2009 preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leads revamped their roster quite a bit this summer. They brought in some toughness (such as Mike Komisarek) and some skill (Phil Kessel).

Every team in the NHL has made the playoffs at least once in the past four years except for two teams. The Phoenix Coyotes and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Leaf fans are hoping the new additions can make that bit of trivia obsolete.

Story of the season: Can the Leafs win games with all their toughness? Conn Smythe once said “If you can’t beat them in the alley, you can’t beat them on the ice.” The Leafs will have no trouble taking care of themselves once the puck drops. But they were dead last in penalty killing last year. They need that to improve if they want to make the playoffs, especially since they’ll probably end up grabbing more penalties.

Former Habs: Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek, Mikhail Grabovski

Blog to follow: Down Goes Brown

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Pool Picks: Mikhail Grabovski. If he plays on a line with Phil Kessel, he could put up some big points. He’s still a young guy, and should be good for 60 points this season Stay away from: Tomas Kaberle. He’s a great defenceman, but I don’t think he’ll hit that 50-point plateau this season. Probably more like 40.

Award nominees: Jonas Gustavsson for the Calder

Expected Finish: Third in the Northeast, ninth in the east

Cheerleader: No cheerleaders, but lots of Maple Leafs fans.

 

2009 team preview: Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have a young team and never seem to age. Of course, that can be because they allow their veterans to leave every few years when they demand more money and call up cheaper players to fill the void.

The Sabres play in a tough division, and it got tougher this year. All five members of the Northeast division are expected to make a run at the playoffs.

Story of the season: After losing in the semifinals two years in a row, the Sabres then missed the playoffs the following two seasons. What team will show up this season?

Former Habs: Craig Rivet

Blog to follow: Die by the Blade

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Pool Picks: Tim Connolly. Yes, the guy is injured a lot (only 98 games total the past three seasons). But when he plays, he’s a point a game guy. If he can stay healthy, look for a 70-point season. Stay away from:Drew Stafford. You may be fooled by the fact that his numbers increase each season, but that’s because his games have increased each year as well. His points-per-game doesn’t fluctuate. Expect about 45 points from his this year.

Award nominees:Thomas Vanek for the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals in a season.

Expected Finish: Fourth in the Northeast, 10th in the East

Cheerleader: They don’t have one. I did a search for Buffalo Sabres girls, and this was the best I could find. I don’t even know if those pads are of the Sabres, but that’s all I got. Sorry.

2009 preview: Atlanta Thrashers

The Thrashers have been one of the worst teams for a few years now, despite having some quality superstars and young skilled players.

But the team continues to struggle, and will do so again this year, bottoming out in the Eastern standings.

On the bright side, they’ve got a real good shot at the first overall pick at next year’s draft.

Story of the season: Can the Thrashers get good enough to keep Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk has pretty much said if the team doesn’t improve, he’s gone next summer as a free agent. So the team has tried to address its needs to keep him happy. Will it work? No.

Former Habs: Ron Hainsey

Blog to follow: Bird Watchers Anonymous

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Pool Picks: Nik Antropov. The big Russian has scored nearly 60 points the past two years. This year, he’ll be on the top line with Ilya Kovalchuk, meaning 70 points is well within range. Stay away from: Todd White. Sure he score 73 points in 82 games last year, but that was his highest total since 2002-03. Plus, he probably won’t be playing on the top line this year, so look for his points total to slip to 45.

Award nominees: Evander Kane for the Calder

Expected Finish: Fifth in the Southwest, 15th in the East

Cheerleader: A member of the Blue Crew.

2009 preview: Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning is one of those teams that always seems to have more people talking about their off-ice issues than their on-ice issues.

Ownership issues, low attendance numbers, hiring and firing head coaches, etc.

The most successful teams are the ones that are most stable throughout the organization. The Lightning would be smart to learn this.

Story of the season:Will the Playstation type of dealing work for this team? Last year, the Lightning majorly overhauled their roster in an effort to get better. It didn’t work. Since then, they have overhauled their roster again. Will it work? Probably not.

Former Habs: Alex Tanguay, Vincent Lecavalier (oops, that’s in the category, Future Habs).

Blog to follow: Raw Charge

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Pool Picks:Steven Stamkos. After a very slow start, Stamkos recovered to score 46 points in 79 games. He’ll be playing with higher-talent wingers this season, so look for him to get about 60 points. Stay away from: Ryan Malone. He’s only cracked 50 points in a season once, and that was with the Penguins a few years ago. Look for him to finish somewhere around 40 points.

Award nominees:Vincent Lecavalier for the Rocket Richard trophy

Expected Finish: Fourth in the Southeast, 13th in the east

Cheerleader: One the of Lightning girls cleans the ice.

2009 preview: Calgary Flames

The Flames will be involved in a lot of low-scoring games this season. They have one of the best league defences, and one of the best goalies.

But they don’t have much on offence. In fact, they’ve even regressed on it a little bit, losing Mike Camallari to free agency this summer.

Their defence and goaltending will be enough to win the division, but their true test will come in the playoffs.

Story of the season: Can this team actually win in the playoffs? Except for the year they went to the Stanley Cup finals in 2004, this team hasn’t won in the playoffs since 1989, when they won the Stanley Cup. It will be telling if they can win again this year, or if they’ll fall once again.

Former Habs: Craig Conroy

Blog to follow: Matchsticks and Gasoline

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Pool Picks: Rene Bourque. He has having a great year last season (40 points in 58 games) before getting injured. If he stays healthy, he should be able to get 60 points. Stay away from: Dion Phaneuf. He’s more of a hitter, and with the Flames getting Jay Bouwmeester in the offseason, he may be seeing less time. Phaneuf will still man the powerplay, which is withouth Mike Camallari, but he probably won’t crack 45 points.

Award nominees: Jarome Iginla for the Rocket Richard trophy

Expected Finish: First in the Northwest, third in the West

Cheerleader:  This is Mindy, one of the Flames ice girls.

2009 preview: Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars never had a good season last year.

After many years of making the playoffs and being a contender, the team struggled last season. Goaltender Marty Turco looked brutal, several players missed significant time due to injuries, and they had a major distraction right from the beginning.

Look for the Stars to rebound this season.

Story of the season:Can this team rebound from Sean Avery? Once Avery was signed for last season, it all went downhill for the Stars. Players were distracted, the media coverage intensified, and Avery’s on-ice play wasn’t helping things. But now that he’s not on the team, it’s up to the Stars to show that last year was an anomaly.

Former Habs:Mike Riberio, Stephane Robidas

Blog to follow: Defending Big D

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Pool Picks: Brad Richards. He missed quite a few games last year, but was almost a point-per-game player in the games he did play (48 points in 56 games). If he stays healthy, he should be good for 80 points. Stay away from:Fabian Brunnstrom. He hasn’t had a good pre-season, and after a great start last year (a hat trick in his first game), Brunnstrom finished with 29 points in 55 games.

Award nominees: Brad Richards for the Lady Byng.

Expected Finish: Third in the Pacific, Seventh in the West

Cheerleader: Five ice girls for the price of one.

2009 preview: Florida Panthers

A few years ago, this looked to be a powerhouse team of the future.

They had Roberto Luongo, Jay Bouwmeester and others. But now they’re all gone to different NHL teams, and the Panthers are still waiting to become a playoff team again. They were close last year, but this should be the year they get over that hump and make the postseason.

Story of the season:Who will replace Jay Bouwmeester on defence? His 42 points are replaceable, but his 27 minutes of ice time a game will be a little trickier. For now, all the defencemen will need to step up their game.

Former Habs:Rory Fitzpatrick, Tomas Vokoun

Blog to follow: Litter Box Cats

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Pool Picks: Nathan Horton. The guy had a down year last year, mostly because of injuries. But he should rebound this year, and have a solid 65-point season. Stay away from:Bryan McCabe. He may get the powerplay time and be the new captain, but his numbers will finish somewhere in the mid-30s.

Award nominees:Michael Repik for the Calder.

Expected Finish: Third in the Southeast, eighth in the East.

Cheerleader: The Panthers have an ice team, more out of necessity, since they count for 30% of the team’s attendance every game.

2009 preview: Washington Capitals

With all due respect to the Penguins, the Washington Capitals are the most exciting young team in hockey.

And again with all due respect, they also have the best player in the game in  Alexander Ovechkin. The guy is a machine, and should lead the league again in goals this season.

The rest of the superstars on this team are also young, so the Caps should be a contender for years to come.

Story of the season:How will the Caps do with a young goalie? Jose Theodore may start the season as the #1 goalie, but he probably won’t finish as it. When the team decided to play Semyon Varlamov in the playoffs last year, they sent a strong message to Theodore: We don’t trust you. A small misstep from Theodore means Varlamov will be the main guy in Washington.

Former Habs: Jose Theodore

Blog to follow: On Frozen Blog

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Pool Picks:Semyon Varlamov. If your league chooses goalie, Varlamov could be the smart pick. He became the number one goalie in the playoffs, and will probably be the number one at some point this season. Stay away from:Mike Knuble. Someone is bound to give him a shot in your pool. Sure, he’s playing on a young team with lots of talent, but he was doing that in Philly as well, and yet his numbers continued to decline. He’ll probably finish up with about 40 points.

Award nominees:Semyon Varlamov for the Calder

Expected Finish: First in the Southeast, first in the east

Cheerleader: I wanted to put this photo of Sarah, a Capitals ice girl, because she listed her favourite book as Facebook.

2009 preview: Montreal Canadiens

Habs fans should be prepared for a lot of jokes this year, especially at the start of the season.

Smurf jokes. Jokes about wearing the player’s names on the front of the jersey. The Price is Wrong jokes.

But the Habs should rebound this year. They won’t contend for the division title, but they should be able to make the playoff easily.

And that’s no joke.

Story of the season: What Carey Price will show up this season? The rookie who took Montreal by storm after winning the Calder Cup, or the guy who looks too cocky while giving up five goals on 17 shots? Price will be the difference for the Habs this year, whether good or bad.

Former Habs: Too many to list

Blog to follow: Four Habs Fans, Dennis Kane’s Excellent Montreal Canadiens Blog

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Pool Picks: Andrei Kostitsyn. He’ll be on the top two lines, and should benefit from new linemates. He can probably get 60 points this year. Stay away from: Tomas Plekanec. I can’t even get him points in my Playstation game. He had one good year when Alexei Kovalev had his best season with the Habs, but that was about it. He’ll be somewhere around 40 points.

Award nominees: Travis Moen for the Selke trophy

Expected Finish: Second in the Northeast, fifth in the East

Cheerleader: The Habs don’t have cheerleaders, so this will have to do.

2009 preview: Ottawa Senators

 The Ottawa Senators have been tasting more defeat than normal the past couple of years.

After making the playoffs for 11 straight years (one of which included a trip to the finals), the Sens have struggled. Some of that will be fixed this year, but this will be a team that will struggle to make the postseason.

Story of the season: How will the second line fare? After years of being a one-line team, that is no longer true of the Sens. Sure, the top line may have decreased in skill a little bit, but that’s a good thing if it balances the lines more. As long as there’s no temptation to put Alexei Kovalev, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson on one line, the Sens will be a harder team to play against.

Former Habs: Alexei Kovalev, Matt Carkner

Blog to follow: Five for Smiting

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Pool Picks: Jonathan Cheechoo. Yes, I’m well aware of his stats. In fact, I told people not to choose him last year in my preview for the San Jose Sharks. But I think he’ll break free this season. He won’t get his 50 goal, but 50 points is definitely attainable. Stay away from: Mike Fisher. Sure, he’s had a strong training camp, but his regular season stats are brutal. Yet every year, some crazy person will select him. Don’t be that person, but be prepared to laugh at those who do (in fact, it’s encouraged).

Award nominees: Jason Spezza for the Lady Byng

Expected Finish: Fifth in the Northeast, 10th in the East

Cheerleader: Carrie Underwood, girlfriend of Mike Fisher, is the closest you’ll get to a Sens cheerleader.