NHL Preview 2013

I’m a few days late on this, but after watching hockey the last week I felt the urge to give my thoughts on how this season will go.  I realize, very few of you will want to wade through all of these, but I promise you hockey will be excellent this season.

Atlantic Division

1.      Boston Bruins

2.      Detroit Red Wings

3.      Ottawa Senators

4.      Toronto Maple Leafs

5.      Montreal Canadiens

6.      Tampa Bay Lightning

7.      Buffalo Sabres

8.      Florida Panthers

Overall: The addition of Detroit means this division should be really, really fun.  Four of the Original Six now play in the Atlantic, which means rivalries.  When looking at the rosters, it’s tough to doubt the Bruins.  Boston’s berth in the Finals last year was no shock and behind Tuukka Rask and a great tough guy attitude, they can compete with anyone on any given night.  Ottawa has also received some serious attention, mainly after staying relevant despite a rash of injuries last year.  I don’t have much faith they will stay healthy, but the defense is elite.

Biggest Changes: Take your pick, here.  The Bruins lost Nathan Horton (who put up over 50 points two years ago) but gained criminally underrated two-way forward Loui Eriksson.  Detroit brought in Daniel Alfredsson from their new division rivals, and while grizzled he showed no signs of slowing down last season.  My bet, though, is the addition of Jonathan Bernier in Toronto.  If the Leafs figure out who should be in goal on a consistent basis, they have the roster to be a force.  Remember, they were three minutes from eliminating the Bruins in the playoffs last year.

Best Player:  Steven Stamkos continues to toil on a team that’s fighting for relevance.  A two-time Richard Trophy winner (most goals in the league), expect him to be near the top again.

Worst Team: Many will point to Buffalo, but I’m going with Florida.  Tim Thomas is an addition in goal but after his year off I wonder how he’ll do.  Losing Stephen Weiss at center to Detroit also hurt them.  Watch for Jonathan Huberdeau to improve, though.

Playoff Spots:  Under the new format, the top three in each division get playoff spots, while the remaining two conference spots are treated as wild cards.  Based on the Metropolitan, no way this division gets more than its allotted three.

Metropolitan Division

1.      Pittsburgh Penguins

2.      New York Rangers

3.      Washington Capitals

4.      New York Islanders

5.      Philadelphia Flyers

6.      New Jersey Devils

7.      Columbus Blue Jackets

8.      Carolina Hurricanes

Overall: I will admit, after the Penguins finishing first this division is basically a guess.  The Caps, Jackets, and Canes are not used to playing these teams so often in the regular season, which will affect their ability somewhat.  The Pens are the class of the division undoubtedly, but I like the Rangers to rebound with new coach Alain Vigneault.  The Devils are the hardest team to predict in the entire league this year, mainly due to their goaltender situation, with two veritable starters in Brodeur and Cory Schneider.  When looking at the Islanders and potential MVP John Tavares, I remain skeptical of their defense but what an offense they have on Long Island.  Should be an interesting division to watch that will provide some surprises.

Biggest Changes: Besides the coaching change in New York, there are two that stand out.  The first is Philly bringing in Ray Emery and Steve Mason in an attempt to move on from the Bryzgalov debacle in net.  If the Flyers could get some solid play out of their goalie, they would have been much better last year at the very least.  The other change is a subtraction; the retirement of Ilya Kovalchuk takes a potent offensive force out of New Jersey.  This team, two years removed from a surprise Cup Finals berth, isn’t that bad, but has undergone a large makeover.

Best Unknown Player: I am assuming you don’t watch much hockey, but the players in this division are all good, so let’s stick with the relative unknowns.  At the top is Sergei Bobrovsky, the Columbus goalie who won the Vezina last year and almost singlehandedly brought the Jackets to the playoffs.  Was last season a fluke?  I doubt it, but in a deep division he will be tested.

Sneakiest Good Player: I am a homer on this, but my answer is Mikhail Grabovski.  The center, signed by the Caps to an extremely reasonable one year deal, will fit right into the power play game that Washington runs.  He also brings a great pivot to the table, and will be a great replacement for Mike Ribeiro.  Another entry here is Jeff Skinner in Carolina, who has some great hands and shooting ability.

Playoff Spots: Five

Central Division

1.      Chicago Blackhawks

2.      St. Louis Blues

3.      Minnesota Wild

4.      Dallas Stars

5.      Winnipeg Jets

6.      Nashville Predators

7.      Colorado Avalanche

Overall: This division isn’t gonna bring any top-end excitement.  The top two teams are indisputable.  The offense in Chicago and the defense in St. Louis are perhaps the two best units in the whole league.  After that, Minnesota is a fairly certain third place team through Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.  Past third is anyone’s guess.  The young talent at the bottom end of the division is prodigious.  Nathan Mackinnon in Colorado, Filip Forsberg (please come back to DC) in Nashville, Evander Kane in Winnipeg, and Tyler Seguin in Dallas are all rock stars that might experience breakout seasons.  Patrick Roy behind the bench in Denver might also add some intrigue.  Overall, though, should be a straightforward division come season’s end.

Biggest Changes: Putting Tyler Seguin in Dallas will be the most uncertain move seen in a while.  Seguin alienated Boston’s coaching staff and they grew frustrated with him.  Dallas continues to look for the heir to Mike Modano, and Seguin has the ability to throw the Stars into the playoffs.

Unexpected Good Season: Breakout is a terrible term for this, but Jay Bouwmeester has never really had a coming out party.  He’s always been a great skater and puck mover, but there hasn’t been much to look at in the past few seasons.  Well, with Alex Pietrangelo playing alongside him, Bouwmeester can take offensive risks, which will help the Blues as they struggle to win games offensively.  Don’t sleep on Vladimir Tarasenko in St. Louis either.

Guy I Feel Sorry For: Not a question, it’s Pekka Rinne.  He’s a workhorse goalie who might be stuck on a poor team for a bit.  That said, during the last 82-game season, Rinne was nominated for the Vezina, so he certainly could pull Nashville into the postseason picture.  Another guys is Ondrej Pavelec, the Winnipeg goaltender who while treated like a #1, rarely plays like it when needed.

Playoff Spots: Three

Pacific Division

1.      Los Angeles Kings

2.      San Jose Sharks

3.      Vancouver Canucks

4.      Anaheim Ducks

5.      Phoenix Coyotes

6.      Edmonton Oilers

7.      Calgary Flames

Overall: Many of the rivalries already existing will stay for the Pacific.  LA will be back after making the Western Conference Finals last season.  Jonathan Quick played lights out in the playoffs and will bring that over this season.  Between LA and the bottom, questions abound for each team.  Can San Jose finally get over the hump with their veteran lineup?  Is Vancouver, a perennial contender, able to win deep in the playoffs under new coach John Tortorella?  And, can the Ducks shock the league again through s surprising outburst?  Those three teams will likely finish in the top four, but I’m low on the Ducks.  It’s doubtful that, after trading Bobby Ryan to Ottawa, Anaheim will create as many scoring chances on the top line, even with Ryan Getzlaf back in top form.  Phoenix will also be an interesting team to watch, as ownership questions no longer loom, and Mike Smith in goal looks to recreate his 2011 season.  Edmonton has so much young talent I would not be shocked to see them emerge into the postseason, but we’ve been saying that for years.

Biggest Changes:  I’ve already mentioned the Bobby Ryan trade, which will be felt in Anaheim.  Mike Ribeiro, formally of the Caps, carried Washington in the early goings last year and may very well do so again.  If he’s playing well and Mike Smith shuts down the goal, Phoenix also has a shot.  The other change, and the biggest, is the addition of testy coach John Tortorella in Vancouver.  Torts had a miserable relationship with the New York media, but his toughness added a better dimension to a lagging Rangers team.  I expect that with the talent of the Sedin twins, the Canucks will take after their new coach and play with a little more toughness.

Worst Team: The NHL’s worst record will end up in Calgary.  The Flames have the long game in mind, as both Jarome Iginla and Mikka Kiprusoff are now gone.  GM Jay Feaster, who has held onto his job by a thread for the past two years, will lose it after a miserable season and Calgary will slink into the wilderness for a while.

Playoff Spots: I’m going with five to include Phoenix, but if Dallas plays well the Coyotes will be crowded out.

Bit #1: Some notes briefly…

The NBA announced it will end the 2-3-2 format for the NBA Finals.  This is a great plan, as travel now allows teams to fly back and forth with less effort.  Not to mention, a team getting three straight home games makes no sense.

Lane Kiffin being gone isn’t surprising, but the shock might very well be who will take his place.  Jack Del Rio, the Broncos offensive coordinator and former Jags head coach, is the odds-on favorite.  Whoever it is, I bet, won’t be a college coach and will look to recreate the success of Jim Mora at UCLA, who was also a pro coach.

The President’s Cup began this week at Muirfield Village in Ohio.  I don’t have a huge issue with the course, but the international event should take place at a course that we don’t see every year.  Muirfield also provides a huge advantage to the U.S., as there are seven Muirfield victories present on the U.S. roster.  The International team, too long uncompetitive in this competition, will not have the same kind of knowledge for the golf course.  I’m pulling for the Internationals in a way, since an International win will light some fire in this biannual matchup.

The recent talk that MLB should drop the one-game Wild Card game needs to stop.  The game brings in one extra team for the postseason and puts a higher premium on winning the division.  In addition, we all know that any team can win in baseball’s playoffs, so stop trying to expand the postseason.