Last Season: 48-23-11, 107 points. 1st in Conference (1st in Div.) Lost in Conference Semifinal vs. TBL
Key Gains: Ryan Potulny, Tomas Vokoun, Roman Hamrlik, Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern, Troy Brouwer, Christian Hanson
Key Losses: Boyd Gordon, Marco Sturm, Semyon Varlamov, Matt Bradley, Brian Willsie, Jason Arnott, Eric Fehr, Tyler Sloan, Scott Hannan
Coach: Bruce Boudreau
Forward Lines: 1. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Semin
2. Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich, Mike Knuble
3. Troy Brouwer, Jeff Halpern, Joel Ward
4. Mathieu Perreault, Marcus Johansson, Matt Hendricks
Defensive Pairings: 1. Mike Green, Tom Poti
2. Roman Hamrlik, Dennis Wideman
3. Karl Alzner, John Carlson
Goalie Tandem: Tomas Vokoun, Michal Neuvirth
Analysis: After a late-season surge to the top of the Conference, the Caps were swept in the second round by the Lightning for another disappointingly early exit. This year, they mean business as they've added tons of experience. Tomas Vokoun is an aging former all-star, who has put together remarkably solid seasons recently considering he played with Florida and she be more than stable in between the pipes. Roman Hamrlik will bring a veteran presence and defensive prowess to a relatively young and offensively-focused defensive corps. Up front, the Caps are far deeper, with former Captain jeff Halpern returning, and most importantly, some strong playoff-minded additions on the wings in Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer. Brouwer was a member of the 2010 Cup team in Chicago and Joel Ward had a goal-scoring explosion this past offseason, helping the Predators reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Ovechkin and Backstrom are expected to have bounce back seasons, and Semin is in the final year of his contract,, making this team frighteningly good in all three facets of the game. I believe that this year they will finally silence their critics and win the Cup.
2. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Last Season: 46-25-11, 103 points. 5th in Conference (2nd in Div) Lost in Conference Final vs. BOS
Key Gains: Matt Gilroy, Tom Pyatt, Bruno Gervais, Mathieu Garon, Ryan Shannon
Key Losses: Sean Bergenheim, Simon Gagne, Randy Jones, Mike Smith, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Cedrick Desjardins, Mike Ludin, Matt Smaby
Coach: Guy Boucher
Forward Lines: 1. Steve Downie, Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis
2. Ryan Malone, Vincent Lecavalier, Teddy Purcell
3. Adam Hall, Dominic Moore, Ryan Shannon
4. Blair Jones, Nate Thompson, Dana Tyrell
Defensive Pairings: 1. Eric Brewer, Victor Hedman
2. Brett Clark, Marc-Andre Bergeron
3. Pavel Kubina, Mattias Ohlund
Goalie Tandem: Dwayne Roloson, Mathieu Garon
Analysis: After a very strong season that led them within one goal of the Stanley Cup finals, the Lightning remain relatively intact. While they didn;t bring in much, they didn;t lose much either outside of strong playoff performer Sean Bergenheim and the oft-injured Simon Gagne. With Gagne gone, expect Purcell to move onto Lecavalier's line and continue to see his production rise. The Lightning are very deep, and very talented, so the only question is how much gas does Dwayne Roloson have left in the tank?
3. CAROLINA HURRICANES
Last Season: 40-31-11, 91 points. 9th in Conference (3rd in Div.) Did not qualify for playoffs.
Key Gains: Anthony Stewart, Brian Boucher, Tim Brent, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Tomas Kaberle
Key Losses: Erik Cole, Joe Corvo
Coach: Paul Maurice
Forward Lines: 1. Jussi Jokinen, Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruutu
2. Chad LaRose, Jeff Skinner, Anthony Stewart
3. Alexei Ponikarovsky, Brandon Sutter, Patrick Dwyer
4. Jiri Tlusty, Tim Brent, Zac Dalpe
Defensive Pairings: 1. Tomas Kaberle, Joni Pitkanen
2. Tim Gleason, Bryan Allen
3. Jay Harrison, Jamie McBain
Goalie Tandem: Cam Ward, Brian Boucher
Analysis: Like the Dallas Stars, the Canes were one game away from making the postseason, which means there wasn't much to fix. However, they didn't do much to push themselves any farther ahead. Kaberle for Corvo was a pretty even trade off. Ponikarovsky had a very disappointing season last year with the Kings, and he and Stewart likely will not be able to make up for the loss of Erik Cole. The Canes have little depth outside of the center position, and a middle of the road defense in front of a streaky goalie in Cam Ward. The Canes could certainly do well enough to make the playoffs, but I find it more likely that they disappoint again this year.
4. FLORIDA PANTHERS
Last Season: 30-40-12, 72 points. 15th in Conference (5th in Div.) Did not qualify for playoffs.
Key Gains: Sean Bergenheim, Marcel Goc, Ed Jovanovski, Scottie Upshall, Jose Theodore, Tomas Fleischmann, Nolan Yonkman, Matt Bradley, Brian Campbell, Tomas Kopecky, Kris Versteeg, Angelo Esposito
Key Losses: Tomas Vokoun, Niclas Bergfors, Marty Reasoner, Darcy Hordichuk, Clay Wilson, Rostislav Olesz, Byron Bitz
Coach: Kevin Dineen
Forward Lines: 1. David Booth, Stephen Weiss, Kris Versteeg
2. Tomas Fleischmann, Mike Santorelli, Scottie Upshall
3. Sean Bergenheim, Jonathan Huberdeau, Evgeny Dadonov
4. Tomas Kopecky, Marcel Goc, Jack Skille
Defensive Pairings: 1. Ed Jovanovski, Brian Campbell
2. Dmitry Kulikov, Erik Gudbranson
3. Keaton Ellerby, Jason Garrision
Goalie Tandem: Jose Theodore, Scott Clemmensen
Analysis: The salary cap floor did wonders for the Panthers this offseason. Forced to spend, Dale Tallon brought in a ridiculous number of players, and the Panthers are eons ahead of where they were last year, with a ton of depth and young talent. The only problem is, deep as they are, they have no real big scorers. All of their forwards are of a similar skill. Expect the Panthers offense to be scoring-by-committee, unless of course the new found depth behind them finally pushes David Booth and Stepehn Weiss int 30-35 goal scorers. With high-valed veterans in Jovanoski and Campbell added on the back end, youngsters like Kulikov and Gudbranson will have great mentors. Jose Theodore is always a question in net, but Scott Clemmensen has proven both in Florida and New Jersey that he can be very solid in relief stints. The Panthers likely aren't quite playoff ready yet. But they could definitely surprise.
5. WINNIPEG JETS
Last Season: 34-36-12, 80 points. 12th in Conference (4th in Div.) Did not qualify for playoffs.
Key Gains: Tanner Glass, Randy Jones, Derek Meech, Eric Fehr, Kenndal McArdle, Jason Jaffray, Kyle Wellwood
Key Losses: Anthony Stewart, Radek Dvorak, Angelo Esposito, Eric Boulton
Coach: Claude Noel
Forward Lines: 1. Andrew Ladd, Nikolai Antropov, Blake Wheeler
2. Evander Kane, Alex Burmistrov, Bryan Little
3. Chris Thorburn, Kyle Wellwood, Eric Fehr
4. Tanner Glass, Jim Slater, Tim Stapleton
Defensive Pairings: 1. Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom
2. Zach Bogosian, Mark Stuart
3. Johnny Oduya, Ron Hainsey
Goalie Tandem: Ondrej Pavelec, Chris Mason
Analysis: For all the hype surrounding hockey being back in Winnipeg, this is likely to be a disappointing season for the former Thrashers. They added no big names this offseason and look to have a very similar season to last year, except the rising Panthers should finish ahead of them. They have plenty of young talent on the first two lines, but after that, their offense is not at all impressive. They have a solid defense, but Ondrej Pavelec is very streaky in goal. Expect the Jets to win a lot of games at the beginning on pure adrenaline. After that, they will fall back to earth and start losing a lot more games.
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