Northeast Division

The northeast has been one of the toughest divisions since the lockout, but the competition is beginning to level out. Neither Ottawa nor Buffalo are as dominate as they used to be, and Montreal and Boston have improved into playoff contenders.

#1 Montreal Canadians
They took second in the division last year, and have mostly brought back the same team. Their most notable addition is Robert Lang who they picked up from Chicago, and will give them some additional offense. The main downside for this team is that Price is still rather unproven in goal, and could go either way.

#2 Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo missed the playoffs last year, but should make it this season. Their main weakness was on defense, but they have shored up that position with the addition of Rivet and the return of Numminen. Buffalo also has the division's best goaltender in Ryan Miller.

#3 Ottawa Senators
Ottawa won the division last year, but fell apart at the end of the season and then got swept out of the playoffs in the first round. The team has some talent, but there is no reason to think that they will recover from their collapse and are unlikely to make the postseason.

#4 Boston Bruins
Boston is a bit of a question mark as they have the possibility of easily making the playoffs, and also finish near dead last. The team has some big name players, but lacks the depth to be a top of the league team. Goaltending is also a huge question mark for this team as it could end up being anywhere from amazing to awful.

#5 Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto has been having a very tough time getting things together since the lockout and this season doesn't look any more promising for them. They have no consistent scoring, and only mediocre defense. They surprisingly upset the defending champion Detroit Red Wings in their season opener, but that is not how the entire season is going to go for this team.

Ranking the top 27 Buffalo Sabres

Last season I listed the "top 26 Sabres" before the season began. With a new season starting tonight a new ranking is in order. These are based upon the importance each player brings to the team for the coming season. As a result long term potential for anything beyond this season is not counted, also these are not strictly based on the talent each player has, but also his importance to the team. As such the goalies are not really comparable, but thrown in regardless because I did so last time.

The last list was fairly accurate, but overestimated Connolly's ability to stay healthy and did not give enough respect to Spacek. This year's list is as follows...

1. #1 Jason Pominville - Although ultimately not named captain, he will still be looked to lead this team. How his stats end up is highly dependent on who he plays with, but he will need to be counted on to play a full game every day of the season.
2. #2 Derek Roy - Number one last year, the Sabres need to count on Roy again this season. As the center for Buffalo's top line, he is likely to touch the puck more than anyone else on the team.
3. #3 Craig Rivet - New to town Rivet will be expected to take care of things on defense. This is where Buffalo needs help, and if Rivet can perform then things will go much better for Buffalo this year. Earning himself the role of captain only heightens his expectations.
4. #4 Ryan Miller - As the goalie he is obviously the most important player on the team, and will need to be solid in net for the Sabres to have any chance. If he can get good in the shootout again, that would earn another three of four wins that the team missed out on last season.
5. #5 Thomas Vanek - Buffalo's scoring machine had a disappointing season last year. While he still scored alot of goals, he was not playing both ways as much as he needed to, and went from leading the league in plus minus to ending the year minus four
6. #6 Henrik Tallinder - Will be relieved with the addition of Rivet and Numminen, but will still need to be the team's shut down defender.
7. #7 Toni Lydman - Same story as Tallinder. These two need to guarantee no goals against.
8. #8 Jochen Hecht - A captain for most of last season and an alternate this year, Hecht will be counted on to continue leading this team. While he doesn't have the biggest offensive numbers he is a very solid two way player.
9. #9 Teppo Numminen - Just like last year's list defense is extremely important. Numminen is a very consistent and reliable defender for the team. His only limiting factor is he is not likely to get lots of ice time, and isn't a huge help when it comes to scoring.
10. #10 Paul Gaustad - Out for the start of the season he is still one of the hardest working players on the team. Also has a history of coming back early from injuries so may not be out all that long.
11. #11 Jaroslav Spacek - Proved last season that he actually can play. If his pairing with Rivet works well, he could see alot of ice time and have a very good year.
12. #12 Patrick Lalime - Last season nobody had any confidence in the backup goaltender forcing Miller to be overworked. Last season Lalime earned himself a winning record as the backup for a team that failed to make the playoffs. If he can be a reliable backup once again, then Miller should be able to be better off when he does play.
13. #13 Patrick Kaleta - Should see more games this year even if playing time is still limited. He is a real difference maker on the team, and is defensively responsible enough to be counted on.
14. #14 Maxim Afinogenov - May very well prove that last year was a fluke. Has the ability to play very well, and if he gets in sync with Roy and Vanek has the possibility to have a great year. Also is in danger of getting traded mid-season though.
15. #15 Ales Kotalik - He hasn't always been providing the offense needed, and needs to return to his backhand in the shootouts. If he can keep scoring there, that will give Buffalo some free points in the standings.
16. #16 Tim Connolly - Will probably miss a large number of games due to injury, but is still a great talent when he is on the ice. If he can stay healthy it would give Buffalo a huge advantage up the middle.
17. #17 Andrej Sekera - Looked very good at the end of last season but will have to continue to play well to prevent losing his job to Paetsch or Weber. Is likely to be part of the third defensive pairing with Numminen.
18. #18 Adam Mair - The bedrock of the fourth line will continue in that role. He sees limited ice time, but is usually pretty good when he is out there.
19. #19 Daniel Paille - Paille is a player that has the potential to be good, but still has yet to really prove it. He still needs to find his spot on the team.
20. #20 Drew Stafford - Like Afinogenov he needs to prove that last season was a fluke. He showed much promise in his rookie year, but fell off from that somewhat. If he can get scoring again, it would be a huge asset to the team, and if he plays on a line with Roy and Vanek he better be able to contribute heavily.
21. #21 Nathan Gerbe - starting the season on the minors, Gerbe should figure to be the first call up, and be an excellent player for Buffalo. He won the NCAA frozen four last year with Boston, and has proven himself to be able to play very good hockey. If Buffalo has any long term injuries, Gerbe will be needed to contribute.
22. #22 Clarke MacArthur - With some NHL experience he may get a call up before Gerbe does. While he has some very good games last season he needs to do so more consistently if he wants to make the NHL full time.
23. #23 Mike Weber - He will start the season in the AHL, but proved to be good when paired with Sekera at the end of the last season. Despite being more talented will probably be behind Paetsch in the depth chart.
24. #24 Nathan Paetsch - Currently the seventh defenseman he will need to rebound from last season which was a bit of a disappointment for him. Still it is highly unlikely that the team will go all year without any injuries so he should see some playing time.
25. #25 Tim Kennedy - Fresh out of college he will not see much time in the NHL this season, but looks to be a very good player down the road. If he does get called up count on him to look impressive.
26. #26 Andrew Peters - Will have a hard time justifying his roster spot with so much talent in the team's prospects. Furthermore with Kaleta playing a more prominent (and well rounded) role Peters may no longer really have a spot on the team. In fact new Sabre and captain Craig Rivet is probably even a better fighter than Peters is.
27. #27 Matt Ellis - not really sure why he is on the team. If he couldn't make the cut with the Las Angles Kings there is no reason to believe that he deserves to be here.

Pacific Division

The Pacific division is set to be one of the toughest divisions in the NHL this coming season. The division's top two teams in Dallas and San Jose are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs, and a third is likely to do so as well.

#1 Dallas Stars
Stu Barnes may have moved into coaching, but the bedrock of the Dallas Stars is in goal. Marty Turco is the best goalie in the league, and is more than capable of carrying the team. However he now has the supporting cast to help him. Dallas doesn't have many big names (besides the aging Mike Modano), but has solid depth all around, and a talented forward in Brad Richards. That said, an injury to Turco would end their season.

#2 San Jose Sharks
This team is also able to benefit from top quality goaltending, and have the league's second best goalie in Evgeni Nabokov. The team however is weaker as a whole. They have lost both former Sabre Brian Campbell, and current Sabre Craig Rivet from their defense, and instead are going to have to rely on the overpriced Boyle. Up front the team is based around it's veterans like Jeremy Roenick, former Sabre Mike Grier, and the very talented Jonathan Cheechoo.

#3 Phoenix Coyotes
The desert dogs are a team on the rise, and have a shot at making the post season this year. They need to hope that goalie Ilya Bryzgalov's success last season was not a fluke, and that they can get better production from their younger players. They have also brought in Olli Jokinen from Florida, who while very talented leads the league in games played without a playoff appearance.

#4 Anaheim Ducks
While stocked with good players, this is a team that may be too dysfunctional to have a phenomenal season. They have a good shot at getting third in the division, but won't be able to get into the top two. The team is over the cap and is still trying to get Teemu Selanne onto the team. While stocked with good players like the Niedermayers and Gigure in goal, the team has also traded away other top line talent like Andy McDonald.

#5 Los Angeles Kings
The Kings being at the bottom of this conference shouldn't surprise anyone. They have a young team, a number of goalies that nobody has heard of, and a history of finishing last. The team is barely over the cap and has no expectations to do anything.

See also the reviews of the Central division and the Southeast division

Southeast division

The South East division has been the worst in the NHL for quite awhile now. While Carolina did luck into winning the cup a few years ago, the division as a whole is very week, and given that there will be less divisional games this regular season it is unlikely that more than one team gets to the playoffs from the southeast, and guaranteed no more than two.

#1 Washington Capitals
The Capitals, who were good last season, and almost won their playoff series have returned with the core of their team intact. They still have the league's best player in Alexander Ovechkin, and a very solid supporting cast with Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom, and Sergei Fedorov. The Capitals real problem is in goal, where they forced out Olaf Kolzig, and then lost replacement Cristobal Huet to free agency. They now have veteran Jose Theodore, but he is no longer one of the leagues top goalies.

#2 Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina has a strong team, but has almost no standout players. The one exception is Rod Brind'Amour, but he can't carry the team on his own, and needs more of a supporting cast. Carolina finished just outside of the playoffs last season, and will likely finish just outside again this year.

#3 Tampa Bay Lighting
Tampa has some very talented players, but for a while now has been a very dysfunctional club. Lecavalier and St. Louis are as good as ever, but have no help from their other lines. Rookie Steve Stamkos will do ok, and my even have a shot at winning rookie of the year, but won't do enough to help this team.

#4 Florida Panthers
Not much to say about this team. They have the supporting cast that Carolina and Tampa Bay need, but without the leaders and top of the line players to push them over the edge. Tomas Vokoun is still a bit of a question mark as far as goaltending goes as well.

#5 Atlanta Thrashers
Will be battling with the LA Kings for the top spot in the draft. The team has Ilya Kovalchuk but very few other players. Second year defenseman Tobias Enstrom is really the best that they have on the blueline. The only chance this team has for staying out of the basement is if goalie Johan Hedberg can get lucky and steal some games for them.

See also the review of the Central division

Central division

For most of the past decade the central division was the easiest in the NHL, and the Red Wings took advantage of this year after year to repeatedly win the president's trophy. Starting with last season the division has gotten tougher and should be much more competitive this year. However there is no reason to expect the Red Wings not to come in first.

#1 Detroit Red Wings
Winners of both the President's trophy and the Stanley Cup last season, there is little reason to expect this team to fall. The team lost almost no one except for replacing aging goalie Dominik Hasek with Ty Conklin who had a breakout year last season as the back up in Pittsburgh. Detroit also managed to sign this offseason's most coveted free agent, Marian Hossa for a completely reasonable amount.

#2 Chicago Blackhawks
Although finishing just outside of the playoffs last season Chicago is clearly a team on the rise and will be much improved this year. The team's young core of Kane, Toews, Sharp and Byfuglien have all returned. Furthermore they have bolstered their defense by signing former Sabre Brian Campbell. Also they have signed goalie Cristobal Huet leaving Khabibulin as the backup and committing $12.375 million of cap space to their goaltending. However the team has not resigned Kevyn Adams and unexpectedly traded away Robert Lang for only a draft pick. Chicago was the only team in the league that didn't look scared of the Red Wings throughout the season.

#3 Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators slipped into the playoffs in the eighth spot last season and are likely to finish close to that spot again. The team played well in the playoffs only losing to division rival and eventual cup winners Detroit in six games. The predators have one of the league's top goalies in Dan Ellis. The team is also lead by former Sabre JP Dumont. On the downside they lost rising star Alex Radulov to Russia, and have a mess of an ownership situation.

#4 St. Louis Blues
The good news is that this is at least a team on the rise. While they will almost assuredly finish in the bottom two in their division and out of the playoffs the team will get better by next year. They have a decent goalie in Legacé and some veteran leadership in Paul Kariya and former Sabre Jay McKee. They also have some good young players such as Stanley cup winner Andy McDonald, rookie T.J. Oshie, and West Seneca native Lee Stempniak.

#5 Columbus Blue Jackets
While better than they were last season, the Blue Jackets have little to no chance of making the playoffs. The team brought in some veterans such as R.J. Umberger, Mike Commodore, and Kristian Huselius, but still lack the depth do go far. Their goalie is ok, but this team is not set for success.

Final Predictions for the Final Round

Once again my predictions for the last round were split, and once again the Stars tripped by up. However this time it was for picking them. After Dallas played so well in rounds one and two, I was fairly certain that they were going to come out better then the Red Wings. Of course that never happened, and while they fought back to force a game six, Detroit got themselves into the final round.

In the finals though I am going with Pittsburgh. Not only do I want the Penguins to win, I actually think that they will. The Penguins have the advantage in goal, and on offense, and while the Red Wings' defense is solid, I still have my doubts about Detroit's goaltending.

I'm thinking Crosby will get his cup.

Predictions past and present

My second round prediction didn't go too well, as I only got half of them right. I was correct in predicting that Pittsburgh and Detroit would make it through, but was let down by San Jose and Montreal.

Perhaps I should have been more worried by the fact that the Habs had to go all the way to game seven with the Bruins, but Philly also went to seven games in the first round, and were only the sixth seed. Biron though continued to play very well, and Price fell apart (even getting pulled for one game). If Montreal had held onto Huet, perhaps this series would have gone in their favour. Still the Flyers look very beatable, and I'm expecting the Penguins to have very little trouble against this team.

Out west I'm predicting that the Stars keep on winning with the upsets. Turco has looked very good, and this season seems to have the perfect team around him to fit his style of play. Meanwhile Detroit has had it relatively easy in the first two rounds, and has still really not needed to prove itself in this post season. The Sharks had played much better in round one against Calgary, and had they kept up that intensity, probably would have won round two as well.

For the finals, I'm thinking Crosby gets his first Cup and the Penguins beat the Stars after Pittsburgh gets enough good shots off that Turco's save percentage doesn't matter anymore.

Predictions for round two...

My earlier predictions went reasonably well, with me getting six of the eight series correct. Some of my premonitions were dead on (picking the Pens to sweep), other picks ended in the right result but not as accurate (Montreal will have an easy time against Boston) and . Still I did pretty good, and I didn't have the Capitals nor the Wild winning in round two anyhow.

EA sports simulation of the series gave them a perfect eight for eight in their predictions. Apparently they really do know what they are doing over there.

Fortunately EA's picks past the first round, are the same as mine where. Given that all of the teams are still in it, and that the flawless computer program agrees with me, I'm going to stick with them.

My second round picks in the East are Montreal and Pittsburgh, with Detroit and San Jose in the West. Out East I would really like to see Philly and the Rangers both lose so I'm hoping that I've got that one right. Out west I'll be cheering for the Stars to pull off the upset, but I don't think that the team has the depth to pull that off. Once again the Colorado series has little interest from me.

Playoff Predictions and Preferences

With all of the games that Buffalo has against the eastern conference teams, I tend not to like too many of them. With that said though, I have to root for the Capitals in the East. While I think Pittsburgh or Montreal is more likely to come away with it, I really have to root for the Washington and Ovechkin and hope that they win. Fortunately I think they will at least win their first round match up against the Flyers.

I think that Montreal will have an easy time against Boston, and that the Penguins will dominate the struggling Senators. The Rangers remind me alot of last years Rangers, and once again I think they are good enough to win in the first round (versus the Devils this season), but are not a real contender and will lose after that.

For the later rounds I guess that leaves me with Montreal over the Rangers and the Penguins over the Capitals (despite what I want). I have to pick Montreal and their killer powerplay in the Conference Championship over Pittsburgh.

Out west there are more teams that I like and can root for. Of course the top two are playing each other in the first round. I kindof like the San Jose Sharks, with two former Sabres in Grier and Campbell (plus a really good goalie). On the other hand I also like Calgary with Iginla (does anyone not like him?) and Phanuf (spelling probably wrong) and Kipersofv (probably messed up the spelling again). In the end, I guess I have to root for the Flames, but realistically San Jose is more likely to win.

I don't really like Dallas, but I'm a fan of Marty Turco so I have to root for the Stars as well (still kindof like Stu Barnes, I guess). While their first round opponent is the Ducks who I cheared for last season, I'm really not feeling that now. After Sealane and Niediemier sat out most of the season, the team traded away McDonald, and decided to pick up Bertuzzi, there really isn't too much reason to cheer for them. Also considering that I don't really like Pronger anymore, and their opponent isn't the Senators I really want them to lose. However, due to a lack of offense from Dallas, I think that Anaheim has to be the favorite to win.

While I still like JP Dumont, I don't like the rest of his team, and hope that Detroit eliminates them in the first round. In all likelyhood that will happen. The Wild should be able to beat Colorado in a matchup, where I'm not really rooting for anybody.

In the Second round, I would guess it will be Detroit over the Ducks, and the Sharks over the Wild. With the San Jose Sharks beating out Detroit to go to the final.

With Montreal and San Jose facing off for the cup, I'll pick the Sharks to win a close one. Oddly enough, that just so happens to be the same outcome predicted by the video games.

Checking on my regular season predictions

Before the season started I put into place my predictions on how the NHL regular season would turn out. At this point I like to see how well (or poorly) I did, and to try and make some better predictions for the post season. As tempted as I am to go back and edit my original predictions at this point, I'll let it stand, and do a real anlaysis. (My pre-season predictions)

Things were pretty bad in the Northeast. I still thought that Buffalo was going to win the whole thing. I discounted Montreal completely, and also had Boston missing the playoffs (although the differences between just out and just in are not really that big). Still I had Toronto actually making the post season, and wasn't alone in assuming that Ottawa would be just barely in.

Did much better in the Atlantic division, correctly picking the three playoff teams, and ignoring the hype at the time that said the Flyers would be winning everything. In the southeast I also did pretty well, picking the top two correctly (if in the wrong order), and don't feel it was that bad of an assumption that at least two teams from each division would make it. Especially because the Hurricanes did end the season in ninth.

Out west I did much better. I picked the two playoff teams in the Central and picked Detroit to win it (not too daring of a guess). Although I didn't expect Kane and Toews to contribute as much as they did so early, and had them in last.

Out in the Pacific division I nailed the expectations, and got the top three playoff teams correct, and even in the right order. San Jose had more or less been the preseason favorite, and while those expectations died down over the season, based on the past month, I see no reason now why it couldn't happen. I did thing that Phoenix was going to bomb out much worsen then they did, but they did manage to miss the playoffs.

In the Northwest my predictions were not as accurate either, as I had put too much stock into Luongo, and really underestimated the Wild once again. Calgary and Edmonton though, were pretty safe bets.

In an attempt to redeem myself I'm picking Kansas to win tonight. Not that I'm actually going to watch the game, but I've got at least a 50% chance of getting it right.

Regular Season Predictions

I guess this is one last chance to make some predictions before the regular season starts tomorrow in London. Here are my predicted rankings by conference, with playoff teams in italics...

Northeast

Buffalo*

Ottawa*

Toronto*

Montreal

Boston

Atlantic

Pittsburgh*

New Jersey*

NY Rangers*

Philadelphia

NY Islanders

Southeast

Carolina*

Washington*

Atlanta

Tampa Bay

Florida

Central

Detroit*

Nashville*

Columbus

St. Louis

Chicago

Pacific

San Jose*

Anaheim*

Dallas*

Los Angles

Phenoix

Northwest

Vancuver*

Calgery*

Colorado*

Minnesota

Edmonton

The Comming Season

A large reason for this site in the first place is to combat the growing negativity regarding the coming season. Yes losing a few players does hurt, but the Sabres are still the team to beat in the east. Much has been made regarding the loss of Drury and Briere, and losing Zubrus was almost worse then losing Briere was. Still there is still a good team here. The entire defence is comming back, including Campbell, Tallinder, Lydman, and Paetsch. Additionally the Miller will still be in net. So the entire backend is still there, not bad. And in addition to that the Sabres will have the oppertunity to keep together their top line of Roy, Vanek, and Afinogenov. Also no one should be saying that Gaustad, Stafford, and Pominville arn't that bad either. Connolly might also be healthy this season which is obviously a huge plus, and fills in that center area that is suddenly a bit lacking after being so overfilled last season...