2009-10 NHL Preview

September 30, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

It’s finally here. The NHL is back for the start of the 2009-10 season with a Versus doubleheader tomorrow night in a possible Eastern Conference preview with Boston hosting the game’s brightest star Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals who also boast Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alex Semin. Is this the year the breathtaking two-time Hart winner carries them on his back to Lord Stanley or will questionable goaltending and D be their undoing?

One of many questions in a condensed Olympic year with Vancouver hosting the Winter Games in mid-February. How will contenders deal with the extended gap where many of the game’s best are on display? What might that mean for elite netminders Martin Brodeur, Marc-Andre Fleury, Cam Ward and favorite Canuck Roberto Luongo? It all could depend on who gets the nod in goal for Canada with an entire country watching. For others like Henrik Lundqvist and Miikka Kiprusoff, they’ll be asked to carry their rival countries’ workloads just as King Henrik did four years ago, delivering Olympic gold in Sweden’s exciting one-goal victory over the injured Kiprusoff’s Finnish countrymen. A dynamic duo is reunited with Teemu Selanne hoping pal Saku Koivu can be the good luck charm in chasing another Cup on a good Anaheim team. The Finnish Flash wants to go out in style. Can the same be said of Scott Niedermayer or might he stick around to play with younger brother Rob for a Jersey sequel?

In Beantown, one of the game’s most overlooked Mark Recchi tries to go out on top playing for what should be a very formidable Bruins team that includes Norris and Vezina winners Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. Claude Julien’s club is strong again with Marc Savard in a contract year and Milan Lucic brutalizing opponents. Despite tremendous depth, might they miss top finisher Phil Kessel, who will donn the jersey of despised Original Six rival Toronto when he returns? We’ll see.

Can anyone dethrone the mighty Pens who feature the best one-two punch with Conn Smythe winner Evgeni Malkin taking no backseat to Sidney Crosby. What’s scary is both will only get better before their 25th birthdays. Did we mention one’s 23 and the other 22? A daunting task for any team who plans on unseating them. Each should be a lock for 100 points with Geno eclipsing 40 goals and hitting 80 assists. How does a full year of Sergei Gonchar sound to Dan Bylsma’s ears? Meanwhile, John Stevens is hoping the big addition of Chris Pronger will make a difference against their Pennsylvania rival. Indeed, the Flyers are stacked with Pronger added to a blueline including Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. They also boast one of the best forward crops led by gritty captain Mike Richards and sniper Jeff Carter. There’s much to like but will Ray Emery become the punchline in a long futile list of Flyer netminders? Hopefully, he’ll control himself.

With a healthy Brodeur along with one of the game’s best Zach Parise as part of ZZ Popp (Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner), the Devils should once again be good. Even minus Brian Gionta and John Madden, it’s hard to write off a team that’s made the playoffs 13 consecutive seasons. Gone is Brent “Benedict” Sutter and back is Jacques Lemaire, who is quite familiar with a franchise he guided to their first Cup. The vet coach is one of the game’s brightest minds who gets the most out of players. He also shouldn’t wilt like his predecessor did the past two Springs. If they lose, it’ll be because of a lack of center depth and the status of Patrik Elias (groin). The D also is a question. The same could be said for the revamped Rangers who have 10 new faces including rookies Matt Gilroy and Mike Del Zotto, who should improve the back end by default. Both are gifted with Gilroy poised but is Del Zotto fully ready? He’ll at least get to start on a roster that features high risk/reward Marian Gaborik who looks as good as ever. But how many games will the former Lemaire pupil play? Will additions Christopher Higgins, Ales Kotalik and Vinny Prospal panout under John Tortorella or might it be about Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival with Lundqvist muttering under his breath? It won’t be dull.

Is Bob Gainey’s Montreal makeover really an improvement? Surely, Scott Gomez will be rejuvenated playing with former EGG pal Brian Gionta and gifted scorer Mike Cammalleri. But who else will score and is a blueline that aged with Jaroslav Spacek, Hal Gill and Paul Mara really up to the challenge? At least Carey Price has Andrei Markov. Are the Hurricanes better with gritty additions Tom Kostopoulos and Andrew Alberts or might the Panthers or improved Lightning surprise? Will Florida miss Jay Bouwmeester or can they make their first postseason since Pavel Bure still played? Is a new look blueline that includes Mattias Ohlund and No.1 pick Victor Hedman enough to get the Lightning back on track? Alex Tanguay has never missed the playoffs and should benefit from Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, who’ll make Barry Melrose eat plenty of crow. Is this Ilya Kovalchuk’s final year in Atlanta? Russian comrades Nik Antropov, Slava Kozlov and Maxim Afinogenov hope not.

Can Tyler Myers bolster the Buffalo D enough to get them back in? As long as Thomas Vanek fills it up and Ryan Miller stays healthy, they’ll make noise in an improved Northeast where all five teams might reach 85 points. That includes Brian Burke’s new look Leafs featuring Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek on D. A full year from Tomas Kaberle should help. How quickly will Swedish import Jonas Gustavsson overtake Vesa Toskala? Can Kessel silence the doubters who claim Savard made him? We didn’t realize returning from testicular cancer and improving every season (3 years) made a career. Are the Sens better now that headache Dany Heatley’s gone to classic underachiever San Jose where he should fit in with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov? Alex Kovalev and Milan Michalek are good additions. If Pascal Leclaire performs, the Sens could sneak up on the competition.

Is John Tavares ready for primetime? It’ll be trial by fire for the Islanders top pick on a rebuilding club that features Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey. Okposo shouldn’t rush back for Saturday’s opener versus the Pens. Mark Streit will benefit from Tavares, who’ll get plenty of opportunities to play for Scott Gordon. The 19 year-old center will get strong Calder competition from Hedman, Gilroy, Matt Duchene on a lowly Av club, Nikita Filatov, Ville Leino, Justin Abdelkader,  Colin Wilson and Viktor Stalberg.

Are the Blackhawks ready to take over a strong Central from the perennial Red Wings? They stole Marian Hossa and converted Tomas Kopecky but Hossa will miss time on a strong club that features dynamic duo Jonathan Toews and Mr. 20 Cent himself, Patrick Kane. Hossa replaces departed Martin Havlat, who ripped management on his way to Minnesota where he’ll team with Mikko Koivu. Chicago probably won’t miss their top scorer due a great cast that also includes Patrick Sharp, Dave Bolland and Kris Versteeg along with a solid defense led by Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell, Cam Barker and Brent Seabrook. But can a team that lost Nikolai Khabibulin go far with Cristobal Huet?

Speaking of The Bulin Wall, he landed in Edmonton where he’ll try to be the answer in net on a decent Edmonton club with a strong blueline in Sheldon Souray, a healthy Lubomir Visnovsky, Denis Grebeshkov and Tom Gilbert. Mike Comrie finally returns where it all started before his first poor decision. At least there’s Hillary Duff. The Oilers are deep at center but need more from Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano as well as enigma Ales Hemsky, who’s their best scorer. Patrick O’ Sullivan will be better but unless Dustin Penner shows, Pat Quinn and Tom Renney’s new club likely won’t see the Spring.

Two teams who could be in again are Columbus and St. Louis. Both surprised last year and should be in the mix. The Jackets need more offense and hope to get it from the talented Filatov who should have a role this time for Ken Hitchcock. That the vet coach guided them to a first ever postseason minus Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek says plenty. Rick Nash has help with R.J. Umberger, Antoine Vermette and Kristian Huselius chipping in. Manny Malhotra replacement Sami Pahlsson is an upgrade. Fedor Tyutin and Jan Hejda lead a no-name D that gets the job done. They’ll be good but it hinges on Steve Mason, who must deal with the dreaded sophomore jinx that’s claimed previous goalies Jim Carey and Andrew Raycroft, who Canuck fans dread seeing. As for the Blues, Joel Queeneville adds a healthy Paul Kariya and Erik Johnson to a talented group including David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, David Perron, top sniper Brad Boyes along with vets Andy McDonald and Keith Tkachuk. If Chris Mason performs with Ty Conklin as strong insurance, they’ll be dangerous.

Speaking of Vancity, they’ll be formidable minus Mats Sundin, who retired earlier today. The great Swede who finished with 564 goals and 785 assists for 1,349 points is one of the best ever European players who should make the Hockey Hall Of Fame which boasts a very strong 2009 class in Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Brian Leetch, Devil architect Lou Lamoriello and TV pioneer John Davidson, who all get honored on Nov.9 in Toronto. While Mats bids adieu, countrymen Daniel and Henrik Sedin look to lead a deep Canuck club to a first ever Cup. They’re joined by Christian Ehrhoff, Mathieu Schneider who were added to replace Ohlund on a blueline that boasts Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Willie Mitchell and Sami Salo. If they stay healthy, along with Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Pavol Demitra, Kyle Wellwood and Swedish import Mikael Samuelsson, this team should seriously challenge.

The competition comes from usual suspects Detroit, San Jose, Chicago and archrival Calgary who they start the season with Thursday at The Saddledome. The Flames added Bouwmeester to Dion Phaneuf, who should bounce back under Sutter. Gone is Cammalleri but captain Jarome Iginla gets a full year with Olli Jokinen. Rene Bourque, Daymond Langkow, David Moss and Curtis Glencross supply depth. It’s a good roster but Kiprusoff must start quickly. They’ll be chasing top dog Detroit who even minus Hossa, Samuelsson and KHL departed Jiri Hudler still boast Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and Chris Osgood. Did we mention Jonathan Ericsson, Leino and Abdelkader are all good? Indeed, Mike Babcock has a fine job but also knows how to run it. He’ll get plenty of help from Dan Cleary, Valtteri Filppula, Tomas Holmstrom and returnees Jason Williams/Todd Bertuzzi. Top prospect Jimmy Howard backs up Ozzie. Given how last year ended, they got plenty of incentive.

The Sharks are again strong thanks to Heatley getting his wish. We’re sure he’ll be dynamic with Jumbo Joe and Marleau. But Todd McLellan’s club will be judged on the second season. Until they and Nabokov prove they’re legit, there will be that huge question mark even though it’s plenty good enough with Dan Boyle and Rob Blake anchoring the D while Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe and Devin Setoguchi provide secondary help. Adding grit like Malhotra and Jed Ortmeyer can only be a plus on a team that never has enough.

Want a sleeper? It might come from LA who with the Ryan Smyth trade plus a healthy Justin Williams could be knocking on the door. Figure Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown to bounce back on Terry Murray’s up and coming squad which includes Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty on the blueline with vet pickup Rob Scuderi. We like Team USA hopeful Jon Quick in net and Erik Ersberg backs up. But Jarret Stoll and classic tease Alexander Frolov must perform. We know Wayne Simmonds will.

Dallas also should be better due to a healthy Brenden Morrow and Brad Richards. Mike Ribeiro continues to prove how senile Gainey was trading him for Janne Niinimaa (but seriously). Loui Eriksson is their best finisher and James Neal is a budding power forward. How can they compete with Stephane Robidas and Matt Niskanen anchoring the D now that Sergei Zubov went home? Is Marty Turco done? Precisely why we see them falling short as should Nashville, who boasts a solid blueline led by Norris hopeful Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Jason Arnott, Martin Erat, J.P. Dumont and Steve Sullivan are solid but David Legwand, Joel Ward and talented freshman Wilson are vital to any chances. Unless Pekka Rinne duplicates last year, it’s hard to see which is too bad cause Barry Trotz is our favorite coach.

The Wild get a new voice in Todd Richards, who wants to play a higher tempo that should benefit Havlat, Mikko Koivu and Petr Sykora. The supporting cast is sketchy with Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen and Owen Nolan being depended on along with Brent Burns, Marek Zidlicky and Nick Schultz on the back end. Youngsters James Sheppard and Cal Clutterbuck are promising but they’ll rely heavily on Niklas Backstrom.

For teams like the Avs and Coyotes, it’ll be a long season. At least Colorado can hang their hat on Duchene who teams with Ryan O’Reilly to help fans forget about Joe Sakic, who gets his No.19 retired tomorrow in the second part of the Versus doubleheader (10 ET/7 PT). Paul Stastny would get more attention elsewhere. Milan Hejduk and Wojtek Wolski are still around as is ageless Adam Foote along with Kyle Quincey, who they acquired for Smyth. Joe Sacco (that guy in Sega Genesis) coaches. At least Craig Anderson can play net.

The Phoenix situation is sad. The bankrupt franchise is in the hands of a judge who ruled earlier today against both the NHL and agenda oriented Jim Ballsillie. Will the madness ever end? It even put a dark cloud on Wayne Gretzky, who never distinguished himself behind the bench getting forced out. At least Dave Tippett has a resume which he’ll need with a mismatched group put together by Don Maloney, who thinks it’s good to invite Ranger rejects and actually signed Ryan Hollweg. At least Petr Prucha and Lauri Korpikoski play but that’s hardly encouraging for Mr. Jet/Coyote Shane Doan. The roster reads like a bunch of misfits with no plan. No disrespect to Ed Jovanovski, Adrian Aucoin, Matt Lombardi and Peter Mueller but it’s way too confusing. How else to explain Maloney’s unwillingness to take on Al Montoya, who had a shutout and won three of five starts in his first NHL action? Where are they headed with Ilya Bryzgalov and what is Jason LaBarbera doing on the roster? In a word, shameful. We feel for the fans.

And with that, here’s a look at our 2009-10 NHL predictions complete with playoffs, Cup pick and award choices:

EASTERN PREDICTIONS

+*1.Capitals   106 Pts

+*2.Penguins 103 Pts

+*3.Bruins       102 Pts

*4.Flyers           99 Pts

*5.Devils            98 Pts

*6.Canes             97 Pts

*7.Sabres           96 Pts

*8.Rangers         95 Pts

9.Senators          93 Pts

10.Panthers       92 Pts

11.Lightning       89 Pts

12.Canadiens     87 Pts

13.Maple Leafs  85 Pts

14.Thrashers      79 Pts

15.Islanders        68 Pts

PLAYOFFS

CONF QTRS:

(1) Caps over (8) Rangers in 6

(2) Pens over (7) Sabres in 6

(3) Bruins over (6) Canes in 7

(4) Flyers over (5) Devils in 6

CONF SEMIS:

(1) Caps over (4) Flyers in 7

(2) Pens over (3) Bruins in 7

CONFERENCE FINAL:

(2) Pens over (1) Caps in 6

WESTERN PREDICTIONS

+*1.Canucks     108 Pts

+*2.Sharks        106 Pts

+*3.Red Wings 104 Pts

*4.Flames           106 Pts

*5.Blackhawks   101 Pts

*6.Ducks                 99 Pts

*7.Blues                  95 Pts

*8.Blue Jackets     93 Pts

9.Kings                      89 Pts

10.Oilers                   88 Pts

11.Stars                      87 Pts

12.Predators            85 Pts

13.Wild                       84 Pts

14.Avalanche           72 Pts

15.Coyotes                 65 Pts

PLAYOFFS

CONF QTRS:

(1) Canucks over (8) Blue Jackets in 6

(7) Blues over (2) Sharks in 7

(3) Wings over (6) Ducks in 7

(4) Flames over (5) Hawks in 6

CONF SEMIS:

(1) Canucks over (7) Blues in 5

(3) Wings over (4) Flames in 6

CONFERENCE FINAL:

(3) Wings over (1) Canucks in 7

STANLEY CUP CHAMPION: Detroit Red Wings

NHL AWARDS

Calder-Matt Duchene

Vezina-Roberto Luongo

Norris-Shea Weber

Selke-Ryan Kesler

Jack Adams-Alain Vigneault

Byng-Pavel Datsyuk

Hart-Evgeni Malkin

Conn Smythe-Johan Franzen

First Coach Fired-Jacques Martin

Likely Scenario-Gainey sticks his neck on the line again and it backfires. Management finally realizes the real issue.