love the puck

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Pacific Division

San Jose Sharks- This team came so close to making a trip to the Stanley Cup finals last year. They lost some of the players from roster, including Mike Rathje, Mike Ricci and Vincent Damphoussed, and though the Sharks made no moves this off season to replace them, I don't think they needed too. Jonathan Cheechoo is ready for as much ice time as head coach Ron Wilson will give him, and Patrick Marleau should keep getting better with all this experience. The Sharks are most impressive from the blueline back, boasting a very nice top four defense tandem of Scott Hannan, Brad Stuart, Kyle McLaren and Christian Erhoff. Evgeni Nabakov is back this year and should be stellar again between the pipes. This team has some great chemistry and barring disaster should roll through the West this year.

Dallas Stars- This is a team that is very hard to predict. I think they'll have a tough year. Marty Turco is a great goalie, but I think he gets off a little easy when he doesn't perform down the stretch and in the post season. Patrick Lalime gets crucified for the same thing, but Marty hears nothing about it. Mike Modano stuck around, but signed a rather long deal (5 years) and it pays him quite comfortably. Bill Guerin was not bought out, but he's guarenteed to score at least 25 goals, without bending over at the waist. The Stars are a little bit thin up front, but they have some good prospects on defense. Shawn Belle, Trevor Daley and Mark Fistric, could be a solid trio in the future. The Stars will factor into the post season somehow, they always seem to find a way.

Los Angeles Kings- They have the one of the best coaches in the league in Andy Murray. If the Kings were stronger in goal, I think they would make strides this year. Mathieu Garon and Jason LaBarbera have 43 starts in the NHL- combined. So it will be hard for the Kings to play with confidence that their netminders will steal them games. Mike Cammalleri was second in AHL scoring last year for the Manchester Monarchs, and he'll be the player to watch. Even more pressure lies on Alexander Frolov, who just signed a long term deal over the summer, and will be the player asked to carry the offensive load this season. Additions of Jeremy Roenick, Pavel Demitra, Valeri Bure and Craig Conroy can only help the Kings get better, however this year won't be a playoff year for them. On D, Matthias Norstrom quietly has become one of the toughest, most dependable defenseman in the league, while Aaron Miller and Nathan Dempsey are still improving. If L.A. stays healthy, tinseltown could be a fun place to play hockey this year.

Phoenix Coyotes- Who wouldn't be excited to play for Wayne Gretzky? If you can't get yourself prepared for the moment that the Great One taps your shoulder and sends you over the bench, then you shouldn't even strap on the equipment. Phoenix has made strides toward improvment, getting Petr Nedved and Brett Hull. They also signed Mike Ricci, Boyd Deveraux and made the trade that cost them Daymond Langkow and brought in Oleg Saprykin and Denis Gauthier. They look great on the back end, with Derek Morris, David Tanabe, Paul Mara and Gauthier making a smooth skating and physical defense team. Phoenix has good young players, veteran leaders, and of course, they signed Curtis Joseph for under a million dollars on top of that. All this before we mentioned Shane Doan, who may be the most underrated elite player in the league. Soon, the Coyotes will be playing hockey that matters.

Anaheim Mighty Ducks- I wonder how Scott Niedermayer would take it. The Ducks could miss the playoffs, and for the first time in his NHL career, Mr. Niedermayer would have to watch the entire post season on T.V. All hope is not lost yet. They still have Giguere, who has yet to prove that he can return to Conne Smythe winning form. They still have Sergei Fedorov, who when he feels like it, can control a game. They have a Norris trophy winner on the blue line and some great young players up front. Ryan Getzlaf should be in the NHL this year. Corey Perry won't be far behind. Joffrey Lupul has already established himself on the team, and Ladislav Smid shouldn't be far behind on defense. If Anaheim makes the post season this year, it'll be a squeaker, but with the addition of Bobby Ryan in this years draft, they might not be too long away from being a noise maker in the West.

Posted by Jon at 12:04 PM | | e-mail me