Post#8 » by RoboNerd » Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:47 pm
My picks for the Western Conference:
Detroit
Dallas
Edmonton
San Jose
Anaheim
Calgary
Chicago
Nashville or Phoenix
PACIFIC: San Jose isn't impressing me as much lately with their moves. Dallas is chugging along with development and acquisition, and I think it's going to pay off this year. I question a couple of their pick-ups this summer, but overall, Dallas is going to be a force in the West for years to come. Phoenix is a tough call: The Great One is taking his time, slowly developing the club and snagging good deals here and there (yanking Bryz off Anaheim's waivers comes to mind). The two main questions here are chemistry and experience, but then, when has Phoenix NOT had those questions. The LA Kings are rebuilding yet more; a playoff run is very unlikely. Moving Lubo to the Oilers certainly didn't help them either. Anaheim will clinch a decent playoff berth, but Burke has left the Ducks with some gaps that I think will prevent a Cup run for them this year. Pronger can't win it all by himself.
NORTHWEST: A hard call: Edmonton's stunning youth development last year with Gagner, Brodziak, Cogliano, Gilbert, and Nilsson has allowed the Oilers to dump overpaid, under-performing Stoll, Torres, and the colicky Joni Pitkanen to make room for the youngsters to step in. But can the netminding threesome of Garon, Roloson, and Deslauriers compete in the Super-Goalie Club of the Northwest? Deslauriers strikes me as a career backup, but then, so did Garon before his incredible run last year. I'm going to play favorites here and say that Edmonton squeaks out with the division title, just because they seem to have found an answer for each rival they will be playing in the NW. Calgary is likely to see a rusty Kipper in the first 3 months, and doubts about chemistry with their acquisitions continue to mount. Vancouver is practically rolling an AHL team in front of an elite goalie. The only constant in the Canucks forward lines are the Sedins. Minnesota has lost several key players, with question marks in the development area. And Colorado? It's seriously time to dump salary and rebuild. Signing Smyth -- a six million dollar paycheck for the playing equivalent of Holmstrom -- is a really bad decision. Grabbing the Leafs' ailing goalie was probably not the best decision either, but it could have been worse -- at least they didn't grab the Senators' problem goalie.
CENTRAL: Detroit is going to be a 10-headed monster this year with Hossa added to the mix. Yikes. Can you say "back to back Cups", boys and girls? The Wings will continue to beat up on their division rivals and pad their points as always. But Chicago is a growing force, and for some reason, Nashville never wants to die off on the ice as quickly as they do on paper. As for the Blues and the Blue Jackets... well... you can look forward to more high draft picks.
Wake me up when it's time to drop the puck.