National Hockey League Season Preview

As the NHL got the regular season underway this past weekend in Prague, Czech Republic and Stockholm, Sweden with the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, and the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins dueling, respectively, it gives me reason to make my 2008-2009 NHL season predictions, complete with division predictions, conference champion predictions, and of course, the next victor of Lord Stanley's Cup. Today, read about the Eastern Conference, and tomorrow read about the Western Conference and my hardware predictions. Without further ado....

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Philadelphia Flyers
3. New York Rangers
4. New Jersey Devils
5. New York Islanders

3 Quick hits on the Atlantic Division

• The Pittsburgh Penguins are not as good as last year, but they are still a force to be reckoned with. Ask anyone, the losses of Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone vastly changes the Penguins' offensive set-up. Couple that with the early losses of defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, and the Penguins still have a lot to prove. I think the overall team concept that this team has will, in the end, prevail, and Marc-Andre Fleury will win them many games early to keep them on pace for the division crown.

• The Philadelphia Flyers are very, very eager to prove that last season was not a fluke. Many people in the hockey world doubt the Flyers, a team that came within three wins of playing for the Stanley Cup last season. I am a diehard Flyers fan who bleeds Orange and Black and I am happy to report that the Flyers themselves are not among the doubters. In fact, the Flyers feel that they have gotten better this offseason and are setting their sights towards competing with their cross-state rivals for the division crown. The Flyers addressed their defensive issues, adding Steve Eminger, Ossi Vaananen, and even inviting former first overall pick, Bryan Berard, to training camp to compete for a spot. The defense suddenly looks strong, as does the rest of this team, and they will be a healthy competitor in the East for years to come.

• The New York Rangers are going to be the most overrated team in the National Hockey League this season. Yes, they won their first two games this year against the Lightning. However, I think those games just showed that the Lightning are not as good as expected, not that the Rangers are better than expected. The Broadway Blueshirts have managed to sign over-the-hill veterans yet again, inking Wade Redden and Marcus Naslund to lucrative deals in the offseason. In the process, the Rangers lost two players that made up the heart and soul of their team in Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka. It will be interesting to see how the Rangers do this year, but when the flop, don't think I won't be the first to say, "I told you so."

Northeast Division

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Boston Bruins
3. Ottawa Senators
4. Buffalo Sabres
5. Toronto Maple Leafs

3 Quick hits on the Northeast Division

• The Montreal Canadiens are the real deal. Don't be fooled by last season's early playoff exit. The Habs are bitter about it and want revenge. They are a very fast and talented team and made a statement by not looking for any goaltending help this offseason, indicating that they will stay with the man who led them to the postseason last year, Carey Price. The offense has also improved and made an already potent threat even better, as Montreal added offensive stars Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang in the offseason. Look for the Habs to make big noise in '08-'09.

• Don't overlook the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens can, and likely will, run away with this division. By no means, however, does that mean to overlook the Boston Bruins. The B's are a very talented and deep group that learned a lot about themselves during their seven-game classic with the Canadiens last year in the playoffs. The Bruins are very balanced, and led by all-star defenseman, Zdeno Chara. With Chara anchoring that defense, it will always remain a major threat. Something to keep an eye on this year will be the play of journeyman goaltender Tim Thomas, who will have his first full year as a starter in this season. It will be interesting to see how Thomas handles it. Oh, and Tim, no pressure - the Bruins only go as far as you take them.

• The top two teams in this division are going to be well above the bottom three teams, there will be a lot of separation. The Canadiens and Bruins are in another league than the three other teams in this division. I have the Senators third in this prediction, but I wouldn't be suprised if that ended up being the Sabres, either. Both teams are very even, and both teams have little to no chance of making the playoffs. Of course, a lot of things can happen during the course of a hockey season but look for the bottom three in the Northeast to have little to no impact on the playoff race in the East.
  

Southeast Division

1. Washington Capitals
2. Florida Panthers
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Carolina Hurricanes
5. Atlanta Thrashers

3 Quick hits on the Southeast Division

• Yes, the Washington Capitals are good. Very good. Being a Flyers fan, I got to witness the revamped product that is the Washington Captials. This team is a force to be reckoned with. Alexander Ovechkin is an all-world player and can single-handedly change the course of any game. He will lead the Capitals to great places in his time in Washington, and may even bring them a cup, however that is still a few years in the making. The Caps boast so much speed and skill that they should easily leave the Southeast in the dust. Cristobal Huet is an excellent goaltender when he's on top of his game, and the Caps can only hope that he will bring that form to the table all season. Players like Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich, and Mike Green will all be counted on to have big seasons and break out as the Caps look to make a serious Stanley Cup push.

• Playoff hockey is returning to the Sunshine State, and not in Tampa Bay. The Florida Panthers - yes, the Florida Panthers - are going to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, mark my words. Getting rid of Olli Jokinen was the best thing that happened to this franchise, and they will completely gel as a team as a result. Look for big things out of veterans like Richard Zednik and Jay Boumeester if they are to make the playoffs, and I look for both to lead the Panthers to the promised land. A late run last year showed me that the Panthers are a few wins away from getting to playoffs, and I believe the team they have fielded right now is capable of gaining those extra wins. Welcome back to the playoffs, Panthers, it's been a while.

• The Tampa Bay Lightning are not that good. Really. I am SO tired of hearing that the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be the turn around team this year. They won't be. They are not that good. Mike Smith is their goalie. End of story. Sure, they've made some nice signings like Ryan Malone, and Steven Stamkos is going to be a stud in this league, perhaps even beginning this year, but the Bolts have so far to go to legitimately call themselves a contender that it amuses me how people are picking them to not only make the playoffs, but win the division. This was the worst team IN THE NHL last year, people. Granted the Flyers went from worst to the East Finals last year, but they had a much better team than the Lightning will field this year. Obviously, you can never count a team with superstar veterans like Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis out, but I just don't count them in, at least this year.
  

WESTERN CONFERENCE PREDICTIONS AND STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS TO FOLLOW TOMORROW