NHL Southeast Division: Revamped and Ready to Compete in the East

In the 1990s, when the economy was soaring and the popularity of athletics was at an all-time high, the NHL decided to engage in a major expansion into non-traditional markets.

The migration southward was not unprecedented.

In 1972, the Atlanta Flames were introduced to the league along with the New York Islanders. The Flames advanced to the playoffs six out of the eight years they were in Georgia before moving to Calgary after the 1979 season.

The Washington Capitals were formed in 1974 along with the Kansas City Scouts. The Scouts franchise struggled, lasting only two seasons before moving to Colorado, and now are known as the New Jersey Devils.

Washington did not qualify for the playoffs in their first eight seasons, but eventually became contenders. The team went to the playoffs every year from 1982-1996. After missing the playoffs during the 1996 season the team advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

At the turn of the century the NHL saw the southbound movement pay dividends.

The moribund Hurricanes, which moved from Hartford, Connecticut to Raleigh, North Carolina before the 1997 season, were featured in a Sports Illustrated article called “Natural Disaster.” The article described the team’s ill-advised move to Greensborough for two years while a stadium in Raleigh was being constructed.

However, six years later, in 2002, the team made its first Stanley Cup appearance, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

With increased popularity the team began to grow roots in the city and develop a hard core following. Four years later the ‘Canes would rewards its fans with a Stanley Cup victory in 2006 over the Oilers following the NHL Lockout.

Backed by a tempestuous crowd of over 20,000, the Tampa Bay Lightning won Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals over the Calgary Flames in the St. Pete Times Forum the following year.

In the last three years three historical teams—the Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Chicago Blackhawks—have won the Stanley Cup. Last year the Southeast Conference was futile, producing only one postseason team...which lost in the first round.

However the Southwestern Conference has gotten significantly stronger this year.

Since 1996, when the Florida Panthers were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals after only three years in the league, the team has been irrelevant.

The Cats have not won a playoff game since 1997 and have only qualified for the postseason twice since going to the Finals.

They are the franchise that is need of most help in the division.

However, the team has hired Dave Tallon to turn the team around. Noted for getting the Chicago Blackhawks back on track after years of futility, Tallon may be the man to save hockey in the Miami area.

He has been rather quiet in the offseason.

His only free-agent pickup was Chris Higgins, who was a consistent 20-goal scorer in the league, but had a rough season last year and is a question mark entering the season.

Dennis Wideman and Steve Bernier were both acquired via trade. Both players have the potential to be stars in Florida, where they will have more playing time on a younger team, but, like Higgins, both have been less productive lately.

In this offseason, however, the Cats’ focus was on acquiring young talent. They added Michael Grabner and Michael Santorelli—two impressive prospects with NHL experience—and TJ Fast, an offensive-defenseman who is close to NHL-ready, in order to build for the future.

In four years the Atlanta Thrashers have gone from a division winner with promise to a rebuilding team.

Led by a top line of Marian Hossa, Marc Savard, and Ilya Kovalchuk the 2006 Thrashers won the Southeast Division, but were swept by the Rangers in their opening playoff series. The franchise has yet to win a playoff game since its inception in 1999 and lost Kovalchuk last year after he refused a 12-year, $101 million contract from the team.

Management in Atlanta has taken advantage of the Chicago Blackhawks’ salary cap issues: acquiring playoff hero Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, and Andrew Ladd in two transactions with Chicago.

The team already has a great young core of Zach Bogosian, Tobias Enstrom, Evander Kane, Niclas Bergfors, and Ondrej Pavelec, and the addition of proven winners should help the team compete for a playoff spot in the East.

While the team may still be on the outside looking in again next year, Atlanta should have a competitive team in the next few years.

Like the Thrashers, the Hurricanes are a young, rebuilding team. While many of their prospects and younger players may be a step behind in development, the team has been more successful than Atlanta since moving from Hartford in 1997.

The ‘Canes will look to newly-anointed captain Eric Staal to invigorate the players around him and become the go-to guy in Carolina. He failed to eclipse the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career after missing 12 games last year.

Carolina’s defense greatly improved in the offseason. By bringing back veterans Anton Babchuk and Joe Corvo the team has offensive threats on the blueline.

The Hurricanes still have a strong core of players and should not be overlooked as a potential low seed in the playoffs next year.

After a disappointing season last year, the Lightning look like a playoff team entering the 2010 season.

Last year the Bolts were in playoff contention through March, but struggled down the stretch and finished with the same point total (80) as the Hurricanes.

The team’s ability to enter the postseason falls directly on the shoulders of Vincent Lecavalier.

Of Tampa’s “big three”—Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, and Lecavalier—the latter, who gets paid the most and was given the captaincy, did not pull his weight.

Stamkos tied Sidney Crosby for most goals in the league with 51 and was greatly helped by St. Louis, who had 65 assists in his 94-point season. Lecavalier was placed on the second line and managed to score only 24 goals and tally 70 points.

With the addition of Simon Gagne, a two-time 40-goal scorer, Pavel Kubina and Brett Clark on the blue line, and Dan Ellis in net the big three should have an adequate supporting cast around them and look to make a playoff run this year—assuming Lecavalier returns to form.

Coming off an early playoff exit, the Capitals are the team to beat in the Southeast, but will probably see a slump in their point total with a tougher division.

Washington already has a pretty strong roster, it’s only obvious weakness is in net, and has the best player in the division in Alexander Ovechkin.

With Nicklas Backstrom locked up long term, and one of the best defensive tandems in Mike Green and Jeff Schultz, the Caps should be a force in the league for years to come. However, Alexander Semin is in a contract year and the division is getting tougher, so the time to win is now for Washington.

The Southeast Division has gotten better and should have an impact on the postseason landscape in the East.