NHL Season Preview: NE Divsion
Boston Bruins
The biggest off-season move made by the Bruins was acquiring goalie Manny Fernandez at the Draft for a 3rd round pick and defenseman Brad Lukowicz in the same deal. Beyond that move, the Bruins stayed pat except for the trade for Peter Schaefer. Defense was a huge problem last season and the Bruins will be hoping Zdeno Chara has a better season than 06-07. Youngsters Marc-Andre Bergeron, Phil Kessel and Marc Savard will all have to have solid seasons, otherwise this team and its fans are in for a long year.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs made a big splash in the free agent pool by signing the much-sought-after Jason Blake. They also added insurance between the pipes by signing back-up Vesa Toskala. Toskala will provide a Plan B should starter Andrew Raycroft falter this season. A third goalie who will be battling for the back-up job is Scott Clemmson who inked a deal with the Leafs. There was an embarrassing signing this off-season when Mark Bell got into legal trouble. Don't look for him to be playing any time soon. Mats Sundin should be hungry to win the Cup this year, as time is running out on his career. Super pest Darcy Tucker will once again be in the faces of the opposition. The leafs basically boast three lines that are a threat to score on a nightly basis. The question mark will be on the blueline where Pavel Kubina needs to step it up and be better than he was last season. Bryan McCabe should be a threat to anyone blocking his bullet of a shot, but he can be prone to defensive lapses now and again. Hal Gill is slow, Ian White and Wade Belak should be a solid unit. Also, in goal, both goalies need to be solid, especially Raycroft, who struggled with shots to his glove hand at some points last season. I expect the Leafs to challenge for a playoff spot. In fact, look for them to nab the eighth and final playoff spot in the east.
Ottawa Senators
Goalie Ray Emery has a tough task ahead of him this season: proving 2006-07 was no fluke. The Senators primarily got as far as they did last season because of the Heatley-Aflredsson-Spezza line absolutely lighting it up in the playoffs. It wasn't until the Stanley Cup Finals when they finally met a defense that could shut them down. Once again, these three players will create headaches for the opposition. Combine that with a stingy, scary-good defense that doesn't allow many goals and you are in for a long night most nights if you're playing Ottawa. The big question for the Senators heading into the season is whether they can get some secondary scoring. I believe the team is strong enough in goal and on defense to parlay a significant drop in production after the top line or two. However, that is depending on if this team stays healthy.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens chose to part ways with PP specialist Sheldon Souray and add the more defensively reponsible Roman Hamrlik. This is a move that will surely help them down the road. Up front, they inked Bryan Smolinski to a deal. The former Canuck did okay after being acquired at the trade deadline last season. The Habs better hope he's a better pick-up than the moody Sergei Samsanov was. In goal, they should be solid with rising star Christobal Huet making the bulk of the starts and relable back-up David Aebischer therewhen needed. The biggest reason for their down fall towards the end of last season was their inability to score five-on-five, something every successful team needs to do most of the time.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres were one of the harder hit teams this off-season, saying goodbye to superstar Daniel Briere (now a Philadelphia Flyer) and Chris Drury (now with the NY Rangers). Danius Zubrus also left town to join the NJ Devils. In goal, the Sabres will have starter Ryan Miller making the bulk of the saves once again, as well as new back-up Jocelyn Thibault, looking to prove himself a solid back-up. Overall, this is a team that has size, speed, and agility. The Sabres are a deep team with three lines that are a threat to score and 3 solid defensive pairings. I believe that while losing co-captains Briere and Drury will hurt, this team should have the depth to challenge in the East once again.
How these teams will finish in 2007-08
1. Buffalo Sabres
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Montreal Canadiens
5. Boston Bruins
The biggest off-season move made by the Bruins was acquiring goalie Manny Fernandez at the Draft for a 3rd round pick and defenseman Brad Lukowicz in the same deal. Beyond that move, the Bruins stayed pat except for the trade for Peter Schaefer. Defense was a huge problem last season and the Bruins will be hoping Zdeno Chara has a better season than 06-07. Youngsters Marc-Andre Bergeron, Phil Kessel and Marc Savard will all have to have solid seasons, otherwise this team and its fans are in for a long year.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs made a big splash in the free agent pool by signing the much-sought-after Jason Blake. They also added insurance between the pipes by signing back-up Vesa Toskala. Toskala will provide a Plan B should starter Andrew Raycroft falter this season. A third goalie who will be battling for the back-up job is Scott Clemmson who inked a deal with the Leafs. There was an embarrassing signing this off-season when Mark Bell got into legal trouble. Don't look for him to be playing any time soon. Mats Sundin should be hungry to win the Cup this year, as time is running out on his career. Super pest Darcy Tucker will once again be in the faces of the opposition. The leafs basically boast three lines that are a threat to score on a nightly basis. The question mark will be on the blueline where Pavel Kubina needs to step it up and be better than he was last season. Bryan McCabe should be a threat to anyone blocking his bullet of a shot, but he can be prone to defensive lapses now and again. Hal Gill is slow, Ian White and Wade Belak should be a solid unit. Also, in goal, both goalies need to be solid, especially Raycroft, who struggled with shots to his glove hand at some points last season. I expect the Leafs to challenge for a playoff spot. In fact, look for them to nab the eighth and final playoff spot in the east.
Ottawa Senators
Goalie Ray Emery has a tough task ahead of him this season: proving 2006-07 was no fluke. The Senators primarily got as far as they did last season because of the Heatley-Aflredsson-Spezza line absolutely lighting it up in the playoffs. It wasn't until the Stanley Cup Finals when they finally met a defense that could shut them down. Once again, these three players will create headaches for the opposition. Combine that with a stingy, scary-good defense that doesn't allow many goals and you are in for a long night most nights if you're playing Ottawa. The big question for the Senators heading into the season is whether they can get some secondary scoring. I believe the team is strong enough in goal and on defense to parlay a significant drop in production after the top line or two. However, that is depending on if this team stays healthy.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens chose to part ways with PP specialist Sheldon Souray and add the more defensively reponsible Roman Hamrlik. This is a move that will surely help them down the road. Up front, they inked Bryan Smolinski to a deal. The former Canuck did okay after being acquired at the trade deadline last season. The Habs better hope he's a better pick-up than the moody Sergei Samsanov was. In goal, they should be solid with rising star Christobal Huet making the bulk of the starts and relable back-up David Aebischer therewhen needed. The biggest reason for their down fall towards the end of last season was their inability to score five-on-five, something every successful team needs to do most of the time.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres were one of the harder hit teams this off-season, saying goodbye to superstar Daniel Briere (now a Philadelphia Flyer) and Chris Drury (now with the NY Rangers). Danius Zubrus also left town to join the NJ Devils. In goal, the Sabres will have starter Ryan Miller making the bulk of the saves once again, as well as new back-up Jocelyn Thibault, looking to prove himself a solid back-up. Overall, this is a team that has size, speed, and agility. The Sabres are a deep team with three lines that are a threat to score and 3 solid defensive pairings. I believe that while losing co-captains Briere and Drury will hurt, this team should have the depth to challenge in the East once again.
How these teams will finish in 2007-08
1. Buffalo Sabres
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Montreal Canadiens
5. Boston Bruins
posted by opinionator777 at 10:47 PM
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