Ponds and Pucks

Buffalo Sabres

Notable moves and changes:‹crickets›
Starting goalie: Ryan Miller
Summary of last year:Ah Buffalo, so much hope tied into one team. So many highs in one season (record setting road wins, numerous club records, full season of home sell outs), and it all died so quickly (beaten in 5 games in the Eastern Conference final). Normally this would just set a team up to win it all the following year, but…
Prediction for this year:… too much has changed in Buffalo. Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Dainius Zubrus have all left the team, and it appears as though the Sabres didn’t even try to replace them (though their spending might have been curbed by having to match the Oilers offer sheet for Thomas Vanek). If a Cup could be won on enthusiasm and heart the Sabres would be shoo-ins. Here’s hoping it’s enough to push them deep into the playoffs.

Buffalo Sabres, Ryan Miller, Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Dainius Zubrus, Thomas Vanek

Detroit Red Wings

Notable moves and changes:Signed D Brian Rafalski (was with New Jersey). Signed F Dallas Drake.
Starting goalie: Dominik Hasek
Summary of last year: The rest of the league can only dream to have a team as consistently well-built as the Red Wings. It’s not like they don’t suffer their share of key player losses and injuries — it’s just they always seem to recover in fine fashion (how many teams could survive the loss of a Steve Yzerman with barely a misstep?). Last season they were yet again 1st in the Central Division, 1st in the Western Conference and 2nd overall. All this with a roster most would consider “too old” on many other teams (2 players in their 40s!). Yeah, they got to play the lowly Blues, Blue Jackets and Blackhawks 8 times each, but so did Nashville. Prediction for this year: It wasn’t tough for the Wings to get younger, but again, they did it smartly, bringing in steady veterans and keeping the core of the team intact. Rafalski’s camp injury has thrown the team into a bit of a loop, but with the Wings’ depth, they have little to worry about… especially since the weak Central Division around them hasn’t improved much.

Detroit Red Wings, Brian Rafalski, Dallas Drake, Dominik Hasek, Steve Yzerman

Nashville Predators

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Radek Bonk (was with Montreal) and D Greg de Vries (was with Atlanta). Signed F Martin Gelinas (was with Florida) .
Starting goalie: Chris Mason
Summary of last year: Hard to believe now the Preds finished third overall and had their best season yet. Many point to the acquisition of Peter Forsberg (which cost the Preds Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent) as the turning point. Forsberg struggled, the team struggled, and their playoff run was cut to a mere 5 games. The off-season sale drama has done little to improve the team’s fortunes.
Prediction for this year:In a word — ouch. The list of players missing from this year’s roster is intimidating — Scott Hartnell, Paul Kariya, Tomas Vokoun, Kimmo Timonen all stand out. The players brought in don’t come close to replacing that talent, and the Preds have an extremely tough road ahead of them if they plan to equal last year’s performance. David Legwand, JP Dumont and Steve Sullivan (when he gets healthy) all need to practically double their output just to keep the Predators in the playoffs.

Nashville Predators, Radek Bonk, Greg de Vries, Martin Gelinas, Chris Mason, Peter Forsberg, Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, Scott Hartnell, Paul Kariya, Tomas Vokoun, Kimmo Timonen, David Legwand, JP Dumont, Steve Sullivan

Anaheim Ducks

Notable moves and changes: Signed D Mathieu Schneider (was with Detroit). Signed F Todd Bertuzzi (was with Detroit and Florida). Both Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne are on leave from the team while pending retirement.
Starting goalie: Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Summary of last year:Can’t quite remember… something involving a large, shiny, Cup-shaped sports trophy….
Prediction for this year:The year defending a Cup is always tough — every team plays you hard every night — and the Ducks are going to find it even tougher without the services of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne. It remains unknown what their plans are, but for all intents and purposes, the Ducks must soldier on without them. The additions of Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider are nice (depending which Bertuzzi shows up), and the team will remain a contender, but the cries of “dynasty” might be a tad premature.

Anaheim Ducks, Mathieu Schneider, Todd Bertuzzi, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Jean-Sebastien Giguere

San Jose Sharks

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Jeremy Roenick (was with Phoenix). Offered tryout to D Sandis Ozolinsh.
Starting goalie: Evgeni Nabokov
Summary of last year:Another strong season, another missed opportunity. Despite the amazing play of Joe Thornton, a season points tally of 107 (which was only good enough to rank them 5th in the Western Conference), and the crafty addition of Bill Guerin and Craig Rivet at the trade deadline, once again, someone else went to the final.
Prediction for this year:The Sharks are a bit of a mystery. With the departure of Bill Guerin and Scott Hannan, it looked like the Sharks might opt to go younger to fill out their roster — only 5 defensive spots are considered “taken” — instead they brought Jeremy Roenick out of his tentative retirement and offered Sandis Ozolinsh a tryout. At least this doesn’t affect the core of the team — Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo — and the incredible talent there. As long as these guys keep performing, and Nabokov holds steady in net, there’s no reason the Sharks won’t go deep into the playoffs again this year. Who knows, maybe JR is the heart this team needs.

San Jose Sharks, Jeremy Roenick, Sandis Ozolinsh, Evgeni Nabokov, Joe Thornton, Bill Guerin, Craig Rivet, Bill Guerin, Scott Hannan, Jeremy Roenick, Sandis Ozolinsh, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo

Dallas Stars

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Todd Fedoruk (was with Anaheim/Philadelphia).
Starting goalie: Marty Turco
Summary of last year: Considering the Stars finished 6th overall last season, it’s astonishing to see how poorly their offense fared. True, injuries plagued the team, but when Mike Ribeiro is your team’s scoring leader at 18 goals and 41 assists… well, we’ll just say it’s a real testament to how well the defense held up all season long.
Prediction for this year:So considering all that, what’s changed? Uh, nothing. They must be super confident in their defense, as Darryl Sydor has not been replaced. Up front, the team must be expecting Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow to have injury-free seasons (don’t like the odds on that one) and Ribeiro, Jussi Jokinen and Jere Lehtinen to all have career seasons, because the Stars made virtually no moves to fill in their offence.

Dallas Stars, Todd Fedoruk, Marty Turco, Mike Ribeiro, Darryl Sydor, Mike Modano, Brenden Morrow, Jussi Jokinen

New Jersey Devils

Notable moves and changes:Signed F Dainius Zubrus (was with Washington). Named Brent Sutter head coach.
Starting goalie: Martin Brodeur
Summary of last year: It’s usually more of a surprise when the Devils DON’T take 1st in the Atlantic Division, and last year was no different. As always, the consistent play of Brodeur was a key reason — it’s gotten to the point where fans just expect Brodeur to be nothing less than the best goalie in the league.
Prediction for this year: The Devils suffered some key losses in the off-season — notably Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski. The core of the team remains strong and the addition of a Sutter in the coaching role is almost always a good thing. This will likely still be a year of adjustment for the Devils, though hopefully they’ll have at least a year to adjust. ‹insert joke about GM Lou Lamoriello’s tendency to fire coaches right before the playoffs here›.

New Jersey Devils, Dainius Zubrus, Brent Sutter, Martin Brodeur, Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski, Lou Lamoriello’s

Vancouver Canucks

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Brad Isbister.
Starting goalie:Roberto Luongo
Summary of last year: What a difference the right goalie makes. The acquisition of Luongo brought the Canucks from missing the playoffs in 2005-2006 to finishing 1st in their division last season. They capped that by making it to the second round of the playoffs.
Prediction for this year: So far the hockey Gods are not smiling on Vancouver. After just one intrasquad game, Canucks fans got to hear about not one, not even two, but three injuries to key players. Luongo seems to have recovered from a scary puck to the neck, Trevor Linden’s groin pull is not serious, but Sami Salo’s broken wrist will take him out of the lineup for a month, minimum. One can either look at this as a positive (”Hey, we got the injuries out of the way early!”) or as an omen (”If we can’t make it out of camp with a full lineup, how can we play a whole season?”). It does seem to be prophetic for the Canucks — if they can’t stay healthy, this isn’t going to be much of a season, especially in a division as difficult as the Northwest. If they remain off the IR, they will make a lot of noise in west.

Vancouver Canucks, Brad Isbister, Roberto Luongo, Trevor Linden, Sami Salo

Pittsburgh Penguins

Notable moves and changes:Signed D Darryl Sydor and F Petr Sykora.
Starting goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury
Summary of last year: It seems incredible now, but at the mid-point of the season, the Pens were languishing in the bottom half of the standings. Once the young guns hit their stride, they were off to the races, and finished second in the Atlantic.
Prediction for this year: What else is there to say? Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ray Whitney, Fleury, and Sidney Crosby are all only going to get better (heaven help us all). There’s a nice mix of veteran leadership here too, with Sergei Gonchar, Gary Roberts and now Sydor and Sykora. With that playoff experience and that young talent, expect to see the Pens at the top of the Eastern Conferenced for years to come.

Pittsburgh Penguins, Darryl Sydor, Petr Sykora, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ray Whitney, Sidney Crosby, Sergei Gonchar, Gary Roberts

Minnesota Wild

Notable moves and changes:Signed F Eric Belanger (was with Atlanta/Carolina) and G Nolan Schaefer.
Starting goalie: Niklas Backstrom.
Summary of last year: When Manny Fernandez was injured, no one had any idea Niklas Backstrom would be able to fill in the way he did — by leading the league in both save percentage and GAA. Even head-coach Jacques Lemaire had to be thrilled with that kind of defense.
Prediction for this year:The Wild didn’t need to do too much on the off-season, expect pray their come-outta-nowhere goaltender
Niklas Backstrom isn’t a one-hit wonder, since Fernandez now resides in Massachusetts. In front of Backstrom is a solid, if not spectacular, roster, leaning a little to the young side, and that can only help the Wild in the long run.

Minnesota Wild, Eric Belanger, Nolan Schaefer, Niklas Backstrom, Manny Fernandez, Jacques Lemaire

Atlanta Thrashers

Notable moves and changes:Signed F Scott White.
Starting goalie: Kari Lehtonen
Summary of last year: The Thrashers made the playoffs for the first time, and it appeared as though they spent so much energy making the post-season they had nothing left when they got there. Atlanta was swept in four games by the Rangers, and that’s putting it kindly.
Prediction for this year:Atlanta spent a lot of money acquiring the short-term talent to get to the playoffs only to see their playoff run aborted and their rent-a-players leave as soon as they could. The nucleus of the team is still there in Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk and Vyacheslav Kozlov, but there’s a sharp drop off in production after those three names. They’ve added some players to round out the roster, but nothing that’s going to make a large difference one way or the other. Atlanta spent a lot to get their playoff players last season — it’s not likely they have it in them to risk that much again.

Atlanta Thrashers, Scott White, Kari Lehtonen, Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vyacheslav Kozlov

Calgary Flames

Notable moves and changes:Hired head coach Mike Keenan. Acquired D Adrian Aucion from the Chicago Blackhawks for D Andrei Zyuzin and Steve Marr. Signed D Cory Sarich (was with Tampa). Signed F Owen Nolan (was with Phoenix).
Starting goalie: Hopefully Miikka Kiprusoff, but with Mike Keenan behind the bench….
Summary of last year: What is there to say about a team that ranks 3rd in the NHL in home wins and 22nd in road wins? This frustration dogged the Flames their entire season, and carried over into a lackluster playoff run. Don’t even suggest where the Flames would have been without Kipper.
Prediction for this year:The off-season moves served only to replace key departed players, most notably Brad Stuart and Roman Hamrlik. Kipper will continue to be the key to all things defense with the Flames. Up front, the Flames are nicely set with talent like Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay and Daymond Langkow. Keenan is the real mystery for the Flames. There’s no middle ground here — Keenan either takes the Flames on a ride rivaling their 2004 playoff run, or in a spectacular flame-out, takes them out of the playoffs and into rebuilding.

Calgary Flames, Mike Keenan, Adrian Aucion, Andrei Zyuzin, Cory Sarich, Owen Nolan, Miikka Kiprusoff, Brad Stuart, Roman Hamrlik, Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay, Daymond Langkow

Colorado Avalanche

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Ryan Smyth (was with the NY Islanders). Signed D Scott Hannan (was with San Jose).
Starting goalie: Jose Theodore would need a pretty good camp to steal the starting job from Peter Budaj.
Summary of last year: Colorado has the unenviable honor of being the team with the highest regular season points to not make the playoffs, thanks to a tough division and conference. Though they finished higher than the playoff bound Islanders, Rangers and Lightning, the Avs’ inability to catch up with Calgary in the dying days of last season had them watching from the sidelines.
Prediction for this year: What a difference a year will make. With the glowing additions of Smyth and Hannan, the Avs’ 2006-2007 season will likely be a blip rather than part of a downward slide. Of course, they’re still in a hot division, with the Canucks, Flames and Wild all surging, and you know the Oilers are going to be on fire when playing former teammate Smyth (by now everyone west of Detroit has the first Avs’ game in Edmonton circled on their calendar), but Colorado is just too talented to stay down for long. Caveat: Goaltending. A bad start by either goalie could nullify everything else.

Colorado Avalanche, Ryan Smyth, Scott Hannan, Jose Theodore, Peter Budaj

New York Rangers

Notable moves and changes: Signed F Chris Drury and F Scott Gomez.
Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist.
Summary of last year: Picking up the troubled Sean Avery from the Kings in February was by all accounts the turnaround moment for the Rangers. Avery lit a fire under the Rangers’ collective butts and sparked the team to jump from 11th in the Eastern Conference to making the playoffs and sweeping Atlanta in the first round. Who knew the problem child in LA would turn into a team motivator in New York? Another savvy Sather move.
Prediction for this year: The fact the New York Rangers went on a free agent signing over the summer is not news. The fact they may have actually improved their team is. Gomez and Drury more than make up for the loss of Michael Nylander and Brad Isbister. Yeah, the Rangers did well. Shanny’s back, Jagr’s still firing on all cylanders, Avery’s mucking it up (and helping out on the scoresheet), and Henrik Lundqvist is hopefully primed to continue his amazing streak from last year. Defensively they’re a little suspect, but with the improvements made this off-season, who will notice?

UPDATE: Looks like I spoke too soon. Sean Avery is already heavily rumored to be on his way out of New York according to ESPN. Seems Avery’s displeasure at the Ranger’s comments at his arbitration hearing has not faded and the Rangers fear the old distracting Avery might show up for camp. Stay tuned.

New York Rangers, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Sean Avery, Michael Nylander, Jagr, Henrik Lundqvist

Tampa Bay Lightning

Notable moves and changes: Acquired F Chris Gratton from the Panthers for picks. Signed D Brad Lukowich (was with the Islanders and New Jersey).
Starting goalie: Johan Holmqvist stole the starting role from Marc Denis last season and is slated to be this year’s starter, but there’s still a chance the Denis of a few seasons ago could show up and re-instate himself as #1.
Summary of last year: The Lightning fared marginally better than the previous season, but still look far from the Stanley Cup winners they were in 2004. While Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier had stellar seasons, Brad Richards was disappointing and the Lightning have not been the same in net since the departure of Nikolai Khabibulin.
Prediction for this year: Ah, drama — there’s never any shortage of it as long as head coach John Tortorella is around. When he isn’t publicly sparring with his own players, he’s cussing out the media on live TV. With the locally unpopular new ownership firmly installed (be honest, would you want Doug MacLean running your team?), Tortorella may find himself reined in. All this distracts from the fact the Lightning still do not have a reliable goaltender, and have done little to improve their defensive line, which was 28th in the league on the PK last season, despite the amazing play of Dan Boyle. Another lackluster season, and there may be wholesale changes in Tampa. The positives? The return of Chris Gratton and Brad Lukowich, and the always stunning play of Lecavlier and St. Louis. Keep these guys firing and the rest might not matter.

Tampa Bay Lightning, Chris Gratton, Brad Lukowich, Johan Holmqvist, Marc Denis, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Nikolai Khabibulin, John Tortorella, Doug MacLean, Dan Boyle, Chris Gratton, Brad Lukowich