love the puck

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Southeast Division

Tampa Bay Lightning- Losing your starting goalie coming off the heels of your franchise's stanley cup victory usually isn't the best way to start an off season. However, for Tampa Bay it could have been much worse. They could have had trouble signing Lecavalier, but instead locked him up for a long term deal. Same with the mighty mite, Marty St. Louis. The question remains however, will they be able to make room for Brad Richards? Three superstars on one team means things are going to get crowded. I hope that they find a way to make it work, because this is a fun team to watch. They have the majority of their role players back, only losing Corey Stillman, tough guy Andre Roy, Jassen Cullimore and of course Khabibulin. But despite not being as strong in net, the Lightning still have their star players up front and a solid blue line, and should finish first in the Southeast.

Atlanta Thrashers- The only team in the southeast that is poised to make a really big move is this Atlanta team. Adding Marian Hossa gives them a guarenteed 85 points or so, and we'll see how big Bobby Holik fits in down south too. The only huge question, and the thing that this whole teams success hangs on, is getting Ilya Kovalchuk signed. This team, and this league, needs a player of this calibre on the ice. It's good for hockey, and it's integral for the Thrashers, but it seems like Ilya is leaning towards Russia. Kari Lehtonen should make a relatively easy transition to the net in the NHL, and Marc Savard had a great season in 2003-2004. Braydon Coburn is ready for the NHL, and it wouldn't make much sense for Atlanta to not bring him up this year. If Ilya's around, the Thrash will finish in the post season, but if not, it could be a frustrating year making up for all those goals.

Carolina Hurricanes- There's not a tonne to be excited about in Carolina these days. Off-season acquisitions off Corey Stillman and Ray Whitney add some veteran experience, but I think they'll be frustrated with the way the 'Canes play hockey. If I owned this team, I'd scrap the name, and the unis and just start over. Eric Staal is a bright spot on a bad team, and I hope and think he'll have a great year. Kevin Weekes is gone, which makes Martin Gerber the starter in net. Oleg Tverdovsky and Mike Commodore are additions on defense. All in all, Carolina will finish well out of the hunt in the east.

Florida Panthers- Like the Montreal Canadiens, this team is a wild card. With major acquistions like Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, and Martin Gelinas, and minor ones like Jozef Stumpel and Chris Gratton, the Panthers have added a nice veteran nucleus to their yount, talented team. Olli Jokinen, Steven Weiss, Nathan Horton and rookie Anthony Stewart are ready up front, and Jay Bouwmeester, Sean Hill, and Mike Van Ryn are in charge of keeping people away from Roberto Luongo. Luongo is probably looking at his last season in Florida, but I have a hunch it'll be a good one. Roberts, Nieuwendyk and Marty Gelinas will teach the young guys how to play in their own zone, which will mean Roberto should see less rubber this year. If Ilya leaves Atlanta, and this team can gel, I think they'll finish second in the Southeast, and have a shot at the post season down the stretch.

Washington Capitals- This team is in disarray. I think Ovechkin is an exciting player. But his learning curve is not going to be made easier with no supporting cast. Alexander Semin is developing nicely, but he's no Jaromir Jagr. Dainus Zubrus is not Robert Lang. And yet the caps did nothing to make any free agent signings of significance. I get upset just thinking about it. It's like they want to lose. They do know that Sidney Crosby has already been drafted right? I just feel bad for the Southeast division teams that have to play this team 8 times a year. The NHL is supposed to be winning fans back!

Posted by Jon at 10:26 AM | | e-mail me