Central Division Preview

Central: The central division has long been owned by the Detroit Red Wings as they make their annual march to the playoffs. In recent years the Chicago Blackhawks have given them a challenge and look to do so again this season. At the bottom of this division are three teams that could push to make the postseason depending on how things go.

Chicago

The Hawks look to rebound from a season long hangover and have retooled themselves after having to dump salaries to get out of salary cap jail. Back again to lead the way is Captain Jonathan Toews and fellow top sixers Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, and Dave Bolland. Joining them is newcomer Andrew Brunette who figures to start out on the top line with Toews and Kane, which allows Coach Joel Quinnville to put Patrick Sharp on the 2^nd line with Hossa and Bolland to spread out the offensive punch. Last season the Hawks lacked the role players that helped them win the Cup in 2009-2010, so this offseason GM Stan Bowman picked up Dan Carcillo, Jamal Mayers, Sean O’Donnell, Steve Montador, and Sami Lepisto, who along with Brunette will provide support for the stars that already glitter the roster.

The blue line features the top defensive pairing in the league with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. The pair had a down year last season and look to bounce back to the form that earned them spots on the Canadian Olympic team. With the departure of Brian Campbell (Florida), Nick Hjalmarrson, and Nick Leddy are the only other two returnees to the group. Newcomers Montador, O’Donnell, and Lepisto will bring experience to the group with a little bit of toughness. Leddy will be the odd man out for the most part but could find a way to crack the line up since they like the speed he brings.

In goal the hawks are young but skilled. #1 goalie Corey Crawford took charge and became the go to guy the second half of last season and they will rely on him again next season. His back up will be former Amerk Alexander Salak. Not the calmest of characters, and a little unorthodox but he does very well for himself. My favorite memory of him was watching him squirt his water bottle at the goal judge in Syracuse and clean the glass for him after the turned the light on for a shot that clearly hit the post. (1^st Cent. 3^rd WC)

Detroit

The Red Wings boast many veteran players up and down their line up and two early playoff exits have given their older players time to rest up and get hungry to make a deep run this year. The team and it’s defense is led by Nicklas Lidstrom who is back for his 20^th season in Motown. The loss to retirement of Brian Rafalski will be offset by free agent addition Ian White who will start out paired with the Captain. Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart team up to form a very solid second pairing for Coach Mike Babcock. His third pair will be made up from a combination of Jonathan Ericsson, Mike Commadore, and Jakub Kindl. The wings are hoping for Ericsson to finally put everything together and no longer be a question mark on the back end. Commadore is getting a chance to get back in the league after spending most of last season in the AHL. The wings are hoping he can bring some toughness to their squad. There is an outside chance that prospect Brendan Smith can make the squad and begin to take his place as their future franchise defenseman.

Up front the Wings have two superstars and a bunch of solid two way players that slide up and down the line up. Coach Babcock has the luxury of being able to roll four lines that can do damage. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg lead the charge with offensive punch that is only rivaled by their defensive ability. Tomas Holmstrom is back for anther round of punishment in front of the opponents net on the powerplay. Johan Franzen, Jiri Huddler and Daniel Cleary form a solid second line. The rest of the forwards include Patrick Eaves, Darren Helm, Valtteri Filppula, Todd Bertuzzi, Drew Miller and Jan Mursak.

Jimmy Howard is looking to solidify his place as number one goaltender in Detroit after taking over from the aging Chris Osgood, Howard has put up decent numbers but some say the skaters in front of him have carried him. Ty Conklin the journeymen back up will be back in Detroit for his second go round. (2^nd Cent. 5^th WC)

Columbus

One of the busier teams in the offseason, the Blue Jackets are looking to get themselves back into the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. The addition of number one center Jeff Carter will help. GM Scott Howson made a blockbuster move sending underachieving winger Jakub Voracek and 8^th pick overall in the June draft to Philadelphia for Carter. This was great news for franchise cornerstone Rick Nash who has never had a real number one center on his line, and still has managed to put up solid numbers. With a premier center on his line who knows what Nash will produce point wise. Joining Nash and Carter on the top line will most likely be R.J. Umberger who has found a nice home for himself in Columbus. There’s an outside chance that veteran Vinny Prospal could find himself on the top line at some point. The second line will be made up of thus far disappointment Derick Brassard, Antoine Vermette, and Krisitan Huselius. The 3^rd and fourth lines are a mix of grinders and youngsters such as Derrick Dorsett, Matt Calvert, and Jared Boll.

James Wisniewski was brought in over the summer to take over a defensive unit that lacked an established top player. Though I don’t think he’s a real number one guy, he is an upgrade over what they have. Fedor Tyutin, and Kris Russell could see top minutes though the Jackets would prefer it was Russell since he was supposed to be the guy when he was drafted 10^th overall. Grant Clitsome, Marc Methot, and Radek Martinek fill out the defense and do an adequate job.

The goaltending is the biggest question on this squad. Which goalie will they get? The guy who carried the team to the playoffs in 2008-2009 or the stiff who has sunburn on his neck from all the red lights behind him from 2009-2011? The Jackets hope it’s the 2008-2009 model that will again bring them to the postseason. If not, then they will turn to an unknown in Mark Dekanich and that won’t bode too well. (3^rd Cent. 8^th WC)

St. Louis

The Blues could jump up the standings and into the playoff picture but injuries and failure to devleop top line talent will most likely keep them out of the hunt. The Blues brought in veteran leadership this offseason in the form of Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott, who are very solid role players that are successful in 2^nd and 3^rd line roles at this stage in their career’s. But the Blues will go as far as their home grown talent will take them. Top line of newly elected captain David Backes, T.J. Oshie, and David Perron, have all come up through the system and have great potential but have yet to show it consistently. Backes is the most proven of the three and is close to being an elite power forward in the NHL. Oshie has had problems with growing up and being in the NHL at a young age. There were some disipline issues with him and the team last season. Perron is on the comeback trail from a concussion suffered early last season. Funny how nobody talks about his injury yet we get updates on Crosby’s daily. A combination of Langenbrunner, Arnott, Chris Stewart, Andy McDonald, Alexander Steen and Patrick Berglund will form the second and third lines. There is plenty of talent and experience lines 2-4, the question is if they will stay healthy.

On the back end the Blues rely heavily on Alex Pietrangelo. The 21 year old’s emergence as a franchise defensemen made former number one pick Erik Johnson expendable and was used to bring Stewart to the Show Me State. After Pietrangelo the group isn’t flashy and could use some help. Roman Polak and Barrett Jackman bring a physical presence but lack speed to keep up with speedy forwards. Kent Huskins came over from San Jose and might get top pair minutes. Kevin Shattenkirk who also came over with Stewart can put points on the board for both teams, and Carlo Colaiacovo continues to be an average NHL defenseman even though he was drafted 4^th overall by Toronto.

The biggest question in St. Louis is if Jaroslav Halak is a real #1 goalie like he was during the 2009-2010 playoffs where he stonewalled Pittsburgh and Washington in consecutive series’ or is he the stiff that played for them last season? They hope he can return to his playoff form and also stay healthy which was a problem last season. Brian Elliot will be his backup and is best suited for that role. (4^th Cent. 10^th WC)

Nashville

This season will be the season that the “little engine that could,” can’t. The Predators magic will wear out this year and they will end up moving two out of their three star players at the deadline. My guess is they send Pekka Rinne and Shea Weber packing, and sign Ryan Suter to a long-term deal. As for the rest of the team, there aren’t many big names and not a lot of scoring. The top line is Martin Erat, David Legwand, and Colin Wilson. Does anyone else see a problem with that? David Legwand is your top center? Ouch…. After that the second line is made up of Sergi Kostitsyn, Mike Fisher and Patric Hornqvist. That line has some scoring punch but not a lot. The rest of the group is made of youngsters and grinders that Coach Barry Trotz has to develop annually to be competitive.

The strength of this team is in its approach to defense. Suter and Weber form a great top pairing and can shut down any line any time. Jonathan Blum and Kevin Klien developed into a solid second pair and might make the departure of the top guys a little easier. Veterans Brett Lebda and Francis Bouillon form the third pair.

Behind the skaters is a solid European pair of goalies. Pekka Rinne became a Vezina Trophy candidate last season and could be in line for a big raise in pay if he does it again this season. His back up is Anders Lindback who filled in for Rinne last season during an injury stint and didn’t skip a beat. Lindback is looking to prove that he can be the #1 guy if Rinne ends up getting moved. (5^th Cent. 11^th WC)

Southeast Division Preview

Southeast:

For a long time this was a one team division in which Washington was the only playoff team the division could produce. Now there are three teams that could all make the postseason. But in Sunrise, Florida and the not so Southeast Winnipeg there will not be a postseason birth.

Washington:

Year after year the Washington Capitals are selected my many to win the southeast division and the Stanley Cup, and year after year they disappoint with an early playoff exit. This offseason General Manager George McPhee brought in character veterans to help get his team over the hump. This comes after a season in which Coach Bruce Boudreau attempted to change the style of play from a full speed, all out attack to a more defensive system. But that plan failed because the Capitals were made up of too many players who are offense first, second and third before thinking of defense. Especially their top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin, who when clicking on all cylinders can produce high point totals but forget about the other end of the rink. Semin especially has been called out by former teammates for not being dedicated enough to the team, the system and basically not caring about anyone or anything but himself. The rest of the forward lines are well balanced with some youth, finesse and grit. Probable second line center and second year pro Marcus Johansson looks to build of a rookie season in which he produced 13 goals, 14 assists for 27 points. There is talk of him moving to the top line with Ovechkin and Mike Knuble to spread out the scoring in the line up. Bringing back 3^rd line center Brooks Laich was a huge plus for the Caps. In my opinion he and Knuble are the real leaders of the team and not Ovechkin. The two big additions to the forward group were playoff surprise Joel Ward and Troy Brower who has made an NHL career for himself by playing with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

On defense the Caps have a promising group. Headlined by offensive defensemen Mike Green and Dennis Wideman, youngsters John Carlson and Karl Alzner, newcomer Roman Hamrlik and tough guy John Erskine. Carlson and Alzner formed what Coach Boudreau called his “lock down pair.” Green and Wideman love to jump up and join the rush and can put up a ton of points when healthy. Hamrlik was signed during the summer to add a veteran defensemen who is very dependable and can be effective at both ends of the ice.

The biggest improvement for the Caps this summer was between the pipes. GM George McPhee must have grown tired watching his three young goaltenders fail to take charge and be a true #1 goalie, so he went out and bought one. Enter Tomas Vokun, who has been suffering in Florida the past 5 years. The kicker is that McPhee signed him for only $1.5million, which is a steal. With Vokun, between the pipes the Capitals will be tough to beat, especially if he gets hot. (1^st SE, 3^rd EC)

Tampa Bay:

Last season’s biggest surprise in the Eastern Conference looks to improve on their appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. No team is more front-loaded than the Bolts. Their top two lines are very that include Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Malone, Teddy Purcell, and Steve Downie. After that there isn’t much talent for second year coach Guy Boucher and his Assistant Daniel Lacroix to work with but they found a way to make the third and fourth lines productive and a valuable asset during the playoffs. The big line of Stamkos, St. Louis and Downie is a dominant as any in the league and even more effective with the man advantage where Boucher likes to mix and match the set up. Sometimes he will have Stamkos at the point, the off wing faceoff circle, or down by the goal post, depending on what the penalty killers are giving them.

On defense the Bolts showcase top pair of deadline acquisition Eric Brewer and former 1^st round pick Victor Hedman who is starting to come into his own and fill out the potential he was drafted for. The second pair is made up of veterans Mattias Ohlund, and Pavel Kubina who provide a steadying influence for the defense. The third pair consists of powerplay specialist Marc-Andre Bergeron, and Brett Clark. Though this unit isn’t that spectacular, coach Boucher makes it work with the use of a 1-3-1, which clogs the neutral zone and gives teams fits. Just ask the Washington Capitals.

Between the pipes is 42-year-old Dwayne Roloson. A mid season trade made by GM Steve Yzerman brought in the veteran who took the #1 job and ran with it. A health nut that takes care of his body better than most players, Roloson is a young 42 and should be good to go for the entire season. Backing him up is Mathieu Garon who should be more reliable than previous back ups Mike Smith and Dan Ellis. Garon should get 25-35 starts to give Roloson adequate rest for the long haul. (2^nd SE, 7^th EC)

Carolina

The Hurricanes will go as far as Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner and Cam Ward can take them. Ever since winning the Stanley Cup as rookies back in 2006, Ward and Staal have been the go to guys for the Canes. Joined last season by Rookie of the Year Jeff Skinner the trio almost led the Canes to the postseason but fell short by one game.

Goaltender Cam Ward is a workhorse and will get the bulk of the action. He is known to only get better as the games get more intense and the more he plays. Backing him up is newcomer Brain Boucher who left the Philly for Raleigh.

The defensive corps is a solid one that is lead by Joni Pitkinen and the hard-nosed Tim Gleason. GM Jim Rutherford essentially swapped Joe Corvo for Thomas Kaberle with Boston to bring the recent Stanley Cup Champ to the South. Kaberle will pair with Bryan Allen who came over from Florida at the deadline. The final pairing is going to be a combination of journeyman Jay Harrison and youngster Jamie McBain.

Up front it’s the Staal and Skinner show. The loss of Erik Cole creates a hole that youngsters Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuck look to fill. Brandon Sutter grew into a solid second line center last season, and new addition Anthony Stewart looks to grab top six spot along with Jussi Jokinen. Stewart, who was a major disappointment for the Florida Panthers who drafted him 23^rd overall and really hasn’t played up to his draft status. I had the chance to see him play in Rochester for the most of three seasons and came away unimpressed. Only on the rare occasion did he play like the power forward he can be and made his physical presence known. From my observation, power forwards who don’t play the body and occasionally drop the gloves aren’t effective and for the most part he isn’t effective. So basically just like I said before, the Hurricanes will go as far as Staal, Skinner and Ward can take them, and that is just shy of the playoffs. (3^rd SE, 9th EC)

Winnipeg

The newly relocated Winnipeg Jets will be racking up the frequent flyer miles this coming season. Still placed in the Southeast Division, the Jets will be fighting the effects of jet lag all season.

The future is bright for the franchise with many young forward prospects that are still in the AHL or juniors, along with some who have already made the jump to the NHL and are solid contributors like Evander Kane and Bryan Little. The Jets are looking for a break through campaign from Alexander Burmistrov who made the team last season at the age of 20. He has top line talent and put it on display at times last year. Andrew Ladd is the undisputed leader of the squad and also led the team in points last season. No offense to Ladd who I think highly of as a leader and a key member to two Stanley Cup teams (Carolina and Chicago), but it’s not a good thing when he is your leading point getter. He is best suited for 3^rd line action, possibly 2^nd line with the right line mates. The additions of Eric Fehr (Capitals) and deadline acquisition Blake Wheeler will help take some of the scoring load from Ladd and center Nik Antropov. The 3^rd and 4^th lines could have a Rochester feel to them. Free agent signees Kendall McArdle, and Tanner Glass could join Chris Thorburn and excite the MTS Centre faithful with their hard play and hustle. McArdle has world-class speed and decent hands but is injury prone which sometimes keeps him from playing physical. Glass is one of my favorite Amerks because he always shows up and does his job. He won’t score you 20 goals but he will finish his check, stand up for teammates and play solid defensive hockey. Throrbun, was once envisioned by the Buffalo Sabres front office as their future Captain and 2^nd line winger, but failure to develop his scoring touch derailed that idea. He has found a place in the NHL as a 3^rd/4^th line grinder who also sticks up for his teammates as needed. I remember one night while playing for the Amerks, Throburn started a riot against the Syracuse Crunch after scoring a goal with :01 left on the clock in the third and the score already being 7-1. Oh what wonderful memories…

The Jets have one of the best offensive minded defense corps in the league. But they also have one of the worst defensive defense corps in the league. Led by Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom the Jets d-men look to get the puck up ice in a hurry and join the rush. The struggle for Coach Claude Noel will be to get his group to play better defensively. Zach Bogosian, Johnny Oduya, Ron Hainsey, and Mark Stuart will fill out the defensive six for Noel. Bogosian could be a breakout candidate if he can get himself back on the top power play unit.

In goal, the Jets will lean on Ondrej Pavelec who took control of the number one job last season after failing to do so the past two seasons. If the players in front of him can play any type of defense, then Pavelec could have a very strong season and put up some nice numbers. But when you are facing 35-40 shots a night, the law of averages says you’re going to get scored on. (4^th SE, 13 EC)

Florida

Now for what could be argued as the most dysfunctional franchise of all time, the Florida Panthers. The future is bright for this franchise who have picked in the top 5 the last 5 years and are loaded with top prospects all over the farm system. But this has been the case for a long time, and not a whole heck of a lot has been produced from it. The list of players that grew up in the Florida system and then left for greener pastures is pretty impressive or sickening depending on how you look at it. Jay Bouwmeester, Roberto Luongo, Nathan Horton all left to join other teams and become key players for their new teams. The list that is really sickening is the one that shows players who the Panthers drafted that have not lived up to their draft status or been a complete bust. Anthony Stewart, Rotieslav Olesz, Peter Tatieck, Janis Sprukts, Michael Frolik, and Kendall McCardle. Only since GM Dave Tallon has taken over does the future look bright again. He stock piled 1^st and 2^nd round picks like crazy the past couple years and now has a full cupboard of players he hopes can turn the franchise around. Tallon, you might remember was the guy who selected Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for the Chicago Blackhawks prior to their cup run.

As for the present, the Panthers went on a spending spree this July bringing in plenty of solid players but no superstars. Scottie Upshall, Tomas Fleischmann, Sean Bergenheim, Kris Versteeg, Marcel Goc, Matt Bradley and Thomas Kopecky were either traded for or signed as free agents to fill out the forward lines. That’s 7 out of 12 spots that will be new faces up front. Returnees Stephen Weiss, Jack Skille, David Booth, and Mike Santorelli will need name tags as the season begins. This unit could be dangerous because there’s a lot of depth but no real superstar, which can give other teams trouble while matching up. Booth, Weiss and Upshall will probably get 1^st line minutes. The wild card in this group is rookie Jonathan Huberdeau who was selected 3^rd overall this past June. If he makes the team, he will receive top six minutes but my gut tells me, that they will send him back to juniors and give him another year to develop physically like the rest of their prospects.

Tallon, also went out and brought in some veteran players for his blue line too. He traded for Brian Campbell (former Amerk), and signed Ed Jovanovski who returns to South Beach after trips to Vancouver and Phoenix. Those two will lead a group of young guys looking to make a name for themselves in the NHL. Jason Garrison and Dmitry Kulikov are the most experienced youngsters on the blue line followed by Keaton Ellerby and last year’s third pick overall Erik Gudbranson. Garrison has a cannon for a shot and was deadly on the power play while playing for the Amerks but hasn’t quite been that guy for the Panthers. Ellerby was a 1^st round pick and for the most part hasn’t played like one, but started to improve last season. Kulikov was rushed to the NHL as an 18 year old and has been a bust, which is probably the reason they left Gudbranson in juniors last season and will do the same with Huberdeau this season.

In goal Tallon, signed Jose Theodore to be his number one goalie. Theodore had a resurgent season with Minnesota but has not been the number one guy since leaving Montreal. In truth, he is just keeping the seat warm until super prospect Jacob Markstrom develops into the all star he is projected to be. Markstrom needs another year in the minors by my judgment, because injuries derailed his season last year and also European goalies tend to struggle with the longer schedule when they first come over. Just ask Bobrovsky in Philly, and Alexander Salak in Chicago. (5^th SE, 14^th EC)

A Pre Big Ten Review

As the Hawkeyes prepare to open their Big Ten schedule against Penn State this Sunday, I decided to take a look at their warm up games so far this season. I do this on my way to Pennsylvania so lack of internet is the reason for the lack of details.

So far the Hawks have put together a 3-1 record with 2 wins over non FBS Championship Series teams.  The games against these two teams have provided some very promising performances as well as some worries. Iowa has also defeated a Pittsburgh team who went on to demolish then number 16 USF two weeks late. The lone loss for the Hawkeyes has at the hands of in state rival, Iowa State.

The up side:

The defense: Big plays haven’t been hard to find so far this year, there have been many timely interceptions as well as third and fourth down stops that have been game changers.

The line has been excellent at stopping opposing running backs. There hasn’t been a game where the opponent has rushed for significant yards yet this season. The inside play allows the secondary to be a bit more free and create the plays that they have so far.

The offense: The ability to move the ball has been present throughout the year so far whether by ground or by air. I am a firm believer that you must be able to run the ball to succeed, but I have fallen in love with the up tempo air it out offense that has been present since the fourth quarter of the Pitt game. The Hawks are now able to do to opposing defenses what is done to them from time to time; keep them on the field and throw the ball over the field.

The passing takes some of the carries off of Coker for now, allowing him to stay rested and ready for when the elements hit and the ball has to stay on the ground.

Special Teams: Special teams fall on the positive side since they have not have any glaring holes. Meyer has been solid kicking field goals despite his couple misses at Iowa State. The coverage has been acceptable on punt and kickoff returns, nothing spectacular but nothing to complain about, in this case no news is good news.

I don’t know where to put it in but the fight in this team has to be accounted for somewhere. They were outplayed for a majority of the game but hung around and played well enough late to force three overtimes before finally losing. The next week they faced a Pitt team who again outplayed them for 3 quarters. 21 straight 4^th quarter points later the Hawkeyes walked out with a win. The offense playing well enough to prompt Pitt’s coach to go for it on 4^th down just because he didn’t think his defense could stop the Hawkeyes.

The down side:

The defense: there have been far to many yards given up this year overall to be comfortable facing a more explosive offense such as Michigan, Wisconsin, or any of the other perennial powers in the big ten.

Containing the quarterback is another issue the defense has had this year, specifically the Iowa state game. During the course of the game and the three overtimes there were way to many opportunities to force and third or fourth and long or to force a punt where the quarterback escaped the pressure and picked up the first down. The coverage has been good and the opportunities to create the play have been as well, all to be lost when the containment is broken.

The offense: probably the best down side you can have is that the only concern for the Hawkeyes so far on offense has been their depth. The wide receivers core has proven to be much more solid then anyone anticipated in the pre season. Marvin McNutt is only 2 touchdowns away from the school record; Keenan Davis and freshman Kevonte Martin-Manley have stood out as the top receivers so far. The down side is at running back where the reserves behind sophomore Macrus Coker are thin. Freshman Mika’il McCall, who was initially Cokers backup, went down with a broken leg in the first week and no one has been highly noticed since.  The quarterback position will also be thin for the next two weeks as freshman A.J. Derby was suspended two games for a drunken incident in Iowa City last week. I’m very surprised the suspension was only two games based on the history of discipline at Iowa.

Looking Ahead:

The way I see it, this week is going to be an indicator of what is to come for the season. Penn State appears to be a middle of the pack Big 10 team with a growing offense and an average defense.  If the Hawkeyes can continue their winning ways in College Park the big ten schedule will be off to a good start. A loss could be the sign of trouble.  The key to the game to me is the containment of the quarterback. I believe the offense has enough power to stay in the game and the leaders in the secondary can make plays on the receivers. Making stops when they need to be made is what will change the game.