NHL Season Preview: NW Divsion
In the NW Division, four of the five teams, perhaps with the exception of the Edmonton Oilers have a legitimate shot of contending for a playoff spot.
Colorado Avalanche
After failing to make the playoffs by a hair, the Avalanche set out to rectifying that blunder in the off-season, by signing the highly touted Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan. After being the heart and soul of the Oilers for the past eleven seasons, Smyth will face his former team for the first time in his career. No doubt the first time he steps on the ice at Rexall Place for the first time as an opponent it will be an emotional night for Smyth. For the first half of the season last year, the Avs looked like they were going to be mathematically eliminated early, then they caught fire with the help of veterans Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Marek Svatos, as well as youngsters Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski. As a result of the magnificent second half, they finished just a point behind the Calgary Flames for the eighth and final playoff spot. I believe their season will lie on how the goaltending of Jose Theodore holds up. However, I believe the team learned a lot from the experience of last season from having to fight tooth and nail to do as well as they did last year. Look for the Avs to challenge for a playoff spot this year.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild had a pretty quiet off-season, with their biggest pick-up in Sean Hill being unavailble until early November when his 19-game suspension will end for substance abise. Once again, the Wild will be relying on a defense-first system, and heavily on superstar Marion Gabrik. Should Gabrik get injured and first-time starting 'keeper Nikolas Backstrom falter, this team is is for a looong year. Their neutral zone trap should win them a number of games, but only time will tell whether it will be enough.
Edmonton Oilers.
GM Craig McTavish ticked off at least two GM's when he went after first restricted free agent Tomas Vanek, who eventually was overpayed by the Buffalo Sabres, then he turned his attention to Dustin Penner, who GM Brian Burke declined to match the offer sheet. These were te actions of a man desparate to turn things around after a dysmal season. Just 2 years ago, there was a lot of optimism after the Oilers came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in twenty years. However, just days after Game Seven of the Stanley Cup last season, star defenseman Chris Pronger demanded a trade stating family reasons. Soon after, Michael Peca jumped ship to sign with the Maple Leafs. These events were the start of a long 06-07 season. Goalie Dwayne Roloson wasn't nearly as good in 06-07 as he was in the '06 cup run. Also, many of the players, such as Rafael Torres, Fernando Pisani and Zack Stortini, had career years during the cup run, and were unable to play the same way the following season. At the trade deadline last January, the Oilers traded away Ryan Smyth, who had been with the team since the 95-96 season. This off-season, they traded Jason Smith, another long-serving member of the team. Besides picking up Penner, the Oilers also picked up PP specialist Sheldon Souray. However, Souray's weakness is in defending his own end. Look for MacTavish to be on a very short leash this season.
Calgary Flames
After a very disappointing first round defeat last year, the Flames shook things up, firing head coach Jim Playfair and replacing him with Mike Keenan. The biggest problem for the flames last season was that they played differently on the road than they did at home. They were nearly unbeatable at times when playing at the Saddledome, whereas they were very beatable at times when playing in an unfamiliar setting, that is on the road. The Flames inked a solid defenseman in Cory Sarich, took a chance on aging veteran Owen Nolan, signed Anders Eriksson, and acquired solid d-man Adrian Aucoin. This years version of the Flames should be about speed, grit, out-working the other team and minding the defensive side of center ice first. A little word of advice to GM Darryl Sutter, be careful about how long you keep Keenan on as head coach. Eventually he'll turn your locker room against him and maybe themselves.
Vancouver Canucks
And now we come to the team I support and grew up supporting since their playoff run in 1994. Unfortunately, their biggest off-season move was changing their logo and jerseys. They also signed Aaron Miller, who will replace Brent Sopel as a depth player. Byron Ritchie was added for grit, and Jeff Cowan was re-signed along with rising star Kevin Bieksa. The back-up 'keeper for the year will be previous-Canuck-killer Curtis Sandford The Canucks will be relying heavily on superstar goalie Roberto Luongo to keep them in games and play often. Last year's biggest challenge is this year's biggest challenge: scoring enough goals. Prospect-wise, it'll be interesting to see how well Luc Bourdon, who struggled through nine regular season games last year before being sent back to juniors, fares. Bourdon will be battling Alex Edler for the seventh and final defense position available. Basically, the Canucks roster is set heading into training camp with one or two forward positions available and maybe one on defense.
How these teams will finish in the standings at the end of the 07-08 season
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. Calgary Flames
3. Colorado Avalanche
4. Minnesota Wild
5. Edmonton Oilers
Colorado Avalanche
After failing to make the playoffs by a hair, the Avalanche set out to rectifying that blunder in the off-season, by signing the highly touted Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan. After being the heart and soul of the Oilers for the past eleven seasons, Smyth will face his former team for the first time in his career. No doubt the first time he steps on the ice at Rexall Place for the first time as an opponent it will be an emotional night for Smyth. For the first half of the season last year, the Avs looked like they were going to be mathematically eliminated early, then they caught fire with the help of veterans Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and Marek Svatos, as well as youngsters Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski. As a result of the magnificent second half, they finished just a point behind the Calgary Flames for the eighth and final playoff spot. I believe their season will lie on how the goaltending of Jose Theodore holds up. However, I believe the team learned a lot from the experience of last season from having to fight tooth and nail to do as well as they did last year. Look for the Avs to challenge for a playoff spot this year.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild had a pretty quiet off-season, with their biggest pick-up in Sean Hill being unavailble until early November when his 19-game suspension will end for substance abise. Once again, the Wild will be relying on a defense-first system, and heavily on superstar Marion Gabrik. Should Gabrik get injured and first-time starting 'keeper Nikolas Backstrom falter, this team is is for a looong year. Their neutral zone trap should win them a number of games, but only time will tell whether it will be enough.
Edmonton Oilers.
GM Craig McTavish ticked off at least two GM's when he went after first restricted free agent Tomas Vanek, who eventually was overpayed by the Buffalo Sabres, then he turned his attention to Dustin Penner, who GM Brian Burke declined to match the offer sheet. These were te actions of a man desparate to turn things around after a dysmal season. Just 2 years ago, there was a lot of optimism after the Oilers came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in twenty years. However, just days after Game Seven of the Stanley Cup last season, star defenseman Chris Pronger demanded a trade stating family reasons. Soon after, Michael Peca jumped ship to sign with the Maple Leafs. These events were the start of a long 06-07 season. Goalie Dwayne Roloson wasn't nearly as good in 06-07 as he was in the '06 cup run. Also, many of the players, such as Rafael Torres, Fernando Pisani and Zack Stortini, had career years during the cup run, and were unable to play the same way the following season. At the trade deadline last January, the Oilers traded away Ryan Smyth, who had been with the team since the 95-96 season. This off-season, they traded Jason Smith, another long-serving member of the team. Besides picking up Penner, the Oilers also picked up PP specialist Sheldon Souray. However, Souray's weakness is in defending his own end. Look for MacTavish to be on a very short leash this season.
Calgary Flames
After a very disappointing first round defeat last year, the Flames shook things up, firing head coach Jim Playfair and replacing him with Mike Keenan. The biggest problem for the flames last season was that they played differently on the road than they did at home. They were nearly unbeatable at times when playing at the Saddledome, whereas they were very beatable at times when playing in an unfamiliar setting, that is on the road. The Flames inked a solid defenseman in Cory Sarich, took a chance on aging veteran Owen Nolan, signed Anders Eriksson, and acquired solid d-man Adrian Aucoin. This years version of the Flames should be about speed, grit, out-working the other team and minding the defensive side of center ice first. A little word of advice to GM Darryl Sutter, be careful about how long you keep Keenan on as head coach. Eventually he'll turn your locker room against him and maybe themselves.
Vancouver Canucks
And now we come to the team I support and grew up supporting since their playoff run in 1994. Unfortunately, their biggest off-season move was changing their logo and jerseys. They also signed Aaron Miller, who will replace Brent Sopel as a depth player. Byron Ritchie was added for grit, and Jeff Cowan was re-signed along with rising star Kevin Bieksa. The back-up 'keeper for the year will be previous-Canuck-killer Curtis Sandford The Canucks will be relying heavily on superstar goalie Roberto Luongo to keep them in games and play often. Last year's biggest challenge is this year's biggest challenge: scoring enough goals. Prospect-wise, it'll be interesting to see how well Luc Bourdon, who struggled through nine regular season games last year before being sent back to juniors, fares. Bourdon will be battling Alex Edler for the seventh and final defense position available. Basically, the Canucks roster is set heading into training camp with one or two forward positions available and maybe one on defense.
How these teams will finish in the standings at the end of the 07-08 season
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. Calgary Flames
3. Colorado Avalanche
4. Minnesota Wild
5. Edmonton Oilers
posted by opinionator777 at 6:56 PM
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