10. Ottawa Senators
The Sens started last year 29-10-4. They finished last year at 43-31-8—meaning they went 14-25-4 over the course of their last 43 games—and were swept by the Penguins in the first round.
The trio of Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jason Spezza is without a doubt the best line in hockey, but the rest of the team isn’t as spectacular.
Their defense is young with tons of potential. Brian Lee and Lawrence Nycholat showed a lot of promise last season with the Binghamton Senators, earning their first trip to the AHL All-Star game in the process.
Martin Gerber will be the starter in net at the season’s beginning, and having Alex Auld over Ray Emery should make the Sens feel a little more comfortable. At least Auld will show up to practice.
11. Carolina Hurricanes
Cam Ward was less than stunning last year. He’s still a kid with plenty of time to develop, but after two disappointing seasons in a row after winning the Cup, Carolina is starting to get tired of the whole “development” excuse.
Eric Staal had a good season last year, scoring 82 points (38 G), but he will have to do a little more damage this season, and someone else will need to help. A large part of why Staal did not receive much help is because the injury bug hit Carolina hard a little before midseason.
Another problem Carolina might have is its penalty-kill, which was ranked 26th in the NHL last season. Adding defender Joni Pitkanen might help slightly, but one man can only do so much.
12. Atlanta Thrashers
When you get down to number 12, it’s just a matter of who won’t finish last. The Thrashers don’t have a terrible roster, but they certainly don’t have a roster that will make the playoffs.
Adding right-winger Jason Williams should take a little pressure off of Ilya Kovalchuk, allowing him to put a few more pucks into the back of the net this season. But don’t hope for too much this season, Thrasher fans.
13. Florida Panthers
Olli Jokinen has moved on to smaller and lesser things, and the Panthers have done the same. I leave my sentiments with Thomas Vokoun, who will have to play a ton of games this year, and will more than likely have nothing to show for it.
14. Toronto Maple Leafs
Let’s begin with Tomas Kaberle. He’s been an amazing defenseman for years now and is just stuck on a team that looks to be headed nowhere.
The goalie tandem is not impressive by any means in Toronto either. Curtis Joseph is 41, and Vesa Toskala did not have the season the Leafs were looking for last year. The historic franchise will have to wait another year for the playoffs.
15. New York Islanders
Well, Ted Nolan left, so 50 percent of the problem is gone. Next to go, Garth Snow—if Charles Wang ever gets the “strength” to fire him.
Since his record-contract signing, Rick Dipietro has put up average numbers, but numbers that aren’t good enough for a franchise goalie. The only things the Islanders have going for them are young stars Kyle Okposo and Jeff Tambellini, and they’ll probably be traded by the season’s end.
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