In the 2007-2008 season the constant battling between the teams in the Atlantic division made for a very interesting Eastern Conference playoff race and caused much jockeying for positions one through eight.
After 82 games, 50 percent of the playoff-bound teams in the East were from the Atlantic division. It appears that with the changes made by the four playoff teams that all four should be back in the playoffs again.
However, I believe this season the standings may look a tad different in the Atlantic division than they did last season. In 2008 Pittsburgh led the Atlantic with 102 points, followed by the Devils (99), Rangers (97), and Flyers (95).
Here is my prediction for what the Atlantic division standings will look like come April 2009:
1st—New York Rangers—101 Points
The "Broadway Blueshirts" lost Jagr to the Kontinental Hockey League and Martin Straka to the Czech League. To many these may look like huge losses. The reality, however, is that they aren't.
The last couple of seasons, Glen Sather and Tom Renney have tried to bring more of a team concept to the Rangers, as opposed to the "Jagr and a bunch of other guys" strategy. Although Jagr performed well for the most part, there were many occasions over the last few seasons where he didn't look totally pleased with what was going on around him.
The Rangers have some very solid young forwards in Brandon Dubinsky and Nigel Dawes, and on the back-end Daniel Girardi and Marc Staal should be even better than they were last year.
The additions of Wade Redden and Dmitri Kalinin will give the Rangers further stability on defense. They already had one of the top goalies in the league between the pipes in Henrik Lundqvist.
Although Scott Gomez and Chris Drury had respectable seasons, I expect an improvement upon last year.
Markus Naslund was acquired from Vancouver and even while struggling the last couple of seasons on a rather weak Canucks squad he has hit the 20+ goal mark. Naslund will rebound nicely with the Rangers. He required a change of scenery and New York may be a perfect fit for the slick Swede.
Nikolai Zherdev could turn out to be one of the best trades of the offseason. He registered 26 goals and 61 points for a bad Columbus team under one of the most difficult coaches for offensive players to play for in Ken Hitchcock.
Zherdev, who has the ability to score from anywhere in the offensive zone should get a plethora of chances to do so if lined up on the wing with Scott Gomez.
2nd—Pittsburgh Penguins—99 Points
The Pens won't look much different than they did up until the NHL trade deadline in February, when they added Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. Dupuis remains in Pittsburgh, and Hossa has since bolted for the Motor City.
Roberts and Malone are both in Tampa Bay, and Laraque has moved back to his hometown of Montreal. Added were Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Matt Cooke, and Eric Goddard.
All in all Pittsburgh shouldn't miss a beat. The Pens still have the best and youngest core of centres in the league with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal, all a year older, wiser, and (while it's scary to think about) probably better.
23 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Alan Bass 11 months ago
um...where are the islanders?
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NYI Fan Central 11 months ago
1st-New York Islanders 103 points.
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daniel duran 10 months ago
thumbs up to that one! go Isles!
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Evan Szymkowicz 10 months ago
ha ha, no....never going to happen
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Greg Caggiano 11 months ago
BEST ARTICLE EVER!
Guess the Islanders franchise folded....
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Nelson Santos 11 months ago
This article was only meant for the Atlantic division teams that made the playoffs in 2008 and have a chance to get there again this upcoming season. Sorry but the Isles will be on the outside looking in.
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Matt Hunter 11 months ago
Every team has a chance to make the playoffs, or why would they even let the other teams play? Everybody starts with 0 points, and has to earn those playoff spots, I do not think you can just write teams off for what they did last year.
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Adam Arazi 11 months ago
The day that the Islanders fold will be ther happiest day of my life.
As a fellow Rangers fan, I am also optimistic about our chances this year but I don't think the team is ready to take over the Atlantic just yet. The Penguins will still come out on top. The loss of Marian Hossa will be replaced by the maturation of Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Fleury. I don;t thing Pittsburgh is going to lose a step especially with the team knowing how close they got to the cup.
Further, I agree that Jagr/Straka departures are not HUGE losses but they will definetly affect how other teams play us. When we had Jagr, opponents focused their defensive schemes around him. Naslund and Zherdev are good players, but they don't command the same type of defensive focus that Jagr did.
The Rangers will finish second and probably make a little bit of noise in the playoffs due to the youth and skill of the team.
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Chris Hoeler 11 months ago
Don't wish that on anyone man. I had a minor league hockey team i loved that folded and it is the worst feeling ever.
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TJ Ferguson 11 months ago
i agree with adam, while the rangers are improved, they probably won't overtake the penguins, i think we may be looking at the number four seed in the eastern conference though.
btw, islanders fifth place, 67 points
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Tyler Hill 11 months ago
I am sure did't mean it when you said that New York would finish ahead of pittsburgh, the pens have too much young talent
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Chris Kelly 11 months ago
It's amazing that the NHL wants the Rangers so bad every year. It is the money team that they love to have win constantly. The Penguins come in first Flyers second then the rest is up for grabs.
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Andrew Mason 11 months ago
i agree with a lot of ppl here in Pittsburgh being first and then philly and rangers will be close but the flyers will be 2nd and new york third. I am not sold on the rangers defense at all plus losing 3 of ur top 5 leaders in points will be tough i don't care what you say. Ask the Sabres how hard it is to lose that veteran presence and ur 2 top guys.
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Eric K 11 months ago
so the Penguins will be "a year older and better", but they'll finish lower than they did last season?
Don't see your logic there.
Personally I don't think we will see 4 teams make the playoffs out of the Atlantic Division again next season. The rest of the East has gotten much better and I think the Devils will probably be the odd-man-out among the 4 big doggs in the Atlantic.
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Nelson Santos 11 months ago
Eric, I think you may have read too much into my "year older, and better" I only said the 3 centremen were that. If you truly assess the Pens line up...there isn't a ton of support around those 3. There are some DECENT players....but no one that will grab ahold of the team if the other 3 aren't up to snuff.
But alas this is only a prediction and we'll have to wait and see
Nelson
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Reed Kaufman 11 months ago
Solid predictions, and indeed bold putting the Rangers on top in a stacked division. I can see it happening based on the way they played last year and were still in the running all year- they could barely score a goal for a couple months in the middle of the season, and Lundqvist stole about 15 games. If he plays just as well, and there's no reason to assume he can't, and if their offense starts to click then watch out.
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Jersey 11 months ago
Naslund doesn't need a change of scenery. Naslund needs like five years back. He's OLD. That's why he isn't playing as well as he used to.
How is losing Jagr not a huge loss? He led the team in points and goals last year, and has done so every year since coming over from the Capitals. I don't care if he's declining, he's easily the best scorer on that team. They haven't replaced him with anyone who puts up better numbers.
Wade Redden is the most overrated player in sports. Six goals last year. Seven the year before. His +11 rank of last year is okay, but his meager +1 from the year before is pathetic, especially since he played for a perennial playoff team. This guy is supposed to be a puck-moving defenseman, but he just doesn't cut it. But of course, the Rangers signed him to a huge deal. Have fun booing him.
Oh, and don't forget losing Sean Avery. He was always a huge boost to the team. You'll miss him more than you think. Martin Straka is gone as well, as is Brendan Shanahan, who very quietly scored 23 goals last year-- only three fewer than your precious Zherdev.
Not so bold prediction: Rangers finish behind the Devils. New Jersey has only improved this offseason, losing no one of importance, while gaining a solid scorer (Rolston) and a tough third/fourth liner (Holik). They were better than the Rangers last year, and they had a better offseason.
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Joel Matticks 11 months ago
Didn't the devils lose to the rangers in the first round of the playoffs?
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Jersey 11 months ago
Yes, they did. But they finished the regular season with more points, and isn't that what this article is about?
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Anders Edling 11 months ago
yeah anyone picking the Jagr-less Rangers over the Penguins has done lost they mind
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penguinsfan godard 11 months ago
I hate holik WHAT A @@@@@. PENGUINS CUP THIS YEAR ANDYEARS TO COME.
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PJ Edelman 11 months ago
As a Rangers fan, I am very worried about this year. All of the Rangers GOAL scorers, except for Drury, are gone.
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Nelson Santos 11 months ago
PJ.....Naslund and Zherdev will bring at least 55-60 goals between them. I think you'll see an increase in the goal totals for Dubinsky and Dawes as well.....however the NYR will win with solid team D and above average goaltending.
I'm a Flyers fan and have more confidence than you. You should be ashamed. :)
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