NHL Season Preview: Pacific Division
This is a division with 2 very strong teams, 1 decent team and 2 very weak teams
Phoenix Coyotes:
This will be the Great One's third season as a head coach and at best thus far he's been adequate in running the Coyotes. At the end of last season, Gretzky vowed things would be different and there would be no country-club atmosphere. A good example of the types of players brought in in recent years is Jeremy Roenik. During a visit to Vancouver in the middle of the season, he was deemed a healthy scratch and instead of being up in the press box supporting the team, Roenik chose to eat dinner at a local restaurant, I believe it was the Keg. I believe Shane Doan should have a decent season, and Ed Jovanovski and Derek Morris are solid on the back end. Beyond that, the Coyotes have a whole lot of youth and experience and are thus a few years from contention at least.
LA Kings
Goaltending is going to be what makes or breaks this team. Dan Cloutier must recover from his hip surgery and perform like he can. The Kings made a big splash in the free agent pool, inking Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing, Ladislav Nagy, Kyle Calder and Michael Hanzuis. They have a solid core up front with three lines that are a threat to hurt you. They have superb youngsters including Alexander Frolov, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Mike Cammelleri and Jack Johnson. Defensively, they have a solid six defensemen. The Kings are going to be part of a three-team race for the Division title.
Dallas Stars
Arguably, the Stars are the most boring team in hockey. They are extremely defensive-minded and generally struggle to score on a regular basis. They are also one of the stingier teams in the league led by star goalie Marty Turco, who proved that he can go head-to-head with the best goalies in the league, when he battled and almost defeated Roberto Luongo in the first round of the playoffs last season. During the off-season, they made a few minor pick-ups that can be attributed to helping with depth. Up front, they are led by Mike Modano, who is aging and past his prime. The Stars also have Brendan Morrow. They essentially have two dangrous lines and a defensive 6 that lacks depth. I believe that Dallas will mirror the Canucks once again this season, winning games by scores of 1-0 and 2-1. They should be solid in the shootout with Jussi Jokinen having a great move.
Anaheim Ducks
The defending Stanley Cup Champs are once again legitimate contenders signing Forward Todd Bertuzzi, who showed promise in Florida before having back surgery and missing most of the season. They also inked Defenseman Matthew Schneider, who on any other team would be in the top 2 pairings, but on the Ducks he'll be the fifth D-man, unless Neidermeyer decides not to return and retire. The Ducks lost a few players this off-season with the assumed retire of Teemu Selanne and Ryan Shannon being traded to the Canucks and Dustin Penner signing a restricted free agent deal with the Oilers. However, their depth both up front and on the back end is so great that it will have minimal effect in the standings. Look for the Ducks to go deep in the post-season once again this year.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks enter the season boasting the best 1-2 punch up the middle, sending Joe Thorton as the #1 line centerman and Patrick Marleau, who would be first on the depth chart on most any other team, as centering the second line. This Sharks team is dangerous and will be a tough team to beat most nights. Look for them to battle Anaheim for the Division title all year long. The one question mark is who will be the back-up goalie to Evgeni Nabakov and their defense isn't as deep as Anaheim's.
How these teams will finish in the 07-08 standings:
1. Anaheim Ducks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. LA Kings
4. Dallas Stars
5. Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes:
This will be the Great One's third season as a head coach and at best thus far he's been adequate in running the Coyotes. At the end of last season, Gretzky vowed things would be different and there would be no country-club atmosphere. A good example of the types of players brought in in recent years is Jeremy Roenik. During a visit to Vancouver in the middle of the season, he was deemed a healthy scratch and instead of being up in the press box supporting the team, Roenik chose to eat dinner at a local restaurant, I believe it was the Keg. I believe Shane Doan should have a decent season, and Ed Jovanovski and Derek Morris are solid on the back end. Beyond that, the Coyotes have a whole lot of youth and experience and are thus a few years from contention at least.
LA Kings
Goaltending is going to be what makes or breaks this team. Dan Cloutier must recover from his hip surgery and perform like he can. The Kings made a big splash in the free agent pool, inking Brad Stuart, Tom Preissing, Ladislav Nagy, Kyle Calder and Michael Hanzuis. They have a solid core up front with three lines that are a threat to hurt you. They have superb youngsters including Alexander Frolov, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Mike Cammelleri and Jack Johnson. Defensively, they have a solid six defensemen. The Kings are going to be part of a three-team race for the Division title.
Dallas Stars
Arguably, the Stars are the most boring team in hockey. They are extremely defensive-minded and generally struggle to score on a regular basis. They are also one of the stingier teams in the league led by star goalie Marty Turco, who proved that he can go head-to-head with the best goalies in the league, when he battled and almost defeated Roberto Luongo in the first round of the playoffs last season. During the off-season, they made a few minor pick-ups that can be attributed to helping with depth. Up front, they are led by Mike Modano, who is aging and past his prime. The Stars also have Brendan Morrow. They essentially have two dangrous lines and a defensive 6 that lacks depth. I believe that Dallas will mirror the Canucks once again this season, winning games by scores of 1-0 and 2-1. They should be solid in the shootout with Jussi Jokinen having a great move.
Anaheim Ducks
The defending Stanley Cup Champs are once again legitimate contenders signing Forward Todd Bertuzzi, who showed promise in Florida before having back surgery and missing most of the season. They also inked Defenseman Matthew Schneider, who on any other team would be in the top 2 pairings, but on the Ducks he'll be the fifth D-man, unless Neidermeyer decides not to return and retire. The Ducks lost a few players this off-season with the assumed retire of Teemu Selanne and Ryan Shannon being traded to the Canucks and Dustin Penner signing a restricted free agent deal with the Oilers. However, their depth both up front and on the back end is so great that it will have minimal effect in the standings. Look for the Ducks to go deep in the post-season once again this year.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks enter the season boasting the best 1-2 punch up the middle, sending Joe Thorton as the #1 line centerman and Patrick Marleau, who would be first on the depth chart on most any other team, as centering the second line. This Sharks team is dangerous and will be a tough team to beat most nights. Look for them to battle Anaheim for the Division title all year long. The one question mark is who will be the back-up goalie to Evgeni Nabakov and their defense isn't as deep as Anaheim's.
How these teams will finish in the 07-08 standings:
1. Anaheim Ducks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. LA Kings
4. Dallas Stars
5. Phoenix Coyotes
posted by opinionator777 at 10:04 AM
1 Comments:
I think you're under-estimating the Stars. Each year they just rack up the points, regardless of style.
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