Pavol Demitra will take a good amount of pressure off of the Sedin twins, which will in turn allow them to produce more than they did last season. Demitra will also have to score a significant amount more than he did last season to make the difference that Vancouver needs. He is coming off his worst goal-scoring season in over ten years.
Let's not forget who is in net for the Canucks. Roberto Luongo still put up some great numbers last year—a .917 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average—regardless of falling four points short of the playoffs.
8. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers did not lose any major players, which is always a great start for any team. Adding left-winger Erik Cole to the mix should make for a solid first line.
The Oilers were also hit hard with the injury bug last season—they had four starters who missed more than 25 games, including defenseman Sheldon Souray. Sourary played a measly 26 games and never got into the groove he did back in the 2006-07 season.
Ales Hemsky is going to have to do some serious scoring this year to help Edmonton get into the playoffs. Look for him to become at least a 25-goal-scorer this season. Assuming the injury bug doesn’t visit Edmonton as much as it did last season, the Oilers should find themselves in the playoffs.
9. Calgary Flames
In Calgary, it will all come down to whether or not Miikka Kiprusoff has a better season. Kiprusoff put up the worst numbers in his four-year career with Calgary.
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