The All Post-Lockout Team: Northeast Division

With the NHL lockout a thing of the past and the dog days of the off-season upon us, I figured I'd make what in my opinion is the best team from each division since the lockout. First up is the division I'm most familiar with, the Northeast.

Line One: Dany Heatley - Jason Spezza - Daniel Alfredsson

It's impossible for me to not acknowledge what has arguably been the most potent line in the NHL since it's formation.

The CASH (Captain-Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley) line has simply made fools of Northeast division goaltending despite the lack of success since the Senators 2006-07 Stanley Cup appearance. Although the line saw a dip in production in 2008-09, their dominance over the Northeast was well noticed, noticed enough to put them as the top line of this team.

Line Two: Thomas Vanek - Marc Savard - Alex Kovalev

Words really can't express how much Bruins center Marc Savard has benefitted from the new style played in the NHL. He's one of three players to post 60-plus assists in every season since 2005-06, the other two being Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby. He's become a leader on the Bruins powerplay and his numbers speak for themself.

His line-mates, Buffalo Sabres rising star Thomas Vanek and Canadien turned Senator Alex Kovalev have also thrived in the NHL. Vanek's built a solid resume as a scoring threat since his debut with the Sabres as he's averaging 65 points a season in his four years in Buffalo.

Alex Kovalev or better known as AK-27, has become the most iconic player to play for the Habs since the lock-out. His skating abilities and stick-handling have made him a supreme scorer in the division and hated by the opposition but his talent is limitless.

He's evolved into a leader which has resulted in him wearing the 'C' on his jersey in Montreal during Koivu's absence and his 21 playoff points in 22 playoff games for the Canadiens have shown his ability to come through in the clutch.

Line Three: Marco Sturm - Mats Sundin - Michael Ryder

Perhaps the most lethal line among the all forwards when it comes down to grit and getting your hands dirty, all three of these players have made deep impacts on the teams they've laced them up for.

Marco Sturm, who's become a consistent 20-plus goal scorer for the Boston Bruins when healthy and earned the role of alternate captain has been phenomenal for Boston since a trade brought him to the Hub of Hockey in the Joe Thornton deal. Sturm's biggest impact was undoubtedly in Game 6 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Montreal Canadiens when he scored a game-winning goal to force a Game 7.

Mats Sundin, one of the longest tenured captains in Toronto Maple Leaf history has given his heart and soul to one of the NHL's most historic franchises. Although Sundin couldn't bring the Cup to the Stanley Cup-starved city of Toronto, his impact to the Leafs offense even in his later years earns him a spot on this roster.

Michael Ryder has seen the best of days and the worst of days in his career. Breaking into the league as a winger with a deadly shot with the Canadiens, the Newfoundland native has averaged 25 goals a season. Now with the Bruins, Ryder is going through a revival under the Claude Julien system.

Line Four: Derek Roy - Saku Koivu - Maxim Afinogenov

The heart and the soul of the Canadiens since the lock-out, Saku Koivu has been an honorable captain and proven big game performer. The cancer-survivor's made a name for himself in the NHL through his leadership quality and strong two-way style of play.

For the Sabres, the contributions of Derek Roy and Maxim Afinogenov as consistent performers have helped the Sabres offense carry the load and take pressure off players such as Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Thomas Vanek.

Extra Skater: Darcy Tucker

Love him or hate him, Darcy Tucker was one of the toughest son-of-a-gun's in the Northeast Division while with the Leafs. The Toronto tough guy averaged over 93 PIM per season along with posting 18 goals or more in three seasons with the Leafs before leaving Leaf-land for Colorado in 2008.

Although Chris Neil could be a nice selection for the extra skater, his simply didn't have the point total that Tucker had.

Defensive Pairing One: Zdeno Chara - Andrei Markov

Without question, Zdeno Chara's post-lockout effect has been far greater to the Boston Bruins than it was to the other club he's played with since 2005-06, the Ottawa Senators.

The 6-foot-9 defensemen has been the backbone of the Boston defense and has seen his assist totals top 30 every season during his tenure in Boston. He's also become a force on the powerplay and his slapshot broke the NHL record for fastest shot at the latest All-Star Weekend festivities in Montreal. 

Up north in Montreal, the Russian born Andrei Markov has become one of the most consistent weapons on the Habs powerplay.

In the four seasons since the NHL lockout, the powerplay machine has seen his point totals rise every year and has been a large reason for the recent success of Montreal's powerplay. It can also be argued that Markov will become the Canadiens captain for the 2009-10 season.

Defensive Pairing Two: Tomas Kaberle - Mike Komisarek

Despite dozens of rumors regarding Tomas Kaberle's future with the Maple Leafs over the years, the Czech defensemen hasn't let the rumors effect his play.

Perhaps it was the new rules and style changes to the game, or perhaps it was maturity, but whatever happened to Tomas Kaberle during the NHL lock-out was for the best. In his four seasons in Leaf Nation, the 31-year-old puck-mover has averaged 44 assists a season. 

Althougn Kaberle experienced a dip in production this year due to injuries, there's no debating that he's among the elite class of defensemen in the NHL.

In four full seasons with the Canadiens, Mike Komisarek has become a force on the blue-line due to his strong physical play. Komisarek, or "Komi" to many of his fans has never been the point man, but with his 6-foot-4 frame and fiery attitude the fans of Montreal simply loved this guy.

During his tenure in Montreal, Komisarek averaged over 200 hits a season along with over 160 blocked shots per season. His numbers didn't tell the whole tale as his physical style of play resulted in a current on-going rivalry with Bruins forward Milan Lucic. 

Komisarek is staying put in the Northeast for the foreseeable future as the American signed a four year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  

Defensive Pairing Three: Dennis Wideman - Craig Rivet

Although he's spent just over two years in the Northeast Division with the Boston Bruins, the improvement Dennis Wideman has made into a solid defensemen has been phenomenal.

His point totals have gone up in two full seasons in the Hub of Hockey under the Claude Julien system, but fans have also see Wideman begin to develop into that "puck-moving defensemen" Boston so desperately wants.

Craig Rivet, the current captain of the Buffalo Sabres, has become a fixture in the Northeast Division. Despite spending a season and a half out in the West with the Sharks, the one-time Canadien found himself back in the East with the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres.

Rivet picked up where he left off, playing the role of providing veteran leadership along with physicality and not being afraid of dropping the gloves to get his point across.

Extra Skater: Jaroslav Spacek

Spacek, who traded in his Sabres sweater for Habs colors this off-season has proven himself as a solid defensemen with an offensive upside during his tenure in the NHL. Although it took Spacek quite a few years to find a solid home until arriving in Buffalo, he has made a name for himself as a solid second line defensemen.

Goaltenders: Ryan Miller & Tim Thomas

In the post-lockout Northeast, the spotlight has been on two American-born goaltenders. Although varying in age by over six years, Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas have increasingly shown their ability to rise to the occasion.

Ryan Miller, the Buffalo netminder and heart and soul of the Sabres has never recorded less than 30 wins while playing for the blue and gold. In his four seasons with the big club, the Michigan native has recorded 11 shutouts.

The journeyman and fan favorite of Boston, Tim Thomas has been on a true Disney-like ride to his current rank in the NHL. The 35-year old wild goaltender has continuingly gotten better throughout his time in the Hub.  

Called up as an emergency injury replacement for Bruins goalie Hannu Toivonen, nobody could've said that they saw what was going to happen next. Following a season where the Michigan native set career highs in every category as the Bruins finished first in the Eastern Conference, the guy who almost never got his chance in the NHL was named winner of the Vezina Trophy.