(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The shortest offseason in professional sports is over and it’s time to try to figure out what went on in the offseason and how it’ll effect what’s happening going forward in the NHL this year.
I’m starting with last year's worst division in hockey: the Southeast. I’m looking at the teams in the order they finished last season and predicting how they’ll finish in the division and the Eastern Conference this year.
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
The Southeast features some of the most flawed teams in the league. Shaky ownership makes you wonder if many or any of these deficiencies will ever be addressed.
Washington has a good owner and needs depth. Unfortunately, they’ve spent right up to the limit of the cap.
Carolina had a great year and a great run last season, but their veteran lineup needs an infusion of fresh, young talent.
The Atlanta owners have stopped suing each other, but spending money on a first rate talent to play with their star doesn’t seem to be a priority.
The NHL is struggling to get one of the Tampa Bay owners to buy out the other. Does either one of them have any money? Which one wants to build around their core and which one wants to start over again with Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman?
Florida was in the process of being sold as the economic crisis hit. It certainly hasn’t sped up the process. How much are they willing to spend to get the first line center they lost when they traded Olli Jokinen away?
With unresolved issues for all five of its teams, the Southeast will once again be a weak division this season.
Washington Capitals
Washington won the division by a comfortable margin last year, beating Carolina by 11 points and finishing second in the East. Their record was inflated by playing 24 Southeast games. Their 50 wins were the fifth-best total in the league.
The interesting aspect of all this is that they managed this success with a goaltending tandem of Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson.
Theodore had a .900 save percentage in a league where .910 is the median. Theodore ranked 35th out of 43 in save percentage among those goalies who played at least one-third of their team's minutes. His goals-against average placed him 34th.
More damning still was the fact that after running with Theodore in net all season long, Washington decided after only one playoff game to go with the untested Semyon Varlamov.
There’s not much faith in Washington for Theodore, with good reason. Varlamov was a huge upgrade. He should get a chance to start in goal for Washington this year.
Youngsters often fall apart under that pressure, so a veteran backup will be needed. Arturs Irbe has been brought in as a coach for Varalamov to help acclimate and stabilize him. Theodore will probably start to begin the season, and he can perhaps fill the veteran backup role.
Unfortunately, at $4.5 million a year, Theodore's an expensive backup. If they trade him, they would address their lack of offensive and/or defensive depth that’s been a problem in Washington for the last few years. In that case, young prospect Michael Neuvirth would be probably called upon to back up Varlamov.
The defense is led by Mike Green. The offensive phenom with 31 goals and 73 points had one of the best years by a defenseman in recent memory. He had some iffy moments in his own zone in the playoffs, but so did Paul Coffey.
Tom Poti is still a stabilizing veteran who can move the puck, but his offensive numbers have dropped in recent years. He had just 13 points in 52 games last year.
Shaone Morrison is in his prime as an able hitter and shot blocker. Young and smooth-skating blue-liner Karl Alzner should get a shot at playing 80 games while providing a huge talent upgrade for a Washington defensive corps that drops off abruptly after the first couple players.
Milan Jurcina is a 233-pound shot blocker that brings little else to the table. Brian Pothier, back from a concussion, and the purely defensive John Erskine will likely fill out the Capitals' blue line.
John Carlson, Tyler Sloan and Sean Collins might be expected to be the first call-ups in case of injury.
The most important part of the Washington Capitals is, of course, the offense and the most important part of that is Alexander The Great, Alex Ovechkin.
Ovechkin won the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals scored in the league with 56 and was second in points behind Evgeni Malkin of Pittsburgh. He was given the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP.
Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and Green helped Washington score the third-most goals in the league last year. After those four, the drop-off in offense is precipitous.
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