I will first quickly analyze each teams: Strengths, Weaknesses, Forwards, Defensmen and Goalies. Then I will predict where each team will end up in the standings, and will predict who will make it to the finals and who will win the Stanley Cup.
Eastern Conference
Boston Bruins:
Strengths: A great 1-2 punch in goal with Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask, Amazing depth at centre and a solid defensive corps.
Weaknesses: No glaring weaknesses, and I guess that is why they won the cup, but their special teams could definitely be improved
Forwards: Like I said earlier Amazing depth at centre, and there wingers have taken some losses like Mark Recchi, and Michael Ryder but a couple centre's can step up and play wing.
Defense: Definitely solid with guys like Chara, Corvo and Seidenberg.
Goalies: Probably the best goaltending tandem in the league (behind Luongo and Schneider ;) ) with Thomas and Rask.
Buffalo Sabres:
Strengths: Always great in net with Ryan Miller who is one of the top 5 goalies in the league. Could have a great first line with Vanek, Roy and Leino.
Weaknesses: Not the greatest depth.
Forwards: They have a great first line and and decent supporting cast with guys like, Pominville, Stafford, Boyes and Ennis.
Defense: Have some very good defensemen in the top 2 pairings, bu thave guys like Andrej Sekera and Marc-Andre Gragnani filling the bottom paring. They already had Tyler Myers, but they aquired Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regehr over the off season.
Goalies: No question have one of the best goalies in the league with Ryan Miller, but also have a very good young backup in Jonas Enroth.
Carolina Hurricanes:
Strengths: Good forwards, and good top 2 defensive pairings.
Weaknesses: Lack of depth at defense
Forwards: Carolina has some of the best young forwards in the league. Jeff Skinner (Calder winner last year) Zac Dalpe, Zach Boychuck, Drayson Bowman and Brandon Sutter. And Eric Staal (Captain) is still only 26.
Defense: They have some pretty good defensemen in Gleason, Kaberle, Allen, McBain and Pitkanen, but will have an AHL defenseman playing the sixth spot.
Goalies: Any team with Cam Ward will have good goaltending.
Florida Panthers:
Strengths: I don't know what to say. They've got a great youth movement?
Weaknesses: Too many to count. Will be relying on the 21 year old Jacob Markstrom and Jose Theodore in net. They have a couple good players but lack depth everywhere.
Forwards: They've got a couple good forwards like Tomas Fleischmann, David Booth and Steven Weiss, but like I said, they have no depth.
Defense: They will be relying on over the hill defensemen like Ed Jovanovski and Brian Campbell. Only spark of life on that blueline will be Dmitry Kulikov and Erik Gudbranson.
Goalies: Jacob Markstrom has impressed thus far in his life, but can he start an entire year in the NHL at 21, not sure.
Montreal Canadiens:
Strengths: Speed goaltending and depth defensively.
Weaknesses: Not enough size up the middle and too many slow defensemen.
Forwards. They have a bunch of guys that can score. Cammalleri, Plekanec, Gionta, Kostisyn and Gomez (although I'm not sure if he is still in that category). What do they all have in common except for Kostisyn? They are all under 6 feet tall.
Defense: They have guys like Gill and Spacek who are over the hill and over paid. However this could be a very solid defensive corps if Gorges and Markov can stay healthy. Add them with Subban and you've got a very solid top 3.
Goalies: If Carey Price can continue playing the way he played last year, they shouldn't have problems in net. Except maybe with backup Peter Budaj.
New Jersey Devils:
Strengths: Great 1-2 punch offensively with Kovalchuck and Parise.
Weaknesses: No depth anywhere and a bad defensive corps.
Forwards: They will have a good first 2 lines with Kovalchuck, Zajac, Parise and Elias. But after that they will be hurting.
Defense: Anton Volchenkov is their best defenseman, and after that bright spots are few and far between defensively.
Goalies: Two years ago I would have said the Devils have some of the best goaltending in the league. But I just don't know how good Brodeur is anymore. Something's wrong when your starter is 39 and your backup is 38.
New York Islanders:
Strengths: Plenty of young, skilled forwards.
Weaknesses: No depth and too many fighters in their bottom six forwards, Horrible defense.
Forwards: John Tavares, Michael Grabner, Josh Bailey PA Parenteau, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo. They have no shortage of skilled forwards for their top six, but it is their bottom six they should worry about.
Defense: Besides Mark Streit all their other defensemen are either AHL caliber or last pairing depth caliber. They definitely need work defensively.
Goalies: Hard to gauge how good the Islanders goalies are. DiPietro will be great for the first 15 games of the year, but then he will get injured and Nabokov will have to take over from there. I don't think Nabokov is an elite caliber goalie anymore. So I think that the Islander goalies are good but not great.
New York Rangers:
Strengths: Great depth at forward and a great first line.
Weaknesses: Awful depth defensively.
Forwards: Like I said, they have great depth and will have a great first line of Richards, Wolski, and Gaborik.
Defense: Only four good NHL defensemen: Mark Staal, Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and Steve EmingerAHL players.
Goalies: The Rangers have a solid goaltending tandem of Henrik Lundqvist starting, and Martin Biron as the backup.
Ottawa Senators:
Strengths: Nothing outstanding, but they have tons of solid prospects so they will be good someday.
Weaknesses: Nothing glaring but they might have a couple prospects playing in the NHL that aren't quite NHL ready.
Forwards: Of course there is Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, but Bobby Butler intrigues me. He is a great scorer and impressed in his call up from the AHL last season.
Defense: This team has a solid defensive corps, with the exception of Erik Karlsson nobody is outstanding, as Gonchar isn't what he used to be.
Goalies: Not great but not bad. Craig Anderson and Alex Auld are both good goalies but neither are outstanding.
Philadelphia Flyers:
Strengths: Great depth everywhere and a first line of Giroux, Briere and Van Riemsdyk that will make the other team's goalies cringe. Solid goaltending.
Weaknesses: Nothing that is horrible, but they definitely are a young team.
Forwards. Great depth and they are jsut all around good.
Defense: Basically the same as the forwards.
Goalies: Bryzgalov hopes to impress with his new team, and I think the backup role will be better for Bobrovsky.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Strengths: Solid forwards, solid defense, solid goaltending and they have the best player in the game in Sidney Crosby (of course we don't know when he will be back from his concussion).
Weaknesses: Their best 2 players are injured, and are lacking wingers.
Forwards: They have 2 of the best forwards in the game, but they are both injured. They still have plenty of other solid forwards, but they could use some better wingers.
Defense: Kris Letang is a very good defenseman but other than him they don't have any star defensemen, just a bunch of very good shut down defensemen.
Goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury will probably once again battle inconsistency, but he is still a very good goalie.
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Strenghts: Very good 1-2 punch in St louis and Stamkos, and just good forwards in general.
Weaknesses: A very old starting goalie in Roloson, and I'm unsure how many games he can play.
Forwards: Like I said earlier they have good forwards and Stakos will probably get 40+ goals and 90+ points with St Louis assisting him every step of the way (pun intended).
Defense: Okay defense, nobody is a standout, but then again nobody is not an NHL caliber defenseman.
Goalies: Roloson is old but still good, and they have a decent backup in Mathieu Garon.
Toronto Maple Leafs:
Strengths: They have no major wholes in their lineup.
Weaknesses: If James Reimer doesn't have the same magic of last year and Gustavsson continues on his downward trend, they are screwed.
Forwards: They have a solid top 2 lines, and their bottom 6 has plenty of players with sandpaper in their game. They also may have found a set up man for Kessel in Tim Connolly.
Defense: Brian Burke built this team around defense, this team has great defensive depth so they should have no problems there.
Goalies: Like I said earlier, their goalies are going to be a roll of the dice this year.
Washington Capitals:
Strengths: Almost everything.
Weaknesses: Only thing I can see is lack of playoff experience.
Forwards; Every year Washington has great forwards, and this year is no different, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin... the list goes on and on.
Defense: This team has a great defensive corps with Green, Hamrlik, Alzner, Carlson, Wideman, Schultz and Poti.
Goalies: They have finally answered the bell and got a starting goalie in Tomas Vokoun. this team could be a powerhouse this year. The only thing stopping them is the playoffs.
Winnipeg Jets:
Strengths: Solid forwards.
Weaknesses: Don't have very good all round depth.
Forwards: They don't have anyone who will bring you out of your seat, but they have a bunch of solid forwards.
Defense: If Byfuglien and Enstrom play the same way they played last year, this team has 2 star defensemen. oustide of them their defense isn't great.
Goalies. I think that Ondrej Pavelec will be great this year. And I think that with Chris Mason as a backup, this team is set in the net.
Eastern Conference Standings
1. Washington Capitals
2. Boston Bruins
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
4. Buffalo Sabres
5. Tampa Bay Lightning
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. Montreal Canadiens
8. New York Rangers
9. Toronto Maple Leafs
10. Carolina Hurricanes
11. New York Islanders
12. Winnipeg Jets
13. New Jersey Devils
14. Ottawa Senators
15. Florida Panthers
Western Conference
Anaheim Ducks:
Strengths: Great top 6 forwards, Perry, Getzlaf, Ryan, Selanne, Koivu and Blake.
Weaknesses: They aren't really weak anywhere but it would help if they had someone better that Sheldon Brookbank playing in their lineup.
Forwards: This team has got a great mix of scorers and grinders, and like I said earlier, their top six is deadly.
Defense: Cam Fowler is coming off a great rookie year so you can expect great things from him. Besides not having the greatest depth, the Ducks have no problems defensively.
Goalies: Now that Jonas Hiller is finally healthy, the Ducks are great in the blue paint.
Calgary Flames:
Strengths: As always, they have great goaltending in Miikka Kiprusoff.
Weaknesses: All of their good players are either old, or aren't that good anymore. Also they don't have good secondary scoring.
Forwards: Jarome Iginla will probably score 30 goals and get 75 points once again, but they just don't have good supporting players for Iginla.
Defense: Their top 2 pairings look good but after that they are hurting.
Goalies: Like I said, Miikka Kiprusoff will once again play 70 to 75 games, and play very well, but if they were to make the playoffs (which they won't) he will be too burnt out to play very well.
Chicago Blackhawks:
Strengths: Great depth at forward, and a spectacular first line.
Weaknesses: They have AHL caliber defensemen like John Scott playing in their lineup.
Forwards: They have great depth and that first line of either Hossa or Sharp, and Toews and Kane is downright scary.
Defense: After Keith and Seabrook their defensive corps could use a facelift.
Goalies: Not sure about this, Corey Crawford impressed in his rookie year last year, but can he repeat that. And if he stumbles will rookie goalie Alexander Salak be able to play at the NHL level.
Colorado Avalanche:
Strengths: Plenty of youth and energy.
Weaknesses: Not much depth at any position except goalie.
Forwards: Will have a good first line of Duchene/Statsny and Mueller and Hejduk.
Defense: They don't have any AHL caliber players on defense but besides Erik Johnson they aren't that great defensively.
Goalies: Semyon Varlamov is good enough to be a starter but has battled inconsistency in the past. That is why the veteran G-S Giguere can play a couple games every once in a while if Varlamov stumbles.
Colombus Blue Jackets:
Strengths: A deadly top line of Carter, Nash and Umberger.
Weaknesses: Defense is terrible.
Forwards: They have some great scorers and a bunch of role players, and they also have some secondary scorers in Brassard, Huselius, Prospal and Vermette.
Defense: A top three of Russel, Wisniewski, and Tyutin. And they have 3 AHL defensemen playing in the NHL in Martinek, Clitsome, and Methot.
Goalies: If Mason can return to his Calder winning form they are going to be great, if not it's gonna be a long year.
Dallas Stars:
Strengths: Nothing really stands out as a strength, after losing Richards, they lost a lot of offense.
Weaknesses: They don't have a major weakness but they could use a couple more NHL forwards.
Forwards: They have a good but not great first line in Morrow, Benn and Eriksson, but after them they need some work.
Defense: Their defense is not bad but not great. They don't have a real stand out defenseman, but they don't have any AHL defensemen playing in the NHL either. The difference in ability form their top defenseman to their worst defenseman isn't much.
Goalies: If Kari Lehtonen can stay healthy they are set in goal.
Detroit Red Wings:
Strengths: All around depth at every position.
Weaknesses: They don't have many weaknesses, but they could use a big physical forward.
Forwards: Despite the fact that they don't have many physical forwards, the Wings boast one the the best group of forwards in the NHL.
Defense: After losing Brian Rafalski to retirement, they picked up a poor-man's Rafalski in Ian White. They also got more physical when they added Mike Commodore.
Goalies: If Jimmy Howard plays the way he has played the last 2 years, they should have no problems. Especially with the best backup of all time in Ty Conklin.
Edmonton Oilers:
Strengths: No major strengths except that they play with a lot of energy.
Weaknesses: They need some more centremen, and defensemen, and their goaltenders aren't very good.
Forwards: Edmonton boasts some of the best young forwards in the league, Hall, Eberle, Paajarvi, Omark, Gagner and Nugent-Hopkins. But other than a few good forwards like Hemsky, Horcoff and Smyth, they aren't that great up front.
Defense: One of the worst defensive groups last year but now they aren't quite as bad. They added guys like Cam Barker and Andy Sutton, to make this team only bad, not terrible defensively.
Goalie: They are hurting in net with Nikolai Khabibulin and Devan Dubnyk.
Los Angeles Kings:
Strengths: Arguably the best team in the NHL up the middle with Mike Richards, Anze Kopitar and Jarret Stoll.
Weaknesses: Nothing major but they could use a couple more depth forwards.
Forwards: Like I said earlier they are great at centre, and they also have a couple good supporting wingers in Brown, Williams, Penner and Gagne.
Defense: He isn't currently signed but the Kings have a future Norris winning defenseman in Drew Doughty. And when Doughty and Jack Johnson are on the power play together, the other team has to look out.
Goalies: Quick has impressed in the last 2 years, and Jonathan Bernier is a great NHL ready goalie and he is only 22.
Minnesota Wild:
Strengths: Great goaltending and a great first 2 lines.
Weaknesses: Lack of depth defensively.
Forwards: They totally revamped their forwards, bringing in Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi and the first line of Setoguchi, Heatley and Koivu is going to light it up.
Defense: They lost a lot when they traded Brett Burns, and I don't like the way their defense looks.
Goalies: Nik Backstrom is a very good goalie so I think that they won't have any problems in net.
Nashville Predators:
Strengths: Very solid defensively.
Weaknesses: They lack offensive firepower.
Forwards: When Martin Erat is your leading scorer with 50 points, something is wrong. But I expect Colin Wilson to emerge and get 25+ goals and 45+ points.
Defense: Shea Weber and Ryan Suter are a dynamic duo, and this team has some good supporting defensemen like Ellis, Klein, Blum, Hillen and Bouillon.
Goalies: If Pekka Rinne plays the same way he played last year (especially in the playoffs) they might have a Vezina winning goaltender.
Phoenix Coyotes:
Strengths: Great team defense.
Weaknesses: Not much offensive firepower, and no legitimate starting goalie.
Forwards: Sure they have Doan and Whitney and Langkow but none of those guys are scoring at the rate they used to. But I expect that Kyle Turris will have a breakout 40+ point year.
Defense: Keith Yandle had a breakout 59 point year last year, but can he repeat. This team on paper doesn't have the greatest defensemen, but the team plays great defense.
Goalies: I think with the loss of Ilya Bryzgalov goaltending will be this team's downfall.
San Jose Sharks:
Strengths: Great depth everywhere, and a scary first line.
Weaknesses: Don't have a great starting goalie (Antti Niemi).
Forwards: Thornton, Couture, Marleau, Pavelski, Clowe, Havlat and Sheppard. This team has a bunch of great forwards.
Defense: They have good depth, and I can't wait to see Burns and Boyle on the power play together.
Goalies: Not great but not bad with Niemi and Nittymaki
St. Louis Blues:
Strengths: Some great young forwards in Berlund, Oshie, Perron, Backes and Stewart.
Weaknesses: Lack defensive depth.
Forwards: They have a great mix of veterans, players in their prime, and young stars like I just mentioned.
Defense: Not much depth, but Kevin Shattenkirk is emerging as a very good player.
Goalies: If Halak can play as good as he did in Montreal, St. Louis will have a Vezina caliber goalie.
Vancouver Canucks:
Strengths: The Canucks have several strengths, so I will list just the one that I think is the most important. Team depth.
Weaknesses: Nobody to stand up for their star players when they are being pushed around.
Forwards: They boast arguably the best dynamic duo in the NHL with Daniel and Henrik. Also they have the Selke winning Ryan Kesler.
Defense: No stars but plenty of very good defensemen, Ballard, Bieksa, Edler, Hamhuis etc... Also I think that Ballard will have a bounce back year and take the place of Ehrhoff on the power play.
Goalies: Luongo and Schnieder are one of the best goaltending tandems in the league, the Canucks should have no problems in net.
Western Conference Standings
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Chicago Blackhawks
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Nashville Predators
8.Columbus Blue Jackets
9. Minnesota Wild
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. St. Louis Blues
12. Dallas Stars
13. Calgary Flames
14. Phoenix Coyotes
15. Edmonton Oilers
Stanley Cup Finals Prediction
Western Conference:
Vancouver Canucks
Eastern Conference:
Washington Capitals
Cup Winner:
Washington Capitals
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