St. Louis- Is still laughing after trading aging vet Weight for young the young lightning bolt Andy McDonald. With a great offense anchored by 40 goal man Boyes, McDonald, and Kariya, I don't think the Blues will have any trouble scoring goals. However, I'm not sure if their defense is good enough, and I feel that they will have trouble with Detroit and Chicago. Expect the Blues to finish just outside of the playoff picture, but one of the teams to look for in the future. Expect big years from Erik Johnson, and David Backes.

Tampa Bay- Was one of the busiest teams this offseason and added great talent with the likes of Stamkos, and Malone. However, I don't believe the Lightning's defense is good enough, and I believe that it will fall prey to the Southeast division snipers like Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, and Staal. I believe that Mike Smith is the goalie for the Lightining though. I expect they'll finish just outside of the playoff picture, and if they can aqcuire a good d-man, they will be a team to watch out for in the future. Look for a calder-calibre season from Stamkos, as well as a great season from Vinny.

Toronto- Don't get your hopes up too high, Leafs fans. Although Toskala's a good goalie, I'm not sure that he'll be able to carry the leafs to the playoffs. The Leafs are simply lacking quality players, what a team needs in order to make the playoffs. The Leafs are full of average players, with the exception of Tomas Kaberle and Vesa Toskala. I expect that they will finish well out of the playoff picture, near the bottom of the east. Expect good years though, from Nik Hagman and Anton Stralman.

Vancouver- This team could surprise a lot of people this year. With Luongo, a team always has a chance, and I believe that the aquisitions of Bernier and Demitra will help their offense. I don't think their offense will do anything spectacular though. The big question though, is can their d stay healthy. If they can, the Canucks should make the playoffs, although the won't win their division. I think they'll finish anywhere from 6th to 8th in the West. Expect big years from Luongo, Edler, and Kesler.

Washingon- This team put on a spectacular show near the end of the season last year, and surprised a lot of people by making the playoffs after they won only 6 out of their first 20 games. I expect that the Caps will be the class of their division again, and will thrive under Boudreau again. With their dynamic offense led by Ovechkin and Semin, and a budding star on the blueline in Mike Green, expect the Caps to win their divison, and finish 3rd in the East. Expect big years from Green and Ovechkin.




And that's my preview.
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