The long wait is almost over, in just 5 more days the the puck will drop on the 2009-2010 NHL season. Thank God, I survived another summer. No matter how hard I try to follow other sports, it never amounts to the joy the hockey season brings and I end up not paying attention to other leagues at all by the end of the summer. Thankfully September is a month chuck full of hockey drafts and pre-season hockey games as that helps pass the time. The end of September also means prediction time, which never goes well, but is always fun none the less. Lets start in the East.
Division Winners In Order of Finish:
1. Penguins
2. Capitals
3. Bruins
The Bruins seem to be every ones favorite in the East and while I agree they win their division I don’t think they take the East. My broken record reason is simply that the injury to Krejci and the loss of Phil Kessel to Toronto means less wins for the Boston Bruins. That’s not to say they won’t be good, just not 53 win good like last year. I think they win 48 games, so that’s a loss of 10 points in the standings. The Pens on the other hand are not only the defending champs, they will be better this season. In keeping some of the vets in Guerin and Fedotenko, they remain a deep offensive team, but their biggest weapon they went without for most of last season is Sergei Gonchar. I think the Pens increase their win total by 6. The Capitals are staked up front, I love the addition of Knuble to the mix. The question mark remains the same as it did from last year however, how will the team defense and the goaltending hold up? The team will be good, but I don’t think they improve on 50 wins, in fact based on improvements to other teams in the Southeast, the win total might go down.
Division Winners In Order of Finish:
1. Sharks
2. Wings
3. Canucks
The Sharks where the President Trophy winners last season without Dany Heatley, seeing as I think they got better with the winger in the fold, I believe they do it again. Of course the real question is can the team go on a deep cup run for a change? The Hawks, everyone loves the Hawks. So do I, but until Huet proves he can be a starting goalie, I can’t pick them to knock of the Wings in the Central. Not to mention the Wings filled their secondary scoring just fine with Bertuzzi and Williams, they will once again be a force. The Canucks where not my pick on the Northwest until they made the trade here in September with the Sharks and signed the old boy Matthieu Schneider. Those two moves addressed the defensive need the club lost when Ohlund signed with the Bolts, and Schneider puts the Canucks PP in the top 10 in my opinion.
Dark horses are everywhere this season I think. In the East the Flyers & Chris Pronger may beat out the Penguins for top spot in the Atlantic. The Thrashers may give teams in the Southeast fits, they added depth on both ends that will make that team better in Antropov & Kubina, if their goalie could ever stay healthy the Thrashers could get back into the playoffs. Buffalo is better then most are betting on, but I don’t think they threaten the Bruins for the division. In the West the Blues will won’t let the Wings and Hawks run away with things. A healthy McDonald and Paul Kariya could see the team improve on 46 wins. The Ducks and Stars are total wild cards and I think they both make the playoffs. In the Ducks case they may scare the Sharks as the season goes along. The Northwest is a two horse show, the Flames will pester the Canucks all season, while the other 3 teams in the Oilers, Wild, and Avs, just try to be competitive. Enjoy the season everyone!
Then again, this is just another damned opinion.
