Starting from the bottom, our 2009-10 NHL Season Preview provides a pivotal question and capsule analysis for each team. We'll work our way up the board between now and the first week of October.
Eastern Conference
1) Washington Capitals
How good could they be if all the stars align?
Yes, the goaltending is an X factor. But the same can be said for a lot of teams in the East. And it would help if they had a genuine number-one defenceman to lean on. (Mike Green has issues with the "defence" part.) Never mind. They score like mad, and the two guys lost in the off-season, Fedorov and Kozlov, were fading anyway. Most of their core players haven't peaked yet.
2) Philadelphia Flyers
Once a goaltending head case, always a goaltending head case?
Rich teams routinely handcuff themselves by spending to the salary cap, and to squeeze under they fill important holes with cheap labor. The Flyers, spectacularly deep at every other position, have gone cheap in net. If Ray Emery can stay out of anger management and play half as good as he did in the 2007 playoffs, this team challenges for the Cup. If he makes the highlight show for all the wrong reasons, it will be a very frustrating year.
3) Boston Bruins
And the key to the season is... Marco Sturm?
There are plenty of theories on how to replace the 36 goals Phil Kessel scored last year: Sturm stays healthy, is the popular one. Also, Milan Lucic continues onward and upward; David Krejci follows his breakout season with another breakout season; Old Man Recchi keeps turning back the clock. But the Bruins also lost a few depth players, so the more likely scenario is a small step backwards. Lucky for them, there are no serious challengers in their division.
4) Pittsburgh Penguins
Has the Stanley Cup repeat become the impossible dream?
The hangover is real. There's been just one successful Cup defence in the last 16 years, and the most recent winners have taken a dip in regular-season points the next year. (And the Pens were no juggernaut last year, finishing 8th overall before their memorable championship run.) Despite losing a couple of defencemen (Gill and Scuderi), the team returns more or less intact, which usually results in a solid regular season, though not a repeat.
5) Carolina Hurricanes
Is it time to get on with the future?
A lot key players are getting long in the tooth: Brind'amour, Walker and Whitney are 36-plus. Cullen, Cole, Samsonov, Corvo and Wallin are over 30. Regardless of hiw they do this year, a youth movement is on the horizon. The good news: 24-year-old Eric Staal and center and 25-year-old Cam Ward in net give Carolina a big head start on a rebuilding campaign. Ward is getting better by the year, and might be ready to win the Vezina this season.
6) New Jersey Devils
Anything left in that old Jacques magic?
Two veteran forwards, Gionta and Madden, are gone. Of those remaining, three (Langenbrunner, Parise, Zajac) had huge career seasons in '08-'09. Another (Elias) had his best year since the lockout. Can they all keep it up? No. That's why Jacques Lemaire returns as coach, with his ultra-defensive sorcery. Martin Brodeur is 37 years old, and would benefit from a better defense in front of him. He's been an ordinary playoff goalie for the last few years, and can't be asked to play 70-plus games per season anymore.
7) Montreal Canadiens
What ever happened to Bob Gainey?
He was GM when Dallas won the 1999 Stanley Cup, 45 years old and considered one of the bright minds in the game. But maybe it was just dumb luck. The Canadiens have had an ugly run since Gainey took over in 2003, highlighted by the disastrous handling of supposed franchise goalie Carey Price and the mess that was last season. This summer's wholesale makeover leaves the team looking like a hastily assembled fantasy roster, built for the regular season only.
8) Buffalo Sabres
Did Bob Gainey build this team?
This year's Sabres look a lot like this year's Canadiens: they'll score goals, play some shoddy defence, and get pushed around a lot. But the Sabres have been together longer, their goalie doesn't suffer regular meltdowns and their best players are still young enough to improve. Plus, they weren't built on the free agent market with a checkbook and a speed dial.
Next page: The Rest of the East
See Also: Western Conference Preview
