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Around The Net: Regular Season Team Predictions

By George Kurtz, The Fantasy Sports Forum.com

Now that the European part of the NHL schedule is over, let’s get down to making some predictions for the upcoming season.  Keep in mind that although I may think some teams are better than others, division winners have to be seeded higher.

Eastern Conference

1. New York Rangers:  This is pretty close between the Penguins and Flyers also.  What has put the Rangers over the top is Henrik Lundqvist.  Great teams always start with great goaltending, and Lundqvist is the best on these three teams
2. Montreal Canadiens:  Gave serious thought to ranking them number one, but as good as Carey Price is, he is just a rookie, and it’s a long season.
3. Washington Capitals:  Made the playoffs for the first time in 07-08 and should only get better.  Not serious cup contenders yet, but they are getting there. 
4. Pittsburgh Penguins:  If not for injuries to Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar, they would have claimed the number one spot.  With Evgeny Malkin and Sidney Crosby, they can score with anyone, but one has to wonders if they will play an abundance of shootouts.  And what toll this will that take on Marc-Andre Fleury?
5. Philadelphia Flyers:  Another team that could have been ranked higher, but they land the fifth spot because they are the weakest at goaltending.  Martin Biron is solid but will rarely steal a game for you.
6. New Jersey Devils:  If they didn’t have Martin Brodeur, they wouldn’t be near a playoff spot, but with Marty, they’re a threat.  The addition of Brian Rolston adds some much needed scoring.
7. Ottawa Senators:  This team fell apart at the end of last season and there is no telling what they might do this season.  The defense is average at best, same with the goaltending, and they seem to be lacking in heart also.
8. Carolina Hurricanes:  Have a few really good players, just not enough solid players, especially on defense.  Need Cam Ward to play well and keep them in games.
9. Boston Bruins:  Could easily sneak into a playoff spot, but not enough talent to go further than the first round.  Solid team, but no area stands out.  Not much depth, can’t afford a rash of injuries.
10. Buffalo Sabres:  At least they didn’t lose any free agents in the off-season this year. Ryan Miller has to have a bounce back season for the Sabres to have any chance.  Could be a long cold winter in Buffalo.
11. Tampa Bay Lightning:  New ownership, new coach, and plenty of roster moves.  Tampa has plenty of top talent (Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis), not to mention number one pick Steven Stamkos, but it still will take another year before they can bounce back to the playoffs
12. Atlanta Thrashers:  Outside of Ilya Kovalchuk, can you name another offensive player that can be a major contributor?  Didn’t think so.  Teams 12-15 all have the same problem, which is not going to be able to score enough.
13. Florida Panthers:  Trading your top scorer for two solid defenseman is extremely questionable.  Goalie Tomas Vokoun is good, but they’re not going to win any 0-0 games. 
14. Toronto Maple Leafs:  They might be able to go up a spot or two if Mats Sundin was to comeback and sign with them, but they should challenge the Isles for the bottom spot.
15. New York Islanders:  A team that is years away from being competitive.  Not sure they have a first line player in the entire organization.  They’re a top five pick waiting to happen.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings:  They have a ridiculous amount of talent.  They can go three lines deep offensively and defensively, and a goaltender who knows what it takes to win.  Marion Hossa signing just a one year deal shows how much players want to come here. 
2. San Jose Sharks:  They remind me of the current version of the Dallas Cowboys.  We know they’re great in the regular season, but it’s time to do something come playoff time.  Perhaps a change in coaching will do that.
3. Minnesota Wild:  This is a wide open division, as all of the teams are kind of evenly matched.  No one would surprise me if they won it.  Only question for the Wild is finding someone who can score outside of Marion Gaborik.
4. Anaheim Ducks:  Probably the second most talented team, right after the Red Wings.  Having Teamu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer for the entire season certainly will help.  Having to trade Mathieu Schneider for salary cap reasons will not.
5. Dallas Stars:  Extremely well rounded team, but they need Sergei Zubov to get healthy and than stay that way.  Should be fun watching Brad Richards play a full season for a good team.
6. Edmonton Oilers:  My surprise team, as they’ve been building quite an impressive array of young talent for a few years now.  Acquiring Erik Cole during the off-season may have been the final piece of the puzzle to get them in the playoffs.
7. Calgary Flames:  Jarome Iginla is an all world player, but that drop-off in talent after him and Dion Phaneuf is significant.  They need Mikka Kiprusoff to bounce back and have a good year or it could be lights out early for Calgary.
8. Nashville Predators:  I might be a bit more confident in this pick if Alexander Radulov didn’t bolt Nashville for Europe.  The Preds need a player that other teams have to fear, as of now, they don’t have that.
9. Phoenix Coyotes:  Acquiring Olli Jokkinen was a nice move, but they sacrificed  two of their best young defenseman to get him.  Ilya Bryzgalov may have to sue for non-support.
10. Vancouver Canucks:  May have the best goalie in the league and a solid defense, but outside of the Sedin twins, not much after that.  Will struggle to score goals.
11. Colorado Avalanche:  Too many questions on this team.  Can Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth stay healthy?  Will Peter Budaj or Andrew Raycroft pass for an NHL goalie?  Can youngsters Peter Stastny, Wojtek Wolski, and Marek Svatos take that next step?
12. Chicago Blackhawks:  If there is one team on this list I may have ranked too low, the Hawks would be it.  Could easily see them making the playoffs with the assortment of good young talent like Toews, Sharp and Kane; just think they are a year away.
13. St. Louis Blues:  Not a lot to like about this team.  Still a few years away.  Andy McDonald is a nice player.  Losing top defenseman Erik Johnson for the year will hurt.
14. Los Angeles Kings:  Now here’s a team that does have young talent that just needs time to mature.  They are building a foundation, and Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and Alexander Frolov are the cement.
15. Columbus Blue Jackets:  Outside of Rick Nash, there's not much to like on this team.  They practically gave Nikolai Zherdev to the Rangers because they were tired of his act.

Stanley Cup Prediction

Rangers versus Detroit

Winner: Detroit in six

Feel free to comment on this column or any other at GeorgeK@TheFantasySportsForum.com

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