2008-09 East Predictions

October 3, 2008   ·   Hasan   ·   Jump to comments

Atlantic:

1 (1). Philadelphia – between their overall turnaround last season with a surprising playoff run, getting Simon Gagne back and the weakening of a couple of division rivals, all the pieces are in place for the Flyers to have a great season.  The biggest concern might be how a young team handles expectations as opposed to being the underdog.

2 (4). New Jersey – You don’t often say this about a Devils team, but they might have been the only team in the division to improve their team via UFA.  Usually it’s the other way around.  Although Lou Lamoriello’s version of a UFA splurge involves going back to the future, the Devils still have Martin Brodeur and more talent than the 99-point team of last year.

3 (6). Pittsburgh – Okay they still have Malkin, Crosby and Fleury, but man the offseason hasn’t been kind to them.  Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and last season’s revelation in goal Ty Conklin all left in UFA.  Top defensemen Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar are both injured for months.  And there’s Cup Finals hangover to deal with.

4 (11). Rangers – Lots of changes, but were they really for the better?  And on top of it, the whispers are getting pretty loud about Henrik Lundqvist’s knees.

5 (15). Islanders – With the Isles’ luck they’ll finish last and wind up with the third pick in the draft, not even getting John Tavares for their troubles. 

Northwest:

1 (2). Montreal – still a good team in a suspect division but can Carey Price do the job over 82 games and will the team recover quickly from a horrendous playoff performance?

2 (7). Boston – overachieved last year but they do get Patrice Bergeron and Manny Fernandez back for 2008-09 after neither had any impact last year due to injury.  And Claude Julien’s message does tend to wear on teams after a while (witness premature firings in NJ and Montreal), though I don’t see a complete flameout yet.

3 (9). Buffalo – underrated signing of Patrick Lalime finally gives Ryan Miller much-needed time off after starting nearly 40 straight games at one point last year but not having Brian Campbell hurts.  

4 (10). Ottawa – fine, I’ll say it – Ottawa will not make the playoffs this year.  Their D keeps getting worse, there’s not enough offense around the big three and Martin Gerber’s not the answer in goal either, though at least he isn’t a wackjob like the departed Ray Emery. 

5 (14). Toronto – will wonders never cease, the Leafs finally realize they have to go full-bore towards rebuilding. 

Southeast:

1 (3). Washington – some think they’re a fluke but they’re getting overlooked in the midst of Tampa-mania despite winning the division last year.  Just look at their record post-Bruce Boudreau taking over as proof they’re not going away any time soon.  And they get Michael Nylander back this year after he missed a good chunk of last season.

2 (5). Tampa Bay – I really wanted to pick them to miss the playoffs, but the last-minute addition of Andrei Meszaros was huge for the D.  It does remain to be seen what Mike Smith does in goal outside of Dallas’s system.  Their offense still has the big two and now Steven Stamkos as well, but was Ryan Malone’s career season in Pittsburgh a fluke?  Usually the answer’s yes when the player in question is in a walk year.

3 (8). Florida – The youth-laden offense was a question mark before getting rid of Olli Jokinen and they have a rookie coach as well.  But Florida’s D is among the best now and their goaltending tandem’s pretty good too so this may finally be the year for the Cats to return to the playoffs.

4 (12). Carolina – I’d pick them to finish worse except there are some bad teams in the East, but the Canes have aged and been run into the ground since their fluke Cup win in 2006.  Peter Laviolette or GM Jim Rutherford (or both) might not survive another non-playoff season.

5 (13). Atlanta – take heart Atlanta fans, Matt Millen was finally fired by the Detroit Lions a couple of weeks ago – maybe Don Waddell will meet his maker after another last-place finish too.  Unfortunately, it’s too late to get Braydon Coburn back.