Will the Sharks surface and become the division winners? Will Dallas shine as the undisputed Pacific team, or will the Ducks fly away with the division crown? As the saying goes, only time will tell. But one thing is for sure- it will be a dog fight until the very end.
Dallas Stars: 2nd
Gone are the days where Mike Modano is the lone star in the lone star state. If anything, Dallas has become crowded...especially down the middle. Boasting not only Modano, but the emerging Mike Ribeiro and former Conn Smyth winner Brad Richards, and Dallas has one of the best 1-2-3 center combinations in the league. Whoever said three's company, anyway?
Losing 27-goal scorer Niklas Hagman to free agency will without doubt leave a glaring hole on the wing. But with that comes an opportunity for highly touted Swedish prospect Fabian Brunnstrom to make a name for himself in the NHL. In addition to Brunnstrom, the Stars boast Brendan Morrow. The Stars captain put up career numbers in 2007-08, was third in the league with 260 hits and first on the Stars with a +23 rating. With the loss of Hagman expectations will be very high for Morrow to elevate his game to the next level; something shouldn't be a problem for the 29 year old.
And who could forget about the off-season acquisition of Sean Avery. Avery will make the Stars much more gritty and will be a thorn in the side of the opposition all season long. Expect Avery to start on the second line alongside Brad Richards who should only help Avery's point production in Dallas. A major mistake by opposing teams is not giving Avery enough credit for his offensive capabilities. In his last three seasons, Avery has proven he is capable of playing top-6 minutes as his numbers suggest (120 points in his last 216 games).
A critical question for the Stars entering 2008-09 will be the health of their two best defenceman, Sergei Zobov and Phillip Boucher. Zubov will start the season on the IR (Injured Reserve) after recovering from hip surgery, and Boucher has had a history of injuries over his 700+ game career. General Managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson will be hoping Zubov and Boucher can stay healthy as Dallas does not have the depth on the back-end. Both aging defenceman are also headed for unrestricted free agency on July 1st, 2009 which should be extra motivation for the two to have excellent seasons.The Stars won't have any question marks with their starter in goal, as evident by who their backup is (Tobias Stephan). Stephan has played only one game in the NHL, but made a name for himself with strong numbers in Iowa of the AHL last season. Stephan should see some action this season, but clearly the torch is in Marty Turco's hands. Look for Turco to have a career year this season with Dallas, especially if the Stars' defensive corps remains healthy.
The critical question for the Dallas Stars will not come before the season begins, but rather before the playoffs. The Stars still have a mental hurdle to jump over when lining up against the Red Wings. The Stars are 0-4 when facing the Red Wings in the post-season, so building confidence against what is easily the best team in the league is critical as the season progresses. The Pacific will be the scrappiest division in the league in 2008-09, but give the edge to the Stars in an 82 game schedule.
San Jose Sharks: 4th
Despite many forwards having sub-par seasons in 2007-08, general manager Doug Wilson kept his forwards intact over the off-season, hoping players like Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo will have strong campaigns in 2008-09. However, Wilson certainly did not sit pat during the dog days of summer. Despite losing puck-moving defenceman Brian Campbell and the rugged Craig Rivet to free agency, Wilson certainly countered those losses with a few moves of his own. Signing UFA Rob Blake and swinging a trade for defencemen Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich from Tampa Bay were solid moves by Wilson who saved his blue-line from deteriorating.
Off the ice, Doug Wilson fired head coach Ron Wilson and replaced him with ex-Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan. McLellan will bring a different philosophy to the shark tank which should focus more on attack and loosen the reigns on star forward Joe Thornton. However, a big question mark entering the season is the status of San Jose's top wingers. If Marleau and Cheechoo don't deliver early on, look for Wilson to make more more changes in search of a winning formula. For years the Sharks have been deemed the best in the West and have always been expected to hoist Lord Stanley's mug. But that window of opportunity is slowly closing each year the Sharks lose their bite with a disappointing loss in the post-season. If the Sharks want to win, they better do it sooner rather than later.
Look for the Sharks to win home-ice advantage come playoff time.
Anaheim Ducks: 5th
The
Ducks will look to regain their form from two years ago when they were at the top of the National Hockey League. An intimidating force, the Ducks steamrolled through the post-season on winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. With that, came the emergence of two young prolific scorers in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Both should easily notch 80+ points this season, but the big question for the Ducks is the production of their secondary scoring. If Brendan Morrison doesn't produce, Teemu Selanne will have a hard time finding the net in 2008-09.The Ducks blueline will yet again be solid despite the loss of Matthew Schneider, and there should be no question marks in goal with JS Giguere between the pipes. The Ducks will once again challenge for the division crown, but the lack of team depth will hurt them in a long season. That being said, they still boast one of the top scoring duos in the NHL with Perry and Getzlaf up front.
Phoenix Coyotes: 8th
With the signing of Olli Jokinen, Coyotes fans are hoping that the desert drought ends after 6 seasons of non-playoff hockey. Jokinen will inject a scoring punch that Phoenix desperately needed in a tight division, and the emergence of Peter Mueller as an emerging sniper will grab headlines around the NHL. Shane Doan should see increased point production this season playing alongside a legitimate number one center for the first time in his career, and rookie Kyle Turris will have the pressure lifted off his shoulders as the number two center in the desert. Clearly, Jokinen helps out the young Coyotes in more ways than one.
On the backend, the Coyotes have a solid group despite trading Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton to Florida in the Jokinen deal. Look for 'Jovo-cop' (Ed Jovanovski) to lead the blue line alongside Derek Morris, and the young prospect Keith Yandle should have a breakout year.
In goal, Ilya Bryzgalov should have a career year with 30+ wins and be a Vezina candidate come season's end. The only question for this young Phoenix team is how fast their young stars develop. If the young guns come through, then the Coyotes should find themselves in the playoffs come April.
Los Angeles Kings: 13th
The Los Angeles Kings will be an exciting team to watch this season. Besides the obvious that the Kings will be an exciting offensive team with Kopitar, Frolov, O'Sullivan and Brown, there are also other reasons to keep a close eye on the Kings in 2008-09. In goal, Jason LaBarbera and Erik Ersberg will battle for the number one job, the Kings blueline took a huge hit in the off-season with the losses of Rob Blake and Lubomir Visnovsky, and their defensive corps will feature two rookies to start the season. However, with so many question marks it probably won't be as much exciting for the players donning the black and purple. In sum, look for the Kings to be one of the bottom feeders of the Western Conference.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment