As usual, there has been plenty of off season roster moves as the general managers and their staff struggle to work within the strict rules of the salary cap. Look at the bright side, on paper the agreement between the Lord of Hockey, Gary Bettman, and the players' union is geared to keeping ticket prices down and achieving competitive balance within the league. Bettman exercised his unyielding power to stifle the contract between Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils proving the little squirt can simply make up the rules as he goes. With ex-MLB player-rep Donald Fehr coming aboard look for sparks to fly sooner than later.
Just when you Leaf fans were thinking you'd turned the corner, the one constant in this predicting the future business is that the team with the best players generally wins the cup. Look for teams like Washington and Pittsburgh to be there at the end, and a cast of grinders to provide some suspense to shatter the hopes and dreams of the pretenders like my Habs for instance and the Leafs.
Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division: Pittsburgh Penguins - They are led by Syd the Kid and it should be a smooth ride to a division title if Staal's foot comes around. The addition of Mike Comrie gives them more secondary scoring. Having Malkin and Crosby on one team won't last forever, and if Fleury finds some consistency they could be the favourite again.
New Jersey Devils - They gave away the ranch for Kovalchuk when you factor in the last second deal last year and the fine imposed by Bettman that cost them two high draft picks. That said, between overall team depth and an ageless Brodeur, they should be fine.
Philadelphia Flyers - The perfect balance of grit and three lines that can score. These guys will go through a brick wall to win, but sadly this group will not penetrate the mortar that holds their state rivals from Pittsburgh together. Sending Gagne packing was a horrible move and will haunt them. I continue to hope Pronger gets hit by a bus or the Bubonic Plague - as long as it's slow and painful I'll be OK with God's decision.
New York Rangers - A long list of skilled offensive talent that simply never gels as a team. Staal will be an all-star defenceman and their goalie can stop tank piercing mortar shells, but their team defence is what holds them back, that and too many killer nightclubs. I'd love to play one game in the NHL if only to stab Sean Avery in the heart with my skate. Or better yet, cut out his tongue so he can never be a commentator when his pathetic career comes to a celebratory finish.
New York Islanders - John Tavares is going to bloom this winter and remind people of Jonathon Toews. It's actually goaltender Rick DiPietro who has more to prove after signing a hundred-jillion dollar contract a few years back. Young gun Mark Moulson adds some scoring punch and Doug Weight is still above ground to lend some leadership as this under-manned group of kids grows into their skates.
I have always lauded the fun and frivolity of playing in fantasy leagues and like every other major professional sport, there are many to choose from. Live drafts are more like the real deal and often mimic the small time drunken playoff pools you arrange with your friends and neighbours. It's like a gun sale at the church -take your best shot, but take Stamkos in your top ten.
The fans in Montreal are already booing Cary Price, so next week we'll examine the Northeast Division where playoffs spots will be as rare as a decent flax crop. Brian Burke began to publicly humiliate his young players earlier than ever, especially the explosive Nazem Kadri. Despite the endless vitriol, Burke wants his players to walk on water and I wonder whether his parents gave him gentle circumspect and objective criticism to prep him for kindergarten or gave him a thorough barbed wire whipping to inspire this unique style of "motivation." He is worth the price of admission if only to hear his psychopathic rants after a prolonged slump.
Had Kadri re-phrased his press conferences to admit his shame and guilt over not performing to Burke's lofty expectations, he would still need to score a hat trick every night and a couple of fights to even be given a fair chance at a roster spot. The Leafs are doomed and Kadri will be in a straightjacket by this time next week. Burke has obviously gone back to pouring Bushmills on his Shreddies or he is simply re-enacting his inevitable role as the angry TSN analyst who makes Don Cherry sound like Stephen Hawking.
