My only redeeming thing for the canes is that this is the exacxt position the Hurricanes were in heading into 05-06. The Hockey News predicted them to finish 30th in the league due to inexperience and a roster seemingly assembled on the cheap.

Carolina turned out to be a top 3 team all season. So... *shrug*
- BINGO!

In fairness, I honestly don't know what CAR has besides the names of Staal, Semin and an off-injured Ward... This could be a long season for them.

In fairness, I honestly don't know what CAR has besides the names of Staal, Semin and an off-injured Ward... This could be a long season for them.
- Ur Not Me

If Ward struggles (Likely) then Anton Khudobin has proven he can hold the fort. Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm showed good chemistry late in the year and can hopefully build off of that.

Top 6 talent is fine, as are 2 D-pairings... the problem is that the bottom 6 and third D-pairing are total unknowns/catastrophes.

yeah, that's how Marc Staal was out there all the time vs Sidney Crosby
- jimbro83

That is because Dan Bylsma refuses to put his players in a position to get them away from those players. He always used to play Crosby vs Chara too.

Rangers - They will start the season strong and finish first with a tough defensive system and good goaltending , although gradually tail off late in the season and have a short playoff run.

Penguins - I would normally pick the Pens to finish first but with the upheaval in the coaching positions combined with Maatta and Poiliot missing half the season I think they will struggle a lot at first. However, I expect them to finish strong and make a deep playoff run.

Blue Jackets - Their size and physicality paid off last season and will continue to pay off this season. With more talent they would be much like many of the better Western Conference teams like LA.

Islanders - I think they will establish some consistency and have a decent showing this year, although their place as fourth on this list is mainly because I think the teams beneath them will do so bad.

Devils - Still recovering from the damage from the Kovalchuk years (the players lost). However, this team traditionally has relied on mostly average players playing a tough defensive system and they are probably only a few years away from being able to reestablish that. Sure, Brodeur may be the best goalie in NHL history but any NHL goalie could play behind some of their defenses of the late 90's/early 2000's. Once they reestablish that Schneider should have no problem.

Hurricanes - meh

Flyers - On paper this team shouldn't have made the playoffs the last few years. The loss of Hartnell combined with the likelihood of Mason cracking at some point (and having to rely on Emery) will result in them finishing in a more appropriate spot.

Capitals - It should be interesting to see how Ovi reacts when Niskanen shoots every time he touches the puck (instead of passing to Ovi). Trotz may be a good coach but I don't think he will be able to do anything with this team. In fact, I expect them to finish last in the league.

To all you CBJ doubters out there, the plan of the CBJ front office was to make a big playoff push this year, not last year. Last year Columbus was the youngest team in the league, with a large FA signing who was so injured he did nothing all season. This year Horton should be ready to go from game 1. And after the Umberger/Hartnall trade (excuse the misspelling) and losing a couple of free agents that were older, we are still pretty close to the youngest team in the league. There were not a lot of changes in the roster because the team expects the young players who did more than expected last year to show improvement with experience this season.

Yes, the CBJ lost to a team the Rangers beat in the playoffs. But the fact of the matter is the CBJ was a young team filled with new players on a team that had been to the playoffs once in the history of the franchise. I must ask the blueshirt fans out there, how much did you lose in the off season? More or less than the CBJ?

So the CBJ had a ton of young players playing important minutes and most all of them will be a year better this year after the experience they gained in the playoffs last year. We also have several rookies/recent draft picks who seem ready to play this season, all of them up front.

And if you look at the stats at the end of last year , the CBJ was #12 in the league in Goals per game last year, with only Philly and Pittsburgh above them in the division. Offense does not seem to be as big a problem as others think. The GAA was also #13 in the league with several very young players on the ice for important minutes last year, so they ought to be better keeping the puck out of the net this coming year as well.

Obviously a young team like the CBJ are will have down times too. It is possible that the young players will tank in season 2, or a wave of injuries like Detroit had last year can occur. But with a great goalie, an improving blue line and an offense that has the potential to be among the top 10 in the league, it is reasonable to see them as the 2nd or 1st place club in the division this coming season.

NYR ::has the best 6 on Defense & all world Hank in division....top 3-5 in league...
that didnt change if anything it got more specialized w/ Boyle to do what Stralman
& Richards did(PP) in 1 player & IMO is a better fit than Stralman was...
matching 12 fwds is our mission : right now we are a work in progress ,neeed up grade in middle...but overall with our back liners & goal ,we have time .
#12 carolina STaal ....Thorton from SJ is a possible BUT we have alot to juggle and see from vets to prospects to find our top 12 gamers for NYR