Northeast Division Preview

The Northeast Division has seen a major overhaul this summer with Montreal, Toronto, and New York putting out very different squads for the upcoming season. Each team looks to improve its fortunes so here are some outlooks for each team as we move towards the next season.

Boston Bruins

Last season the Bruins set an incredible pace with 116 points. The question here is can they maintain that pace? It would help if Phil Kessel sticks around to contribute another 65-point season or better. David Krejci is aging, but still a formidable opponent. The same goes with Mark Recchi who will miss the first few games of the year with an injury.

However, Tim Thomas is arguably the best goalie in the league and could provide upwards of 30 wins. Overall, it looks like the Bruins could repeat and maintain a stranglehold on the division.

Buffalo Sabres

Not too much has changed here besides the loss of Jaroslav Spacek to the Canadiens. If Tim Connoly can stay healthy he can play alongside Thomas Vanek. The two make quite a duo. Another dynamic duo is Jason Pominville and Derek Roy. The two combined for 136 points last season and could easily repeat on the upswing of their careers. However, besides these four offensive stalwarts, who provides depth? Jochen Hecht, Drew Stafford?

On defence the Sabres will be bolstered by newcomers Steve Montador and Joe DiPenta. They add to Tony Lydman and Craig Rivet. Ryan Miller is a very good goalie and he could win 30 games. If he does well, so will the team.

Montreal Canadiens

Last year was a disaster for Habs fans and the mood this year could be described as cautiously optimistic. Many players left, but many new faces arrived in an attempt to turn the organizations around. Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri, and Brian Gionta are big names who now make up the front line. Andrei Markov and Jaroslav Spacek help out on defence and they are two strong players.

Paul Mara and Hal Gill are big bodies in front of Carey Price who will be crucial for this team. Is the price right this year? That is the question being asked, specifically, can he withstand the pressure in Montreal and continue to win? If so, this team looks ready to win.

Ottawa Senators

The Sens were relatively quiet in the offseason this year. The only major signing being Alex Kovalev who is inconsistent, but can play with lots of talent.  The big three—Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Dany Heatley—appear to be staying together, but that black trade cloud hanging over Heatley is a major distraction.

Pascal Leclaire is now the starting goaltender and it'll help if he is single-handidly strong throughout the season and into the stretch. Mike Fisher cannot do worse than he did last year and Filip Kuba will likely repeat his 40-point performance.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Viva la rebuild. The Maple Leafs have completely turned around their style of play for next season with the signings of aggressive D-men Francois Beauchemin, Garnet Exelby, and Mike Komisarek. Tomas Kaberle remains and Luke Schenn will likely avoid the sophomore curse with such a strong blue line around him.

That leaves offence. It remains relatively unchanged with wild card Rickard Wallin and tough man Colton Orr arriving. Jiri Tlusty will likely move up this year as will Ben Ondrus. In net, Jonas Gustavsson arrives from Sweden and quite possibly will replace Vesa Toskala. The Leafs should be interesting to watch this year and they will fight to make the playoffs.