A Tarred Name

It doesn’t get much worse than what was revealed this week.  UNC, the gem of the North Carolina public school system and a perennial basketball powerhouse, cheated.  And, for the first time in a while, we’re not talking about improper benefits, ill-timed text messages, or money for food.  This is academic fraud.

For those who haven’t followed, a thorough investigation by former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein has revealed that athletes at UNC were enrolled in “paper classes.”  These classes (a generous term) appeared on the course options as part of the African-American Studies department.  A professor, named Julius Nyang’oro, was listed as the ostensible instructor of the class.  In truth, these classes were operated by Deborah Crowder, assistant to Nyang’oro, who would hand out paper assignments and do all of the grading.

The use of quotes is a necessity when discussing these “classes”, since the “grading” was really Crowder assigning grades under the professor’s name on final papers.  The word “fluff” is used in the report to describe the actual written products.  Athletes took advantage of these classes.  In a particularly revealing stat, 47.4 percent of students in these classes were student-athletes between 199-2011.  What’s worse, athletes received an average grade of about a B plus (3.55), which compares fairly poorly to the average grade of B minus (2.84) for athletes in other African-American studies classes.

This favorable treatment did not escape the academic counselors for the football and basketball teams.  According to the report, football counselors sent lists to Crowder of players that should be enrolled in these classes, and in some cases told her what grade the player needed to keep playing.  Basketball counselors also “routinely” arranged for players to enroll in these classes.

This scheme helped about 3100 UNC students, but the report does not ascribe any knowledge of the shady curriculum to the athletic program or any coaches.  Roy Williams, the basketball coach, allegedly grew concerned about how many players majored in African- and Afro-American Studies.  The report also details that the number of basketball players in the department grew to be negligible by 2009.

There is, however, one more disturbing portion of this: I remain skeptical that there aren’t schools or academic counselors out there now that aren’t also steering athletes to specific “gut courses.”  In this report, a PowerPoint presentation is described where the academic counselors admit to placing athletes in courses in which “they didn’t have to pay attention or necessarily engage with the material.”  I will add that presentation was given in 2009 to athletic officials (including football coach Butch Davis) after it was learned that Crowder would be retiring soon.

UNC certainly is a hallmark athletic program, meaning it is not surprising that counselors would do what they can to inflate grades.  In fact, it is in the interest of any school to keep its athletes, especially in the big revenue sports, in academic good-standing.  But to steer athletes to classes where they needn’t do anything academic is malfeasance.  I would understand telling a star player to take a bunch of Psych courses because they require less work.  But that is different from no work.  That’s a separate issue entirely, and practices like this undercut further the myth of amateurism that permeates NCAA procedures.

UNC deserves some credit for commissioning multiple investigations since the first allegations in 2011.  And, much of the penance has been served by UNC already, after losing 16 football wins, 15 scholarships, and eligibility for the 2012 postseason.

If the NCAA wants to stop this once and for all, the ideal situation would be NCAA-sanctioned academic counselors for UNC.  That won’t ever happen, and a GPA requirement wouldn’t actually solve the problem, but deeper scholarship cuts might actually be the best remedy here.  It avoids the fruitless vacating of wins penalty while also forcing coaches and athletic directors to take a greater interest in the academic stuff.  No one wants to play shorthanded, and scholarships are the key recruiting tool.  Of course, for that to work, these cuts would have to be really deep, so much so that teams at UNC might have a really hard time competing.

Whatever it decides, this is a key moment for the NCAA.  Give this a good look and avoid missteps of the past, and they might find the best solution.  It needs to be strong, though, or else the NCAA will keep losing its ever tenuous hold on the organization of college athletics.

Bits #1:  Notre Dame

I’ve waited almost a week to tell my Notre Dame friends (and other sympathizers) that the offensive pass interference call last weekend was the correct call.  Watch the play again right now.  Neither wide receiver attempts to run a route, in fact pushing back the defensive backs with their arms.  The flag also is not late, it’s thrown at the same time the ball is in the air.  Video is a wonderful invention, please use it.

The McNabb Malady

There’s no schedule for Dibbles and Bits.  I do what I can, when I can.  But this week, for the first time in a while, I have two posts on consecutive days.  The reason?  I’m tired of Donovan McNabb.

I’ve known he’s a little more than worthless for a while now, but for whatever reason a news story today started my mind racing.  In a radio interview, McNabb said Jay Cutler, the Bears quarterback, is “the Tony Romo of the Midwest.”  In full, he said:

"He's the Tony Romo of the Midwest.  Can he play in this league? Absolutely, he's proven that. But a quarterback is measured by your body of work, meaning your wins and losses record, the numbers you put up. And the end-all be-all is how many playoff wins do you have? How many playoff appearances do you have? If you only have one to show for almost a decade of play that means you can't lead your team to the playoffs.   The question is why?  Because you're so talented, the potential is there, but why haven't you been able to do it? You can only say for so long that it's been the talent. They have some talent around Cutler, that's never been the issue. Now can you put it all together? To be honest, the answer is no.""

McNabb was a good quarterback in his day, and he has some legitimacy to discuss QBs and their ability to lead teams.  He went to the NFC Championship Game five times with one Super Bowl appearance.  He’s also 17^th on the all-time passing yards list (for the time being). 

And yet, this is another example of the McNabb Malady.  Symptoms may vary, but the prevailing effect is the belief by the patient that people care about his football opinion.  This belief, often irrational, is expressed through speculative opinions that are based on the patient’s larger-than-life belief in himself as a football genius.

Many of you may think I’m harsh, but McNabb has not acquitted himself terribly well since becoming a member of the media.  He clearly enjoys an inflated opinion of himself.  In 2013, he told anyone who would listen that RGIII should heed his advice when it came to dealing with the Shanahan regime in DC. He then antagonized most of the South when he referred to NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson as “definitely not an athlete.”  He also led the “Brady and Belichick era is over” charge this year, only to see them rattle off three straight victories.

I admit freely that some portion of this post is motivated by McNabb’s abysmal performance when he played for the Redskins.  He was a disappointment, and basically got called out for being unable to jog 100 yards by Mike Shanahan.  And he wonders why RGIII doesn’t look to him for advice?  But there’s been a pattern of behavior here that goes beyond team loyalties.

The most recent kerfuffle over Cutler and Romo does have an element of truth to it.  Neither QB has been “great”, with nothing approaching McNabb’s 9-7 postseason record.  But was McNabb really that much better than either of these guys?  Eye test tells me he and Cutler have been about equal based on this point of their careers, and the numbers bear that out for the most part.  Through 105 games, Cutler has 24,612 yards and 159 touchdowns.  McNabb at the same point had 23,860 yards and 160 touchdowns.  Romo has about 8,000 more yards than McNabb did after 114 games, and a whopping 54 more touchdowns.  Note: McNabb didn’t throw many picks compared to either Romo or Cutler, so there’s some mitigating stats here. 

It strikes me that Donovan McNabb thinks he was a winner, and therefore a step above Cutler and Romo.  But the straight numbers above don’t encapsulate McNabb’s inability to win without Andy Reid as his coach.  Good quarterbacks transcend their systems, and he clearly didn’t do that.  Both Cutler and Romo have had plenty of coordinators in their day, and yet they have equal or better numbers.  He doesn’t have much room to criticize these guys if he does think he stands above them.

I digress.  I have no interest in defending either Cutler or Romo.  The focus here is on a former NFLer who certainly isn’t in the media based on the accuracy of his opinions.  He has been quick to judge sports situations, bases many of his thoughts on what he thinks he knows (except for the discussion on NASCAR drivers, because they aren’t athletes), and then repeats the same progression the next time some radio station brings him on the air.  That he continues to generate news stories is a sad state of sports media.

Rant concluded.

Justifiable Tanking

On Wednesday, Redskins coach Jay Gruden confirmed to the press that Robert Griffin would regain the starter’s job this season. 

''Once they say he's healthy and he practices with us, and we feel like he's ready to go mentally and we have a good game plan for him, then he'll be the starter,'' Gruden said. ''But I don't know when that will be yet. It's hard for me to project. It could be one week, two weeks. It could be five weeks.''

According to what most media outlets are saying, RGIII will likely be back on the field November 16 against Tampa Bay, immediately following the Redskins bye week.

This is exciting.  It’s also incredibly stupid.

 

Stop me if this sounds familiar.  RGIII suffers a tough-to-watch injury, works out like a nut trying to get back into game shape, and then is rushed back into gameplay.  Granted, this scenario is somewhat different than last season, as back then most Redskins’ fans thought Kirk Cousins could be the starter.  In fact, rumors abounded that Griffin rushed back to stave off a challenge by Cousins for the starting job. 

This season, Cousins has thrown 10 touchdowns and eight picks.  The vast majority of those interceptions occurred against the Giants (four) and the Cardinals (three).  Not all his fault, of course, but he’s mistake-prone.  Any notion that he might be a long-term starter, or at the very least that he is a better option than Griffin, appears laughable at this point.

But, the Skins should not bring Griffin back.  The team is 1-5 now, with games coming up against the Titans, Cowboys, and Vikings before Griffin would be back.  Optimism aside, nothing tells me the team has any chance to win more than one of those three, though anything can happen against the schizophrenic Vikings.  Once Griffin returns, the schedule looks rough.  The 49ers, Colts, Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys are all part of our last seven games.  We honestly should lose all those games, giving us three or four wins in total.

And I’m fine with that.  While not honorable, tanking is the best idea for the team’s future growth.  This is particularly true after losing first round picks the past three years.  We need some defensive secondary help, and some offensive line help.  Let’s get that higher in the draft.

There’s always that “any given Sunday” phrase, which implies any NFL team can beat another team depending on the week.  No argument here, but does it make sense for the team to endure a terrible season and get those two extra worthless wins?

I should add of course that the decision to not start Griffin does not immediately mean the team is tanking.  Theoretically, the Redskins could come back a la 2012 and rattle off a streak of victories.  It’s not out of the realm of possibility, especially if they can beat the Titans, Vikings, and Bucs in the next four game stretch.  Perhaps I’ll change my tune if that happens.

But rushing him back for a particularly difficult stretch where wins look unlikely makes little sense.  This is especially true given the porous offensive line in front of him.  Kirk Cousins throws the ball quicker than Griffin, so the pass protection issues we saw in the game against the Giants might be exacerbated with Griffin in the pocket.  Part of this is not just team performance, but also doing what can be done to protect a quarterback with an injury history from even more hardship.  Imagine putting in your starter for a meaningless slate and having him get injured?  Crazier things have happened, plenty of them to Griffin himself.

Some will say Griffin’s ego demands he be in the game.  I understand up to a point.  A guy taken second overall should be given every possible chance.  But if we are so worried about offending him or his camp than RGIII isn’t the quarterback we want for long-term growth.  Frankly, he’s led us to a division title in his one full season, so he’s already done enough to warrant our complete buy-in.

Others will bemoan the state of the team, and make comments like “we aren’t the 76ers.  This isn’t basketball, no one tanks in the NFL!”  Hate to break it as news, but the Skins have been the NFC doormat for a while now, so let’s not be prideful.  There really isn’t much there.  On the second point, NFL teams might tank more if their coaches knew they were secure in their job.  Given injuries, Jay Gruden will be here next year.  Maybe Bruce Allen won’t be, but the last time Dan Snyder cared about a GM was the Bush administration.

Alright, maybe I won’t call it “tanking”, as that evokes too many unpleasant NBA memories.  But, at the very least, if they want to be better, the Redskins should play 2014 with a view to the future.  Get RGIII fully, fully healthy, and take the high draft pick for development.  At this point, the playoffs are a pipe dream, and I’d rather not become the NFC’s version of the Oakland Raiders (some may argue that's happened already). 

   

Don't get me wrong, our best chance to win is with RGIII.  But I want those wins to matter, and by now that condition isn't going to be met until next year.

2014-15 NHL Season

It’s that time again.  I know, no one cares about hockey.  Fine, but believe me this is one of my favorite times of year.  Football in full swing, baseball mercifully ending, and hockey about to begin.  I’ll jump right in.

 

Central

Chicago Blackhawks

St. Louis Blues
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Colorado Avalanche
Nashville Predators
Winnipeg Jets

Top Dogs:  The West is stacked, and the Central is tight.  Put the Predators in the East and they likely ease into the postseason.  When looking here, the Blackhawks and the Blues are the class of the division.  But, there are lots of interesting storylines.  Easily five Central teams make the playoffs.

Goalie Depth?:  The Blues come into this season relying on Brian Elliott in goal, who has typically been part of a tandem during his time in St. Louis.  Now he’s the guy, but does benefit from the best defense in front of him.  The Hawks endured an up-and-down season by Corey Crawford last year, who is a Cup-winning goalie, so any rebound by him would be greatly appreciated.

The Minnesota Wild goalie situation could be a post in and of itself.  Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom, Darcy Kuemper, and Ilya Bryzgalov all started games last season.  While Harding is the unquestioned starter here, he’s out in first two months.  I will be watching this unit, particularly if a backup plays well and the Wild have a trade asset on their hands.

Question Mark:  The Avalanche tied a franchise record for wins last year, and then lost to the Wild in the playoffs.  Key to their success was Semyon Varlamov’s great play in goal.  The former Capital castoff was a finalist for the Vezina, and he may need to repeat that this year.  The team lost key center Paul Stastny, and replaced him with aging Jarome Iginla, who played great in the atmosphere of Boston.  I still think this team struggles.

New Possibilities:  The Stars and Wild are intriguing playoff teams from a year ago that got better in the offseason.  Dallas brings in Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky from Ottawa, who will immediately bring huge depth to this forward group.  The Wild signed Thomas Vanek, who is somehow only 30 despite being fairly well-traveled in the past few seasons.  He’s an offensive gem, which will help the Wild improve on their 2.43 goals per game from a season ago.

New Face:  The Predators let go of Barry Trotz as coach after last season, who was the longest-tenured coach in the league.  They brought in Peter Laviolete, who coached the Hurricanes and Flyers to the Cup finals in the 2000s.  He’s more up-tempo offensively, and it shows based on Nashville’s additions.  Olli Jokinen, Derek Roy, Mike Ribeiro, and Anton Volchenkov have all played very serviceable minutes elsewhere.  But, the possibilities for this team rest on goalie Pekka Rinne.  One of the best goalies in the world three years ago, Rinne has experienced severe hip injuries and can’t stay healthy.  The Preds will be better this year, but I still think they miss the playoffs by a bit.

Players to Watch:  Almost everyone in this division (excluding the Winnipeg roster) is worth paying attention to.  For particularly interesting cats, focus on Paul Stastny and Vladimir Tarasenko for the Blues.  Stastny comes over from Colorado and will reunite with his American Olympic teammates Backes and Oshie (who you should also watch by the way).  He’s rugged and can score, meaning the Blues just get better.  Tarasenko is also an impressive player who really played well last year (43 points in 64 games), and he’s a great option for a third line.

The Predators have James Neal now, who came over in a trade from Pittsburgh.  Neal is a proven goal-scorer (88 goals the last three seasons), but he benefitted tremendously from having Evgeni Malkin at center.  Mike Ribeiro is a deft center, but nowhere near Malkin’s level.  Neal will need to be sorta close to his old production if he wants to really affect this team.

Lastly, Nathan MacKinnon put together 63 points last year as an 18 year old.  He’s a bonafide star who will be around for a long time.  He’s easy to miss in Colorado, but shouldn’t be.

Pacific

Anaheim Ducks

Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks
Arizona Coyotes
Edmonton Oilers
Calgary Flames

Top Dogs:  No shock here.  The Ducks were the top team in the West, and the Kings won the Cup last season.  There’s really not much else to see at the top.  The teams are also fairly opposite in their emphasis.  The Ducks scored the most goals per game last year, while the Kings gave up the fewest. 

Soap Opera Division:  Very few folks follow hockey obviously, but San Jose has been a mess this summer.  After giving up a 3-0 series lead, the Sharks promised a change in their line-up, but instead they stood pat.  The team is choosing to go without a captain for the time being, after stripping Joe Thornton of that label.  The team also made no secret of trying to shed itself of Thornton and another former captain star, Patrick Marleau.  There’s lots of talent, and top centerman Joe Pavelski is a force, but this team might fall apart at the seams due to a leadership crisis.

Arizona wasn’t as bad, but the dismissal of Mike Ribeiro under a dark cloud was very strange.

New Layout:  The Canucks cleaned house after a dismal season last year, firing their coach, GM, and trading their longtime goalie Roberto Luongo.  Now, the Canucks bring in Ryan Miller, a goalie who is branded an elite power, despite being 21^st in save percentage since his otherworldly 2010 season.  I love the guy for his Olympic contributions that year, but Miller has not played as well as people like to imagine.  Unfortunately, Vancouver needs him to show up in 2014-15.  They lose their captain Ryan Kesler and welcome a new player in Radim Vrbata that has a chance to spur the Sedin twins after they went through a tough 2013-14.

New Name:  The Coyotes used to be the “Phoenix Coyotes,” and are now the “Arizona Coyotes.”  If you care, you already outnumber all Coyotes fans.

All kidding aside, the Coyotes have too many questions.  Oliver Ekman-Larsson is an elite defenseman, and Mike Smith has put together great stretches in goal over his career.  But losing Vrbata to the Canucks will strain Arizona to find any offensive fireworks. 

Team worth watching for the future:  I think the Calgary Flames are likely to finish pretty low this year, but there’s some serious talent here that is going relatively unnoticed.  Sean Monahan put up 34 points at age 18 last year, and the Flames bring in Boston College standout Johnny Gaudreau as another young gun.  The other area where they may really improve is goaltending, as Jonas Hiller comes over from Anaheim.  If he’s the long-term option, Calgary might surprise people. 

Players to Watch:  Ryan Kesler, the former Vancouver captain, was traded to Anaheim in the offseason.  He was beloved in Vancouver, before becoming disgruntled with his situation.  He is a former Selke trophy winner as the best two-way player in the game, and also wins a ton of face-offs (52.6 percent last year).  That first game back in Vancouver should be a doozy.

The Kings bring back almost their entire Cup-winning roster, but they would love to score a lot more during the season rather than waiting for the playoffs.  Marian Gaborik scored 30 goals in 45 games after coming to the team, so the pressure is on him to keep an offensive pace going.  Another Kings player to watch is Jonathan Quick, who is suffering from some questions about whether he’s truly an elite goalie or benefits from a great defense in front of him.

I will also keep my eye on Tomas Hertl, who burst onto the scene for San Jose last year with 25 points in 35 games before getting badly injured.  Given that San Jose seems to be looking for suitors of their old forwards, Hertl could be in for some greater workload.

Finally, the Oilers continue to toil in the wintry desert.  But, their forwards are young and interesting.  Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are top picks who should be good for a while, but we continue to wait for any real progress.  The goalies in Edmonton are the real question for this team.  Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth will likely frustrate the fantasy owners out there, but if they play well, it’s possible Edmonton hangs around in this division.

Atlantic

Boston Bruins

Tampa Bay Lightning
Montreal Canadiens
Detroit Red Wings
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Florida Panthers
Buffalo Sabres

Top Dogs:  Boston remains the class here, as they are one of the best teams in the East.  They will utilize the scoring by committee approach again, and I don’t anticipate them doing anything except rolling over this division, crunching a few heads on the way.  The Lightning lost superstar Steven Stankos for half of last season and still finished second in the division, and they have gotten better through a healthy Ben Bishop in goal and bringing Brian Boyle to serve an important grinder role on the penalty kill.  Montreal was a goalie’s legbone away from the Finals last year, and while I expect some regression due to attrition, the difference between them and the teams below is large.

Question Mark:  No one seems to know what to do with the Ottawa Senators.  Some have them as low as seventh in this league, while others have them finishing ahead of the Canadiens.  Ottawa had a tough season last year, with their goaltending regressing compared to prior playoff runs in the previous two seasons.  Erik Karlsson, a defenseman without much fanfare south of the border, is ridiculously good on the power play.  But, the Sens lost two-thirds of their top line last year, meaning it’s tough for me to predict them in anything higher than fourth.  And that’s generous, I bet they finish lower than that.

Question Mark #2:  Very few teams have questions like the Maple Leafs.  Coming within seconds of taking down the Bruins in the 2013 playoffs, the Leafs missed the playoffs last year under the weight of big contracts and bad defense.  The 256 goals let in by this team last year were fourth-worst, and they haven’t done much to really change anything.  Stephane Robidas broke his leg twice last season, and they rely on him for top minutes?  Eek.

Question Mark #3:  Thought we were done with these speculative teams?  Nope.  The Red Wings barely made the postseason last year, and enter the season relying on players who are well into their 30s.  That said, if the Olympics don’t happen last year, it’s likely Henrik Zetterberg comes back and plays more down the stretch.  He’s a key component for this team, as is goalie Jimmy Howard.  The Wings do bring back some youth movement that propelled them into last year’s playoffs.

Players to Watch:  First, Tampa Bay’s Ondrej Palat had 59 points last year and has an expanded role this season.  Have to expect him to repeat that output and then some.  I’ll also tag Gustav Nyquist on Detroit, who led the team in goals despite not playing a full season.

Bottom feeders?:  Hate to say it, but Buffalo should tank this year for the top pick if they can.  Florida will have a new goalie in Roberto Luongo who will hopefully improve after pedestrian seasons in Vancouver the last few years.  Not much to see here (maybe Aleksandr Barkov as a breakout candidate).

Metropolitan

Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
New York Rangers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Washington Capitals
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Carolina Hurricanes

Top Dogs:  Some hockey enthusiasts will tell you Pittsburgh isn’t gonna be as good this year due to a change in the front office regime.  Those enthusiasts are morons.  The Penguins bring back the best stockpile of talent in the East, as you can never count out Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.  We should also mention the addition of Patric Hornqvist from Nashville, who embodies the type of player the Pens usually are able to seamlessly integrate into their attack.  I’d be remiss not to mention that despite the departure of two defensemen, the back line unit is still one of the best, particularly due to Olli Maata’s development.  He’s a shut down guy who can also be a part of the power play should it be needed.  This team continues to be scary.

Who Knows from there:  Your guess is as good as mine.  Seriously.

The Rangers will continue their model of solid defense in front of Henrik Lundqvist.  But, the Blueshirts lost Derek Dorsett and Brian Boyle, valuable fourth-line types who created massive forechecking issues for opponents last season.  I think the defense is good enough to bring them to the playoffs, but this team was better last year.

The Flyers are, I think, criminally underrated right now.  Claude Giroux may be hurt and experiencing some injury concerns, but the Philly units are, by and large, extremely solid.  The biggest concern will be in goal, where Steve Mason has not especially impressed since coming over from Columbus.  But, he’s the top goalie now.

Columbus is a trendy pick for this division, and I understand why.  They showed remarkable ability last year finishing fourth in the division and losing an entertaining first round series to the Penguins.  That said, the Jackets bring injury questions, as Nathan Horton returns from a year away and Ryan Johansen, an extremely promising young player, signed a contract only on Monday, with the season beginning this week.  Sergei Bobrovsky is a stud goalie though, and he will keep them around this season.

The Islanders will be another pick everyone likes, but I can’t seem to get on board.  John Tavares is good, as is Kyle Okposo (who put up almost a point per game last year), but the goaltending situation is worrisome.  Jaroslav Halak is not a guy I’d bank my team on, as he played below his skill level for the Caps in limited action last year.  I would not be surprised if Chad Johnson sees significant time this season backing up Halak.

The Devils are a similar bag of question marks.  Martin Brodeur no longer plays in Jersey, and Cory Schneider will be the undisputed top goalie for the first time in his career.  This team was 27^th in goals scored last year, so any improvement has to come from the offense.  Jaromir Jagr returns at age 42, meaning he’s seen ten years of Bushes in the White House since starting on the professional level.  He’s an amazing specimen, who had 67 points last year, his most since the ’07-’08 season, when everyone had written him off as done.  Around him, the Devils are stingy on defense, and have a great penalty killing unit.  But, in a weird twist, the Devils went 0-13 in shootouts last year, which directly impacted their ability to make the playoffs.

And then the Caps:  The fifth place finish I project is perhaps a spot too high.  Consider it a hometown gift, but I would be surprised if the Caps finish higher than fifth in this division.  Barry Trotz’s new system is bound to take some time to integrate, and the Caps have an intriguing lineup that any DC fan knows has an 80 percent chance of underachieving. 

When discussing the Caps, Alex Ovechkin comes up.  He has to play better on the defensive half.  He is back in his normal position now (remember Oates had moved him to right wing) so there may be greater comfort there.  He had 79 points last year, so there is obviously a contribution he will make, but unless it’s in the 100 point range, he’ll have to improve elsewhere.

The greater excitement should be for the defense, where bringing in Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik will improve this unit dramatically.  If it doesn’t, the whole offseason will have been a complete waste.  These two are the backstops for us, and they will eliminate the constant thorn for the Caps, who had rotating fifth and sixth defensemen for the past few years.

I could go on and on.  Bottom line is this: for us to play well, our top line needs to play better.  The depth I think is there (FYI, Evgeny Kuznetsov is going to be a stud this year, and will eventually be the number two center on this team).  Also, let’s put Braden Holtby on alert.  His pedestrian .915 save percentage is not good enough to put this team over the top.

Players To Watch:  I will mention Evgeny Kuznetsov again, as I wouldn’t be shocked if he fought for Rookie of the Year honors.  It will also be interesting to see how Scott Hartnell, an annual Philadelphia stalwart, fares in Columbus.  He may be just the kind of agitator they need, or he’ll flame out like Dave Bolland did in Toronto.  Thankfully, Columbus didn’t sign him, only traded for him.

I think the signing of Mikhail Grabovksi by the Isles is sneaky good.  He fought through injuries with the Caps last year, but is more than serviceable as a second center.  If he stays healthy, I think he’ll be a helpful addition.

Other than that, this division will go down to the wire.  Expect lots of fireworks and fun.