Season Preview-Northeast Division

1. BUFFALO SABRES
Last Season: 43-29-10, 96 points. 7th in Conference (3rd in Div.)-Lost in Conference Quarterfinal to PHI
Key Gains: Ville Leino, Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik, Christian Ehrhoff
Key Losses: Tim Connolly, Chris Butler, Steve Montador, Mark Parrish
Coach: Lindy Ruff
Forward Lines: 1. Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville
                        2. Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad, Brad Boyes
                        3. Ville Leino*, Jochen Hecht, Tyler Ennis
                        4. Patrick Kaleta, Cody McCormick, Nathan Gerbe
Defensive Pairings: 1. Robyn Regehr*, Christian Ehrhoff*
                             2. Tyler Myers, Andrej Sekera
                             3. Jordan Leopold, Mike Weber
Goalie Tandem: Ryan Miller, Jhonas Enroth
Analysis:The Sabres are a team who managed to get a whole lot better without making all that many moves. They beefed up their defense massively, bringing in Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regehr, two of the game's better defenseman to add to an already talented blue line. Put them in front of all world goalie Ryan Miller, and teams will find it very hard to score goals against the Sabres, and boy will they have to. The Sabres offense is very talented and very deep. Derek Roy's return to the lineup after an injury-plagued season may make the biggest difference. Add in a potential 25 goal scorer in Ville Leino and the potential for a bounce back season from former 40-goal scorer Brad Boyes, and the Sabres will be one of the most feared teams in the league.

2. BOSTON BRUINS
Last Season: 46-25-11, 103 points. 3rd in Conference (1st in Div.)-Won Stanley Cup
Key Gains: Benoit Pouliot, Joe Corvo
Key Losses: Michael Ryder, Tomas Kaberle, Mark Recchi
Coach: Claude Julien
Forward Lines: 1. Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Nathan Horton
                        2. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin
                        3. Benoit Pouliot*, Chris Kelly, Rich Peverley
                        4. Shawn Thornton, Greg Campbell, Daniel Paille
Defensive Pairings: 1. Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg
                             2. Joe Corvo*, Johnny Boychuk
                             3. Andrew Ference, Adam McQuaid
Goalie Tandem: Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask
Analysis: Fresh off their championship season, the Bruins look to repeat. There have been hardly any changes made to their roster Tomas Kaberle was replaced by Joe Corvo, who is almost as offensively talented and is much better defensively than Kaberle. Benoit Pouliot will replace streaky Michael Ryder. A former 4th overall pick, Pouliot comes to his third team hoping to taste some of his true potential. Mark Recchi's retierment will be offset by a now more experienced Tyler Seguin. If last year's team was enough to win the Cup, that means the hardly retooled B's have a decent shot at a repeat. However, with so many powerhouse teams, particularly in their Conference, the road to continued glory will certainly be a difficult one.

3. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Last Season: 37-34-11, 85 points. 10th in Conference (4th in Div.)-Did not qualify for playoffs.
Key Gains: Tim Connolly, John-Michael Liles, Cody Franson, Matthew Lombardi
Key Losses: Tim Brent, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Brett Lebda, Christian Hanson
Coach: Ron Wilson
Forward Lines: 1. Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski, Phil Kessel
                        2. Clarke MacArthur, Tim Connolly*, Joffrey Lupul
                        3. Matthew Lombardi*, Tyler Bozak, Colby Armstrong
                        4. David Steckel*, Nazem Kadri, Mike Brown
Defensive Pairings: 1. Dion Phaneuf, Luke Schenn
                             2. John-Michael Liles*, Mike Komisarek
                             3. Carl Gunnarsson, Cody Franson*
Goalie Tandem: James Reimer, Jonas Gustavsson
Analysis: The Maple Leafslook to have a surprisingly good season. After a promising push for the playoffs, the Leafs showed they were not far off from being a postseason squad late last season. Brian Burke added a sprinkling of under the radar talent to bolster their young lineup. The oft-injured Tim Connolly, who will begin the season on IR, is an extremely talented centerman when he's healthy. Matthew Lombardi fits a similar mold. John-Michael Liles brings offensive prowess to the blue line and Cody Franson will provide greater depth and future potential. The biggest question will be if James Reimer can build on his stellar rookie season. He may very well be the difference between the playoffs and an early spring. With 30-40 goal talent in Kessel, Grabovski, and Kulemin, plus Phaneuf and Liles on the point, the Leafs look to have a fearsome power play.

4. MONTREAL CANADIENS
Last Season: 44-30-8, 96 points. 6th in Conference (2nd in Div.)-Lost in Conference Quarterfinal to BOS
Key Gains: Chris Campoli, Erik Cole, Peter Budaj, Brian Willsie
Key Losses: Benoit Pouliot, Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, Alex Auld, James Wisniewski, Tom Pyatt
Coach: Jacques Martin
Forward Lines: 1. Andrei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri
                        2. Erik Cole*, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta
                        3. Max Pacioretty, Lars Eller, Mathieu Darche
                        4. Travis Moen, Blair Betts*, David Desharnais
Defensive Pairings: 1.Andrei Markov, Jaroslav Spacek
                             2. P.K. Subban, Hal Gill
                             3. Josh Gorges, Yannick Weber
Goalie Tandem: Carey Price, Peter Budaj*
Analysis: The Canadiens managed to have a solid season last year despite constant and major injury probelms, but I expect their luck to finally run out a bit this season. Though Andrei Markov will be returning, they lost both James Wisniewski and Roman Hamrlik from their blue line. They are still extremely deep there, but with the injury history of Markov, Gorges, and Spacek, they will have a lot harder time if they run into injury trouble this year. Their only major addition was Erik Cole, who is a solid second liner, but will not provide all that much of a spark to a streaky and generally unperforming group of talented forwards. Look for the Habs to float around the edge of the playoff picture.
5. OTTAWA SENATORS
Last Season: 32-40-10, 74 points. 13th in Conference (15th in Div.)-Did not qualify for playoffs.
Key Gains: Alex Auld, Nikita Filatov, Zenon Konopka, Mark Parrish
Key Losses: Ryan Shannon
Coach: Paul MacLean
Forward Lines: 1. Milan Michalek, Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson
                        2. Nikita Filatov*, Peter Regin, Bobby Butler
                        3. Nick Foligno, Colin Greening, Erik Condra
                        4. Chris Neil, Stephan Da Costa, Mika Zibanejad
Defensive Pairings: 1. Chris Phillips, Erik Karlsson
                             2. Sergei Gonchar, Filip Kuba
                             3. Brian Lee, Jared Cowen
Goalie Tandem: Craig Anderson, Alex Auld*
Analysis: Hopes are not very high for the Senators this season. Last year was an extreme disappointment and Bryan Murray quickly gutted the team. Little remains of the old Sens, but the young are what will be fun to watch. Many young prospects will be coming in to fill roles fresh off a championship season in the AHL. This is a team who could be very good in a few years, but will also need to choose how to deal with the returning players, many of whom are old and have huge contracts. Alfredsson will be healthy and put up decent numbers, but is nearing retirement. Gonchar could be on the move, and this may finally be the year the Sens dump the underachieving Jason Spezza. Craig Anderson is a question mark in net; He's generally either red hot or ice cold.