Hockey

Atlantic Division

Standard

1. Boston Bruins
If they stick to their usual model they’ll be competing for another Cup.
2. Montreal Canadiens
When Montreal is clicking on all cylinders they could be better than Boston.
3. Detroit Red Wings
A new division and conference, but Detroit is still a title contender.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
Last year is in the rear view mirror. Time to move on.
5. Ottawa Senators
A new franchise player will reignite their title push.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
With no defense to protect them they’ll have to score with the best.
7. Buffalo Sabres
It could be a transition year for Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek via trade.
8. Florida Panthers
A lot of young faces for their 20th anniversary.

Bruins
Head Coach: Claude Julien
Key Position: Forwards – It might be a mistake to go with an older lineup by getting Eriksson and Iginla rather than keeping Tyler Seguin for the future.  Whichever way the Bruins see fit they’ll be contenders once again as long as they make the playoffs.
Key Acquisitions: RW Loui Eriksson, RW Jarome Iginla
Key to Win the Cup: Defense, defense, defense
Canadiens
Head Coach: Michel Therrien
Key Position: Penalty Kill – It’s really hard to find a flaw with this team besides their lack of size upfront, but their penalty kill percentage was in the bottom third last year.  They do have one of the best goalies in the league in Carey Price so not too much to worry about.
Key Acquisitions: C Daniel Briere, RW George Parros, D Douglas Murray
Key to Win the Cup: Get past Boston

Red Wings
Head Coach: Mike Babcock
Key Position: Forwards – Surprisingly the Red Wings weren’t near the top in goals scored per game, but they made up for it with a stellar defense.  The scoring should improve with Weiss and Alfredsson aboard.
Key Acquisitions: F Stephen Weiss, F Daniel Alfredsson 
Key to Win the Cup: Continue to find ways to prove people wrong
Maple Leafs
Head Coach: Randy Carlyle
Key Position: Forwards – Aside from the meltdown during the playoffs last year it’s still the same Maple Leafs team going into this season.  Having Clarkson and Bolland will help to avoid any kind of a repeat of last season should the Leafs make the playoffs.
Key Acquisitions: RW David Clarkson, C Dave Bolland, G Jonathan Bernier
Key to Win the Cup: Forget about last year
Senators
Head Coach: Paul MacLean
Key Position: Forwards – This should easily be fixed with the acquisition of Bobby Ryan.  He brings a fresh face to an offense that needs some tweaking.  With their stellar defense the Senators should be contenders for many years.
Key Acquisitions: RW Bobby Ryan, D Joe Corvo, F Clarke MacArthur
Key to Win the Cup: Let Bobby Ryan do his thing
Lightning
Head Coach: Jon Cooper
Key Position: Defensemen – This group was subpar last year and like their former division rivals, the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay can’t outscore everyone.  They’ll need to improve in this area fast with a possible mid-season trade if they’re still contenders.
Key Acquisitions: C Valtteri Filppula
Key to Win the Cup: Be better defensively
Sabres
Head Coach: Ron Rolston
Key Position: Forwards – They don’t pack a scoring punch anymore and it will put a burden on their defense, specifically goalie Ryan Miller who could be dealt at some point this year if the Sabres are not contending.
Key Acquisitions: D Henrik Tallinder, D Jamie McBain
Key to Win the Cup: Generate some scoring

Panthers
Head Coach: Kevin Dineen
Key Position: Everywhere – They were worse on defense, but really the Panthers are going to be relying heavily on a young crop of prospects to right this ship.  If goalie Jacob Markstrom performs up to standard it will help keep the Panthers in most games.
Key Acquisitions: C Scott Gomez
Key to Win the Cup: Focus on development first

Metropolitan Division

Standard

1. Pittsburgh Penguins
Same group of superstars, same chance of winning a Cup.
2. New York Rangers
A young core is ready to breakout in New York.
3. Washington Capitals
Watching Ovechkin vs. Crosby has gotten more intriguing.
4. New Jersey Devils
Improved scoring will help them forget Ilya Kovalchuk.
5. Philadelphia Flyers
Better goaltending makes them contenders.
6. New York Islanders
They’ll have to contend with many in a ruthless division.
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
They have some bright spots, but they’re now in the Eastern Conference.
8. Carolina Hurricanes
A much tougher division keeps them at the bottom.

Penguins
Head Coach: Dan Bylsma
Key Position: Goalie – Their regular net-minder, Marc-Andre Fleury had a terrible run in the playoffs last year.  He’ll have to do better if the Penguins are to win another Stanley Cup title with this current group of stars.
Key Acquisitions: D Rob Scuderi
Key to Win the Cup: Avoid being swept
Rangers
Head Coach: Alain Vigneault
Key Position: Power Play – They have a very good young core to win right now and for many years.  They will need a better performance out of their power play if they want to lesson the load that will be on their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
Key Acquisitions: C Dominic Moore, D Justin Falk
Key to Win the Cup: Stay healthy and perform
Capitals
Head Coach: Adam Oates
Key Position: Penalty Kill – They were dreadful last year in this department.  Most of the time you will be able to outscore the opponent, but when you run into a great goalie that will stifle a great offense.  They’ll need to improve their defense drastically.
Key Acquisitions: C Mikhail Grabovski
Key to Win the Cup: Defense wins championships
Devils
Head Coach: Peter DeBoer
Key Position: Forwards – Having Michael Ryder and Jaromir Jagr will help, but the Devils will need Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac to play to their standard and New Jersey should see a playoff appearance this year.
Key Acquisitions: G Cory Schneider, RW Jaromir Jagr, RW Michael Ryder, LW Ryane Clowe
Key to Win the Cup: Generate more offense
Flyers
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Key Position: Goalie – They were a big disappointment last year and they decided to buyout Ilya Bryzgalov’s contract to right a wrong.  They’ll see if Ray Emery or Steve Mason can help the Flyers who are solid in every other department heading into the season.
Key Acquisitions: G Ray Emery, C Vincent Lecavalier, D Mark Streit
Key to Win the Cup: Have a consistent goaltender

Islanders
Head Coach: Jack Capuano
Key Position: Defensemen – They will need to repeat what they accomplished last season if they want to reap the benefits of clinching a playoff appearance.  Their loyal fan base expects a better season and they’ll need this young group to deliver.
Key Acquisitions: RW Cal Clutterbuck, RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Key to Win the Cup: Improved scoring and improved play on the blue line
Blue Jackets
Head Coach: Todd Richards
Key Position: Forwards – Even without Marian Gaborik for more than half the season the Blue Jackets still managed to get within a few points of a playoff spot.  It will be tougher this year, but an entire year with Gaborik and Nathan Horton will keep Columbus in contention.
Key Acquisitions: RW Nathan Horton
Key to Win the Cup: Score to help Sergei Bobrovsky
Hurricanes
Head Coach: Kirk Muller
Key Position: Defensemen – They improved their depth here in the offseason, but a terrible goals allowed per game average and a penalty kill percentage doomed them to the bottom of the conference.  Goalie Cam Ward won’t last much longer in those conditions.
Key Acquisitions: D Mike Komisarek, D Andrej Sekera, G Anton Khudobin
Key to Win the Cup: Give goalie Cam Ward some relief

Central Division

Standard

1. Chicago Blackhawks
They were the best from start to finish last year. Looks that way again.
2. St. Louis Blues
A solid team that has to contend with Chicago for the top spot.
3. Minnesota Wild
The big acquisitions get a full season to show what they can do.
4. Dallas Stars
A big offseason trade changes their outlook for the better.
5. Winnipeg Jets
A loyal fan base would like to see a playoff appearance.
6. Nashville Predators
Their chances of forgetting about last year have worsened being in a tougher division.
7. Colorado Avalanche
With a new coach the Avalanche will need to make some progress.

Blackhawks
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
Key Position: Defensemen – There really isn’t a weak point on this team.  They have stayed intact at many key positions.  The only thing to hold them back from staying in contention is injuries.  If either Brent Seabrook or Duncan Keith go down for an extended period of time it will hurt their chances of repeating.
Key Acquisitions: G Nikolai Khabibulin, D Theo Peckham
Key to Win the Cup: Follow the same formula
Blues
Head Coach: Ken Hitchcock
Key Position: Forward – They were a solid team last year, but they were in the middle of the pack in goals scored per game.  They hope the addition of Derek Roy will help solve that problem as the Blues top line was counted on too much to score goals.  Letting the oft-injured Andy McDonald go helps as they relied too much on him to provide a scoring punch the last few years.
Key Acquisitions: LW Magnus Paajarvi, C Derek Roy, C Maxim Lapierre
Key to Win the Cup: Keep everyone happy

Wild
Head Coach: Mike Yeo
Key Position: Goalie – They were a solid team, but the big offseason acquisitions from a year ago were overshadowed by the inconsistent play in net.  Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding are better than their numbers indicate.  A full season should give the Wild better results. 
Key Acquisitions: D Keith Ballard, LW Matt Cooke, D Jonathon Blum
Key to Win the Cup: Better goaltending


Stars
Head Coach: Lindy Ruff
Key Position: Forward – It will be interesting to see how the influx of talent meshes together, but one thing is for sure that the Stars are going to build this team around newly acquired Tyler Seguin. There are still some holes on defense, but the Stars will surprise some people.
Key Acquisitions: C Tyler Seguin, C Shawn Horcoff, C Rich Peverley, D Sergei Gonchar, G Dan Ellis
Key to Win the Cup: Continue to build for the future
Jets
Head Coach: Claude Noel
Key Position: Power Play – They were ranked dead last in scoring with a man advantage last year and that should change with the addition of Devin Setoguchi who is a good player on the power play.
Key Acquisitions: RW Devin Setoguchi, RW Michael Frolik
Key to Win the Cup: Improve the power play

Predators
Head Coach: Barry Trotz
Key Position: Defensemen – They seem to be struggling here with the loss of Ryan Suter last year to free agency.  They were next to last in penalty kill percentage and goalie Pekka Rinne was forced to shoulder the brunt of the defense’s struggles.
Key Acquisitions: RW Viktor Stalberg, C Matt Cullen
Key to Win the Cup: No easy goals
Avalanche
Head Coach: Patrick Roy
Key Position: Forward – They have an immense array of talent on their first two lines that it would shock most if the Avalanche are not higher than 15th in goals scored per game.  Their defense and goaltending are still behind in development so they might have to wait a year for it all to mesh for a playoff run.
Key Acquisitions: LW Alex Tanguay, D Cory Sarich
Key to Win the Cup: Score with the best of them

Is this the End?

Standard
“My only friend, the end”
Do you remember the 2004-05 NHL season?  I certainly do because there wasn’t a season.  
The NHL set itself back 10 years with that players strike.  League owners caved into pressure and gave the players a huge chunk of the money pie.  Now the owners are looking to take some, if not all of it back.

What to do, what to do?  A hard question indeed for both sides. Well, I have the answer for both the owners and the players.

GET A DEAL DONE!

The NFL last year almost lost an entire season over money issues. I said then that they should split their $9 billion dollar pot in half and be done with it.  They eventually came to an agreement, but it wasn’t solved that easily.

I am saying the same thing to the NHL owners and players.  Split the pot down the middle, 50-50.

I know that it’s an easy way to solve a complex issue, but I’m a man of common sense.  Do you honestly think that you guys will make it out unscathed if there’s a lockout this season?

Instead of setting yourselves back 10 years.  You’re looking at 20-30 if you let this happen again.  And I’m not just talking about missing an entire season.  If you miss any regular season games, just one.  You will have lost another generation of fans.

Be forewarned.  Just because Donald Fehr (pictured above at the microphone) is the best man to lead the NHL players association doesn’t mean he’s going to do what’s right for the sport.

He was an integral part in nearly destroying baseball.  His tactics lead to the strike of 1994 and his stance against testing players for steroids for many years after nearly killed America’s past time. Players and the owners contributed to the fall of baseball as well, but Fehr was front and center with commissioner Bud Selig.

Do you want the same to happen to the NHL?  I’m sure commissioner Gary Bettman is as cold and calculating as Donald Fehr.  That’s what worries me about this situation.  I truly love this game.  It’s a unique and fast paced game that doesn’t deserve this.

After all they have accomplished, they’re willing to throw it away yet again.  Don’t make the same mistakes that others have already made.  You will regret it in the end.

2012 Stanley Cup Champions

Standard
The unthinkable has happened for a team that has been around for 44 years.  The Los Angeles Kings have won a Stanley Cup title. Not since 1993 has the ‘City of Angels’ been this close to winning the greatest trophy in all of sports.  That year they were expected to win.  They acquired ‘The Great One’ Wayne Gretzky just 4 years earlier from the Edmonton Oilers.  
Their luck ran out that year as they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games.  This year was quite different.  The Kings were expected to be contenders, but it was a rough start to the season.  Their offense was stagnant.  It looked as if their Vezina candidate Jonathan Quick would run out of steam towards the end of the season.  Yet, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi made two bold moves that would change their fortune.
Terry Murray, who was the Kings previous head coach the last 3 seasons was let go after a 13-12-4 start to the year.  His replacement John Stevens was named on an interim basis and was 2-2-0.  Lombardi hired Darryl Sutter who has been around the NHL for many years.  He led Chicago, San Jose and Calgary to the playoffs in 10 out of the 12 seasons he’s coached.  One of those years was a Stanley Cup appearance with Calgary in 2004.  
However, the last time he coached was in 2006.  Would he be the right guy to jump start the Kings into contenders?  Lombardi wasn’t done making moves.  He then traded away one of the teams best defensemen in Jack Johnson to the Columbus Blue Jackets before the trade deadline for Jeff Carter.  In the offseason the Kings acquired Carter’s former teammate from Philadelphia in Mike Richards.  Carter was subsequently dealt to Columbus.  
The move was shrewd at the time, but it made a lot of sense. Carter and Richards immediately made each other better and Dustin Penner began to awaken towards the beginning of the playoffs as well.  That trio was perhaps their best line of the entire playoffs.  They combined for 39 points, including 15 goals.  
Sutter knew which buttons to push and it resulted in the Kings finishing the season with a 25-13-11 record in the 49 games Sutter was behind the bench.  They defeated the No. 1 seeded Vancouver Canucks, who were also the defending Western Conference champions.  Next they swept the No. 2 seeded St. Louis Blues. And had no problems defeating their division rivals, the Phoenix Coyotes in 5 games.  
The New Jersey Devils weren’t an easy foe in the Stanley Cup Finals.  The Kings nearly swept them, but New Jersey caught fire thanks to Martin Brodeur’s stellar play in net for Games 4 and 5. New Jersey’s hill though was too far to climb as they fell in Game 6 on Los Angeles’ home ice.  The Kings fans had never experienced a Stanley Cup victory before and it was a once in a lifetime experience.
Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings and their fans.  You could see the makings of a championship team many years ago. The moves made in the last 3-4 years by Dean Lombardi though are a sign that the Kings should remain contenders for many more years to come.