Last year?s conference placement and regular season record in italics New Jersey Devils 2009-10: 2nd, 48-27-7, 103 points The 09-10 season gave the Devils another case of d?j? vu; another highly successful regular season, and another highly disappointing first round exit (the third in a row). Martin Brodeur had another very good season, but age is starting to catch up to him. They managed to find a backup capable of playing 20 games to ease the burden, and they maintained a strong defense in front of the net. Their offense looks as strong as ever, after finally inking Ilya Kovalchuk to a long term deal after a summer-long soap opera. Their roster isn?t set finalized yet, however, since they have to shed some contracts to get themselves under the cap after the Kovy signing. Rookie head coach John MacLean doesn?t have an easy task, taking over a team with very high expectations. However, a new, younger voice in the dressing room ? one who knows the organization and the players very well ? should be a welcome change to the veteran-heavy team. No matter who they end up dealing, they should still be a top-4 team in the conference and a threat in the playoffs. Prediction: 2nd in the Atlantic, 4th in the Eastern Conference Additions: Jason Arnott, Anton Volchenkov, Henrik Tallinder, Johan Hedberg. Losses: Paul Martin, Yann Denis, Martin Skoula. Unsigned: Mike Mottau, Jay Pandolfo, Dean McAmmond. New York Islanders 2009-10: 13th, 34-37-11, 79 points Not much should be expected of the young Isles this season, after they missed the playoffs for the third consecutive time, and 11th in the last 15 seasons. Though they made a couple of nice additions to their blue line, they still have many question marks in goal, particularly the health of Rick DiPietro. Some young forwards made strides last year, and should continue to do so this year as they build a nice looking nucleus around top-10 picks John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey. Sadly, they don?t offer a lot of depth up front, and we?re unsure at this point if fifth overall pick Nino Niederreiter will make the jump to the NHL right away. But clearly the goal is not to compete this year, or else they would be spending more than the minimum in regards to the salary cap. The interesting part of the Isles season will be to see how big of a leap Tavares makes in his second year, and if Matt Moulson can duplicate his 30-goal season. Prediction: 5th the in Atlantic, 13th in the Eastern Conference Additions: Mark Eaton, James Wisniewski, Andy Hilbert, Zenon Konopka, P.A. Parenteau, Milan Jurcina. Losses: Freddy Meyer, Richard Park. Unsigned: None. New York Rangers 2009-10: 9th, 38-33-11, 87 points This was a successful offseason for the Rangers, as they addressed two major weaknesses from last season: scoring goals and giving star goalie Henrik Lundqvist some rest. Up front, they added a former 30-goal scorer in Alexander Frolov who could be a very good fit alongside 40-goal scorer Marion Gaborik. They also traded for a capable 2nd/3rd line centre and took a flier on a player surprisingly cut by the Sabres, and then signed the Norwegian Player of the Year known to Olympic viewers as ?MZA.? With all of the added bodies, they were more than willing to watch the under-performing Olli Jokinen head elsewhere. In net, the Rangers added veteran Martin Biron, who should be able to play at least 20 games so that ?King Henry? doesn?t get worn down at the end of the year. The only task they have left is to lock up restricted free agent defenseman Marc Staal, but that should be done before training camp. The Rangers look much improved on paper, and should be much improved on their +4 goal differential this year, making them a trendy sleeper pick in the East. Prediction: 3rd in the Atlantic, 5th in the Eastern Conference Additions: Alexander Frolov, Todd White, Tim Kennedy, Mats Zuccarello Aasen, Martin Biron, Steve Eminger, Derek Boogaard. Losses: Donald Brashear, P.A. Parenteau, Olli Jokinen, Patrick Rissmiller, Jody Shelley, Aaron Voros, Alex Auld, Steve Valiquette. Unsigned: Marc Staal. Philadelphia Flyers 2009-10: 7th, 41-35-6, 88 points Instead of improving themselves this offseason, it appears the reigning Eastern Conference Champs decided to tinker with cosmetic changes. The one big hole they had in the playoffs that was greatly exposed in the Stanley Cup Finals was their goaltending tandem of journeymen Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. Instead of using some of their cap space to sign a significant upgrade (Turco, Niemi, Nabokov, Theodore), they maintained the status quo. They turned their focus to upgrading their defense, but of course their defense was already one of the tops in the league; though now it could be the best, compensating for the goaltending. In fact they tried to lure a big fish to Philly, trading promising young defenseman Ryan Parent for the rights to negotiate with Dan Hamhuis, but ultimately failed to sign him and lost Parent for nothing. On offense, they dealt long time Flyer Simon Gagne to Tampa for nothing so that they could sign mercurial forward Nikolai Zherdev, basically trading one 20-goal scorer for another. The big difference will be in the dressing room, where Gagne was a well-liked leader on the team, while Zherdev has been known to have his troubles with chemistry. They will likely make the playoffs again, but will have to fight hard to get there (again) in a much improved Eastern Conference. Prediction: 4th in the Atlantic, 8th in the Eastern Conference Additions: Nikolai Zherdev, Andrej Meszaros, Jody Shelley, Sean O?Donnell, Matt Walker. Losses: Simon Gagne, Ryan Parent, Arron Asham. Unsigned: Lukas Krajicek, Ray Emery. Pittsburgh Penguins 2009-10: 4th, 47-28-7, 101 points After two straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances with a 2009 Cup victory, the Pens disappointed in the playoffs, likely due to exhaustion from two straight long and gruelling seasons. After their second round exit at the hands of the Cinderella Canadiens, they had plenty of time to rest, though it hasn?t seemed to help Jordan Staal recover from his foot laceration; his health is crucial to the success of this club. Also crucial will be getting Evgeni Malkin back to Art Ross winning and Hart Trophy nominee form after a subpar season (28 goals/77 points, albeit in only 67 games). Sidney Crosby tried to carry the team through their inconsistencies last year, winning the Rocket Richard trophy in the process with a career high 51 goals. Their power play was woeful, and the loss of Sergei Gonchar won?t help matters any, but a return to form for Malkin would ease the pain. On the back end they replaced Gonchar with two defensemen who are far more sound defensively (where Gonchar sometimes looked disinterested) and should help the heavily-peppered Marc-Andre Fleury. They did lose some depth on the back end, but replaced the quantity with quality. They told Bill Guerin they weren?t interested in bringing him back, and that may prove to be a mistake; his 20 goals and veteran leadership won?t be easily replaced. They could still stand to add another forward capable of reaching the 20 goal plateau, but they did find a couple of nice bargains that may excel alongside the superstars in Pittsburgh. This is a team that knows how to win, and the bitterness of defeat will be fresh in their mouths, so look for them to take back their Atlantic crown this year. Prediction: 1st in the Atlantic, 2nd in the Eastern Conference Additions: Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek, Arron Asham, Mike Comrie, Ryan Craig. Losses: Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Jay McKee, Jordan Leopold, Mark Eaton. Unsigned: Ruslan Fedotenko Nick can be reached via email nickobergan@hotmail.com or on twitter @NickObergan