#1 Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins moved up one spot in the Eastern Conference this season going from third place in 06-07 to second place in 07-08. They did this even though they finished the season with three points less this past season. With a star studded cast including, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury and possibly Marian Hossa, if he re-signs, the Penguins have a potent team.
Under the watchful eyes of Michel Therrien, the young Penguins picked up their game and marched to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to a much more talented Detroit Red Wings team in 6 games. They have skill, speed, defense and goaltending, all the factors needed to win a Cup. With a new arena on the way, it would be nice if the Penguins could break it win with a Stanley Cup.
But first they have some things to work on. This season their goal production dropped but so did their goals against per game average. With hockey starting to grow in steeltown and the kids in Mellon Arena getting a new room, it seems that it won't be too long until we see captain Crosby receiving hockey's holy grail from Gary Bettman.
#2 Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens made an incredible jump in the standings this season, going from ninth place in the Eastern Conference in 06-07 to first place in 07-08. Led by their rejuvenated superstar Alex Kovalev, the Canadiens were one of the most exciting teams to watch this season.
With their lightning quick speed, creative plays, quick passes, and great young players, the Canadiens seem to be a team of the future. But their future cant be that far away.
With the change in character of Alex Kovalev, it seemed that the Canadiens were a dormant beast, leading the NHL in goals. Montreal was also the only team to have seven players with 50 points or more. The Habs were very able to get it done in the offensive zone.
The Habs young players like Carey Price, Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn, Ryan O'Bryne and many others are built for the future, but if they could get that big superstar centerman, their future might be 2008-2009.
#3 Washington Capitals
The Wasington Capitals went from last place early on in the season to third place in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals were led by the NHL's best player Alexander Ovechkin and head coach Bruce Boudreau.
When the Capitals acquired Cristobal Huet, Sergei Fedorov and Matt Cooke at the NHL's trade deadline, they went undefeated for ten games straight.
The Caps late-season drive pushed their divisional rivals the Carolina Hurricanes out of the division lead and right out of the post-season. With the experience the Capitals gained in the playoffs this year, it will be no surprise to see the Capitals in the late rounds of the post-season in 2009.
They have all the skills to go deep, except for the goaltending. Cristobal Huet is not the answer in net. With young talent like Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green, the Caps have a skilled young core for to build on for the future. We will definitely see these young guns firing deep into the post-season in 2009.
The Top 2 Threats to the Top 3
It really seems like there isn't a team to knock these contenders of their respective divisions. The only other teams I could think are the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators (if they do not choke).
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3 months ago
I think the Caps will definitely be the most exciting team to watch this season (as they were at the end of last season).
I don't think Ottawa will fully recover this season, instead, I think Buffalo will rebound to become a contender once again. Despite losing both Drury and Briere last off-season, I think they underachieved and should be able to get back to their zone.
3 months ago
Pens will be up there, but depends on who they re-sign or lose. I would list Carolina before either Montreal or Washington, and New Jersey will be back up there as contenders also. Buffalo lost too much talent last off season and needs to resign Miller if they are to considered a contender. Think Ottawa will struggle, but they made some bad deals and will have to live with them.
3 months ago
The Caps will have an interesting off season. Hopefully a just little tweaking will finish the job.
The "Big O" will need relief this coming season.
3 months ago
washington may have finished third overall, but if the division leader rule wasn't in effect, i don't think they would have even made the playoffs. i'm not going to take away from what they accomplished, i actually was glad they did it b/c ovechkin is the man.
^S M "I would list Carolina before either Montreal or Washington, and New Jersey will be back up there as contenders also."
haha, carolina? seriously? eric staal is nasty, and just williams is pretty good, but they went from third to golfing in 60 minutes. that is because they had a terrible season. they haven't been back to the postseason since winning the cup.
new jersey is always a contender, they finished fourth. what about fourth place makes them not a contender? is it the fact that the rangers beat them in 5 games? or is it the fact that they are the most boring hockey team in the nhl? b/c the latter won't change, so they won't be contenders. and if it is the losing in 5 part, that'll all come down to whether or not they run into a team that owns them, you won't know until the end of the season.
3 months ago
great article. i think the caps will only challenge the top 3 if they can make a few small moves this offseason. by top three, i dont mean winning the division with less points than 8th place, i actually mean top 3. and the flyers will only get close to the pens if they can get some old draft picks in the lineup and sign a defenseman
3 months ago
Excellent assessment. The Caps will be one of the most exciting teams next year. To complement their incredible collection of young talent, they have some excellent veteran players. Huet and Federov are both likely to resign and will continue to contribute a lot; if Nylander, Clark, and Pothier return as expected, the team will have real depth for a change. As to their performance this year, don't forget they were a different team with Boudreau as coach; after he took over in November, they played at a 108 point pace for the final 60 games of the season. And without the division leader rule, Washington would have been in 6th place - tied at 94 points with Ottawa and Boston, but ahead of both on tiebreakers; and only one point behind a 5th place Philadelphia team.
3 months ago
now that the habs picked up tanguay..we really have a shot at this now...thanks everyone for the great comments.
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