2009-2010 NHL Eastern Conference Predictions: Penguins, Bruins, or Capitals?

Today, I will explain where I feel NHL teams will finish in the Eastern Conference at the conclusion of the 2009-2010 NHL regular season. I will be basing my positioning of each team on offseason management changes and player movement via trades and free agency. We'll start from the basement of the conference and work our way up to which teams you should be keeping an eye on. So pull up a seat, get your favorite beverage, and throw in your comments.

15: New York Islanders

Well, I guess one positive you can take if you are an Islanders fan is that your team just drafted a player who looks to explode onto the NHL scene much like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin did when they were drafted.

Forward John Tavares was part of a lot of hype in excitement on Long Island and for good reason. Tavares broke several records while playing in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) including most goals scored during the regular season by a 16-year-old in the 06-07 season (a record previously held by Wayne Gretzky) with 72 goals scored. Looking at what else they did to add to their weak offensive attack during the offseason and you can't help but scratch your head at what General Manager Garth Snow was doing during free agency.

I guess instead of worrying about who he wants to score his goals this year, he can instead try and figure out how he is going to split equal playing time between three capable No. 1 goalies.

14: Atlanta Thrashers

Adding Nik Antropov and Pavel Kubina can only help this struggling franchise. Despite perhaps having the biggest kept secret in the NHL in Ilya Kovalchuk (who has 557 points in 545 career games over his seven seasons with the Thrashers), the Thrashers look no closer to someday actually returning to the playoffs, let alone win a postseason game.

Many will argue that General Manager Don Waddell has been trying desperately to make his franchise better this offseason, but will it really help? Goaltender Kari Lehtonen just went under the microscope to repair a herniated disk in his back. Rumors are that he will be ready to go by training camp, but can one really put all their faith in that when he is injured as often as he is?

If Atlanta fails to do some damage in the Eastern Conference, Thrasher fans better start to prepare themselves for Ilya to be traded by this season's trade deadline as Waddell will be continuing to acquire assets for the future. He's finally started to do just that this offseason. Unfortunately, you can't repair a franchise that is this poorly assembled in one summer.

13: Tampa Bay Lightning

The playoffs definitely seem out of reach this season, but after General Manager Brian Lawton stockpiled his franchise with offense last offseason, this season he has taken the opposite approach in hopes of being a more balanced team.

During the 2009 NHL entry draft, Lawton selected defensemen Victor Hedman second overall who possesses excellent size, explosive skating and has great puck sense and ice vision. Many experts have deemed him the next Nicklas Lidstrom; definitely a great player to build your team around.

The Lightning also signed defensemen Mattias Ohlund and Matt Walker on the first day of free agency and later added former Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster to help bolster the back end. Also added in the offseason were wingers Stephane Veilleux and Todd Fedoruk and goaltender Antero Niittymaki. While adding players that you feel will help you succeed is great, Tampa Bay proved last season by doing the same thing that it is tough to build team chemistry with such a large roster turn around.

Unfortunately for Lightning fans, it looks like a mirror image to the start of last season. Bolts fans could be in for another long and frustrating year.

12: Florida Panthers

Last season, the Florida Panthers missed the postseason despite finishing with the exact same record as the No. 8 seed Montreal Canadiens. While they were that close to making the playoffs last season, don't look for them to get that close again.

This is a franchise who has missed the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons now and during that time, last season was the closest they've been to returning. The Panthers lost a franchise defenseman in Jay Bouwmeester and if Florida's management wants to pass off Jordan Leopold as a legitimate replacement, they are doing a disservice to not only themselves, but the fans in south Florida.

While Florida seems to have a good young crop of forwards, they lack a true superstar up front and after losing their best player in Bouwmeester and not replacing him with someone of equal talent, this roster has gotten worse, not better. Fans in South Florida have been growing more and more impatient over the years, and who can really blame them?

11: Toronto Maple Leafs

While Toronto hasn't been in the playoffs since the 03-04 season, Leaf Nation should be happy that they finally have a general manager whose track record can give them hope that they will be able to not only return to the playoffs, but actually cause some damage when they finally do return.

In Brian Burke's first offseason as general manager of the Leafs, he was able to add strength and toughness to the blueline by signing Mike Komisarek. With Komisarek and the addition of defensemen Francois Beauchemin, Toronto now has two defensemen who can man the point on the power play, something they've always lacked.

Burke also added toughness up front with the signing of enforcer Colton Orr, but as Orr was the only free agent forward addition, you have to wonder how deep Toronto's scoring will be beyond their first line. That's not to say that the Leafs don't have the ability to score goals, as they ranked in the top third in goals scored last season.

Toronto's success just might fall on the shoulders of highly touted Swedish netminder Jonas Gustavsson, a player that Burke personally courted to Toronto. If he can live up to expectations, Toronto just might surprise many this coming season. In a stacked Eastern Conference though, Leaf fans shouldn't get too optimistic. With a couple more seasons with Burke at the helm, this team just might be onto something.

10: Ottawa Senators

This is a team that possesses a lot of offensive potential, but unfortunately for the fans of Ottawa, their arguable best player requested a trade only to change his mind at the last moment once he didn't want to play in Edmonton.

What effect Dany Heatley will have on his team remains to be seen. It might not have an effect, but it could be disastrous. The prediction of the Senators at the 10th spot in the East is assuming that latter. I don't see how Heatley won't have a negative effect to the chemistry of a team that has been the story of NHL news throughout this summer. If for some reason, Heatley and the team can move past the circus that he created in July, they could make the playoffs.

With the brutally talented line of Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, the Senators have a top line that can be rarely matched by any other team in the NHL. With the offseason addition of sniper Alex Kovalev, he can provide even more secondary scoring to a team that has no problem scoring goals. At last season's trade deadline, the Sens acquired goaltender Pascal Leclaire from the Columbus Blue Jackets, someone who was a No. 1 goalie before he got injured.

With Ottawa fixing the goaltending problem that they've had ever since the Ray Emery days, and adding even more scoring to one of the league's top offenses, Ottawa just might surprise this season. Unfortunately, I see all of the Heatley drama causing too many problems, which really is a shame when they have a team that has tons of talent.

9: New York Rangers

The New York Rangers lost Scott Gomez, Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev, their top three goal scorers last season. To offset this, general manager Glen Sather signed one of the top free agents available this offseason in Marian Gaborik. At $37.5 million total over five years ($7.5 million per season), many fans in Minnesota see this as paying too much for Gaborik since he has a career of nagging groin problems. If he is able to stay healthy though, Gaborik could really light up the lamp this season as he is one of the top offensive threats in the entire NHL.

However, despite the possible top line of Gaborik, Chris Drury and free agent addition Ales Kotalik, the Rangers don't look to have the offensive depth that they had last season which might prove to be disastrous as they ranked 28th in scoring last season. The Rangers have the talent, but also have a lot of question marks.

8: Buffalo Sabres

A lot of fans of the NHL have already written off the Sabres this season because of their lack activity during this offseason but I'm not sure why. Before goaltender Ryan Miller was injured last season, the Sabres were one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Also injured last season was first-line center Tim Connolly who missed 34 games with back and rib injuries. Also injured for 18 games during the season was top defenseman and team captain Craig Rivet.

With a healthy roster, there is no reason to think that the Sabres won't be able to return to the playoffs. The Sabres have one of the league's best forwards in Thomas Vanek who can light up the lamp with the best of them. His line-mates Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville are no slouches either. When healthy, Connolly is capable of being a point-per-game player. Pominville, at only 26-years-old, is capable of putting up respectable numbers as well.

With a first line that can score with the best of them and one of the best goalies in the league, look for the Sabres to cause some noise this coming season.

7: Montreal Canadiens

It's amazing to see such a complete turn around of a roster is just one year. At the start of last season, the Canadiens had Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Mike Komisarek who have since departed Montreal. During the summer in response to those departures, General Manager Bob Gainey has added forwards Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, and Travis Moen, defensemen Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill and former Florida Panthers Head Coach Jacques Martin.

While some might argue that such a large turn around would mess with team chemistry, it's hard to see how this team won't be able to succeed with this much talent. If there's one area that Montreal isn't stacked in, it's in net.

Back in the spring of 2008, Cristobal Huet was traded by Montreal to Washington in favor of Carey Price taking over the starting job. Since that time, Price has continually crumbled under the pressure of playing in Montreal. A lot of criticism has been thrown his way, but if Price can play up to his talent level, Montreal could be a top team in the East this year.

With so many new factors this season, it's tough to rank Montreal any higher. This is a team though that is as talented as anyone in the NHL and it should be no surprise to anyone if they make a run during the playoffs.

6: New Jersey Devils

With Jacques Lemaire now leading the way in New Jersey, there has been a lot of negative reaction from fans of the Devils thinking that he is going to hold back impact players such as Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston because of his defensive coaching style. One of the biggest myths surrounding Lemaire is that he holds back players. It couldn't be any further from the truth. Just ask Brian Rolston.

When Rolston was informed earlier this summer that Lemaire would be his coach again, Rolston had this to say, "I am extremely happy that Jacques will be coaching me once again. I truly believe he is one of the best hockey coaches in the game.”

Lemaire's history in the NHL should speak for himself. He is one of the best coaches when it comes to working with and meshing young players and veterans and helping each player maximize their potential. With a roster as talented as New Jersey's, fans should welcome Lemaire back to New Jersey with open arms. Losing Brian Gionta and John Madden hurts, but the addition of Lemaire as coach should help.

5: Carolina Hurricanes

As the postseason started in April, seemingly no one gave the Hurricanes a chance both against the third-ranked New Jersey Devils and the first-ranked Boston Bruins despite having one of the best offenses in the league.

Carolina also has the benefit of having some of the best team chemistry in the league because they always seemingly keep their lineup intact year after year. Head coach Paul Maurice is considered one of the top head coaches in the league and that is certainly tough to argue since the Hurricanes went 33-19-5 after he joined the club after General Manager Jim Rutherford fired Peter Laviolette.

With one of the top centers in the league in Eric Staal, one of the top goalies (even though many underrate him) in the league in Cam Ward, the Hurricanes are a formidable opponent for anyone. As tough as they were throughout the playoffs, Pittsburgh's explosive offense had no problem dispatching the 'Canes in a quick four-game sweep, in large part to the Hurricanes defensemen not being able to handle Pittsburgh's talent.

With the Hurricanes not losing anyone in the offseason and being able to bolster their below-average blueline with towering defenseman Andrew Alberts, look for the Hurricanes to be just as good if not better than last year's team. With a full season of Head Coach Paul Maurice behind the bench, the Hurricanes just might be able to knock off the Washington Capitals for the Southeast Division crown.

4: Philadelphia Flyers

With the fifth-ranked offense last season, Philadelphia had no problem scoring goals. Their blueline was considered a promising one and the addition of Chris Pronger is the perfect addition to turn the Flyers defense into one of the best defensive corps in the Eastern Conference if not the NHL.

Adding Ray Emery could pay off big time, if he can return to the Stanley Cup form he had when he led the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals in the spring of 2007. Because of the abundance of centers that Philadelphia has going into the season with Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Danny Briere, Claude Giroux and Ian Laperriere, there have been rumors of moving Briere to right wing at the start of training camp. If this happens, Head Coach John Stevens will have many options of mixing and matching his top two lines—two lines that are very deep and can be considered one of the best two line scoring combinations in the NHL.

Overall, Philadelphia looks like it can be a very dangerous team this season, one that I can definitely see making a run to the Stanley Cup Finals this season.

3: Pittsburgh Penguins

The defending Stanley Cup Champions obviously don't have much to prove since they are the champs, but because they are the defending champions, I felt that it was only right to predict that they'd win the Atlantic division.

While I feel that they still have a good team, losing defensemen Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill will certainly hurt. If one thing can be learned from last season though, Head Coach Dan Bylsma is for real.

With two of the games top stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins can never be taken lightly as they can bury the puck at any given time. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury silenced many critics this summer as he led his team to a Stanley Cup victory after many had criticized that he would never be able to win a Stanley Cup, all during a postseason where he had many tremendous saves.

Overall, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team to beat this season, until they are eliminated from the playoffs. No team is as dangerous and can score quicker than the Pens.

2: Boston Bruins

Boston shocked everyone last season as they dominated everyone during the regular season in route to the top seed in the Eastern Conference only a year after barely squeaking into the playoffs.

Playing a perfect version of transition hockey, Boston finished second to only Detroit in goals scored and finished first in goals against. Bringing back basically the same squad from last year, Head Coach Claude Julien will look to duplicate last seasons success by applying the same tactics this season.

Leading that charge will be Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas. Thomas had a 36-11-7 record last season in 54 games played. He had five shutouts with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .993 save percentage. Thomas played equally as well in the playoffs and his team was one overtime goal away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

All that Boston needs to do to get to where they were last season is to continue playing the way that they were this season while staying healthy. If they can do so, look for Boston to be a consistent threat once again in the 09-10 season.

1: Washington Capitals

With the most dangerous player in the NHL in Alexander Ovechkin and a great supporting cast, the Washington Capitals look to advance further than they did last season.

With the emergence of Semyon Varlamov during the playoffs, the Capitals might have found a long-term solution in net. With him and Jose Theodore in net, you have two capable goalies to share the duties to make it easier on each other. That could certainly bode well if the Caps hope to make a deep playoff run.

Although Washington lost Sergei Federov and Viktor Kozlov to Russia's KHL, they looked to offset those losses by obtaining forwards Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison.

On defense, Mike Green is coming off of a 73-point season which is just insane. Aside from Green though, Washington's defense isn't all that deep and even Green isn't the best "defensive" defensemen on the team. If Washington is to falter this season, it's going to be because of their lack of talent on defense.

Maybe Ovechkin and company can help hide Washington's weak defense by just burying the puck. Going into this season, the Caps remind me an awful lot of 06-07 Buffalo Sabres; a team that can score as often as anyone, but is purely built on offense, something that you cannot solely rely on in today's NHL.

I think that during the regular season, the Caps will run through the Eastern Conference, but come playoff time, it will be much more difficult to win once the competition is more on level with them. Look for Washington to come out firing on all cylinders this season. The question remains though, can they do more than just score goals?