I will preface this post by saying that I have not had much time to put a lot of thought into my preview so this will be short and sweet. Though now that I think about it, my past picks have been terrible so maybe a change will help?
Western Conference
This conference is by far the superior conference and is loaded with good teams. I am willing to bet that teams 9-11 in the West would be in the top 8 in the East. Based on the fact that there are usually a couple of changes of playoff teams I break it down like this.... Anaheim and St. Louis win their divisions, the Ducks behind a younger line up (sorry Teemu and Saku) and a legitimate 2nd line center in Kesler. My gut says that John Gibson takes over the #1 job in net. The Blues added a #1 center in Paul Stastny who deepens their lineup and takes some pressure off David Backes who was being asked to be a shut down center and top scorer. Jake Allen is ready to be a #1 goalie and will prove it. In the west, San Jose and LA are too talented to not make the dance. The Kings seem to take the first couple months in cruise control and then kick it in to gear around February. Despite all the nonsense that went on in SJ, they still have a lot of talent on the roster. I then will pick Arizona to be the new girl at the dance. Injuries really hurt them last year especially the one to goaltender Mike Smith. If he stays healthy, they make it. The Canucks will be better because they fired Torterella and finally moved all the guys who didn't want to be there (Kesler, Lou) and brought in Ryan Miller. He will solidify that spot and the Sedins return to being a dynamic pair. Not sure where else they get goals from which keeps them out. The teams in Alberta will again miss the playoffs but they will be better. Edmonton still has too many questions on D and Calgary can't score. The rest of the Central will break down like so. The Blackhawks have one more kick at this thing before the salary cap punishes them for having too many good players. The darlings of a lot of people are the Stars. Adding Spezza is huge as long as he stays healthy. Still worried about their D but coach Lindy Ruff has made a career of making poor talent serviceable on D. The Avalanche will make a drop from winning the division last year but they again have a lot of talent and a good goaltender. Just missing the playoffs, is the Wild who will suffer from no goaltender and streaky scoring. Nashville will be better because their coach is a very good one, and Winnipeg will be in the McEichel sweepstakes.
Pacific
Anaheim*
San Jose*
LA*
Arizona*
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Central
St. Louis*
Chicago*
Dallas*
Colorado*
Minnesota
Nashville
Winnipeg
Eastern Conference
As I stated earlier, the East is the least. In the metro (who named these divisions?) Pittsburgh will be improved with a new coach, and a fresh outlook. Their problem is in the playoffs, not making them. The Rangers lost a couple pieces but are still a solid core, and have King Henry. The Devils make a big jump. I really think Broduer was a distraction last season and now Corey Schneider will show off his talent and carry my fantasy team to victory! In Philly, they seemed to have figured some things out with their new coach. Giroux loses his pal Hartnell but I think Simmonds steps in to be a top line winger. Just missing the playoffs are the CBJ's and Islanders. The Jackets miss because they have a couple key injuries to top 6 guys and they have to play a hard game nigh in and night out. I just don't see them doing it again this year. The Islanders will also be right there and could make the dance. There are some question marks in the line up still but I do like the additions they made in goal and on D. At the bottom of the division will be the Caps and Canes. The caps live and die on the power play and Ovie carrying the load. The Canes aren't sure who their goalie is and have a couple of big injuries they will get a top 3 pick in June.
In the Atlantic, the Bruins will once again be the top dog in the group. They have one maybe two kicks left before Chara gets too old and the cap hurts them. The Lightning continue to improve and will challenge for the division title. I really like the addition of Jason Garrison to their D and PP. The Canadians made some interesting changes by letting Gionta and Gorges go to Buffalo and will rely on their younger kids to be their go to guys. They still have Subban and Price to anchor the team. The Leafs get back in the dance behind a Rocket Richard season from Phil Kessel and a Vezina season from Jonathan Bernier. If those guys are their best players then they have a shot. Just missing the playoffs are the Panthers. They should be much improved from last year but I just don't think their kids are ready to lead. I'm thinking that Detroit misses because it's just time for them to miss. I'm probably wrong but why not. Ottawa is a little bit of mess in my opinion. I do not like making Karlsson captain. Just because he is your best player does not mean he should be your captain. Anyhow, they were a mess last year and lost their number 1 center. They did make the playoffs 2 years ago so they could bounce back. Then there's Buffalo. The suffering is almost over, one more season and then they can get McEichel. They could win 10 more games than last season and still be in last place. Just let that sink in.
Metro
Pittsburgh*
New York Rangers*
New Jersey*
Philadelphia*
Columbus
New York Islanders
Washington
Carolina
Atlantic
Boston*
Tampa Bay*
Montreal*
Toronto*
Florida
Detroit
Ottawa
Buffalo
East Winner: Tampa Bay
West Winner: St. Louis
Stanley Cup: St. Louis
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