NHL 2006/07 season

[iceman7]

hey. I am fairly new here and not sure where sports gets put, but its not star wars, so I thought this would be a good place to start.

Ok, time to look into the crystal ball to see what is on tap for the upcoming season.

SOUTH EAST DIVISON

Ok, the past 2 Stanley cup champs have come out of this division, so I guess this is a good place to start. Carolina lost a lot of their core players, like T Bay did last season. Because of this, they will have a hard time to repeat as champs. Also, it is now time to see if Cam Ward is as good as he was last year. He is a goalie that caught my attention early last year, in a game the Cane’s played against the Pens, and stoned both Sid the Kid and Lemieux in a shoot out. But it is his sophomore season, and most goalie’s struggle in there 2nd season. I think Atlanta will finally make the playoffs, and will battle for first place in the South East. As for the rest, Tampa Bay now has a goalie, and this will get them into 1st place. Carolina will make the playoffs and will finish 3rd. Florida is still lacking that extra to get them back to the Promised Land, but is close. If they let Auld play the brunt of the load in games, that will be a good start for their future. Granted, he is no Luongo, but he needs to continue to get action. Washington needs to look for a younger goalie to grow with their team they will improve and will go as far as Ovechkin will carry them. Here is how I see the South East division finishing.

1. Tampa Bay *
2. Atlanta *
3. Carolina *
4. Florida
5. Washington

ATLANTIC DIVISON

Ok, a couple of things are sure bets. The Islanders will finish last, because of the nightmare ruling the team. This is a team that is in a hurry to go nowhere, and the stupidity that happened over the summer has continued to rip that franchise apart. The other sure thing is that the Devils will be on top again, with the best goalie in the NHL leading the way once again. As for the rest of the division, the Rangers who fell apart in the last weekend of the regular season, and cost themselves 3rd place and finished 6th instead. Once again, a team is lead by a sophomore goalie in Lundqvist but the Rangers did add some depth with Shanahan, Cullen, and Ward. They will battle it out for 1st with the Devils but will finish a close 2nd. As for Philly, the all too common goal tending contraversary is the on going topic, and will as long as the Snyder/ Clarke sideshow continues. As for the Pens, they will be better than last year, but are still a ways from making playoffs. Here are my pics for the Atlantic

1. New Jersey *
2. NY Rangers *
3. Philadelphia
4. Pittsburgh
5. NY Islanders

NORTHEAST DIVISION

This is a division that I will follow the most. Last years champs, the Ottawa Senators, were decimated by the Salary cap, loosing many big name players. Who cares!! Boo Hoo. They spent a crap load of coin and they still haven’t beat Toronto in the playoffs. That is the only thing that means anything to the Sen’s. If they won the cup, but didn’t go thru TO, it would be meaningless. Sure, I am a Leafs fan, but they are still in a rebuilding mode. Do I believe that they will make playoffs with Raycroft in net? No. One of the goalies has to go. Will it be Raycroft. No, were stuck with him. Hopefully he can find his game that he had in his rookie season. Will Aubin go? Probably not. Sure, he had a heck of a run last season, but he is still untested when it really counts. So that leaves Telqvist. He has some value as a back up, but will anyone jump at him. Hopefully with the Marlies and Leafs in the same city, we will see Pogge once in a while. As for the rest of the Leaf, great pick ups of D men and Pecca. They will be sound up front. Who will take the division? Buffalo is my pic. They learned to play as a team and gelled at the right time. As for Boston, they got a bit of help, but not enough. Montreal still untested with what they added to the team from last year and over the summer. They tend to go as Koivu goes too. Here are my pics as how I see it.

1. Buffalo *
2. Montreal *
3. Ottawa *
4. Boston
5. Toronto

These are my pics for the Eastern Conference. The Western conference will have to await till Saturday.



CENTRAL DIVISION

Once again, the week sister of the Western conference. Both Detroit and Nashville will battle it out for 1st place, but with Nashville taking it this year, having the stronger of the 2 teams. Both added some players over the off season, but Nashville adding Arnott to help out Kariya. Detroit lost significant leadership this summer with Stevie Y retiring, Shanahan going to the Big Apple, and Legace to St Louis. Sure they brought back Hasek, he will be good for –Oh, a dozen or so games till he gets a hang nail again and is out for the season. So they will have to rely on Osgood between the pipes a lot. As for the others, Chicago, Columbus and St Louis, they all have gotten better, but will once again all 3 won’t make playoffs.
Here is how I see the Central unfold.

1. Nashville *
2. Detroit *
3. Chicago
4. St Louis
5. Columbus

NORTHWEST DIVISION

Ok, time for some exciting hockey. As boring and predictable the Central is, this is quite the opposite. Both Calgary and Vancouver will fight it out neck and neck for 1st place. This will be an exciting battle and Edmonton will be right behind them in 3rd. Colorado and Minnesota will scrap it out for 4th place, but neither team will make playoffs. This is how I see things unfold in the NW.

1. Vancouver *
2. Calgary *
3. Edmonton *
4. Minnesota
5. Colorado

PACIFIC DIVISION

Here is another division with 2 sure bets. Anaheim Ducks will finish 1st, and the Phoenix Coyotes last. The Ducks added a lot of goodies over the off-season, most of all, Chris Pronger. They also have a lot of playoff experience and will have to be a favorite to be in the final 4 come May. As for Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Jose, not too much significant changed, just some minor things. As for how they will unfold, that will depend on how healthy LA remains and if San Jose can decide on who their # 1 goalie will be. Here goes….

1. Anaheim *
2. San Jose *
3. Dallas *
4. Los Angeles
5. Phoenix


Granted these are my predictions, and I am curious how everyone else see’s the NHL unfolding this upcoming season. Have to wait and see what unfolds with injuries and trades.

 

[Barada]

Hey iceman!!!

Glad to see you've decided to join us over here. Unfortunately, there aren't many hockey fans besides us - but that's okay. We can make this 'our' thread.

So you want divisional predictions? Okay, let's try this.

Southeast

What used to be the perennial weakest division is now one of the strongest. Carolina didn't lose much from their team besides Recchi. The only question mark is Ward. He stole the starting job from Gerber in the playoffs - but Gerber is the guy who got them there. Now Ward will have to work the majority of the season as #1, where last year his workload was much lighter. How he fares over 82 games and then the playoffs is the biggest question mark for this team, because they have no one to fall back on this year. The Thrashers have alot of talent up front, but are questionable on defence and goal. Same goes for Tampa. They have chosen to go with an untested goalie as their #1, and they lost perhaps their best defencemen to the Leafs. Again, strong up front but questionable elsewhere. Florida has an awesome group of forwards on paper, but there is no way Alex Auld is going to save the same goals as Luongo did on the team #1 last year in shots against. Washington has Ovechkin - and nothing else. Kolzig is still a #1 goalie, but his best years are behind him.

1. Carolina
2. Atlanta
3. Tampa Bay
4. Florida
5. Washington

Atlantic

Philly has goaltender questions every single year, and this is no exception. Desjardins and Primeau, two of their biggest pieces, have both retired. They've taken a step backwards. Jersey still has the best goalie in the world, and this year they have a healthy Elias to start the season. Their defence isn't as dominating as it used to be, but with Brodeur in net, it doesn't matter. The Rangers were overachievers last year, and they got exposed big time in the playoffs. Little has changed. The Penguins have Crosby with ayear's NHL experience under him, and now add Evgeni Malkin. Recchi has returned to add leadership. If this team can add a proven #1 goalie, they could be scary. The Islanders will make more news off ice than on it.

1. New Jersey
2. Philadelphia
3. Pittsburgh
4. NY Rangers
5. NY Islanders

Northeast

Same here iceman. This division is the one I'll be watching the most. Buffalo won't surprise anyone this year, and lost a couple of key players to free agency. Still, they're the fastest team in the league, and in the 'new' NHL, that guarantees success. Ottawa chokes every year. Now they add a goalie who choked in the playoffs last year while losing Hasek, and they lose both Havlat up front and Chara on the blueline. They will still be a good team, but the perennial playoff chokers have taken a major step backwards. Montreal is still fast, but aside from Koivu who has annual health issues and Kovalev, they are nothing special. Huet had a good year filling in for the brutal year Theodore had last year, but this year he's going to be fighting all year for #1 with Aebischer, causing another goaltending controversy in Hab-land. The distraction will hurt them. Boston lost a big defenceman in Hal Gill, but look at what they replaced him with - the biggest defenceman in the league. Their goaltending is still suspect, and players like Boyes aren't quite over the hump into superstar status, but this team will be very good in the near future. Just not this year. Toronto has vastly improved their defence. Out are crud like Berg, Khavanov, and Klee, who were either too old, too slow, or both, and replaced them with Kubina and Gill. Add that to McCabe and Kaberle, and you may have the best top four defence outside of Anaheim. Up front, they lost Allison, Lindros, and Domi, who were also either too old, too slow, or too injured. They replace them only with Mike Peca, who adds tons of grit and leadership, and he can skate and score as well. Him and Tucker are going to be a very tough as nails line to play against. Their rookies have a year of experience under them, and all look like they have the potential to be very good, if not great, players for years to come. If Raycroft goes back to his Calder Cup-winning performance, this team is going to surprise a lot of people. Add the change in coaching from defence-oriented and player loyalty to a fault Pat Quinn for Paul Maurice, who won't be afraid to sit anyone who isn't performing, and is going to stress a speed and passing game, and we have a return to the playoffs this year for the Leafs.

1. Buffalo
2. Ottawa
3. Toronto
4. Montreal
5. Boston

Central

Nashville has added lots of talent up front and given up virtually nothing. Watch out for the Predators this year, they may be good enough to not only win their division but challenge for the Cup itself. Detroit has Hasek back for the third time, but he won't play more than half a season. They've lost too many key players, and those that remain are too old aside from a couple of them. The Red Wings are still good, but won't be as good as in years past. Chicago added Havlat, but who else do they have to play with him and protect Khabiboulin? St. Louis has added some prominent players, but all are starting to get old. They'll be better than last year, but not by much. Columbus has potential, but don't seem to have any direction.

1. Nashville
2. Detroit
3. St. Louis
4. Columbus
5. Chicago

Northwest

Vancouver underachieved big time last year. This year, they have virtually the same team, with two significant differences. Bertuzzi is out, which eliminates the media circus, and Luongo is in, who finally gives Vancouver the goaltending they've been needing for years. We have a serious Cup contender here. Calgary is another big contender as well. Phaneuf isn't a rookie any more, and Iginla has Tanguay to help him score. Kiprusoff is the best goalie in the league not named Brodeur. Edmonton finally seemed to be turning around and becoming a contender, and then they lose half of the major players to get them to the Cup Final, including Pronger, Peca, and Spacek. They will be hard pressed to repeat last year's success. Colorado is yet another year older, and lost Tanguay and Blake. Add to that Theodore's up and down trends, and you have a team that may be great, but will likely underachieve. Minnesota has added Pavol Demitra, and that extra scoring will help one of the best defensive teams in the league outscore their opponents. This is a team on the way up.

1. Vancouver
2. Calgary
3. Colorado
4. Minnesota
5. Edmonton

Pacific

LA has added Rob Blake, but he gets thrown into a mix of youngsters and unproven players. This team has alot of potential, but will likely fail in a tough division. Anaheim has by far the best one-two punch on defence with Niedermeyer and Pronger. Their forwards outside of Selanne may not be the best known, but rival Buffalo's speed and scoring ability. The only weakness on this team will be shown if the goalies get distracted in a fight to be #1. Cup contender here. San Jose gets Thornton for a full year this time. Give this team a proven #1 goalie who doesn't choke in the playoffs, and this team could easily win the Cup. Dallas has a tough group in this division, but are experienced and skilled enough that they may just come out much farther ahead than many are predicting. Phoenix has some good pieces, but lack an overall ability to survive against many of the other teams in the league.

1. Anaheim
2. San Jose
3. Dallas
4. LA
5. Phoenix


Here's my end of regular season final standing predictions.

East

1. Buffalo
2. Carolina
3. New Jersey
4. Ottawa
5. Philadelphia
6. Toronto
7. Atlanta
8. Pittsburgh

9. Tampa Bay
10. Montreal
11. NY Rangers
12. Boston
13. Florida
14. Washington
15. NY Islanders

West

1. Vancouver
2. Anaheim
3. Nashville
4. Calgary
5. San Jose
6. Dallas
7. Detroit
8. Colorado

9. Minnesota
10. Edmonton
11. St. Louis
12. LA
13. Columbus
14. Phoenix
15. Chicago

Stanley Cup - Vancouver def. New Jersey


Barada