2007 Preview

Around the league: Start spreading the news

By Damian Cristodero
Published October 4, 2007

Start spreading the news

The East is wide open while the West likely will come down to the usual suspects. In the end, though, the Rangers will ride their dynamic young goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, to their first Stanley Cup since 1994. So says Times staff writer Damian Cristodero, who handicaps the league.

They have a chance

Ducks: Goals and points leader, Teemu Selanne, apparently is retired. Dustin Penner signed with the Oilers, and Scott Niedermayer is undecided about his career. Add that goalie J.S. Giguere is rehabbing from hernia surgery, and things are unsettled. But with Chris Pronger on the blue line and a rejuvenated Todd Bertuzzi, the defending Cup champs should be a force.

Flames: Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff gives thema chance every night. Jarome Iginla is an elite player, and the team made a big effort to shore up its defense. (Remember Cory Sarich?) New coach Mike Keenan will motivate or divide. That could be the key.

Penguins: Add valuable experience to a team that took off behind phenom Sidney Crosby, Calder winner Evgeni Malkin and Calder finalist Jordan Staal, and you have a serious contender. The third-highest scoring team in the East added sharpshooter Petr Sykora.

Rangers: After adding free agents Chris Drury and Scott Gomez to a lineup that includes reliables such as Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, the Rangers gave standout goalie Henrik Lundqvist and a scrambling blue line more of a cushion.

Red Wings: Chris Chelios is 45, Dominik Hasek 42 and Nicklas Lidstrom 37. They are balanced by 20-somethings Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Signing Brian Rafalski will help, but the key will be how much the old folks have left.

Senators: Dany Heatley had his second straight 50-goal, 100-point season, and Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson are top-20 scorers. But goaltender Ray Emery has been slow healing from wrist surgery.

Sharks: San Jose had the West's best power play, and Joe Thornton should again challenge for the scoring title. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov is No. 1 with Vesa Toskala off to Toronto.

Keep an eye on

Avalanche: The most improved team will have a dynamic duo as Ryan Smyth joins Joe Sakic. Calder finalist Paul Stastny is a future superstar, and goalie Peter Budaj gets the No. 1 job from the get-go.

Blackhawks: With several additions,including Robert Lang, Sergei Samsonov and Brent Sopel, Chicago might contend for the playoffs. That is if goalieNikolai Khabibulin returns to form and Martin Havlat stays healthy.

Canucks: Good thing Vancouver has goalie Roberto Luongo because its team-record 49 wins came despite one of the league's weakest offenses. Consider a 4-for-67 power play in the playoffs. It would help if Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison gave the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, a little help.

Capitals: Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin scored 84 of 234 goals. Signing Michael Nylander and Viktor Kozlov and adding touted rookie Nicklas Backstrom should help. The defense remains a work in progress. And Olaf Kolzig, still a butterfly master, is 37.

Devils: New Jersey took huge hits with the free agent losses of Brian Rafalski and Scott Gomez. But three-time Vezina winner Martin Brodeur still is the answer to many questions. Does a defensive-minded team goes further into a shell, or will new coach Brent Sutter preach puck pursuit?

Flyers: The league's worst team last season signed free agent star Daniel Briere and acquired Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen and Joffrey Lupul. Forty-goal scorer Simon Gagne is at the top of his game. With Martin Biron in goal, the Flyers could raise eyebrows.

Hurricanes: Carolina has pretty much the same team that won the Cup in 2006 and did not make the playoffs in 2007. Matt Cullen is back after a season with the Rangers. Eric Staal must reverse a 30-point downturn, and Selke winner Rod Brind'Amour, 37, must stop aging.

Lightning: Much depends on the recovery of defenseman and offensive catalyst Dan Boyle and how well the goaltending responds after a mediocre season. If the goalies stiffen (which would help the tied-for-28th penalty kill) and the high-powered forwards do their thing, Tampa Bay will be difficult to beat. If not, it could be a long season.

Predators: They lost Paul Kariya, captain Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell and Peter Forsberg. But the Preds still have two scoring lines and a solid defense. Chris Mason must shine as the undisputed No. 1 goalie after the trade of Tomas Vokoun.

Sabres: Points leader Daniel Briere is gone as is star Chris Drury. But the top seven defensemen return as does Tomas Vanek and his 43 goals.

Stars: They have six major contributors at least 34 years old. But if Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow can stay healthy and put up big numbers, the speedy Stars have enough with Marty Turco in goal.

Thrashers: Despite losing Keith Tkachuk and Scott Mellanby, Atlanta still has a potent offense led by Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa and Slava Kozlov. It helped its third line with Eric Perrin. The blue line is small, and goalie Kari Lehtonen is inconsistent.

Wild: Minnesota led the league last season with a 2.20 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. Niklas Backstrom is the No. 1 goalie. But its fortunes might hinge on the health of scorer Marian Gaborik and chemistry with Pavol Demitra.

Wait until next year

Blue Jackets: Goalie Pascal Leclaire must get through a season without injury, and Rick Nash must build on his great effort at the World Championship.

Blues: They might not make the playoffs (they haven't since 2004), but St. Louis will be better. The keys are the signing of Paul Kariya, return of Keith Tkachuk and a defense some believe is as good as any.

Bruins: Adding goalie Manny Fernandez should stabilize things. New coach Claude Julien has lots of young, offensive-minded forwards but needs time to build. And defenseman Zdeno Chara, who led the league in ice time, must come back from a down year.

Canadiens: Montreal had the league's top power play thanks to Sheldon Souray, who set a record for defensemen with 19 power-play goals but bolted for Edmonton. The team has nothing comparable even after signing Roman Hamrlik.

Coyotes: Shane Doan was the only player with more than 50 points last season. Coach Wayne Gretzky doesn't deserve this.

Islanders: New York lost free agents Jason Blake, Ryan Smyth and Viktor Kozlov, and a fed-up organization bought out Alexei Yashin. That's more than 100 goals out the door. Thank goodness for goalie Rick DiPietro.

Kings: Is Los Angeles taking a chance with goalie Jonathan Bernier, 19, who is right out of juniors? After a West-low 27 wins last season, why not?

Maple Leafs: Toronto added 40-goal scorer Jason Blake and goalie Vesa Toskala but hasn't figured out team speed is key. And it counts too much on aging vets Mats Sundin, 36, and Darcy Tucker, 32.

Oilers: Edmonton scored a league-low 195 goals last season. Adding the big shots of defensemen Sheldon Souray and Joni Pitkanen and forward Dustin Penner should help.

Panthers: Tomas Vokoun was acquired, but goaltending wasn't the problem. More important: improvements by Nathan Horton, Jay Bouwmeester and Stephen Weiss, who had career seasons but couldn't get Florida to the playoffs. Additions Radek Dvorak and Richard Zednik have potential for big payoffs.

[Last modified October 3, 2007, 11:04:35]