With the Sox and the Yanks both out of World Series contention and the NBA season in a state of serious doubt, New England sports fans still have something to be excited about: the National Hockey League has just started its sixth season since the lockout in ’04-’05. The league boasts a number of young talented stars especially on the offensive end, as the “new” NHL has instituted rule changes to increase scoring. Perhaps Sportscenter may finally find time to show off some of the most athletic plays you will see anywhere. Here’s my take on the Western Conference for the 2011-2012 NHL season.
Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks are looking to improve after last year’s first round exit from the playoffs. Their top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan should prove to be one of the best in the NHL. Veteran Teemu Selanne is back for at least another year. On the back end, the Ducks are looking to Cam Fowler to build on his stellar rookie season and are hoping for goalie Jonas Hiller to bounce back from last year’s bought with vertigo that kept him out of the lineup. The Ducks shouldn’t have a problem putting the puck in the net; if their defensive core stays strong, they could be a force in the west.
Calgary Flames: The Flames are looking to build on their strong season last year and are hoping to return to the playoffs by relying on players like Jerome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff.
Chicago Blackhawks: After winning the Stanley Cup two years ago, the Blackhawks struggled last year with a drastically altered lineup. Looking to bounce back after losing to the Canucks in the opening round of playoffs last year, the Hawks are going to rely on their core group of all-stars. Star forwards Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharpe, as well as defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, will be looked upon to carry the team. If the NHL 12 Legends Roster is any indication (and it’s not) then the Hawks are stacked. As long as goalie Corey Crawford can avoid a sophomore slump, the Blackhawks could return as a western powerhouse.
Colorado Avalanche: After finishing second-to-last in the league last season, the Aves are looking to rebuild this year. Second overall pick Gabriel Landeskog, J.S. Giguere and Semyon Varlmov have been added to the team to help out stars Matt Duchene and Paul Statsny.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Big moves made in the off-season could prove to be key for Columbus this year. Blue-liner James Wisniewski and young sniper Jeff Carter were big additions to the Jackets’ roster this summer to help out star center Rick Nash.
Dallas Stars: The stars are looking to bounce back after the major loss of all-star center Brad Richards to free agency. New head coach Glen Gulutzman will look to Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow, Jamie Benn, Loui Eriksson and Stanley Cup champion Michael Ryder to fill the void left by Richards. Kari Lehtonen will be looked to in net to continue last year’s success.
Detroit Red Wings: Barring complete disaster, the Wings should be a shoe-in to continue their 20-year streak of playoff appearances, the longest streak of any franchise in major North American pro sports. Magician Pavel Datsyuk and perennial all-star Henrik Zetterberg look to lead a stacked offensive roster, laden with talent like Tomas Holmstrom, Todd Bertuzzi, Johan Franzen and Danny Cleary. The blue line is questionable as compared to previous years, following the loss of recently retired all-star Brian Rafalski. Coming back for his 20th NHL season is captain, Nicklas Lidstrom, who won his seventh Norris Trophy last year. His supporting cast will include alternate captain Niklas Kronwall and new addition Ian White (the only name on their roster that spell check is able to recognize). The Wings will look to youngster Jimmy Howard in net to continue to elevate his game since the departure of veteran tender Chris Osgood. As usual, Detroit fans will have high expectations for another run at the cup.
Edmonton Oilers: The Oil look for a big payoff after several years of horrific performance complemented by high draft picks. Young players like Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson (thank you cut and paste), Sam Gagner and Linus Omark, and veteran Ryan Smyth, will be looked at to return the franchise to their past glory.
Los Angeles Kings: After a summer of drawn-out negotiation, the Kings worked out a seven-million dollar, eight-year contract with all-star defenseman Drew Doughty. He will join young d-man Jack Johnson as the Kings’ anchors on the blue line. Up front, LA looks to super star Anze Kopitar, blockbuster acquisition Mike Richards, all-star Simon Gagne and captain Dustin Brown to lead the team back to the playoffs. Jonathan Quick is another star player who will be shouldering a lot of pressure as the starting goaltender. The Kings face a tall order competing in the Pacific Division but have been improving over the last few years. If they can build on last year’s regular season success, they could move into the second round of playoffs or beyond.
Minnesota Wild: This team, despite being from such a hockey-crazed state, has been experiencing quite the lack of success in the last few years. The additions of Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi from San Jose should provide some aid up front to star center Mikko Koivu and new Head Coach Mike Yeo could turns things around. If Nicklas Backstrom can stand tall in net, they have a shot at the postseason.
Nashville Predators: Last spring, Nashville got a real taste of the playoffs, advancing past the opening round for the first time in franchise history. After losing out to the eventual conference champion Canucks, they look to continue their improvement. The return of anchor and captain, Shea Weber, is a great start. (If nothing else the huge deal was worth it just to see his epic playoff beard next spring). Joining him on the blue line is his partner and alternate captain, Ryan Suter, as well as California native, Jon Blum. Behind them in net is Vezina Trophy finalist, Pekka Rinne. Defense has never been a problem for “Smashville,” though, and their scoring is the main question mark. After losing a handful of scorers like Joel Ward and Steve Sullivan, they will look to forwards Mike “I Married Carrie Underwood” Fisher, Hobey Baker winner Blake Geoffrion, Connecticut native Colin Wilson and Sergei Kostitsyn to bury the puck. If Nashville’s forwards can find the net, they could make a deep playoff run come Spring.
Phoenix Coyotes: The future of this team is still in question, as ownership has not been locked down long term. With the loss of tender Ilya Bryzgalov, net minder Mike Smith has big shoes to fill. Shane Doan remains their only strong offensive presence. Keith Yandle has been a big help on D, but I’m most interested in what Paul “Biznasty” Bissonnette (@biznasty2point0) will tweet about this season.
San Jose Sharks: Can the NHL choke artists finally figure it out this year? That’s really the big question surrounding this team and, until the Sharks get their name engraved on Lord Stanley’s Cup, it’s a moniker they are going to be stuck with. In an effort to shake things up after last year’s loss in the Conference Finals, the Sharks traded away big name forwards Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, as well as Defenseman Ian White. However, the Sharks picked up defenseman Brent Burns and puck moving forward, Martin Havlat. Can these additions give Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Ryan Clowe the push they need to get to the finals? A lot of responsibility will also rest on the back end, with Dan Boyle, Douglas Murray and goaltender Antti Niemi. With this much talent on one team, the Sharks biggest threat will can only be themselves.
St. Louis Blues: Rebuilding time is over for St. Louis. The Blues have established themselves as serious contenders for the top eight spots in the West. Upfront youngsters David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrick Berglund and David Perron are led by veterans Jamie Langenbrunner, Andy McDonald and Jason Arnott. On the blue line are young up-and-comers Alex Pietrangelo and CT native Kevin Shattenkirk. In net is former Montreal standout Jaroslav Halak.
Vancouver Canucks: The reigning President’s Trophy and Western Conference Champs are back this year, looking to redeem themselves after an embarrassing defeat by Boston in last season’s Stanley Cup. Coming back on the offensive are the telepathic Swedish twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, notorious finger food snacker Alex Burrows, Marco Sturm and Manny Malhotra. Currently out of the line up, but looking to return from injury in November, is Mason Raymond and Ryan Kesler. Despite losing Christian Ehrhoff on the back end, the Canucks have held on to most of their D-core with Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieska, Sami Salo and Alexander Edler. As usual, despite being one of the league’s top net minders, goaltender Roberto Luongo will be under constant criticism from the local media.
Overview: This should be a pretty exciting season for the Western Conference. Expect to see top teams like Vancouver, San Jose and Detroit keep their positions atop their respective divisions. Apart from that, however, anything goes. A lot of teams at the bottom are coming out of rebuilds, and a handful of consistent playoff teams have aging rosters. Come late March I see a big foot race for the last couple of spots in the playoffs. It’s a tough conference with a good spread of talent: wins aren’t going to be easy to come by for most of these teams.
Playoff Predictions: Top 8, in no particular order: Anaheim, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville, San Jose and Vancouver.
Conference Champs: San Jose. As much as I’d like to see Detroit win one last cup for Lidstrom, I don’t think they have the depth to compete with San Jose. This might finally be the Sharks’ year. Eastern Conference next week. •
