This particular NHL season has a little more riding on the line in the early going, as countries prepare to name their rosters for the Olympic competition in 2010.
The Final Four is now set, but which players have had the greatest individual success through the first two rounds of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs?
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Atlanta Thrashers (2008-09 Record: 35-41-6)
Notables coming in: Nik Antropov, Pavel Kubina
Notables going out: Garnet Exelby
Positives: Sniper Ilya Kovalchuk lobbied management to sign Nik Antropov in the off-season and it was done. The Thrashers also acquired Antropov’s former Maple Leaf teammate in Pavel Kubina in an off-season trade that should bolster the defense. No team was better in the shootout last season. Zach Bogosian is an up and coming star on defense.
Negatives: The team has too many deficiencies to correct in one off season. Atlanta finished in the bottom three of the NHL last season in losses, goals against, home record, 1st half record and penalty killing (and finished with the 4th worse conference record). Another problem is Kovalchuk is in the last year of his contract, and if the team isn’t competitive he could decide to test the market.
Prospect Watch: Angelo Esposito was once billed as the next big NHL star. His stock has dropped considerably, but he may be back on the right track. He had a good performance for Canada at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships, and should continue to grow in the AHL this season.
The Lowdown: The Thrashers have some young pieces, but not nearly enough talent to compete for a playoff spot. Their number one goal should be to keep their franchise player in a Thrashers jersey long-term while their young players develop.
Carolina Hurricanes (2008-09 Record: 45-30-7)
Notables coming in: Andrew Alberts, Aaron Ward
Notables going out: Dennis Sidenberg
Positives: The team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals last season was kept largely in tact. Superstar Eric Staal and goaltender Cam Ward will both have extra motivation, looking to earn spots with the Canadian Olympic team. A 17-5-3 mark to end the season and the deep playoff run should give the team confidence to start the year.
Negatives: The team was weak both on the power play and penalty kill. They also had a bad shootout record. The Hurricanes finished with the least penalty minutes in the league last year, which could be attributed to disciplined play, but it’s more likely a lack of toughness that kept that number to just 802.
Prospect Watch: Zach Boychuk made the team out of camp last season but ended up back in the Western Hockey League. He has a chance to contribute at the NHL season and is a gifted offensive player who could provide secondary scoring.
The Lowdown: The Hurricanes have a chance to compete with Washington for the division title. Their hot finish and lack of changes to the roster give them a good chance to compete in the East, and more important in the playoffs if they do make it in.
Florida Panthers (2008-09 Record: 41-30-11)
Notables coming in: Scott Clemenson, Steven Reinprecht
Notables going out: Craig Anderson, Jay Bouwmeester, Richard Zednik
Positives: Florida's young core is another year older. Tomas Vokoun is one of the leagues premier goaltenders, and is near the league lead in save percentage every season.
Negatives: The team lost standout defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and did not replace him. They also lost backup goaltender Craig Anderson which may prove to be bigger then most notice. He was a very valuable backup to Vokoun last season.
Prospect Watch: Swedish goalie Jacob Markstrom will be a fantastic talent in a few seasons. He is pegged as the teams goalie of the future and with good reason. He could challenge for Vezina trophies in the future.
The Lowdown: The Panthers enter on an eight year post-season drought, and should expect to make it nine. Losing the minutes from Jay Bouwmeester on the back end will be too much to over come, and even though they weren’t a playoff team last season, they should take even another step backwards.
Tampa Bay Lightning (2008-09 Record: 24-40-18)
Notables coming in: Kurtis Foster, Mattias Ohlund
Notables going out: Wade Brookbank, Cory Murphy
Positives: Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos give the Lightning a talented threesome on offence, while #2 overall draft pick Victor Hedman and free agent signing Mattias Ohlund will strengthen a poor defense.
Negatives: Of the 16 major categories last year, Tampa Bay didn’t rank higher than 19th in any of them, and finished last or second last in 7 of them (wins, shootout, home record, points percentage, 2nd half record, division record, conference record). Even with the few good off-season moves, Tampa Bay has many areas of concern.
Prospect Watch: Goalie Dustin Tokarski will soon supplant Mike Smith as the man between the pipes in Tampa Bay. A torn ACL slowed him in 2008-09, but now healthy, he could see time with the big club as soon as this season.
The Lowdown: The team may be better, but unless Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis return to their point totals of a few years ago, Tampa Bay should not be seen as a playoff threat. The team also needs to decide if Mike Smith is really the goaltender of the future, or if they should start working in Tokarski at the big league level.
Washington Capitals (2008-09 Record: 50-24-8)
Notables coming in: Mike Knuble, Brendan Morrison
Notables going out: Sergei Fedorov, Victor Kozlov
Positives: The line of Alexander Semin-Nicklas Backstrom-Alexander Ovechkin is the most talented in the NHL. That combination as well as Mike Green on defence will give the Capitals a chance to win every night. If either Jose Theodore of Semyon Varlamov provide quality goaltending, the Caps will challenge to win the East.
Negatives:
Prospect Watch: Stefan Della Rovere may have fairly limited offensive skills, but the team has players who can handle the scoring. He will soon be one of the teams top shutdown players. He may need another year of seasoning, but Washington fans should be excited for this future piece of the puzzle.
The Lowdown: Washington can score with the best of them thanks to it’s superstar forwards. Alexander Semin is underrated, the forward had the 4th best points per game in the NHL last season (behind Malkin, Ovechkin and Crosby) but played only 68 games. If he can avoid injury, watch for him to make the conversation for best player in the game to become a four horse race. Theodore or Varlamov need to grab the starting job, or the team may look to add help in goal before the deadline.
