With the NHL entry draft and unrestricted free agency now behind us, rosters have taken shape and we know how teams will look when they hit the ice in September for training camp. Obviously there are still some teams that will make some additions over the course of the next two months, so this is not intended to be taken as a playoff prediction. This is just how I would rank the Eastern Conference as it stands today:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins After winning the Stanley Cup, the Penguins defended their title by winning 47 games last year and finishing 4th in the Eastern Conference. They easily took care of the Ottawa Senators in the first round before losing to the upstart Montreal Canadians in the second round of the playoffs. Penguins GM Ray Shero my have had the best first day of signing free agents when he signed defenseman Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek each to 5 year deals. Add that already to solid goaltending and forwards who can score with the best in the NHL, and the Penguins are in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.
2. Washington Capitals All the Washington Capitals do in the regular season is win. A lot. The Capitals were the best team in the eastern conference last year, winning 54 games and collecting an astounding 121 points. So question is why are they not at the top of this list? Its not so much them, its the teams around them that I feel like got significantly better, while the Caps stood pat for the most part. Dont be fooled though, they are still very much one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, again.
3. Boston BruinsThe Boston Bruins started off their summer by using the 2nd overall pick acquired in the Phil Kessel trade to draft Tyler Seguin. They also acquired Nathan Horton from the Florida Panthers. Obviously the trade winds continue to blow with Marc Savard, but I think their additions make them the favorite in the Northeast division over Buffalo and Ottawa. It is close though.
4. New Jersey Devils Every year, people predict the demise of the New Jersey Devils, and every year, they cruise to 90+ points and a postseason birth. This year should be no different. The Devils replaced Defenseman Paul Martin with the hard hitting Anton Volchenkov. Even with the contract controversy currently plaguing star forward Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils will continue to do what they do best, win games.
5. Buffalo Sabres Some will make the claim that a winning team starts from the net out, and the Buffalo Sabres have one of the best in the Eastern Conference in Ryan Miller. He can and will single handily steal games. The Sabres signed Jordan Leopold to help fill the void left by the departures of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman. They also added center Rob Niedermayer to solidify the forward lines. As long as Miller stays healthy, the Sabres are one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.
6. Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators lost in the first round of the postseason to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then went on to lose Anton Volchenkov to free agency. Sens GM Bryan Murray struck quickly though on July 1st, and landed Sergi Gonchar. With Gonchar in the fold, the Ottawa powerplay should be one of the better ones in the eastern conference. Ottawa is another team that just seems to get the job done during the regular season regardless of their roster makeup.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.