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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Vancouver Canucks

Sep 21

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler, and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks

Daniel & Henrik Sedin, along with Ryan Kesler, will lead the way for the Canucks in 2011-12

Key Offseason Additions: Marco Sturm

Key Offseason Losses: Christian Ehrhoff, Raffi Torres, Tanner Glass

Last Season Ranking: 1st in the West

Offense: Up front, the Vancouver Canucks will not look much different than they did last season. They’re lead by a unit of forwards who left them on the brink of elimination in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, rebounded, and later pushed them to within a game of winning the Stanley Cup in June.

Leading the way on the top line will be Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Both are dominant offensively, and will hover in the range of 100 points once again this season. Also contributing heavily will be Ryan Kesler, who recorded a career-high in goals last season with 41. While putting up over 70 each of the past two seasons, Kesler has also been defensively responsible as well. Nothing showed off his accomplishments more than winning the Selke Trophy last season as the leagues best defensive forward. His strong play on both sides of the puck will continue to help the Canucks immensely.

When you think about secondary scoring for the Canucks, guys like Mikael Samuelsson, Alex Burrows, and Mason Raymond are going to come to mind. All three are going to continue to put pressure on opposing goaltenders, and will welcome the addition of Marco Sturm, who signed as a free agent over the summer. Sturm, when healthy, can be counted on to contribute at least 20 goals to an already prolific group of scorers.

Providing additional depth for the Canucks will be Jannik Hansen, Maxim Lapierre, Chris Higgins, and Manny Malhotra. Look for Hansen to continue his development and have a career year in only his fourth NHL season. Higgins will also look to rebound a bit after having sitting out several games last season due to injury.

Defense: On the blue line, the Canucks lost Christian Ehrhoff, one of their most talented defenseman from last season. To fill that void, they will rely on a core of Alexander Edler, Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa, and Sami Salo. Hamhuis and Edler will see their roles grow, and Canucks fans hope to see them stay in the line-up for 82 games this season. Both will be relied on for their contributions on the power-play, as well as even strength.

Bieksa, who played only 66 games last season, and 55 the year before, looks to rebound and retain his health as well. He had a fantastic post-season, picking up 10 points and playing around 24-25 minutes per game in the Stanley Cup finals. Salo, who has played less than 70 games every season since the lockout, needs to remain healthy as well. After only playing 27 games last season, the Canucks need him to rebound and be a presence on the blue line all season.

Goaltending: Roberto Luongo will be the man in net once again for Vancouver. Depending on who you ask, this could be a good or a bad thing. Luongo posted great numbers last season, and had good games in the post-season too, where he recorded four shutouts in only 25 games, which matched his season total for shutouts. On the downside, Luongo also had miserable outings including being pulled in favor of Cory Schneider on four separate occassions, and even being forced to play an entire 60 minutes as the Canucks got trounced 8-1 in game three of the finals. So the question still remains, does Roberto Luongo have what it takes to win a Stanley Cup?

Schneider will continue to see backup duty, as he is reliable in net and can be counted on to play the 20-25 games that will be asked of him. Canucks fans can be confident in his ability to step in and play, and being only 25, he will continue to develop and get better.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound. The Vancouver Canucks arguably have all of the pieces in place to not only return to the playoffs as a number one seed, but make a repeat run to the Stanley Cup finals as well.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: San Jose Sharks

Sep 20

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Jim Vandermeer, Brent Burns & Martin Havlat (both traded from Minnesota), Michal Handzus, Colin White, Andrew Murray, Thomas Greiss, Ben Guite, Sean Sullivan and Matt Pelech.

Key Offseason Losses: Devin Setoguchi, Ben Eager, Ian White, Niclas Wallin, Kent Huskins, Scott Nichol, Jamal Mayers, Charlie Coyle and Dany Heatley

Last Season Ranking: 2nd in the West

Offense: After two consecutive Western Conference Finals losses, the San Jose Sharks made some major roster changes this offseason. The question is whether these changes will be enough to finally get San Jose over the hump and make them Stanley Cup contenders?

One of the biggest trades of the summer involved the Sharks sending Dany Heatley to Minnesota in exchange for Martin Havlat in basically a tit-for-tat trade. While Havlat always carries injury concerns, he is capable of roughly the same point production as Heatley. The major reason the Sharks pulled the trigger on Havlat, however, is his ability to score in the playoffs, an area that Heatley seemed to struggle in his two years in San Jose.

Havlat will join Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau as the big offensive guns on the team this season, but San Jose sports great secondary scoring in Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe and Logan Couture, who is coming into his second season in the NHL and will look to prove that his 32-goal rookie outburst wasn’t a fluke. With players of this caliber rounding out your top two lines, San Jose remains one of the deepest offensive teams in the league and should have no trouble putting goals in the net.

Defense: The other big trade of the summer also involved San Jose and Minnesota. The Sharks sent forward Devon Setoguchi to the Wild just days after he signed a contract extension in exchange for defenseman Brent Burns. Burns is young, mobile and capable of providing offense while maintaining solid defensive pressure. He will help alleviate some of the burden from Dan Boyle and should pay immediate dividends for the Sharks on the blue line. A 50+ point season may not be out of the question for Burns, who posted 46 with the Wild last season.

While the Sharks lost three defenseman in Niclas Wallin, Kent Huskins and Ian White, the team still has Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jason Demers and Douglas Murray to help round out their blue line. It’s likely that Jim Vandermeer, Colin White and perhaps Justin Braun will all fight for the remaining spot on the ice.

The Sharks finished 10th in the league in goals against per game last season with an average of 2.54. Expect more of the same from the Sharks this season.

Goaltending: After a rough start last season, Antti Niemi emerged as the number one in San Jose and ultimately became the playoff starter as well. He posted solid stats in the second half of the season and was rewarded with a contract extension and pay increase. The number one job is Niemi’s to lose this year.

Behind Niemi is 31-year-old Antero Niittymaki, who had a decent season last year with a 2.72 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. The Sharks would probably like to see a better save percentage this season, but Niittymaki is a capable backup who should start 20-30 games and win 12-18 of those.

HWB Playoff Prediction: The Sharks are playoff bound no doubt. But will their offseason moves make them Stanley Cup bound?

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NHL 2011-12 Season Preview: Dallas Stars

Sep 19

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Brad Richards, James Neal, Jamie Langenbrunner

Key Offseason Additions: Michael Ryder, Radek Dvorak, Vernon Fiddler, Jake Dowell, Sheldon Souray

Last Season Ranking: 9th in the West

Offense: It is hard not to think how the pending bankruptcy and sale of the Dallas Stars will negatively impact the overall play of the team. The Stars will be going through a lot of tough times this season, on the ice being a major one.

Two big players, Brad Richards and James Neal, both have found new organizations to play for. Together, the two scored 49 goals and assisted on 67 others. That is 22% of the teams overall goals scored and 19% of of the Stars’ overall points.

Goaltender Kari Lehtonen is actually a good goalie. Unfortunately for him, the Dallas Stars do not have the offensive firepower this year to help him out.

Making things worse, the team added only one superstar and a few depth players to fill the gaps. Michael Ryder is coming off of a long season winning the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins. Ryder is averaging 47 points over 7 seasons, but lackluster line mates on the second line may decrease his output. From a fantasy perspective, if he does get bumped up to the top line or plays along side Brendan Morrow or Mike Ribeiro, or if Ryder sees time on the power play, the odds of him reaching his average points greatly increases.

Radek Dvorak and Vernon Fiddler should be decent additions for depth on the third line, however, both players are in their 30′s in a game that has continually seen younger and younger players dominate.

Brendon Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Loui Eriksson will continue to be called upon to lead the team throughout the season. Morrow seems to be healthy from his right knee surgery in 2009 that sidelined him for 64 games. Last season he played all 82 games. Ribeiro continues to be a point getter, assisting on 52 goals last year. The Stars hope he can improve upon his 20 goal range though. Lastly, Eriksson continues to become an elite athlete coming into his 6th season. Throughout his career, Eriksson has 257 points in 371 games, most recently, two seasons in a row over the 70 point mark.

Defense: The Stars need to better their defense to be any type of competitor this season. Top players Stephane Robidas and Alex Goligoski had excellent point production seasons, but the two need to better their overall plus/minus. Perhaps the two need to take some notes from Trevor Daley and Nicklas Grossman who both had a plus 7 rating over the season.

Dallas did pick up one more piece in the off-season, that being big named, hard slapshot, Sheldon Souray. Souray really upset people with the Edmonton Oilers’ organization, seeing his contract bought out and kicked to the curb. In part, it was his high cap hit that deterred teams from picking him up and instead saw him play in the AHL by being loaned to the Hershey Bears. At a modest 1.65 million 1-year contract from the Stars, if Souray wants to continue in the NHL, this year is a make or break for him.

Goaltending: Many fans were upset when Marty Turco left the team to go play for the Chicago Blackhawks, but in hindsight, where is Turco now? Kari Lehtonen takes the number one spot and is actually a solid netminder. A 34-24-11 record last year did not give any justice to his 2.55 goals against average. Not convinced? Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres had a 2.59 goals against average.

Playoff Prediction: Not making the playoffs. A pending bankruptcy and sale of the team, factor with a lack of offense, the Dallas Stars will come up short again this year.

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NHL 2011-12 Season Preview: Anaheim Ducks

Sep 18

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | No Comments

Offseason Losses: Andreas Lilja, Andy Sutton, Ray Emery, Todd Marchant, Jarkko Ruutu

Offseason Additions: Andrew Cogliano, Jeff Deslauriers, Kurtis Foster, Matheiu Carle

Last Season Ranking: 4th in the West

Will Corey Perry hold onto the same hardware at the NHL Awards in 2012?

Offense: Anaheim’s top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry is still of the deadliest in the league. Perry was the lone 50-goal scorer en route to winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP.  Ducks fans received the best news of all Thursday afternoon when Teemu Selanne announced online he was returning to the team for one more year. Earlier in the day, there was questionable speculation about him because he did not attend a team-sponsored golf outing but a video surfaced on nhl.com and the Ducks website announcing that he will be with the team when they begin the season in his home country of Finland. The Ducks return their second leading scorer as the Finnish Flash scored 31 goals and had 49 helpers last season.

They also return Rocket Richard and Hart Trophy winner in Corey Perry. Perry led the league in goals last season with 50 en route to a 98 point season. Look for power forward Ryan Getzlaf to score over 80 points should he stay healthy. He missed a chunk of the season due to injury and when he was playing he was force on the ice as he scored 76 points in 67 games. It’s pretty good going into training camp knowing what the top three lines will be. The top line will be Getzlaf, Perry and Bobby Ryan. Selanne will anchor the second line with newbie Sakiu Koivi and Jason Blake. Newbie Andew Cogliano could be on the No. 2 line but look for him to start at the third line with Kyle Palmieri and Brandon McMillian. Cogliano could be best suited for the third line because while playing in Edmonton he was getting torn up in the faceoff circle against the opposing second line center.

Defense: Cam Fowler is expected to have a good sophomore year. Top scoring defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky will see a lot of time on the power play with his ability to score. Can’t forget about Toni Lydman’s +32 rating, good for second in the league. That is impressive considering there was several minus players around him. Visnovsky and Lydman will form the top pairing and will see most of the time on special teams. Fowler will be paired on the second line with Francois Beauchemin while Luca Sbisa and newcomer Kurtis Foster are going to become the fifth and sixth defensemen.

Goaltending: It’s Jonas Hiller’s job. He missed the second half of the season due to a wicked case of vertigo and did not play after February 13. They since ran a trio of goalies in Ray Emery, Dan Ellis, and Curtis Elhinney to finish out the season. Elhinney and Emery is out and the fight for backup will come down to Ellis and newcomer Jeff Deslauriers. This is the biggest X-Factor because as much as experienced Ellis and Deslauriers are, they took a big risk in letting Emery go considering how well he played down the stretch.

Playoff Prediction: Every year they have the knock on them that they are too top heavy. They tried to add some depth further down with the addition of Cogliano. Expect them to make the playoffs and even contend for the division title should Getzlaf and Hiller stay healthy. The return of Selanne will prove to be the difference between them barely making the playoffs like last season and contending for the division title.

 

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Los Angeles Kings

Sep 17

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Los Angeles Kings Goalie Jonathan Quick

Can Jonathan Quick lead the L.A. Kings back to the playoffs in 2011-12?

Key Offseason Additions: Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Ethan Moreau

Key Offseason Losses: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Michal Handzus, Ryan Smyth, Wayne Simmons, Brayden Schenn

Last Season Ranking: 7th in the West

Offense: The Los Angeles Kings are lead by Anze Kopitar, who saw a slight drop in production last season after picking up a career high 81 points in 2009-10. He finished last season on the IR after breaking his ankle during the end of March, and consequently missed the Kings playoff series again San Jose. Kopitar is an immensely talented player and I’ve said before that he could break the 100 point mark. While I could continue to say “this is the year,” it seems more likely that Kopitar will top off in the 80-90 point range this season to lead the team once again.

The biggest change in L.A. this year is the addition of Mike Richards, who was once an 80 point player himself. While he has struggled the past two seasons to hit that level again, playing alongside a few new faces should help the cause. Alongside Richards, the Kings also picked up Simon Gagne and Ethan Moreau via free agency, and added Dustin Penner via trade late last season. Gagne and Penner will be counted on to be big scoring threats on the top two lines, each having produced a career-high 79 and 63 points, respectively. Moreau, on the other hand, will be a solid depth player contributing about 20 points if he remains healthy.

The newly acquired talent will hopefully not get overshadowed by the loss of depth over the summer. Alexei Ponikarovsky, Michal Handzus, and Ryan Smyth all went to play elsewhere, while Wayne Simmonds and highy regarded prospect, Brayden Schenn, were sent to Philadelphia in the Richards trade. Kings captain, Dustin Brown, will have to show his leadership qualities in rallying the squad together, and pick up a few extra points, to help make up for any losses.

Of the offensive players not mentioned above, expect Justin Williams to increase his output next season. If he remains healthy, a season total above the 60 point mark will not be a stretch. Beyond that, the Kings will roll along with a solid threat of depth players such as Jarret Stoll, Brad Richardson, Kyle Clifford, and Trevor Lewis.

Defense: The Kings solid defense continues to be held up by Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Doughty, at the time of writing, is still a restricted free agent, and awaits a long term deal from Kings management. The deal will come, and Doughty will be back on the ice proving his worth every shift. His production dipped a bit last season, but without contract negotiations to worry about, hockey can be the number one focus. Skating on the blue line with Doughty will be Jack Johnson. While Johnson managed to record a career-high 42 points last season, he also finished with a career-low plus/minus at -21. The number one focus for Johnson this season will be turning that number around and getting into the positives.

Also included on the defensive depth chart are Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi, Matt Greene and Alec Martinez. Mitchell and Scuderi, the veterans of the group, will be counted on to help continue development of the Kings younger defenseman.

Goaltending: Back in net this season for the Kings is Jonathan Quick, who continued his strong play last season. A third round draft pick by the Kings in 2005, Quick posted career-bests in shutouts, save percentage, and goals against average last season. Look for the young netminder to to hover around those numbers again this season, while starting around 60 games. Serving in the back-up role will be Jonathan Bernier. He’ll serve as a solid number two and give Quick some rest on occasion, keeping him fresh for the final stretch of the season.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff Bound. The Kings lost a few pieces to their puzzle, but picked up some healthy scorers as well. The additions will be enough to overcome what they lost, and the Kings make a return to the playoffs. The strong play of Kopitar, Quick, and the free agent signings, however, will be imperative to their success.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Phoenix Coyotes

Sep 16

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Daymond Langkow, Raffi Torres, Mike Smith

Key Offseason Losses: Eric Belanger, Lee Stempniak, Vernon Fiddler, Ed Jovanovski, Ilya Bryzgalov

Last Season Ranking: 6th in West

What do you mean Ilya Bryzgalov is gone? We're screwed!

Offense: The Phoenix Coyotes were in the middle of the pack last year as a team for offensive statistics. Averaging 2.76 goals per game, it is going to be interesting to see if the team can better last years numbers with the amount of changes to the lineup.

The Coyotes are still lead by the great work ethic of Shane Doan. Doan is a player you would love on your team but hate to play against. Averaging 64 points over his last five seasons, it seems likely he will meet that number again this year.

Doan will be supported by an assortment of players, most notably Martin Hanzel, Ray Whitney, Radim Vrbata, Taylor Pyatt and new addition Daymond Langkow. Hanzel is coming into his 5th season and has been looking to break into the 40 point threshold. Whitney brings the veteran presence as well as great playmaking capabilities. Vrbata has jumped to a few teams but it seems Phoenix is the place for him. Vrbata has averaged 49 points in the three seasons with the Coyotes. Pyatt brings good depth to the team, not exceling, but manages to stay positive in +/- over his years.

The final piece of the puzzle comes from Daymond Langkow who previously played for the Calgary Flames. He has been suffering from a neck injury, but if healthy, can add another 40+ points to the team. The positive for Coyote fans is that his production is a good combination of assists and goals.

Defense: When you look at Phoenix’s defensive pairings you cannot help but notice the team has depth. Sure they lost gritty Ed Jovanovski, but that can be easily overlooked by giving more ice time to sophomore Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larsson only played 48 games last season, needing time to develop with the San Antonio Rampage. Expected to play a full season this year without any unforeseen hardships, Ekman-Larsson could develop into a very good defenseman.

Most of the weight of the defense will be carried by Keith Yandle. Yandle had a breakout season posting 11 goals and 48 assists for 59 points. Include a plus 12 rating and 103 blocked shots, Yandle does what it takes for the team to win.

Goaltending: The biggest change for the team comes in the net. Ilya Bryzgalov has gone to the Philadelphia Flyers to be replaced by Mike Smith from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Smith did not play much last season for the Lightning as Dwayne Roloson stole the show. It is expected the time out of the number one spotlight, as well as replacing Bryzgalov’s shoes, will make Smith hungry to be the best goalie and the right choice for the Coyotes.

If, however, Smith falters, backup Jason LaBarbera will be there to assist. While playing for the Los Angeles Kings, LaBarbera was expected to be a great goalie. The hype far outweighed the production, and he will forever be just a backup.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not Playoff bound. With the loss of Ilya Bryzgalov and no real added stars, the Phoenix Coyotes will not make the playoffs. Poor performance will increase the low attendance, expect rumors to be spreading all year about a potential city change.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Washington Capitals

Sep 15

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Alexander Ovechkin in Bauer Gear

Alexander Ovechkin looks to lead the Caps deep into the playoffs this season

Key Offseason Additions: Joel Ward, Tomas Vokoun, Roman Hamrlik, Jeff Halpern, Troy Brouwer

Key Offseason Losses: Matt Bradley, Scott Hannan

Last Season Ranking:1st in East

Offense: The Washington Capitals will continue to depend on three men to carry the offense this season: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alex Semin. Since the 2008-09 season, those three have lead the Capitals in scoring, in that same order. This year should be no different.

Alex Ovechkin is leaning on a new brand this season, dropping CCM and going with a trusted product in Bauer Hockey. That renewed trust in gear should help him near the 100 point mark, if not top it, for the season. As Ovechkin excels, so does linemate Nicklas Backstrom. Centering Ovi gives Backstrom the opportunity to pile on the assists, and add a few goals here and there as well. Semin, in the last year of his contract, has a lot to prove to this team. He’s been called out by former teammate Matt Bradley for not caring, and this is his season to prove that he’s a devoted team member. If these guys can all get on the right page again, and put forth their top effort, you’re going to see an incredible hockey club.

The Capitals have a lot of depth to go along with their top three scorers, beginning with Brooks Laich, who can be counted on for roughly 50 points per season. After a bit of a scoring slump last season, where he scored fewer than 20 goals for the first time since 2006-07, Laich will look to rebound and break the 20 goal mark once again. Joining Laich to provide depth will be guys like Mike Knuble, Jason Chimera, and the newly acquired Jeff Halpern and Troy Brouwer. These guys will all put up the depth points to help Washington continue to dominate the East.

Joel Ward, another off-season free agent signing, will be counted on to maintain his excellent scoring touch when he suits up for the Capitals this fall. Ward, who only managed 29 regular season points last season with the Predators, was virtually unstoppable in their playoff run. In 12 games played, Ward tallied 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points. This run included two separate five game point streaks. Ward brings a big body to the team, and is also an underrated talent that could help the Caps get over that difficult hump come playoff time.

Finally, keep your eye on Marcus Johansson this season. In his rookie campaign last season, Johansson posted a solid 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in 69 games played. These numbers certainly aren’t bad considering the guy was fighting for playing time with an already extremely talented team. The way this kid can skate, pass, and shoot, he’s going to get plenty of opportunities playing alongside Washington’s top three.

Defense: Defensively, the Capitals continue to be lead by the offensive minded Mike Green. During an injury plagued season in 2010-11, Green piled up 24 points in 49 games. These numbers were certainly far below his expected output, but providing he’s healthy this season, watch for that output to approach 70 points once again.

Following in Green’s footsteps is the young John Carlson, who helped lead the Caps defense last season. Carlson is a young defender, at only 21 years old, but he’s growing up quick and has the talent to be a top defender in the league. He’ll be joined by another youngster, Karl Alzner, in carrying much of the load defensively for the Caps this season. Jeff Schultz, who has a few years under his belt, will add a bit of stability to the blue line.

Rounding out the defense will be free agent pickup Roman Hamrlik, along with a trade deadline acquisition from last season, Dennis Wideman. Both are very solid defenseman, who add a bit more experience and leadership to a young defense. The leadership they will add could be the key in developing a defense that not only leads the team through the season, but carries the team past the first two rounds of the playoffs as well.

Goaltending: Tomas Vokoun will join the Capitals this season after signing as a free agent over the summer. Vokoun turned down an offer from the Detroit Red Wings, among other teams, to have the shot at being a guaranteed starter out of the gate in Washington. Coming in at 35 years old, Vokoun could be coming right into his prime here as he joins the Caps. His numbers have been good playing for a sub-par team in Florida, so imagine what he will be able to accomplish with a team of all-stars in front of him. Michal Neuvirth will be on back-up duty this season, but should see a fair amount of games to ensure Vokoun stays well rested.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff Bound. As usual the Caps have what it takes to get land a high seed. With a number of key off-season acquisitions, the Capitals management looks to have assembled a team that has the potential to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup this season. We’ve seen them implode early in years past, but something tells me this season will be different.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning

Sep 14

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Simon Gagne, Mike Smith, Sean Bergenheim

Key Offseason Additions: Mathieu Garon, Bruno Gervais, Matt Gilroy

Last Season Ranking: 5th in the East

Offense: While a few new faces will grace the roster of the Tampa Bay Lightning this season, the core of the team stays intact – a positive for a team that finished 7th in goals scored per game last season.

Martin St. Louis, Steve Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier again form the foundation of the offense. At 36, St. Louis shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Stamkos seemed to struggle with consistency in the second half last season, although 45 goals and 91 points is hardly anything to complain about. Look for these two to tear it up again this season as Stamkos looks to regain his crown as league scoring leader.

Injuries limited Lecavalier to only 65 games last season, but when he’s on the ice he is an effective player scoring 54 points. However, he really came alive in the playoffs with 19 points in 18 games. Seventy points seems like the norm for Lecavalier in a healthy season, but falling just shy of a Stanley Cup Finals berth could light the fire and push Lecavalier back to 80-90 points.

Although the team lost 17 goals and 40 points with the departure of Simon Gagne, they should be able to overcome his departure and make up that scoring elsewhere. Players such as Ryan Malone and Steve Downie will help fill the void if they stay healthy, and Teddy Purcell proved last season he is ready for more responsibilities and quality minutes. A hefty new contract doesn’t necessarily mean production, however, and Purcell will need to prove that he belongs in the top six.

Expect Tampa Bay to post lots of goals this season and be an offensive force again.

Defense: While getting sniper Steve Stamkos under contract was a priority for Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, he failed to give his blue line a significant boost through trade or free agency. Perhaps that’s because 60 percent of the team’s blue line will be free agents of some sorts next summer.

Victor Hedman continues to grow with each season. Expect a breakout year for Hedman as he enters a contract year and needs to prove that he is a franchise blue liner. Along with Hedman, expect Eric Brewer, Mattius Ohlund and Pavel Kubina to shoulder most of the load.

Tampa Bay finished 22nd in the league in goals allowed per game while only 10 players on the roster finished positive plus/minus ratings. Even then, no player finished better than plus-8. The Lightning are a team that help overcome their defensive deficiencies with strong offense. Expect more of the same this season with no real changes made to the blue line in the offseason.

Goaltending: One problem plaguing the team is recent years has been inconsistent goaltending. That changed last season when they traded for veteran Dwayne Roloson, who made an immediate impact and helped give the team confidence in net. This season, the question is whether lightning can strike twice for the 41-year-old goaltender?

Roloson doesn’t need to be spectacular every night, but he needs to be consistent and give the team a chance to win every time he starts.

The team also let loose backup Mike Smith in favor of veteran Mathieu Garon. Smith struggled with consistency during his years in Tampa and, if nothing else, the Roloson/Garon tandem should provide a more stable net presence for the Lightning than they have had in years.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Ottawa Senators

Sep 13

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Offseason Losses: Ryan Shannon

Offseason Additions: Zenon Konopka, Nikita Filatov, Alex Auld

Last Season Ranking: 13th in the East

Erik Karlsson becomes a RFA after this season. Can Ottawa wrap him up long term if they miss the playoffs again?

 

Offense: The Ottawa Senators are one of those unique teams who missed the payoffs by quite a bit and have decided to make minimal changes to their roster. Wishful thinking perhaps?

The offense still rests on the shoulders of superstars Daniel Alfreddson and Jason Spezza. Alfredsson is coming off of a back injury that took him out for a quarter of last season. Still, he was capable of marking 31 points in 54 games; 14 goals and 17 assists. A healthy Alfredsson will booster the club with his typical 70 point range production. Spezza will be a player most appreciative of a healthy Alfredsson, that is if he is capable of staying healthy himself. Spezza suffered a right shoulder injury taking him out of 20 games last season. The injury did not seem to hinder him, once returning to the lineup, Spezza had a respectable 21 goals and 36 assists in 62 games played.

Still, with healthy superstars, the team lacks any depth to be competitive. Milan Michalek should wing the top line with both Alfredsson and Spezza, but after that, who are these guys?

Bobby Butler looks to complete a full season and has potential to be a good player. Mika Zibanejad might be a fun name to attempt to say, but he is a rookie drafted in the first round, 6th overall in the 2011 draft. Playing only 26 games in the Swedish league, his NHL caliber of play is still unproven. Oh yeah, he is only 18. Sticking with the young guys, the team has signed trouble maker Nikita Filatov from the Columbus Blue Jackets. I won’t lie, I thought Filatov was supposed to be the real deal, hence me drafting him later last year for my fantasy team. He turned out to be a young Sergei Fedorov without the talent.

Defense: Ottawa has a mediocre defensive squad to match the mediocre offense. Veteran Sergei Gonchar looks to prove his worth after only contributing 27 points. Comparing to the year previous, Gonchar helped the Pittsburgh Penguins with 11 goals and 39 assists for 50 points. To his defense, 20 of his 27 points with Ottawa last year did come on the power play, something he should meet and hopefully beat this year. Note to team, learn to dive like the Vancouver Canucks to gain more man advantage time.

The future of the organization rests with young and talented Erik Karlsson. Karlsson is only in his third year, with his first totaling 26 points, and his second, 45 points. Don’t expect him to jump to 60 points, but it is likely he will slightly increase his last year’s point total. Karlsson becomes a restricted free agent after this year, which the Seantors will of course do everything to keep him in Ottawa. Still, with Nick Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings possibly retiring after this year, expect the Wings to put in an offer if Ottawa cannot wrap him up.

Goaltending: Craig Anderson and Alex Auld are expected to split time until one proves to be the number one goalie. Both have potential of taking that spot, so expect a goalie war throughout the whole season. This, for Senators’ fans, is a positive.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not playoff bound.

New Head Coach Paul MacLean, coming from the Detroit Red Wings, will have his work cut out with a depth deprived, young, unproven squad. For Senators fans, don’t expect too much this year.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Winnipeg Jets

Sep 12

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | 1 Comment

Offseason Losses: Anthony Stewart, Rick Rypien, Radek Devorak

Offseason Additions: Derek Meech, Eric Fehr, Tanner Glass, Randy Jones

Last Season Ranking: 12 in the East

Offense: The team formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers moved north for greener pastures and is now the Winnipeg Jets. The team will play in the Eastern conference and the Southeast division this season before transferring to the West for 2012-13. In the mean time, the franshise underwent a complete overhaul. The only remaining pieces seem to be are the players on the ice. Just about everything off the ice is new, from ownership to general manager to the coach.

On offense, they don’t have the personnel of an expansion team. However, they do have one of players that haven’t seen playoff action in a very long time. They have decent numbers on offense, their problem is that the second and third leading scorers in regards to points are defensemen. They have to get more production from the offense. Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler, and Bryan Little are expected once again to be the top forwards. They lost young prospect Anthony Stewart to Carolina, but Evander Kane and Alexander Burmistrov have star potential in them. Look for them to spend time with the top live should anyone above them on the depth chart struggle.

Defense: For what the Jets lack on offense, they make up for it on defense. They have the league leader in goals among defensemen in Dustin Byfuglien. Since he made the change from forward to defense when he came over from Chicago last season, his offense has blossomed into one of the more deadlier players in the league. Along with Tobias Enstrom, the two All-Stars will anchor a unit that has the potential to light the lamp on  nights when the forwards aren’t doing so.

The Jets also have experienced defensemen in Johnny Oduya, Ron Hainsey and Mark Stuart who is expected to bring toughness and physicality to the team. The X-Factor is Zach Bogosian. He currently doesn’t have a contract for this season but is a restricted free agent. He has Norris Trophy potential, but he hasn’t shown that type of consistency shown by some of the best in the league.

Goaltending: Their defense and goaltending was among the worse in the league. Only Colorado averaged more goals allowed per contest, as the team allowed an average of 3.2 goals per game. One stat you probably can’t fins anywhere else is they allowed a league-leading 15 empty net goals. They return Ondrej Pavelec and Chris Mason in goal and should see an improvement over last season. Pavelec is 24 years old and has given the new franchise a goalie that can be with the team for many years should they be able to re-sign him. Both Pavelec ad Mason are free agents at the end of this season (Pavelec restricted and Mason unrestricted), and it will be interesting to see how they play considering they don’t have a contract for 2012.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not playoff bound. They will be exciting to watch in the first season in Winnipeg, but there are simply too many good teams ahead of them in the conference. When they move to the West next year, they could be a playoff contender should they continue to get better.

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