The term “off-season” seemed inappropriate this summer as the hockey world was bustling with surprising trades, league-changing drafts, investigations and fines into hefty player contracts, and the dismantling of the Stanley Cup winning team.
As the regular NHL season begins to pick up, it will be interesting to see how all of these major changes pan out. Needless to say, there are more than a few key things to keep an eye on.
Let’s start with the beasts in the East.
New Jersey Devils
For their sake, let’s just hope Ilya Kovalchuk is worth that $100 million. Not only did he sign a lucrative 15-year deal with the franchise, he cost them $3 million in fines as well as a first- and third-round draft pick after the NHL rejected his first contract of $103 million paid over 17 years on the grounds that it circumvented the league’s salary cap.
Although the team won the Atlantic division last year, its playoff performance was pitiful. Kovalchuk, who has been having consecutive 40-goal seasons, really needs to prove his worth in order to break this team from their post-season slump.
Toronto Maple Leafs
General Manager Brian Burke and newly appointed team captain Dion Phaneuf both vowed during the summer that the Leafs would make the playoffs this year — a pretty hefty claim considering the team finished second last in the league.
On paper, the Leafs back-end looks amazing, but that skill needs to be translated onto the ice before the team begins to even think about the playoffs.
And will Tomas Kaberle’s heart be in the right place? Not only did Burke try to trade him away this summer but he and Coach Ron Wilson have stripped Kaberle of his assistant captain title.
A few key acquisitions were made to an otherwise lacking front-end this summer.
Kris Versteeg will be a good addition to the top six forwards and will bring key experience, having just won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks. Colby Armstrong will be a force up front. Prospect Nazem Kadri was sent down to the Marlies and won’t join the forces of the rest of the young stars dominating the league anytime soon.
Ottawa Senators
Expect this team to make the playoffs. During free-agent frenzy, the team landed veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gonchar consistently produces 50-point seasons and chose Ottawa as he loves playing in Canada. The new setting could fare him (and his performance on the ice) well. Alongside team captain Daniel Alfredsson, who is coming off of an excellent season, Gonchar will be expected to lead the team in the right direction.
Boston Bruins
Don’t expect to see star center Marc Savard anytime soon as he is out (most likely for an extended period of time) and recovering from post-concussion syndrome. That being said, the team is still expected to make the playoffs. Let’s just hope they don’t blow it again this year.
They managed to oust the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of last year’s playoffs, but managed to blow a 3–0 series lead and a 3–0 lead in game 7 of the playoffs second round against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Adding second overall draft pick Tyler Seguin to an already established team could be a deadly combination.
Their toughest feat could be to remain mentally focused, which seemed to be an issue in last year’s playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens
In order for this year’s team to be as successful as last year’s, let’s just hope the Price is right.
The team’s decision to chuck playoff superstar Jaroslav Halak and keep Carey Price in net stirred controversy amongst Canadiens fans this summer. Indisputably, Halak was the main reason the team upset number one seed, the Washington Capitals, and defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, to make it to last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
While Price has big shoes to fill in net, his biggest hurdle this season could be dealing with the backlash from the harsh fans in Montreal, who have been very vocal about their dissatisfaction with the team’s decision to ship Halak to the St. Louis Blues.
Price has had problems with fans in the Bell Centre before while playing at home and needs to be mentally prepared to succeed. He could be his own worst opponent.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Along with a brand new arena, the Consol Energy Center, this team has been revamped on the blue line. This year, expect a strong team able to bounce back from a playoff showing that didn’t meet the standards necessary to win the Stanley Cup.
After losing their key veteran defenseman, Sergei Gonchar, the Penguins responded by acquiring Zbynek Michalek from Pheonix and Paul Martin from New Jersey, who will add significant improvement to the blue line.
Although an injured Jordan Staal won’t be on the ice anytime soon, expect newly acquired Mike Comrie and team staple Evgeni Malkin, who is now recovered from the injury that plagued him last season, to be lighting up the scoreboards. This duo seemed in sync through the pre-season and we can only expect that there’s going to be more to come.
Keep an eye on team captain Sidney Crosby, who is now entering his sixth season. He’s entering his prime, and his best is yet to come.
Washington Capitals
There wasn’t significant change to the Capitals’ roster this summer, but it would be amiss not to acknowledge their potential with names such as Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green on their roster. This core group of players led the team to earn the Presidents’ Trophy last season by being the league’s highest scoring club.
Expect this team to go deep into the playoffs. Although they haven’t had much post-season success in the past few years, there is only so long a top team led by the league’s MVP can go on without making a deep impact. This team is due.
Let’s move on to the rest in the West.
Edmonton Oilers
With this year’s number one overall draft pick, Taylor Hall, and Canadian Junior stand-out and clinch goal-scorer, Jordan Eberle, both cracking the roster, expect this team to begin a rebuild after finishing dead last in the league last year.
Both Pittsburgh and Chicago have utilized their young talent to get them to the top spot in recent years and it seems like Edmonton is gearing up to do the same. Don’t expect drastic change overnight, but this team is definitely on the rise.
Calgary Flames
General Manager Darryl Sutter and his brother and Head Coach Brent Sutter confused the hockey world when they reacquired forwards Olli Jokinen and Aley Tanguay, who they had recently traded away.
The Flames missed the post-season last year, and the questions surrounding the team’s new (and old) additions must be answered.
Jokinen and Tanguay need to play excellently up front (as does captain Jarome Iginla) in order to crack the top eight in the West once again. Their performance will be crucial or the team’s decision to re-sign them could be scrutinized amongst fans.
Chicago Blackhawks
This year ended the Hawks’ 49-year Stanley Cup drought when they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers to capture the title.
Celebrations were, however, cut short as the team had to strip down to their core and trade away many players due to salary cap problems. The question remains whether Chicago’s Cup core, which consists of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Duncan Keith alongside partner Brent Seabrook, has what it takes to remain a top team.
The team may not repeat with their top roster, but it will be surprising if they fare poorly being led by Toews, who was this year’s Olympic top forward, and Duncan Keith, this year’s Norris Trophy winner for best defenseman in the league.
Los Angeles Kings
One name: Drew Doughty.
This youngster finished third in the league in scoring among defensemen and was a Norris trophy nominee for league’s best defenseman this summer, a huge accomplishment for a player in his sophomore season.
Last season, Los Angeles tasted the playoffs for the first time in eight years, and considering Doughty’s quick development, it will be exciting to see what he can bring. Expect this team to make it past the first round in playoffs.
Vancouver Canucks
This team is the biggest Canadian cup contender. They were last year’s Northwest Division champions and made smart acquisitions to their blue line this off-season by adding Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard.
The Sedin twins, alongside goalie Roberto Luongo, should lead this team deep into the playoffs, as long as they figure out a way to beat the Hawks in the post-season. Expect an optimal year from Luongo as he was relinquished from his duties as team Captain during the summer and should be able to focus more on his on-ice play without any added stress and distractions.
