Remember last season when two of these teams fought it out for 65 minutes on the last day of the regular season for a playoff spot? Something tells me both the Rangers and Flyers are going to shoot for a little more wiggle room this year. On that note, I’m sure the Penguins would like to get back to the form that had them in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, the Devils would like to just start playing again, and the Islanders would like to be about three years further along in their rebuilding process.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here are five bloggers that live the Atlantic Division all year long to help break down the 2010-11 season.

Carlos Figueiredo from Speaking Of The Devils (Devils)
Michael Schuerlein from Isles Blogger (Islanders)
Puck Central brings us Rangers knowledge
Travis Hughes from Broad Street Hockey (Flyers)
Damian Romano from Pens Universe (Penguins)

1. Tell us why your team will be better this season than they were last.

Carlos (Devils): Well, last season I had a better season from Brian Rolston and a full season from Brendan Shanahan as to why the Devils would be better than the previous season. That prediction didn’t work out too well.

This year, I’ll stick to some more obvious reasons: A much improved defense.

With the signings of Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder, two of the better FA defensemen available this off-season, the Devils defense will be much better than last season.

The Devils are a defense-first team to begin with and the additions of Volckenkov, a shot-blocking machine, and Tallinder will only help them shut down opposing teams.

The addition of Johan Hedberg will also give the Devils a real opportunity to rest Martin Brodeur a little more than usual, keeping him fresh for a (longer than recent seasons) playoff run.

Mike (Islanders): First and foremost, every young player will be another year stronger and more experienced. Just look at the strides Bailey and Okposo have made the previous years and put Tavares in the same category. He’s spent the offseason working out, building muscle, and even gotten himself involved with the NHLPA side of the business. I think we will see a more confident player and he’ll be doing a lot of things differently this season.

Then you have to factor in the addition of new defensemen – Wisniewski, Eaton, and Jurcina.  All bring size and experience to the Islanders back-end. The power play gets a formidable duo in Streit and Wisniewski should they be paired together. Every Isles fan knows we need scoring and help on the power play the last few years so that’s a nice change.

If players like Niedderiter or Petrov make the club – even more bluechip type players to watch mature and contribute to a winning attitude on Long Island. That’s the best thing about following this team. Garth Snow has been meticulously building a contender from the ground up.

Puck Central (Rangers): Unfortunately, I’m not 100% positive that they’ll be any better than they were last season. We won’t know what the lineup is really even going to look like until after training camp. There’s the whole Marc Staal situation, the possibility of the Rangers waiving Wade Redden, the uncertainty about who will start the season in New York on the blue line, and then trying to figure out what exactly the Rangers plan on doing with their forward lines.

Sather and Tortorella have claimed that they want to give the younger players a lot of ice time. Will Todd White make the big club out of camp? If so, will he be given a prominent role? Who will center the number one line? It’s pretty much certain that Gaborik, Callahan, Drury, Dubinsky, Christensen, Frolov, Anisimov and Prospal will all be on the opening night roster. But, who will get the remaining spots. You have to assume that Avery and Prust are already penciled in on the third or fourth lines and that Derek Boogaard is going to play at least every couple of games.

There are so many uncertainties that it’s impossible to say one way or the other whether the Rangers have actually improved. In one respect, adding a player of Frolov’s caliber has to be an improvement, as too does adding a solid veteran backup goalie in Marty Biron. But, if the Rangers do decide to give younger players like Grachev, McDonagh, Zuccarello-Aasen, Stepan or Weise prominent roles on the team, will there be repercussions for the short term?

Once again, the one decisive factor is Henrik Lundqvist. The game plan heading into the season has to be to start Lundqvist less than he has in years past. There’s no point heading into the final three weeks of the season battling for the final playoff berth and relying on Lundqvist to play night in and night out. The problem with that is, even if they do manage to scrape by, if Lundqvist is burnt out, then it’s going to be an early exit from postseason action.

Travis (Flyers): What if I think they’ll be worse? No, just kidding. Look at the improvements on defense. They’re the best unit in the NHL. Period, end of discussion. Plus, the major problem that they had during the regular season last year was that their heads were in the clouds. They were never on the same page. They never had “what it takes to win,” and other crap like that. I think last year’s playoff run proved that that’s all out the window.

Damien (Penguins): Two reason, defense and grit. GM Ray Shero recognized that the biggest problem with the Penguins last year wasn’t their offensive production. Rather he saw a ton of deficiencies on the defensive aspect of the game, mainly due to the inexperience of guys like Letang and Goligoski. Likewise veteran blueliner Sergei Gonchar showed some signs of aging. With that, he realized that he needed some skillful d-men who weren’t new to the NHL. His answer: Paul Martin and Zybnek Michalek. Martin was one of the Devils top 4 defenseman and is known for his smooth skating, puck movement, and stick checking. Michalek is just the opposite. He’s your classic, stay-at-home defenseman who can shut down top forwards and block shots. He’s also not afraid to hit a player or two, thus adding some grit to his repertoire.

But the grit I speak of isn’t from the defensive side. Shero also recognized a need for some toughness on the offensive end. Sure guys like Matt Cooke and Mike Rupp did their part, but the opposition usually shows greater intensity when you have guys like Crosby and Malkin. Enter Arron Asham, to the third line. He’s built a solid reputation of being an in-your-face tenacious skater as well as an underrated scorer. After this season he’ll have played for every team except for the Rangers in the Atlantic, so he’s also quite familiar with the territory.

2. What part of your team are you concerned about this season?

Carlos (Devils): Brodeur’s age could be a concern, but watching him last season, he didn’t show many signs of slowing down and the improved defense will only help.

One thing that will be interesting to see is how the rest of the team will react to the (eventual…did it happen yet? Again?) signing of Ilya Kovalchuk.

The Devils have always been a “team first” organization, but with the attention given and the focus being on Kovalchuk this off-season, there could be a few players who are rubbed the wrong way by that… especially if Kovy doesn’t get off to a big start.

Mike (Islanders): Goaltending and offense

The goaltending situation goes without saying. Roloson has been outstanding, but the whole DiPietro situation is getting old. All we can do is hope that he’s been able to put these injures behind him and contribute on a regular basis.

Offensively the Islanders have come a long way, they scored more last season then the previous season – but still lack a pure goal scorer. Last season Matt Moulson led the Islanders in goals, followed by Tavares and Okposo. We need more players to get into the 30-40 goal range in order to make it out of the Atlantic Division basement.

Puck Central (Rangers): Without a doubt once again the Rangers biggest concern heading into the new season is whether they have the fire power up front to win on a regular basis. Last season apart from Marian Gaborik, no other Ranger put the puck in the net on a consistent basis. The Rangers hope that the addition of Frolov will add at least another 30 goals. But, the team seriously lacks a legitimate number one line center. Christensen may start the season playing on the top line with Gaborik but Christensen has become a journeyman at the NHL level, he definitely has shown glimpses of his talent but he has never been consistent enough to be considered anything close to a number one center.

Um, fighting for a playoff spot? See what I did there?

Defensively the Rangers look like they are going to start the season with a rather young defense core. I still believe that the Rangers will sign Marc Staal and will send Redden to Hartford. That leaves the Rangers with a top six of Staal, Rozsival, Girardi, Del Zotto, Gilroy and all signs pointing to McDonagh. Leaving Eminger as the rotating seventh defenseman. But, with Sather in charge, anything is a possibility.

Travis (Flyers): The goaltending, but it’s been like that since I was about negative-two years old, so I mean, what else is new? I’m worried that Leighton just had a good few months last year. I’m worried that he’s not the goalie he was in the playoffs. I’m worried that the math is correct and he’s going to regress to the mean.

I’m praying that he’s finally realizing his NHL potential, that he’s just a late-bloomer and that he’s going to be even better this year.

Damien (Penguins): While the sixth defensive roster spot is still open, I would have to say the bigger concern for the Penguins this year is who will be skating on the wings of the top two lines. As I write this there are debates everywhere as to who will skate alongside Sid, and if Geno is going to move to the wing of either he or Staal. With the Penguins eliminating Bill Guerin from the mix, that currently leaves one spot free in the top six. This assumes the following scenarios: 1) Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis, 2) OPEN-Staal-Malkin –or- 1) Dupuis-Crosby-Malkin, 2) OPEN-Staal-Kunitz. While talk of a possible Marek Svatos signing has been the latest buzz, the two current players vying for this spot would be Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot. Assuming the Penguins stay put, you might also see newly acquired forward Arron Asham find some time up there, possibly even Mike Rupp, as we saw last season. It’s unlikely that one of the WB/S Penguins would secure a stop in the top six, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
This is likely the biggest question-mark heading into the season and will likely be something that takes on many forms before the season comes to a close. Resolving this situation isn’t something that happens overnight. With players such as Dupuis, Rupp, Talbot, and Kennedy all UFA’s next off season, its likely Shero will position himself for another trade deadline deal for another stretch run.

3. Each year there are players who break onto the scene as all-stars or even superstars. Sometimes it’s a rookie who is already expected to be great, sometimes it’s a rookie who shocks the world, and sometimes it’s a younger player who simply comes into their own. Which player on your team should we expect to have a breakout season?

Carlos (Devils): This is a tough question. The Devils will be an interesting mix of veterans and young players this season. With younger players like Niclas Bergfors and Matt Halischuk traded away, there really aren’t any second-year guys who are ready to break out.

To take the easy way out on this question, I’ll go with a Swedish rookie being a possible surprise for the team this year. I just won’t pick one between forwards Jacob Josefson and Mattias Tedenby and defenseman Alex Urbom, who could all see time with the team this season.

Mike (Islanders): John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and James Wisniewski

As I mentioned previously, another year to bulk up and in Tavares’s case mature – provide both of those players the chance to build on career seasons. Okposo hasn’t by any means hit his plateau and Tavares is only going into his second season so he has a long way to go as well.

Wisniewski’s situation is different. Like Moulson last season, he finds himself in a situation where he NEEDS to prove himself. Snow will give him prime playing time and Wiz knows he’s playing for his next contract. I’m hoping he’s matured as a player and stays away from the controversial plays that caused him to be cast off by the Ducks.

Puck Central (Rangers): Like I said, with all the uncertainties there are several young players who could either make the team or spend the entire year in the AHL. If I had to guess this could be a big year for Artem Anisimov. Anismov spent the majority of last season on the fourth line but could be thrust into a much more important role this season with the Rangers having no specific top center man. Not that I expect Anisimov to play on the first line, but he could be expected to play top-six minutes this season.

But, the player to really watch out for in my opinion is Michael Del Zotto. In the first half of his rookie season Del Zotto was clearly one of the best Rangers defenseman and in my opinion, easily the best passer on the blue line. Hopefully having one full professional season under his belt has helped Del Zotto and his sophomore season will result in a much more complete game, rather than the common sophomore slump. Look for Del Zotto to have a much more consistent season and show much more of what he did in the first half of last season.

Travis (Flyers): Good question. There could be a few players. James van Riemsdyk will have a better season. I don’t know about breakout, but he’s going to be better. Last year was the first year he played a full professional schedule, which is clearly a big jump from the college grind. He’ll be better. Nikolai Zherdev should have a solid year, too.

I hope Leighton has a breakout year, but we can’t expect that.

I expect Claude Giroux to have a gigantic year this season, though. He’s in his third NHL season now and he has all the talent in the world. If he gets to work with the right line mates, he’ll be making Flyers fans drool in wonder every single night. Oh, and he’s in a contract year.

Damien (Penguins): I posed this question myself on Pens Universe not too long ago. The majority vote selected Jordan Staal to have the “breakout” season. While I have some reservations about Staal’s offensive potential, I don’t entirely disagree. Incidentally I chose Jordan Staal to this category last year. However this year much will depend on where he finds himself in the lineup. If he indeed remains in the top 6 with Geno on his wing, there’s no question his point production will go up. But it stands to reason, is that a breakout year for Jordan, an increase in point production? As one commenter on PensU put it, how do you have a breakout year after you were nominated for the Selke award? I think that’s a fair assessment. Though I’m of the opinion that if Jordan does put up 65+ points, he indeed broke out.

But to be honest I don’t think anyone will have a year that completely shocks anyone. I think a player like Kunitz, if he stays healthy, has the potential of putting up career numbers, especially if he stays on Crosby’s wing. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see players like Asham or Talbot to put up 15+ goals in the right circumstances. As usual the Crosby and Malkin will assume the majority of the points and the rest of the team will fill in the gaps.

4. We all know that watching a team for 82 games allows us to appreciate things casual fans won’t necessarily recognize. Which guy on your bench doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves?

Carlos (Devils): I’m going to pick the same guy I picked last year: David Clarkson.

He got off to a great start last season, scoring seven goals and adding eight assists in 19 games to start the season. He added 31 penalty minutes, and two if his goals were on the power-play.

At the end of November, he fractured a bone just above his ankle, and missed 13 games. He returned for two games, then missed another 23 games with a “lower body injury.”

Clarkson ended the season having played in only 46 games. After his early season outburst, he finished with only 24 points and threw in 85 PIM for good measure.

While the start he got off to last season might not be something to expect for a full season, it is definitely something that he’s capable of. He’s a Devils fan favorite for a reason. Even if your eyesight is poor, and you can’t read the name or number on the back of a player’s jersey, you know when Clarkson is on the ice. He skates hard, hits hard, and never seems to take a shift off.

If he can get a full season in, with some time on the power-play, he will be a player that not only leads the team in penalty minutes, but contributes 15-20 goals and can reach 50 points. That would certainly get him some more, well-deserved attention around the league.

Mike (Islanders): League wide it would be Franz Nielsen. He is one of the Islanders best defensive forwards and makes the right play or pass almost every time. He’s also pretty good offensively, making a nice steal or move to earn his space. Try watching him a game or two you’ll see what I mean.

Puck Central (Rangers): Unfortunately for this Rangers team, there are no classic unsung heroes. In recent years the Rangers have had players like Blair Betts and Jed Ortmeyer who played their heart out every game and got very little recognition for their effort around the league. Now, the closest the Rangers have to that is probably Ryan Callahan. But, as an alternate captain and a member of the 2010 USA Olympic Team, it’s very hard to say that Callahan isn’t appreciated or recognized for what he does. Callahan is a heart and soul type player; gives it all on every shift, throws the body like he’s twice the size that he is and gives up his body all night long to block shots.

Travis (Flyers): There are a ton of them. Dan Carcillo to an extent, as he’s more than just the scumbag everybody thinks he is. I think Kimmo Timonen has to be included on any list like that as well. He doesn’t get nearly enough credit from fans around the league as an elite NHL defenseman. Blair Betts is a great penalty killer, faceoff man, etc.

Damien (Penguins): I spent the majority of this offseason writing player profiles listing their strengths, weaknesses, and outlooks for next season. The guy I enjoyed writing about the most but received the least amount of site visits for was Mike Rupp. That of course was before he graced the grid of twitter. I just felt his addition to the team last year was a pleasant surprise. While many wrote his acquisition off as initially needless, he stood tall and tallied a career high 13 goals and his first career hat trick. Not bad for a guy who spent most of his time on the fourth line.

5. The Moment of Truth: I understand that everyone is an expert BEFORE the season starts; so as bloggers, it’s important to throw up your pre-season predictions so everyone can mock you later. If your credibility was on the line, how would you rank the final standings of the Atlantic Division? More importantly, which teams do you think will make the playoffs from the Atlantic?

Carlos (Devils): May I remind everyone of my division standings prediction from last years post?:
1. Devils (playoffs)
2. Pittsburgh (playoffs)
3. Philadelphia (playoffs)
4. The Rags (playoffs….barely)
5. Islanders

The only thing I was wrong about (and I can’t say I’m upset about it) is that the team that wears blue shirts didn’t make the playoffs. Did I mention how much I like the shootout? I was the only one to pick the Devils to finish first (shocking), but I also had a lot of Devils fans telling me they thought I was crazy for picking them to finish first.
This year, more of the same. Every team in the division has improved, but there is no reason to believe that the order of finish will change too much.

1. Devils – 104 points (playoffs)
Their defense is much improved, and the (eventual) addition of Kovalchuk will only improve their offense, also.

2. Penguins – 104 points (playoffs)
The Pens defense is also improved, and they got a bit tougher. No way the Devils sweep the season series again, but the head-to-head matchups may decide who wins the division.

3. Flyers – 90 points (playoffs)
Not sure if the rumor that the Flyers plan on starting 4 defenseman is true or not, but the team no better or worse than last season. The goalie issues keep them from moving up.

4. The Rags – 89 points (playoffs… barely)
New year, same philosophy: Sign random players, hope they play well together. Frolov may be a nice addition… but the defense is still pretty weak.

5 Islanders – 84 points
Another team with goalie issues, but they have become a very tough team, and will be difficult to play against (see: last season’s Flyers). They’re still a couple of years away, but they will stay in the playoff hunt until the final weeks.

The Atlantic remains the toughest division to play in, in my opinion, and the improvements made by each team this year just makes it a bit tougher. The standings, however, remain the same

Mike (Islanders): The Atlantic is tough because some years all five teams can make it. With the turnover some teams have experienced it makes it even tougher to predict. But here goes:

1. Pittsburgh
2. Philly
3. Islanders
4. Devils
5. Rangers

Puck Central (Rangers): Credibility? What credibility? All joking aside I think that in the Atlantic there is a real possibility that four of the five teams make it into the playoffs. Even if the Devils don’t end up signing Kovalchuk, which is still expected, you have to think that they are good enough to clinch another playoff spot this season. The Penguins with Crosby and Malkin leading the way have to be penciled in as a possible contender to win the Eastern Conference.

After getting to the Stanley Cup Finals this past summer, it’s hard to think that the Flyers wouldn’t make it into the final 16 come April. The Flyers may still have some questions marks between the pipes but they certainly have one of the better blue lines in the league and several prolific forwards.

That brings us to the Rangers and Islanders. It would take a real stretch of the imagination to see the Islanders finishing amongst the top eight in the East. Chances are Garth Snow’s Islanders will be battling it out with Florida at the bottom of the Conference. That leaves us with the Rangers, the team that missed out on last year’s playoffs in the last game of the season when they lost in the shootout to the Flyers. It would be hard to predict that the Rangers would bring it down to the wire like that again, but having game #82 mean something is a real possibility. I think that the Rangers will be battling it out for one of the final playoff spots in the East, finishing between 7th and 10th in the Conference. Anything better would be surprising and anything less would be a major disappointment.

1. Penguins
2. Devils
3. Flyers
4. Rangers
5. Islanders

I’d like to thank Matt from ViewFromMySeats for approaching me about taking part in their blogger roundtable. Let the season begin!

Travis (Flyers): I’ll say: 1) Pittsburgh 2) Philadelphia 3) New Jersey 4) NY Islanders 5) NY Rangers

Yeah, the Rangers suck. I think Pittsburgh improved a hell of a lot this offseason, especially on defense, and they’re going to be scary good. The Flyers should be right there with them, but there are too many variables to consider them as good as the Pens at this point. The Devils are going to be up there as well, and obviously we don’t know what will happen with Kovalchuk, but I’m of the opinion that they might be better off without him. The New Yorkers will bring up the rear, and the Islanders keep getting better each year. They’ll be ahead of the Blueshirts in April.

The top three teams will make the playoffs — Pitt, Philly and the Newark Devils

Damien (Penguins):
1. Y- Pittsburgh Penguins – 102 pts
2. X- New Jersey Devils -99 pts
3. X- Philadelphia Flyers -96 pts
4. New York Rangers – 84 pts
5. New York Islanders – 79 pts

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The next division up in our Blogger Roundtable Preview series will be the Southeast on Friday, September, 10. If you want to take a look at the entire schedule, you can check it out here—or if you want to make sure you don’t miss anything, you can subscribe to VFMS (via email or RSS) for the next couple of weeks. If there are any writers you found interesting here, I urge you to go check out their sites. Each any every writer who participated has an extremely good site and pump out great content year-round!

With Montreal and Toronto, we know this division is always going to get its fair share of attention. But what kind of attention will they be getting this season? They had four teams end up in the playoffs, yet none of them were really that “dominant” Stanley Cup contender. Will the Bruins be able to bounce back to the form that had them atop of the Eastern Conference two years ago? Are the Buffalo Sabres going to be able to handle the departures of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman? Then we have the Senators who—despite the relative lack of attention—were the best team in Eastern Canada last season. Who knew? Will the Canadiens and Leafs be able to improve on their regular seasons and make their rabid fans happy?

To help answer those questions and give us an idea of what to expect, we have some of the best writers the Northeast has to offer. Our roundtable panel is consists of Sarah Connors from Somethings Bruin (Bruins), Zach Zielonka from Die By The Blade (Sabres), the knowledgeable Kyle Roussel from Cowhide and Rubber (Habs), the incomparable Kevin Burgundy from StayClassy.net (Sens) and the notorious PPP from the Toronto Sun Pension Plan Puppets (Leafs). Hope you enjoy their insights!

1. Tell us why your team will be better this season than they were last.

Sarah (Bruins): It’s easy to be better than terrible. Although the Bruins did make the playoffs, no Bruins fan will forget that record-breaking ten game losing streak anytime soon. The key to this offseason couldn’t have been made any clearer. The Bruins finished the season with the second-best goals allowed against, and the absolute worst offense in the league. We had one player – ONE, that’s ONE, singular – who scored more than twenty goals, and he will be sitting out the first half of this season with a busted knee. We needed goalscoring this summer, and we needed it desperately.

There are a lot of little tweaks this offseason that have flown under the radar. Or perhaps everyone is underrating the Bruins’ acquisitions. We’ve shed Wideman, who was often a liability. Seidenberg is back – he led the league in blocked shots last year, which is a fun card to have in your hand. Nathan Horton, had he been a Bruin last year, would have nearly tied for the team scoring lead. I’m not even going to talk about Seguin, because he could be a Tavares or he could be a Stamkos – there’s no point in speculating about an untested rookie. (That being said, both scored more goals in their rookie seasons than anyone on the Bruins had last year, so….okay, yeah, Seguin will help, too.)

We will score more goals this year, and if our defense can hold fast and our goaltending remains the same, the Bruins are going to be a contender in the east.

Zach (Sabres): This team has added a few things to their roster even though most Sabres fans will tell you that they should have done more to make themselves better. The addition of Rob Niedermayer will give the team more veteran leadership which is something that they still need and addressed. The additions of Leopold and Morrisonn will be sufficient replacements for Lydman and Tallinder and Ryan Miller is still on the team so it will be competitive.

Kyle (Canadiens): Do I have to believe they’ll be better? Because I’m not so sure they will be better. But if they are to better, the reasons for it are simple: the “lack of chemistry” excuse from last year is dead. Gone. Kaput. Many Habs fans trotted that convenient one out there as a reason why the Habs struggled. No chance that flies this year, not after their playoff run that saw them come together as a group. If Carey Price can get something resembling consistent goal support and post a save percentage better than .915, then the Canadiens will certainly be better off. Finally, the injuries. I hate using that as an excuse because everyone gets them, but the reality is so many Canadiens were felled by the injury bug last year. If they’re healthier this year, it should translate to more wins.

Burgundy (Senators): If we’re being honest — and Matt, I think we are… you and I don’t normally lie to each other… do we? I’m so confused. This is getting out of control — I’m not sure the Senators will be better than last season. Ottawa finished the 2009-2010 season as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference with 94 points. That’s pretty damn good when you look at their roster and the key injuries they sustained. That 11-game winning streak helped, too. I can’t see their 2010-2011 roster running a similar streak this season. I suppose crazier things have happened, like a recently released ICQ 7! But back to my point, I don’t see the Senators finishing 5th in the East or better. The Senators will be in a battle with five or six other teams for the last few playoff spots in the East. To make matters worse, a few of those ‘battle’ teams will likely be other Northeast teams too.

PPP (Maple Leafs): Because Vesa Toskala is gone. I feel safe (dun dun dun) in saying that there is no way that the Leafs’ goaltending will come close to the fecal-like performance that Toskala gave last season. I’ll also bank on Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek playing more like the defencemen we expected and a full season of Dion Phaneuf helping to address the Leafs’ biggest weakness since the lockout: goals against.

2. What part of your team are you concerned about this season?

Sarah (Bruins): I’m still a little concerned about the depth at wing. We’ve got centers up the wazoo here in Boston – and even in Providence, we’ve got guys who are natural centers moving to wing in order to increase playing time (see: Sauve, Max and/or Colborne, Joe). In addition to that, as much as I get mocked for being upset that Trent Whitfield is out for the season, what happens if someone gets injured early on? Our team in Providence is the youngest I can remember. For veteran depth we now have Jeremy Reich. That is IT. The next oldest guy is Jeff Lovecchio at 24, who has seen all of one NHL game. Brad Marchand has played a bunch but he’s young, 21, hardly a veteran. I’m definitely worried about our depth at wing.

Zach (Sabres): Backup goaltending as always been a contentious issue with Patrick Lalime. Whether Lalime’s play has lacked or the team in front of him doesn’t play well, the team suffers when Ryan Miller isn’t in net. The organization must have faith in Lalime though because they have brought him back this season. If there continue to be issues with Lalime’s performance, the Sabres have the choice of bringing up Jhonas Enroth who got his NHL debut last season against the Bruins.

Are these teams going to pick it up?

Kyle (Canadiens): My biggest concerns with the team aren’t so much about the Canadiens, but with the rest of the conference, and how they’ll be treated by fans and media. The instant Carey Price gives up a weak goal, or has a tough night at home, the fans will excoriate him. Unfairly, I might add. The trouble is so many fans are still bitter about the Halak trade that they’d prefer to have their tears justified than see the team do well. Madness sells very well in Montreal. Also, I’m still concerned about the coach. By November of last season, I was fed up of Jacques Martin. He’s not the right man for the group of players he has in his locker room. He’s adept at deflecting media pressure in both languages, but otherwise he’s a coach who was effective prior to the lockout. Other points of concern would be the inevitable drama caused by Markov’s pending free agency, and ensuring that Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot pull their weight for a full season. I also see the rest of the Eastern Conference getting better at a faster pace than the Canadiens. Boston, Atlanta, Tampa and Carolina will all be better this year, while the top teams will all be where they usually are. With the line between post-season and golf course so razor thin, we may not notice how other teams who were once below the Canadiens nibble away at their point totals.

Burgundy (Senators): Can I list several things? At the risk of having Matt beat me up for going against his single concern request, I’m going to list both offence and goaltending as primary concerns of the Ottawa Senators. Actually, Ottawa’s D is rather questionable too. OK I’ll stick to the forwards and goaltending for today.

Up front, the Senators have plenty of reasons for concern. Daniel Alfredsson is getting older (one has to wonder if this will be the year he slows down a bit) and both Alex Kovalev and Milan Michalek are coming off significant injuries from last season. The Senators didn’t replace Matt Cullen either. Cullen — who was a nice fit in Ottawa’s top six forwards group during the final regular season games and playoffs — signed with the Wild earlier this summer as a free agent. The Senators are hoping young forwards like Nick Foligno and Peter Regin can continue to elevate their games and fill some of Cullen’s void. I’m not sold Foligno is ready for top six minutes but the Senators believe Regin is. We’ll see if Regin can continue playing at the level he did in the playoffs and World Championships.

Ottawa’s Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott duo don’t do much to scare opposition. In fact, they scare their own fans more than anyone else. Lot’s of obvious question marks here. This is a career make-or-break season for Leclaire and Elliott will be pushing him all season for the coveted number one spot. Both goalies were consistently inconsistent last season. For the sake of the Senators, and the nerves of their fans, hopefully history doesn’t repeat itself.

PPP (Maple Leafs): How they will score goals. I wasn’t this worried last year because the team had, in every year since the lockout, found a way to score. Unfortunately, their powerplay sunk to second worst in the league and that crippled them. If they end up 25th in goals for again they won’t make the playoffs because the requisite decrease in goals against would be too large in my mind.

3. Each year there are players who break onto the scene as all-stars or even superstars. Sometimes it’s a rookie who is already expected to be great, sometimes it’s a rookie who shocks the world, and sometimes it’s a younger player who simply comes into their own. Which player on your team should we expect to have a breakout season?

Sarah (Bruins): For a breakout season on defense, look for the little-known Adam McQuaid to have a pretty good breakout. He’s a big young defenseman who’s had two very solid years in Providence; he’s not afraid to throw his weight around. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman, not a puck-mover, BUT he already has his first NHL goal under his belt (he played in 19 games when Boston was…very broken on D last year, with Ference, Boychuk, and Stuart all missing time.) Although a bit too hesitant in his first season, with a little more confidence he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

I don’t need to mention Mr. #2 Pick Overall Tyler Seguin, but I will. The expectations are unreasonably high; imagine if he met them all? He certainly was impressive in the controlled environment that is development camp, and I am highly cautiously optimistic about how he’ll do this season.

Zach (Sabres): Tyler Ennis impressed during his short stint with the Sabres last year and is expected to make the roster full time this season. During the 10 games that he played last year, Ennis had 3 goals and 9 points and added another four points in the playoffs. Ennis should make an impact on the roster this year and make headway as a top 6 forward .

Kyle (Canadiens): It’s too soon to expect P.K. Subban to break out, so let’s get him out of the way first. He’ll be a star, but not yet. He impressed in the playoffs against some very stiff competition, but he’s still a raw rookie and his style of play dictates that he will be exposed from time to time in an 82 game schedule. His expectations will need to be kept in check. As I mentioned in the previous question, Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot need to live up to their top-10 pick potential. Both have amazing skill, but have been wildly inconsistent, disinterested or misused. If Kostitsyn can break 30 goals, he’ll be in line for a nice pay day, even as a pending RFA. If Pouliot can hit 25 goals, he’ll do a lot to hush the media who still long for Guillaume Latendresse.

Burgundy (Senators): Erik Karlsson was last year’s obvious pick. This year’s obvious pick is Peter Regin. However, I’m going to go in a different direction. I’m looking to Jason Spezza to have a great bounce-back season. Last season’s 57 points in 60 games was an off year for Spezza, which fuelled all kinds of ridiculous E5-type rumours from our favourite sports-tabloid blogger. Spezza has something to prove this season, to fans and more importantly himself, and I think he’ll use that small chip on his shoulder to get back to the 90-100 point platform he’s capable of hitting.

PPP (Maple Leafs): Sometimes it’s a rookie who is already expected to be great, sometimes it’s a rookie who shocks the world, and sometimes it’s a younger player who simply comes into their own. Which player on your team should we expect to have a breakout season?

I don’t know if it qualifies as having a breakout season since they both had great half seasons but I think the pair of Nikolai Kulemin and Tyler Bozak, if they continue to be partnered with Phil Kessel, could really turn some heads. Kulemin’s addition to Bozak and Kessel gave the Leafs a line that was a legitimate scoring threat every time it was on the ice. Kulie was able to marry his size, skating, and physicality with a nascent ability to find open space to create scoring chances.

Meanwhile, Bozak’s 27 points in 37 games was the best points per game rate among rookies. If he had kept that pace up all year he would have, at the very least, been discussed for the Calder Trophy. As it stands, he’ll have a full healthy off-season (last year he was coming off of major knee surgery) as well as a healthy start (he lost 20 pounds when he caught H1N1 early in the year).

4. We all know that watching a team for 82 games allows us to appreciate things casual fans won’t necessarily recognize. Which guy on your bench doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves?

Sarah (Bruins): I honestly don’t think people recognize the potential that David Krejci has, because he’s constantly paired with Blake “What Is This Offsides You Speak Of?” Wheeler and Michael “Invisible Until It’s Least Convenient” Ryder. Everyone always louts them for clicking together as a line, but between 08-09 and 09-10 their combined production dropped from 70 to 53 goals. That line needs to be re-thought, I think.

Two years ago, Krejci even lead the league in +/-, a stat that’s always seemingly overshadowed by goals/assists/points. His performance in the Olympics was huge, and he came back from that on fire; his powerplay “quarterbacking” skills are astounding to watch, especially when he controls the PP from the half-wall; if his wrist recovers entirely, I expect great things out of our lone Czech this year.

Zach (Sabres): With the way the roster is setup currently, there aren’t going to be many bench players. Matt Ellis is a good veteran player that was just resigned by the Sabres as a depth player in Portland that could fill in as an injury replacement. Ellis was picked up by the Sabres in 2008 and has been a fourth line/scratched player ever since. He has a good work ethic that rubs off on the other players on his line and on the team as a whole.

Kyle (Canadiens): With everyone so new last season, the entire team was under the microscope, so nobody really flew under the radar. If I had choose one guy who doesn’t get enough respect, it would be Josh Gorges, although that is very, very rapidly changing. He’s a leader in the room, and Habs fans saw him play with pure heart in the playoffs. Considering his role as a 5th or 6th d-man, his lowly point totals and his style, it would probably open some eyes in other fan bases to know that he’s a top-3 contender to fill the captaincy void on the Canadiens. I also think Hal Gill deserves mention; through 82 games we wondered what Bob Gainey was thinking when signing him. The moment the puck dropped in the playoffs, however, we saw exactly what Gainey was thinking. He was a completely different player in that his body was going to be used as a speed bag for flying pucks. He was a beast on the blue line and a steadying influence on some of the younger guys. His ways especially helped Gorges.

Burgundy (Senators): I don’t think Chris Phillips gets enough credit for what he brings to the Senators. Granted, he’s played the majority of the last few seasons with Anton Volchenkov but I think Phillips brings a stable and reliable presence to the Senators. This will be even more important for the Senators this year as their 2010-2011 roster boasts some offence and very little defence. It’s also worth noting this season is a contract year for Phillips. I’m told the Senators have already begun discussing extensions with “Big Rig.”

PPP (Maple Leafs): Mikhail Grabovski without a shadow of a doubt. Habs fans will never admit that they gave up a player with 10 times the heart combined of the two Kostitsyn clowns they kept and Leafs fans are, on the whole, incredibly eager to trade him. A short trip to Behind The Net shows that Grabovski is the Leafs best forward at getting the puck from the Leafs’ end of the ice to the opponents and at creating shots on goal.

He never takes a shift off, pursues the puck doggedly, and is extremely hard to knock off the puck. If he gets the right linemates, which he had in his first year in Toronto in Nikolai Kulemin and Niklas Hagman, then he will be in the neighbourhood of 50 points.

5. The Moment of Truth: I understand that everyone is an expert BEFORE the season starts; so as bloggers, it’s important to throw up your pre-season predictions so everyone can mock you later. If your credibility was on the line, how would you rank the final standings of the Northeast Division? More importantly, which teams do you think will make the playoffs from the Northeast?

Sarah (Bruins): Haha this is only difficult past number 1. Honestly I don’t see the northeast being too strong this year.

Bruins
Senators
Sabres
Leafs
Canadiens

I think the Bruins will make the playoffs around the 3-4-5 area in the East; the Senators might squeak in at 7, and maaaaybe the Sabres at 8.
The Leafs will probably just barely miss at 9 or 10, and the Habs won’t even come close.

I’m a homer, what can I say.

Zach (Sabres):
Boston
Buffalo
Toronto
Montreal
Ottawa

Buffalo, Boston, and Toronto will make the playoffs.

Kyle (Canadiens):
1 – Boston (playoffs)
2- Buffalo (playoffs)
3- Montreal (playoffs)
4- Ottawa
5- Toronto

Burgundy (Senators): Urggh. I’m going to be crucified by Sens fans, Habs fans and Leaf fans for this… I can’t win. Here’s my “well thought out, completely off the mark” Northeast Division predictions:

1. Boston
2. Buffalo
3. Toronto
4. Ottawa
5. Montreal

PPP (Maple Leafs): Uggh, last year’s rankings had the Leafs in the middle of the pack and we all know how that turned out so in an attempt to curry favour with the hockey gods:

Boston
Buffalo
Ottawa
Montreal
Toronto

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The next division up in our Blogger Roundtable Preview series will be the Atlantic on Wednesday, Sept 8. If you want to take a look at the entire schedule, you can check it out here—or if you want to make sure you don’t miss anything, you can subscribe to VFMS (via email or RSS) for the next couple of weeks. If there are any writers you found interesting here, I urge you to go check out their site. Each any every writer who participated has an extremely good site and pump out great content year-round!

“I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” is a feature that is usually posted every Saturday here at the View From My Seats (Note: The Hockey Fan In Cali feature will be on a two-week hiatus, but will return on Sept 25). There are plenty of things going on in the hockey world (and even the sports world); and you know everyone has an opinion. This is a place for some quick hits of the week that was.

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I might just be a hockey fan in California, but:

- Who else thinks that Arron Asham and Bill Guerin are just screwing with the hearts of fans in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia?

- Wow, I know schedules are planned WAY in advance, but I love how the probation-saddled USC Trojans get to start their season with a trip to Hawaii. That’s a little better than staring a season in, say, Newark, NJ.

- If Pierre-Marc Bouchard can make it back to the line-up next season, Vegas should immediately change their Stanley Cup odds from 70/1 to 65/1. Ok, maybe 68/1.

- Why is it that national writers talk about the Sharks losing Rob Blake like it’s a bad thing? Since the lockout, he was neither a star nor a superstar. Stop acting like this was losing the 1998 version of Rob Blake.

- If Lee Stempniak scores 6 goals next season, fans in Phoenix will be able to hear all of the laughter originating from Toronto.

- Just when you think all of the Kovalchuk crap is over, they pull you back in. If you gave me the choice between a quiet summer and this, I’ll take silence.

- On that note, I’d just like to remind people that “negotiating” implies that the dialogue is a 2-way street. If one side is laying down ultimatums with consequences if they don’t get their way, I’m not sure that’s negotiating.

- Is it me, or has Hurricane Earl received more press in the last 10 days than the Carolina Hurricanes have received in the last 10 years? Yes, I’m including their Stanley Cup.

- Even though legal stuff has been dominating the NHL news front, there was a bright light that was glossed over this week. Finally, NHL Network is going to have a full HD set and is looking to make some series strides to build the outlet. By mid-November, this will profoundly affect the majority of hockey fans!

- When your family owns The Brick and your name is Mr. Hilary Duff, you can afford to sign for the league minimum.

- When you think about your favorite team and a hot shot prospect making the team, just remember that it has to be worth it for all parties involved. If we’re talking about a forward and he’s only going to get 4th line minutes, chances are it’s neither worth the money nor burning a year of the entry level contract. If a highly respected prospect is going to get a shot to make the team, they need to be given a shot to contribute to the team for it to be worthwhile.

- Here’s a clue that it’s still the offseason. The biggest argument I was in all week revolved around the merits of the Blues and Wild 3rd jerseys. Yes, I’m serious.

- Forget team allegiances, I hope Paul Kariya can recover from his post-concussion syndrome. Whenever a guy is going to have to sit out an entire year, that’s scary stuff on a human level.

- Does anyone else think that Miikka Kiprusoff looks at the forwards in front of him and knows he needs to give up 2 goals or fewer if he wants any chance to win?

- Here’s a recent quote from Florida’s superstar goaltending prospect Jacob Markstrom, “I want to play in games and I want to win games. That keeps pushing me to be a better goalie. If they tell me to go to Rochester, that’s how it is. I’ll go there and show them they were wrong.” Holy crap, that’s the kind of guy I want on my team. (thanks to Litter Box Cats for the link)

- I know that the Kovalchuk thing can feel like the end of the summer and signify the beginning of the season. But with the Bruins, Flames, Devils, and Canucks over the cap, there’s still potential for some offseason news. (Notice that despite all of the talk about the Flyers and Hawks cap problems, they’re both done with their purging.)

- The good news is that Paul Kelly is bringing college hockey to light and how the CHL continually tries to poach college commits. The bad news is he’s bringing to light that they’re oftentimes successful.

- Did you hear that Ferrari recalled their new $230,000 sports car? That would be like having a $64 million goalie in British Columbia get recalled.

- It’s hard to believe that Sam Gagner is already signing his second pro contract. It feels like just yesterday Kings fans were whining that the Kings passed on him at the draft. In related news, I’m old.

- The more I think about it, the more I think Tuukka Rask is going to avoid the dreaded Sophomore Slump. What is usually the biggest reason for a 2nd year slump? Probably complacency. With former Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas breathing down his neck, I doubt Rask has gotten too comfortable.

- Gary Bettman is a pompous little person that needs to be fired for the good of the game.

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Click here for our archive of past editions of our “I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” feature.

We’re extremely excited to announce that we’ll be launching our 2nd annual Blogger Roundtables beginning Monday. We’ve brought together the best and brightest bloggers from all 30 NHL teams to create previews for all 6 divisions. It was one of our favorite things to put together last year—and quite honestly, we’ve been waiting to put it again together this season.

The best part about these roundtables is we’ll get an insight into how the expectations differ between different cities and fan bases. One blogger might think their team has a good shot to be successful, while outsiders may think they’re doomed to struggle. On the flip side, there will be some teams who are perceived as successful, only to see their representative show caution and point out their flaws. It’s a great way to start getting ready for the season!

As always with these projects, we suggest you do whatever it is you do to keep track of sites. RSS Feeds, follow us on Twitter or Facebook, bookmark the page or even sign up for an e-mail subscription. This isn’t something you’ll want to miss.  Each of the bloggers that have graciously donated their time have done a great job of giving us insight into their NHL world.

Here’s how it’s going to go down…

Monday, September 6: Northeast Division
(Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs)

Wednesday, September 8: Atlantic Division
(New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders)

Friday, September 10: Southeast Division
(Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning)

Monday, September 13: Pacific Division
(San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings)

Wednesday, September 15: Central Division
(Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators)

Friday, September 17: Northwest Division
(Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche)

We hope you enjoy these articles as much as we enjoyed putting them together. Let’s get this party started!

In the early 2000’s, a key concern of the National Hockey League was the number of goals being scored, which reached a low of 2.3 goals per game in the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons. With a new season about to begin, it seems like a good time to review goal scoring over a longer-term period. When we do this (using the last nineteen NHL seasons of data), we see that goals scored per game (see graph) definitely spiked the year following the lockout (3.1 per game), but have also remained at or above 2.8 since, so at least some of the actions taken by the NHL to address goal scoring worked and have continued to work.

Interestingly, even-strength goals have continued to rise since 2001-02, a few seasons before the lockout. In 2009-10, 2.09 even-strength goals were scored per game, levels not seen since 1996-97. Meanwhile, and of much more concern, the number of power play goals has fallen to 0.68 per game in the most recent season, nearing the all-time low of the last two decades.

This decrease definitely caught my attention, and hopefully the league’s as well. It’s the exact opposite of what one would expect to see. Looking more closely at the issue, power play success (see graph) has actually gone up in recent years (the dashed red line is the five-year trend). The last two seasons – 19.0% in 2008-09 and 18.2% last season – are the highest ratios since the first four seasons (1990-1994) of the data. That’s interesting in itself, and could also be caused by any number of reasons. More focus on the power play by coaches, for example, but it obviously doesn’t explain what’s happening to the number of power play goals being scored. In fact, it shows that the opposite should be true.

If we turn our focus to power play opportunities per game, it is there that we discover what could be a very serious issue. Power play opportunities per game (per team) were only 3.71 in 2009-10 (see graph), the lowest of the entire nineteen year data set.

This is a shocking revelation – we had been conditioned to think that power play opportunities were abundant. They certainly were after the lockout when there were 5.85 opportunities per game (higher than of the previous fourteen years included in my data). However, they’ve gone down every year since then to 4.85 in 2006-07 (a 17% decrease from 2005-06), then to 4.28 in 2007-08 (12%), 4.16 in 2008-09 (3%), and finally, 3.71 last season (another 11%). Overall, power play opportunities have fallen 37% from their peak after the lockout, and 12% from the year prior to the lockout.

It would seem that referees have put their whistles back in their pockets to an extent not seen in the last two decades, for reasons that remain unclear. This is surprising at best, alarming at worst given how much emphasis the league has indicated they are placing on stopping cheap shots and other infractions. While proponents of the new rules put in place during the lockout suggested players would get used to the new rules, are they really so used to them that we now have fewer infractions than in the past eighteen seasons? The other interesting fact uncovered is that even-strength goal scoring was already on the way up at the time of the lockout, and might have continued to increase regardless of any new rules implemented.

So, what do you think? Can you rationalize what’s going on? Does it concern you? What happens if this trend continues?

About the Author: Michael Senchuk really is a bit of a numbers freak – always has been. He’s parlayed this into a career in finance, and he currently works in that capacity for a Canadian poultry processor. He also writes a pair of blogs, one on inspired business insight (360 Analysis Avenue) and the other on new indie and alternative music (New Music Michael). He can also be found on twitter at @mikeatqazam.

This is an easy 10-step program to ensure you survive the hottest months of the year and reach the beginning of next season with minimal psychological damage.

1. Like any other huge task, the first step is always one of the most important. The way you handle the NHL Draft will go a long way towards determining how well you’ll handle the rest of the offseason. It’s easy to look at these 17-year-old kids and think about how they’re going to change your franchise. But just because McKeen’s and ISS tell you everything about your new hotshot prospect, you might have just drafted Alexandre Daigle or Fat Palloon. For your own mental health, you might want to hope for the best, but expect the worst. We’re talking about survival here.

2. Amateurs will tell you that a hockey fan can not survive without the Free Agent Frenzy of July 1st. It’s a day that finds everyone counting down to the final hour, getting the TSN trackers up, refreshing Twitter’s API until it runs out – and then getting nothing. Professional hockey fans that have been through this before have some insider knowledge. They know that instead of it being a one-day thing, sometimes that one-day Free Agent Frenzy can be more like a 60-day Free Agent Fizzle. Pace yourself.

3. It’s easy to fill the absent hours of July and August with the prospects in your organization. You shouldn’t spend a disproportionate amount of time learning (and obsessing) about young players who will probably never play an NHL game for your team. Instead, you should obsess about things like, “We don’t have a goalie,” “I would kill for a decent defenseman,” and “Who the hell is going to score for us this year?” No one cares about that 6th round pick you got from the Blue Jackets for a 29-year-old, no-name prospect. Like anything else in life, it’s imperative to focus on the important stuff.

Just because this man is in front of a microphone, don't assume it's important...

4. Under no circumstance should you follow Ilya Kovalchuk, any of his potential contracts, Lou Lamoriello’s smirk, the league’s definition of “circumvention,” or Gary Bettman’s motives for more than 17 hours over the offseason. It’s OK to dabble, but if you get too much it can become a serious problem. Like anything else, the key is moderation.

5. In order to keep sanity, hockey fans should never expect anything important to come of something called a World Hockey Summit. They shouldn’t expect anything noteworthy either. Nor useful. Take it for what it is: An artificial excuse for people to talk about hockey in the middle of the offseason. And for Brian Burke to put his face in front of cameras before he spontaneously combusts from lack of attention.

6. When the NHL is considering a few rule changes, take a deep breath and relax. Keep in mind that all of these are only suggestions to make the game better. Yes, things like the shootout and the trapezoid started as ideas to help make the game better, only to blossom into the fantastic concepts that all hockey fans know and love today. None of these ideas are any different. (Most importantly, if you see the picture of a rink with only one faceoff circle in the attacking zone, resist the urge to rip one of your eyeballs out of your head so you can look like a Cyclops.)

7. Thankfully, the NHL and its Players Association have tackled social media to help fans make it through the darkest days of the offseason. On that note, here’s a great survival tip: Pick up their latest effort to help make hockey fans feel better about their situation, “Homeless Today by Paul BizNasty.” Featured on the premiere issue’s cover is the NHL’s very own Ilya Kovalchuk.

8. Another great way to maintain sanity throughout the offseason is to pick up other hobbies to help pass the time. I find that gambling on hockey futures is a great way to prove I can be a degenerate in multiple facets of life. All I have to say is this, “Atlanta Thrashers, 75/1 baby!” Don’t judge me.

9. It’s important to note that the correct answer to “Is it October yet?” is NOT “At least there’s preseason!” Just stop it right now. Preseason games matter about as much as Willa Ford’s acting skills. When you’re trying to get through the summer, remember what you’re striving towards! It’s NOT a game between ECHLers in Kraft’s Hockeyville in September.

10. Blackhawks fans need to stop and inhale has much as they can. Breathe in the offseason. Enjoy being on top of the world. Focus on the fact that you’re #1 for the first time in 49 years. And when you remember that half of your team will be wearing a Thrashers jersey next season, resist the urge to drink bleach.

In the end, the most important thing to understand is that nothing happens during the offseason. Draft Day trades? Not really. Free Agent Frenzy? More like Free Agent Flop. Nothing will happen at the World Hockey Summit, and nothing will happen with Ilya Kovalchuk no matter how many days you follow his drama. All you have to do is remember that these three months are supposed to be a time of rest—for both players and fans. So next time you see someone post: Jeff Carter for Jason Spezza (e3), remember you should be kicking back and relaxing.

Together, we can get through this.

Everyone wants their team to be successful. We don’t follow our teams for nine (or twelve) months every year just to watch them be the NHL equivalent of the Los Angeles Clippers. Everyone wants to follow a winner. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself why there are so many New York Yankees fans. It’s just more fun to watch your team win. Would you rather watch your team win two out of every three games? Or lose two out of three games?

Unfortunately, there’s a flip side to success that can make outsiders both cringe and mock simultaneously. What happens when a team is wildly successful throughout the entire season, only to slip at the wrong time and make a premature exit from the playoffs against an over matched team? What happens when that talented team that’s won three consecutive division titles has underwhelming playoff performances in three straight years? All the sudden, fans that used to get excited because their team is playing well will become jaded because they have higher expectations.

This brings us to the 2010-11 edition of the Washington Capitals. Their fans have been blessed with some exciting (and successful) hockey over the last few seasons. Three years ago, winning the Southeast Division was exciting. This year, it’s expected. Three years ago, watching a young team explode onto the scene was fulfilling. This year, they’re already residing with the league’s elite. Three years ago, earning home ice-advantage was a goal. This year, fans know it means nothing if they don’t do anything with it. You get the idea.

Fans will expect more of this. In the playoffs.

Fans in Washington used to be happy when their team would get any kind of national notoriety. They wanted fans outside of the DC area to talk about their team in a context other than being the butt of jokes that repeatedly landed those Top 5 picks. A few Hart Trophies, Norris nominations, and a Masterton later, and Caps fans are getting the attention they deserve.

But now with the spotlight directly squared on Verizon Center, there’s a new set of challenges the Capitals and their fans are faced with. Now they must produce positive results of the highest order. Not only will they have a target on their backs all season, but they’ll still be expected to thrive in spite of getting everyone’s best shot. They’re in San Jose Sharks territory. Their fans haven’t had the pleasure of tasting sweet victory, but they’re still saddled with lofty expectations. Fairly or unfairly, they’re held to a higher standard than they’ve ever actually achieved because those are their expectations. This version of the Caps may have never been to the Cup Finals (like the Sharks), but anything short of playing for it all in June, and the season will be deemed a failure. Again.

Before people can even start talking about next season, it’s important to put last season into perspective for fans in Washington. The Caps managed to Rock The Red to a ridiculous 54-15-13 record during the regular season en route to the cursed Presidents’ Trophy. Stop and read that record again. They had 54 wins. They earned at least a point in 67 of 82 games. That means the average month for them last season only saw them lose two games in regulation. TWO GAMES PER MONTH! Do you know what most teams in the Southeast call two losses in regulation? A normal weekend.

Here’s the deal: The Caps are really in a no-win situation this coming season. Chances are they won’t be able to equal their 2009-10 regular season. That’s not saying anything about their team on the ice—that’s just common sense. If a team posts franchise-best records, then it might be asking a bit much expect them to exceed those numbers. That’s just how it is. It’s not easy to set franchise records every season.

If they lose two or three games in a row, fans are going to wonder what their problem is. We’ll hear things like, “Last year’s team didn’t struggle like this and we all know what happened to them!” But if they streak through the regular season and capture another Presidents’ Trophy, we’ll hear things about how weak the Southeast Division is and how none of it matters until they win in the postseason.

Don’t feel bad for them—they put themselves in this situation by crapping the bed against a #8 seed in the first round of the playoffs last year. This is the exact same situation the San Jose Sharks have been living with for the last few years. It doesn’t matter how well they play in the regular season, because we know they are capable of winning November. Anytime they rattle off eight or nine wins in a row, people are always quick to rain on their parade and point out how they can’t win in the playoffs. And you know what? They’ll keep pointing it out until the Sharks win in the playoffs and quiet all the cynics. It’s the only way they’ll be able to shut the negative voices up.

It’s a situation that Capitals fans better get used to. They’re at that point where fans and experts alike take the team’s talent for granted. This season, they are actually better on paper than they were last year. The only players they have lost from last year’s team were their trade deadline rentals. To take their places, Washington has one of the deepest talent pipelines to pull from.

John Carlson may have burst onto the scene at the end of the season and in the playoffs, but it’s important to note that the Caps won the Presidents’ Trophy largely without his services. While showing the rest of the league that the future is bright, he only played 22 regular season games last year. In fact, he’s still eligible for the Calder Trophy next year. You have to figure that 82 games with him on the blue line is an improvement.

On the same note, Karl Alzner looks like he’s going to get a legitimate shot to make the team on a full-time basis out of training camp. Just like Carlson, Alzner played just over 20 games last season (21), but should be growing into the player the Caps picked 5th overall in 2007.

It's one thing for young players to exceed expectations. It's another to meet lofty expectations...

With the young players almost assuredly proving to be an improvement over exiled veterans, the Capitals are a better team on paper than the team that tore through the league last season. Even though they didn’t get a defensive stalwart in free agency like they might have liked, they still have two highly regarded blue line prospects with a ton of potential looking to make their mark this season.  Not to mention they have enough young forward depth that they could still be in the market to trade for the defenseman they were looking for.

In fact, the whole organization is in an amazing place. The NHL club was the best team over 82 games last season. Their AHL affiliate in Hershey was the best team over the regular season and proved it wasn’t a fluke when they tore through the AHL playoffs to win their second consecutive Calder Cup. Even if people doubt the immense young talent and veteran presence on the roster, their minor league affiliate is the gold-standard of the AHL, and is just waiting to pump out replacements to help them reload at a moment’s notice.

The players are there. The talent is there. The schedule is there because, let’s face it, the Southeast isn’t the strongest. All of the ingredients are there for the Capitals to be successful on the ice. And I’ll give you a 100% guarantee they’ll be successful on the ice. But that’s not enough this year.

If you look at the Sharks last year, they were successful on the ice, as well. But the one place they weren’t quite as successful was in the minds of hockey fans. Even when the Sharks were playing their best hockey of the year, there was a little voice in the back of just about every fan’s mind asking if this was just the same ole song and dance, or if this was a different team. Would this be a team that could break through and compete at the highest level in the playoffs? The Sharks may have captured victories on the ice—but they didn’t capture the imagination and enthusiasm of the fans. Such is life on top. The standards are higher and the expectations are rarely realistic.

The Capitals and their fans should take a good look at the public perception of the Sharks last year because that will be their reality this year. 10 game winning streaks will be looked at with skepticism. 8-1 victories in the middle of the season will be questioned and hat tricks will be quickly discarded. The only way that will change is if they realize their lofty expectations and meet them head on.

After all, it’s not easy to put up 121 points every season. But it’s what happens after those 121 points that will determine how fans will measure these Capitals. Clearly, winning the Cup after a season like that is difficult, but for the fanbase, it might be more difficult to see another successful regular season go down the drain in the playoffs.

“I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” is a feature that will be posted every Saturday here at the View From My Seats. There are plenty of things going on in the hockey world (and even the sports world); and you know everyone has an opinion. This is a place for some quick hits of the week that was.

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I might just be a hockey fan in California, but:

- After seeing the end of the Miss Universe pageant, I’ve decided we should start calling the Edmonton Oilers the 29th runner-up.

- You know the idea that certain players play better during their contract year? To Steve Downie, that meant, “Don’t get suspended.”

- Dodgers’ announcer Vin Scully announced that he’ll be returning for his 62nd year behind the mic next season. Just a little perspective: Chris Chelios was only in his mid-30’s.

- The part of the whole Olympics participation debate that bothers me is very simple. Am I the only one who thinks Gary Bettman couldn’t care less about the health of the game and is stubbornly unbending, solely so he can use it as a bargaining chip with the Players Association?

- Quietly, the Canucks have really helped their forward depth this off-season. Raffi Torres AND Manny Malhotra on the 3rd line? That should work.

- People are assuming that there’s going to be a work stoppage now that Donald Fehr looks to be the new NHLPA head. Just keep this in mind if there’s a work stoppage: Last time, the NHL got every single thing they wanted, yet are complaining again that the system isn’t working. You know, the system THEY created.

- I saw Ed Hochuli reffing a pre-season game. It really looks like he needs to lift some weights to round into regular season form. Was Kerry Frazier’s hair ever out of shape?

- Whether you’re a baseball fan, Nationals fan, or even just a sports fan—sad news to hear that Steven Strasburg has to undergo Tommy John surgery. That would have been like Sidney Crosby blowing out his knee two months into his hype-filled rookie year. Say what you want about the hype, but we all lose when a phenom goes down.

- Wouldn’t it be nice if good writers had access and bad writers didn’t? Wouldn’t it be nice if that was all there was to it? People say that I’m a dreamer; but I’m not the only one.

What's worse? Blowing saves or blowing a .12 BAC?

- I’m amazed at how little coverage the Nikolai Khabibulin DUI case is getting. If that trial was in Toronto, there would be people giving us updates every 10 minutes!

- I’ve heard that one of the best sellers for NHL merchandise is Hartford Whalers gear. Maybe if more people cared about them when they were playing, all of that stuff wouldn’t be vintage.

- Sticking with the hockey gear talk, do you have any idea how hard it is to get a decent OHL or WHL hat in the United States? I suppose the real question here is, “Why are you trying to get an OHL or WHL hat in the United States?”

- There was discussion at the World Hockey Summit about how expensive it is to play hockey. Like we needed a freaking summit or an NHL GM to tell us that. Thankfully, no one had to tell us to look to the east to watch for the sun to rise.

- Reminder that it’s the offseason: Ice Edge Holdings announced that there will be an ECHL team in Thunder Bay. And people cared.

- It looks like Bill Guerin is going to need to find a new city if he wants to continue his playing career. Veteran leadership, proven winner, can play tough, and can chip in some goals—he’d be perfect for a 1-year deal with any young team looking to take the next step.

- Here’s something I’ve learned over the last few years. Teams that are DEPENDING on their young prospects to perform are in a very precarious position. It’s one thing to have a spot on the team for them, but it’s quite another to need them to produce for the team to be successful.

- This week we heard reports that Scott Hartnell and Sheldon Souray were almost swapped last season. In fact, it was so close that Hartnell even waived his no-trade clause so he could go home and play in Alberta. So what was the problem? Apparently Oilers GM Steve Tambellini pulled the plug. For his efforts, he still needs to get rid of Souray and could still use a power forward.

- I absolutely love that more and more teams are broadcasting all 82 games in HD. Screw new rules—HD is the best thing to get people to get into hockey. (You know, except for that whole “in person” thing)

- You want to know the worst thing killing the World Hockey Summit’s credibility? Pictures like this.

- Watching the outpouring of well-wishes from Canucks fans as Mitchell left Vancouver showed me more than any statistic. When a player leaves and fans are almost unanimous in their support for him, you know someone’s getting a good player.

- Gary Bettman is a pompous little person that needs to be fired for the good of the game.

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Click here for our archive of past editions of our “I Might Just Be A Hockey Fan In California” feature.

It’s getting to be about that time of year where football is starting, baseball is mercifully winding down, and hockey season is on the horizon. I understand that some people will get excited when the NHL launches its ridiculously long pre-season schedule, but it only makes me think of one thing: fantasy football. Yeah, what can I say? I’m un-American and would rather watch college football. But “gambling” on sports—I’m all about it.

This season looks like it’s going to be a little different for me. One of the unforeseen drawbacks to having a fairly successful hockey blog is that I don’t watch other sports nearly as much as I used to. During the season, I make the most of the Center Ice package and pretty much watch more hockey than a human being should subject himself to. So this season, I figured it might be time to make the plunge into combining those two loves. Enter fantasy hockey.

Let me make this clear: I will probably be the worst fantasy hockey player on the planet. I love watching hockey because I like watching the intangible things that players do to make their team successful. I write about how hockey can mirror life (and vice versa). Neither Ryan Kesler’s leadership skills, nor the fact that a playoff overtime can teach you patience are going to help in a fantasy hockey pool. No, for this you need to take emotion out of it and use cold hard facts.

Since I know there are some big fantasy players out there and I suck at it, I figured I’d bring in an expert. Jeff Angus is the manager and a Senior Writer over at DobberHockey.com and pumps out fantasy hockey content 12 months out of the year. He helped contribute to Dobber Hockey’s awesome 2010-11 Fantasy Guide that is updated throughout the off-season (to keep up with trades, signings, etc.), and is also a regular contributor on the website. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for us!

How long have you been over at Dobber Hockey and what got you involved with them?

I stumbled on the site in the summer of 2006. I fired off some sample articles to Dobber, and he liked my stuff. The site was very basic at the time – basically Dobber posted a daily blog and had some rankings he updated from time to time. My writing was very raw at the time, but I think he saw my passion in hockey and he decided to keep me in mind for the future. He re-launched the site in early 2007 and added a few writers to help out.

I started writing a weekly column in early 2007. I covered the Western Conference, as I am situated in Vancouver and get to see many of the Western teams play on a regular basis.

You write a great column on Dobber Hockey called “Angus Unleashed,” and in the Fantasy Guide you give a sneak peak of what to expect with a list of players who are on One-Way Contracts. What are some of the things fantasy players can expect to see from your column this season?

I often ask readers for column ideas on the DobberHockey forums or on my Twitter account. If you have a good idea about a column, let me know! Right now I am working on a column series where I compile my top 10 keeper lists for positional players, goalies, and prospects. My most recent was the Top 10 Keeper League Forward Prospects.

I also write the Daily Ramblings three times per week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). Basically the ramblings are a quick rundown of the previous day from a fantasy hockey perspective – scores, signings, trades, injuries, prospects, etc.

One of the things that is a barrier for non-players converting is that they don’t always know how fantasy hockey works. Fantasy football is a little more straight forward, but hockey can be confusing as hell. What are some of the basics for people who are thinking about getting into fantasy hockey, but are hesitant to take the plunge? Is it a weekly thing? What are some of the usual scoring methods?

Fantasy hockey is completely customizable. As an example, I am in a few leagues (only four, down from ten a few years ago). One of my leagues is points-only, meaning we only count goals and assists. Drafting players is very straight forward. It is a one-year league, which means we keep the players on our team for only one season and then hold a new draft each summer. Another one of my leagues is a head-to-head league which records stats such as power play points, saves, hits, plus-minus, shots on goal, penalty minutes, and so on. It is also a keeper league, which means we get to keep a portion of our roster from year to year (I have players like Sidney Crosby, Roberto Luongo, and Steven Stamkos in this league, and I definitely will be holding on to them for a while).

If you are new to fantasy hockey, I’d recommend picking up the DobberHockey Pool Guide, obviously. Aside from that, all you can really do is learn from experience. You’ll make bad picks and bad trades in the beginning; everyone does (including me). However, with experience you’ll better understand how fantasy hockey works. I have put together a very popular column series this summer at DobberHockey – The Business of Fantasy Hockey. Essentially, Mike Colligan and I have tried to explain the world of fantasy hockey from a business perspective, and I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Something I’ve always wondered: Do you keep any of your thoughts on players to yourself? I’m sure you’re in a few leagues—how much does it suck to have everyone know exactly how you feel about certain players because they read an article?

I don’t keep any of my thoughts to myself. If I see a young player I like, I’ll let the DobberHockey community know. I did this back in 2007 with Zach Parise. I tried to acquire him early on during the season, but this column made it impossible. My competitors know exactly who I like and what I am thinking most of the time. However, I consider myself a very good negotiator and I am still able to make good trades. It is very tough to make trades in my leagues, but I often find situations where both my team and my competitor can benefit (a win-win trade, if you will).

You guys keep the Fantasy Guide updated throughout the off-season to keep up with the current events. Is that something that you guys felt like you had to do because of the 24-hour news cycle now? How much time do you guys actually spend on tweaking the guide even though the final product has already been released to the masses?

This is probably the number one reason why our guide is the one to get. In store magazines like The Hockey News and The Forecaster are written in June and early July. They are unable to change or update projections with signings that occur later on in the summer. For example, The Hockey News has Simon Gagne leading his team in scoring. That isn’t even the worst part, either. They still have him on Philadelphia! Since the document is downloaded off of the site in PDF format, we are able to update it daily/weekly with signings and trades. The guide is updated right into October to ensure you have the most relevant and up-to-date information for your hockey pool draft.

Since we have you here, there’s no way we can let you go without hitting you up for your expertise. Who are some guys that you think will have breakout seasons and have the potential to be steals in people’s drafts?

I’ll give you two of my favorite sleeper picks for this coming season. Ottawa winger Peter Regin is primed for a monster offensive season. He was the best Senator during the stretch run and in the first round series against Pittsburgh. He will see lots of minutes with Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. He has a ton of skill and a great shot (consult YouTube if you don’t believe me).

Sam Gagner of Edmonton is another. The Oilers have three prospects who all project as elite NHL forwards in Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi Svensson, and Jordan Eberle. All three are also wingers. Edmonton is pretty thin up the middle, and Gagner will get every opportunity to earn the top line spot as early as this coming season. He isn’t big but he is a very smart player and he has a ton of skill.

And on the flip side, is there a player or two who people are going to reach for too early and will probably be extremely disappointed?

I want to make one point here with regards to reach picks and disappointing players. Too often we see people saying a certain player will improve because “he is young.” I see this on forums, in newspapers, in magazines, and on television. Age is not the defining predictor of production. Too many times poolies will draft young players too early, and old players too late. Next time you are drafting a young player in your league, try and come up with at least three concrete reasons as to why you think the player will improve (better linemates, more ice time, that sort of thing). Just because the player scored 30 goals at the age of 22 doesn’t mean they will do the same at the age of 23 (look at Atlanta’s Bryan Little for example).
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Huge thanks to Jeff for taking the time with us. Like we mentioned before, you can check out his regular column “Angus Unleashed” on Dobber Hockey a few times every week and follow him on Twitter. And if you’re joining a fantasy hockey league and want to be competitive, I highly recommend picking up this year’s Fantasy Guide. (Surprisingly, we weren’t paid at all for this!  No seriously…)

Have you ever been in a restaurant and seen an old couple across the room? We’re not talking about Mom and Dad type old; we’re talking about Grandparents old. Great-Grandparents, even. We’re talking about canes and hearing-aids. I’ve-Fallen-And-I-Can’t-Get-Up type old.

Have you ever noticed that when you see these people, they look like they just go perfectly together? You’ll see the husband helping the wife up. You’ll see the wife handing her husband a napkin across the table because he has salad dressing all over his face. You’ll see those little things that only come with 50 years of attachment by being at each other’s side.

Exactly the kind of player the Kings needed to find...

It’s interesting when you see people grow old together; because they end up growing together. The can complete each other’s sentences, know each other’s thoughts with just a glance, and will take each other’s side no matter wrong their spouse may be. On their own, they can be flawed individuals; but together, they’re perfect for each other.

The 80-year-old woman might be a mess, but all that is important is that she’s perfect for her husband. It’s the perfect example how all of us in this world have different needs. Some of us need someone who is a good listener. Some of us need someone who takes charge. In the Los Angeles Kings’ instance, they needed a veteran who could play a top four role on their blueline. In signing Willie Mitchell, they might not have found the perfect defenseman—but they found the perfect fit for their needs.

Of course, with every move, you have to take the good with the bad. Let’s start with the bad—he’s an aging defenseman coming off a concussion. Either one of those on their own would make a GM take pause, but take both of them and mix them in a blender and you’ll have a cocktail that will scare a lot of GMs away. He only played in 48 games after he took a legal brutal hit from Evgeni Malkin. If he doesn’t get his eggs scrambled in January, there’s no way he lasts past July 2nd on the free agent market. Here’s a reminder:

So that’s the bad. A guy who is a risk on more than one level better be bringing something to the table and Mitchell does just that. Over the last decade, Mitchell has consistently been one of the best stay-at-home defensemen in the league. When looking at the roster, the Kings desperately needed a defenseman. With the off-season departures of regulars Sean O’Donnell and Randy Jones, there were two spots up for grabs. When Matt Greene went under the knife for shoulder surgery, it opened up three spots on the roster for defensemen on opening night. I don’t care how good the prospects are—they weren’t going to start the season with three rookies.

Ok, so they needed a defenseman and he plays defense. But there’s more to it than just that.

While building the team, Dean Lombardi had a specific blueprint for putting together a successful defensive corps. To paraphrase, he said he’d rather have three Lubomir Visnovsky’s and three Mattias Norstrom’s than six Brad Stuarts. What he meant by that is he’d rather have three strong offensive defensemen to go with three strong defensive defensemen when he’s making up his roster. Brad Stuart is a good overall defenseman, but he doesn’t really thrive offensively or defensively. He’s just “pretty good” at everything.

On that note, Willie Mitchell will join Rob Scuderi and Matt Greene as the defensive-defensemen on the team. When he’s put in that role and not asked to do anything he’s not capable of (like score), he’s one of the best in the league. As some Canucks fans will tell you, he’s so good in his own zone, he made Kevin Bieksa look good (take that Bieksa commentary for what you will). Mitchell might not be the perfect player, but he could be a perfect piece for Lombardi’s roster.

“He’s also a workhorse on the penalty kill, averaging well over four minutes of short-handed ice-time per game in each of the past four seasons. The Kings were 20th in the NHL in shorthanded situations last season, killing 80.3 percent of their penalties.” –Adam Gretz (NHL Fanhouse)

A closer look at the Kings roster shows just how valuable a player like Mitchell can be. Assuming Terry Murray keeps the successful Scuderi/Doughty pairing together, Mitchell will play along side Jack Johnson on the second pairing. With Mitchell taking care of his one zone so effectively, it will allow Johnson to spread his wings a little more and use his offensive instincts without costing the team. Mitchell might not be the perfect player, but he could be a perfect partner for Johnson.

Another quality Willie Mitchell brings to the team is something that will never show up on a stat sheet or box score. Besides his stellar play in his own zone, he was one of the leaders in the locker room for the Canucks over the last few years. Wearing the alternate captain’s “A,” he was looked to by his teammates to lead by example with his tough play and determination. He’s a veteran guy who has been through the battles of the playoffs. With the Kings, he joins a team that just got their first taste of the post-season last year and hopes to have plenty of battles to come. Mitchell’s post-season experience and his ability to raise his game in the playoffs will both serve as a guide for players looking to find their way. Mitchell might not be the perfect leader, but he could be a perfect guy for a young team like the Kings looking to take the next step.

After a long, quiet, depressing summer for fans in L.A., they’ve finally found someone who is a tailor-made for the Kings. He might not be the best player out there, but he could be the best player to fit the Kings needs. Mitchell might not be the perfect, but he’s perfect for them.

That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?