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.