can fill the void in net and if the high priced veterans on this team can find their games. My guess is no over the course of 82 games.
4th Southeast, 13th East.
Carolina Hurricanes
Last Season’s Record: 40-31-11, 91 pts (3rd Southeast, 9th East)
PP%: 15.9% (24th)
PK%: 81.2% (20th)
Goals For: 231 (12th)
Goals Against: 234 (22nd)
Acquisitions: Brian Boucher, Tim Brent, Tomas Kaberle, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Anthony Stewart
Departures: Erik Cole, Justin Pogge, Bryan Rodney, Cory Stillman, Joe Corvo
Prediction: Carolina flirted with a playoff spot last year, ahead of the rebuilding schedule set by GM Jim Rutherford. The issue with this team is that ownership continues to force themselves to limit their spending. As such, valuable veteran Erik Cole left in free agency, along with Joe Corvo. They were replaced by a highly suspect Tomas Kaberle and a few hockey sticks. Carolina may feel some growing pains this year, and I think they are going to take a step back without more support for Staal, Skinner, and Ward.
3rd Southeast, 12th East.
New York Islanders
Last Season’s Record: 30-39-13, 73 pts (5th Atlantic, 14th East)
PP%: 17.2% (17th)
PK%: 83.2% (12th)
Goals For: 225 (15th)
Goals Against: 258 (27th)
Acquisitions: Tim Wallace
Departures: Bruno Gervais, Jack Hillen, Zenon Konopka, Nathan Lawson, Radek Martinek, Doug Weight
Prediction: The Islanders have a young and exciting team, led by Jonathan Tavares and Michael Grabner. Defenseman Marc Streit missed all of last season with an injury, but should return to all-star form this year. The question for this team comes in the chaotic goalie situation that puts an unproven Al Montoya, with injury prone Rick DiPietro, and generally pissed of Evgeni Nabokov. Expect Nabokov to be traded, DiPietro to get hurt, and Montoya to fall off as the season goes on. This team is very close, but their division foes do not help their journey.
5th Atlantic, 11th East.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Last Season’s Record: 37-34-11, 85 pts (4th Northeast, 10th East)
PP%: 16.0% (22nd)
PK%: 77.4% (28th)
Goals For: 213 (21st)
Goals Against: 245 (24th)
Acquisitions: Tim Connolly, Phillippe Dupuis
Departures: Tim Brent, Fabian Brunnstrom, JS Giguere, Christina Hanson, Danny Richmond, Aaron Voros
Prediction: Toronto came out of nowhere last year, led largely by rookie goalie James Reimer, to make a late playoff run in the last month of the season. The roster remains largely unchanged, and a young team has gained a year of experience. Toronto will likely make another push this year, as their coach’s job depends on it. Adding Tim Connolly could help greatly…if he can stay healthy at all. Reimer will determine this team’s future, which isn’t the news he probably wants to hear quite yet.
4th Northeast, 10th East.
New York Rangers
Last Season’s Record: 44-33-5, 93 pts (3rd Atlantic, 8th East)
Eliminated by Washington, 1st round
PP%: 16.9% (18th)
PK%: 83.7% (10th)
Goals For: 224 (16th)
Goals Against: 195 (5th)
Acquisitions: Brad Richards
Departures: Matt Gilroy, Bryan McCabe, Vaclav Prospal,
Prediction: The Rangers snuck into the playoffs last year, but didn’t have the depth to handle Washington in the first round. As always, the goaltending on this team will be phenomenal, though Lundqvist can’t possibly continue to play 65+ game seasons every year for them. My issue with this team is how injury prone they are. Richards is a headshot away from retirement, Gaborik is a constant injury issue, and Marc Staal is beginning the season on the IR. Injuries are going to keep this team out by a hair.
4th Atlantic, 9th East.
New Jersey Devils
Last Season’s Record: 38-39-5, 81 pts (4th Atlantic, 11th East)
PP%: 14.4% (28th)
PK%: 83.4% (11th)
Goals For: 171 (30th)
Goals Against: 207 (9th)
Acquisitions: Eric Boulton
Departures: Mike McKenna, Colin White
Prediction: The Devils began last season as the worst team in hockey…seemingly ever. They ended the season as the hottest team in hockey…seemingly ever. They are the poster child for the difference that a coaching change can make. However, now they are on their 3rd coach in 2 years, and a new season begins. The roster remains untouched for the most part, with Zach Parise returning from an injury that kept him out for most of the season. NJ is some hybrid of the 2 halves we saw last year, and I have that hybrid being good enough for a playoff spot.
3rd Atlantic, 8th East.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Last Season’s Record: 46-25-11, 103 pts (2nd Southeast, 5th East)
Eliminated by Boston, 3rd round
PP%: 20.5% (6th)
PK%: 83.8% (8th)
Goals For: 241 (8th)
Goals Against: 234 (21st)
Acquisitions: Mathieu Garon, Bruno Gervais, Matt Gilroy, Richard Petiot, Alexandre Picard, Tom Pyatt, Ryan Shannon
Departures: Sean Bergenheim, Simon Gagne, Randy Jones, Mike Lundin, Marc Pouliot, Matt Smaby, Mike Smith
Prediction: Tampa Bay came on strong at the end of last season, led by a tremendous powerplay and fantastic goaltending from Dwayne Roloson. They made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals before bowing out to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions. I don’t believe a repeat performance is in order this year. Roloson played above his pay grade, and has only added more wear and tear to his already old body. The powerplay will stay strong, the scoring might be there, but the goals against may get even worse this year. Expect a lot of run and gun games.
2nd Southeast, 7th East.
Montreal Canadiens
Last Season’s Record: 44-30-8, 96 pts (3rd Northeast, 6th East)
Eliminated by Boston, 1st round
PP%: 19.7% (7th)
PK%: 84.4% (7th)
Goals For: 213 (23rd)
Goals Against: 206 (8th)
Acquisitions: Peter Budaj, Chris Campoli, Erik Cole, Nathan Lawson
Departures: Mathieu Carle, Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, Alexandre Picard, Paul Mara, Tom Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot, Curtis Sanford, James Wisniewski, Brent Sopel
Prediction: Montreal tortured teams last year with their outstanding special teams and the goaltending of Carey Price. Their Achilles heel was a major inability to score. To fix this…they did pretty much nothing. Montreal seems to have lost some of their depth, and continues to be without the constantly injured Andrei Markov. Carey Price has matured greatly though, and will continue to keep this team contending.
3rd Northeast, 6th East.
Boston Bruins
Last Season’s Record: 46-25-11, 103 pts (1st Northeast, 3rd East)
Won Stanley Cup
PP%: 16.2% (20th)
PK%: 82.6% (16th)
Goals For: 244 (5th)
Goals Against: 189 (2nd)
Acquisitions: Benoit Pouliot, Joe Corvo
Departures: Tomas Kaberle, Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder, Boris Valabik,
Prediction: Boston won the Cup last year, easiest summary ever. They underwent very few roster changes like many of the East teams, but this could very well be a bigger problem for Boston than others. Tim Thomas cannot possibly be expected to have the Vezina year that he had last year again. Additionally, Boston pretty much got hot at the right time last year. After a grueling season that went all the way to a Game 7 in June, don’t expect them to be quite as clutch this year. Tyler Seguin and Tuuka Rask are going to have to play big parts this year to help keep this team in the realm of back to back cups.
2nd Northeast, 5th East.
Philadelphia Flyers
Last Season’s Record: 47-23-12, 106 pts (1st Atlantic, 2nd East)
Eliminated by Boston, 2nd round
PP%: 16.6% (19th)
PK%: 82.8% (15th)
Goals For: 256 (3rd)
Goals Against: 216 (11th)
Acquisitions: Jaromir Jagr, Andreas Lilja, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek, Ilya Bryzgalov, Max Talbot
Departures: Brian Boucher, Daniel Carcillo, Ville Leino, Sean O’Donnell, Darroll Powe, Michael Ryan, Danny Syvret, Nikolay Zherdev, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards
Prediction: No one knows what to expect out of the Flyers this year. They overhauled the face of their team, getting rid of Richards and Carter, adding Bryzgalov in net, and adding former Penguins Jagr and Talbot. This team has all kinds of potential, both to succeed and fail. Big questions remain on whether this team can gel, if Giroux can take over the top spot on this team, how Jagr will return to the NHL, and if Bryzgalov can handle the pressure. I trust Giroux…I trust Jagr for half of a season, I trust Bryzgalov until late in the season. This team will do well in the regular season, I don’t expect much for the playoffs though.
2nd Atlantic, 4th East.
Buffalo Sabres
Last Season’s Record: 43-29-10, 96 pts (3rd Northeast, 7th East)
Eliminated by Philadelphia, 1st round
PP%: 19.4% (9th)
PK%: 83% (13th)
Goals For: 256 (3rd)
Goals Against: 228 (17th)
Acquisitions: Christian Ehrhoff, Ville Leino, Michael Ryan, Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik
Departures: Chris Butler, Tim Conboy, Tim Connolly, Mark Mancari, Mark Parrish, Steve Montador, Rob Neidermayer, Patrick Lalime, Mike Grier
Prediction: The buzz around Buffalo is new owner Terry Pegula and his unlimited financial resources. We saw these resources thrown into action as Ehrhoff and Leino received absurd contracts. They are good players…but we’ll see how Buffalo feels in 4 years. For the time being though, they are solid additions and will help this team greatly. The defense in front of Miller has improved greatly, and Miller was already a stud to begin with. If the forwards can grow and stay healthy, this team could make a very solid run.
1st Northeast, 3rd East.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Last Season’s Record: 49-25-8, 106 pts (2nd Atlantic, 4th East)
Eliminated by Tampa Bay, 1st round
PP%: 15.8% (25th)
PK%: 86.1% (1st)
Goals For: 228 (13th)
Goals Against: 196 (6th)
Acquisitions: Steve MacIntyre, Alexandre Picard, Steve Sullivan, Boris Valabik, Jason Williams, Richard Park
Departures: Mike Comrie, Chris Conner, Eric Godard, Alexei Kovalev, Corey Potter, Mike Rupp, Brett Sterling, Max Talbot, Tim Wallace
Prediction: Read my Penguins Season Preview for this. It’ll be much more detailed than any paragraph I’m going to write here. Here’s the link: http://crosbyftw.blogspot.com/2011/10/pens-season-preview-2011-2012.html
1st Atlantic, 2nd East.
Washington Capitals
Last Season’s Record: 48-23-11, 107 pts (1st Southeast, 1st East)
Eliminated by Tampa Bay, 2nd round
PP%: 17.5% (16th)
PK%: 85.6% (2nd)
Goals For: 219 (19th)
Goals Against: 191 (4th)
Acquisitions: Troy Brouwer, Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, Christian Hanson, Ryan Potulny, Danny Richmond, Tomas Vokoun, Joel Ward
Departures: Jason Arnott, Matt Bradley, Boyd Gordon, Scott Hannan, Andrew Joudrey, Michael Nylander, Tyler Sloan, Marco Sturm, Semyon Varlamov
Prediction: Who else would you expect to see at the top? The Capitals have made a habit of dominating the regular season. They have added some crafty role players in Brouwer and Ward, and made a big impact in the goaltending market by signing Tomas Vokoun. This team has all the talent in the world, and will demonstrate it as usual through the regular season. Young defensemen Carlson and Alzner will continue to improve, and of course, they have that Ovechkin guy to score. It will be interesting to see what the team does with Semin this year. The real question for this team begins in April anyways.
1st Southeast, 1st East.
So my final order for the East this year:
1) Washington
2) Pittsburgh
3) Buffalo
4) Philadelphia
5) Boston
6) Montreal
7) Tampa Bay
8) New Jersey
9) New York Rangers
10) Toronto
11) New York Islanders
12) Carolina
13) Florida
14) Winnipeg
15) Ottawa
Interesting note after doing all of the previews....East - dominant on the PK. West - dominant on the PP.
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