Alex Ovechkin plays like a man possessed and unless the Capitals win a cup this year he may need an exorcism. Expect them to come close and look for his supporting cast to play a major role. Nicklas Backstrom will emerge as one of the top five players in the NHL. The rest of the division will be fighting for playoff spots and a roll of the dice is best suited to predict the final standings.
One thing you can bet on is that both Carolina and Tampa Bay will be looking forward to high draft picksagain next year although both clubs have plenty of young talent on the horizon. Atlanta looks to build on the roster juggling from the Kovalchuk deal, but is a world away from contending.
Washington Capitals - OV and his hard charging teammates are one of the favourites to win it all and if the Russian gunner can finally start to spread the wealth and begin to make the rest of his club better, then he will stand up to legitimate comparisons to Crosby.
Mike Green is an elite offensive defenseman and must have a banner year for the Caps to contend. I am far from sold on their goaltending, but when you score six goals per game it won't matter much.
Atlanta Thrashers - Evander Kane is a keeper and natural scorers like Modin and Andropov give them a glimmer of hope in this forlorn division. The timely addition of super stud Dustin Byfuglien gives them a dimension they've lacked and Nigel Dawes is a terrific two-way player.
The eerie and troubling collapse of promising young goalie Ondrej Pavelec means 34-year-old journeyman Chris Mason will be counted on for a heavy workload.
Carolina Hurricanes - The only reason they get placed this high is because of their deep farm system, a guy named Staal and one of the league's top goalies in Cam Ward.
Eric Cole will be counted on for grit and 30 goals and Patrick O'Sullivan was a scoring machine as a U.S. college player and the Canes are counting on him to be a good pro. Grinders like Tom Kostopoulos provide fourth line depth, but nothing more. A solid year from Jussi Jokinen will be a must because when the defence is led by the likes of Joe Corvo they'll need 40 goals from the Finnish wiz.
Florida Panthers - Michael Frolik and Radek Dvorak do not generate a lot of confidence, but along with well-travelled Christopher Higgins, they will be counted on to score.
Kenndal McCardle wows scouts with his athleticism, but his hockey IQ is gruesome. Stephen Weiss will be a reason why the Panthers stay out of the cellar. Weiss could bag 30 goals and always exhibits a positive plus/minus rating. Reinprecht, Stillman and Bernier keep this bunch one notch above Tampa. Dennis Wideman leads a thin defence and Tomas Vokoun brings his great stats to provide at least 60 starts between the pipes.
Tampa Bay - Ryan Malone and Simon Gagne will fit in nicely between the aging duo of Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.
Stamkos is the real deal, but after him the pickings are thin.Stamkos should be a lock for 50 plus goals.
Talented but psychotic Steve Downie needs to suppress his manic side, but can play the game at both ends of the rink when he's not in the penalty box. Super Swede Mattias Ohlund has a howitzer from the point and is their only real top-end defenceman. Ohlund has the size and competitive nature to help nurture the other youngsters around him, but the roster is flat out lousy and they will fight with the Oilers for yet another first overall pick in the spring.
Hindsight is often the enemy of the GMs of the league and not dealing Lecavalier while he had some value will haunt the Tampa franchise. He will end up like ex-Dallas star Mike Modano and land on a cup contender when he is long past his prime. Tampa will receive a baloney sandwich in return for a star that would have warranted a major payoff in draft picks and serviceable starters a few years back.
The strange thing about seeing so many weak clubs in this division is that the game has become so global and the talent available is out there hanging from the tree like a ripe piece of fruit. It has come down to scouting, player development and having a coach that can coax the most out of what he has to work with.
Now that we will begin to view the Western Conference, I can voice my praise for teams like Edmonton that have relegated themselves to let their youthful draft picks play-regardless of the outcome. Their early season wins should not dictate any parade planning for playoff success, but they have the right idea.
