NHL analysis

Major Additions: Karel Pilar, Alexandre Giroux, Ken Klee, Todd White, Eric Perrin

Major Subtractions: Andy Sutton, Shane Hnidy, Eric Belanger, Greg de Vries, Jonathan Sim

Analysis

The Thrashers panicked last season, parting with a number of prospects and picks when it appeared they would again fail to miss the playoffs. Well, they were able to make the post-season but were neatly swept in the first round. So much for that plan. The end result? The Thrashers have seven players heading towards unrestricted free agency (not counting backup goaltenders Johan Hedberg and Fred Brathwaite), most notably explosive forward Marian Hossa, who looks to make a substantial raise on his $6 million salary cap hit next summer. With the Thrashers’ ownership in an ugly legal battle, the team may not be able to offer Hossa the dollars or the term that he wants. And if he has another season like the past few years, his price is only going to go up.

In the short term, in the Thrashers have an improving young goaltender in Kari Lehtonen (due for a raise, probably before next summer). Bobby Holik will either be let go or expected to sign at a considerable discount. Todd White is a solid player who can be counted on to fill in first-line minutes if it becomes neccessary.

The blueline is more of a concern. Alexei Zhitnik isn’t really cut out to be a #1 defenceman any more, while the players expected to round out the top six are neither good enough to form a really potent blueline nor young enough to be expected to improve, nor cheap enough to justify fielding such a weak group.

I don’t see the Thrashers making the playoffs a second time. They have the elite talent but are thin everywhere else. They lack the stability as a franchise to offer much hope of signing Hossa to a long term contract, and in trading away their picks and prospects they’ve weakened their prospect pool in exchange for an aging defenceman and four extra games last year. Not exactly smart management.

The Southest division remains one of the weakest in the NHL, so the Thrashers won’t likely be a basement team, but not much can reasonably be expected of them despite their easy schedule. Though their fans may not like it, the franchise may be better served moving Hossa at the trading deadline than in pursuing another (likely short-lived) playoff appearance.

Major Additions: Brad Lukowich, Michel Ouellet

Major Subtractions: Luke Richardson, Eric Healey, Ruslan Fedotenko, Cory Sarich, Eric Perrin

Analysis

If any team is proof that the salary cap has risen beyond reason, it is the Tampa Bay Lightning. A team that features Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards and Dan Boyle, but has been knowingly thin behind those four and all but desperate for a starting goaltender cannot be sitting at nearly $8 million below the salary cap if they expect to compete for the Stanley Cup.

I can accept that there really weren’t any quality starting goaltenders available on the free agent market this summer but there are several available for trades at bargain prices (Martin Gerber might be worth a shot and Ottawa should be getting desperate to part with him as their negotiations with Danny Heatley and Jason Spezza heat up).

So if $42-ish million is the self imposed cap for the Lightning, what can they do to improve? Brad Richards is immovable. Lecavalier, St. Louis and Boyle are the heart and soul of the team. In other words, Tampa will ice a team that for all intents and purposes is identical to the squad bounced pretty darned quickly from the playoffs a year ago.

Tampa will remain competitive but unless their goaltending improves drastically they’ll be hard pressed to even make the playoffs. Marc Denis will get another chance and aught to do better than last year, though that’s far from guaranteed to happen. They will likely stand pat until they see how their goaltending stands up. If they appear to be on the outside of the playoff picture, Dan Boyle will command plenty of attention on the trade market. If they are a bubble team (likely) they’ll like just stay the course. Vaclav Prospal is the only significant forward on the roster who’s looking at unrestricted free agency next summer, so the team can afford to be patient for at least another year.

So what does this mean? It likely means that Tampa Bay fans will have more fun watching Vinny this year than hoping for playoff success, but it also means there’s good times ahead. If the cap - and I mean Tampa’s self-imposed cap, not the NHL salary cap - increases, there is ample room to add a top pairing defenceman and a veteran goaltender. And that would be a team to watch out for.

Major Additions: Jeff Hamilton, Matt Cullen

Major Subtractions: Josef Vasicek, Shane Willis

Analysis

Oh how the mighty have fallen. The Hurricanes stood mostly still over the summer, despite missing the playoffs by a healthy 3 spots (if only 4 points) when far more is expected of the team. Of course, they did very little the summer after winning the Stanley Cup and went almost instantly from elite to ordinary-at-best.

The Hurricanes need three things to happen if they want any success this year: first and most importantly, they need Cam Ward to have a better year (neither John Grahame nor Michael Leighton is a suitable solution should he falter).

Second, Eric Staal needs to regain the form that saw him net 100 points a few years ago. Rod Brind’Amour is best used as a second line centre.

Third, the ‘Canes need a better performance from their blueline. A healthy Frantisek Kaberle will help; however, their deep but stud-less defence either needs an unexpected star to show up (unlikely) or needs to collectively outperform their expectations.

I just don’t see it. Cam Ward to me is the Achilles heel of the team, and I don’t see them improving in that area anytime soon. They have fewer than $5 million in cap space with which to add to the team and have a number of their key players (including three of their top five defencemen) heading for unrestricted free agency next summer. Difficult decisions approach, particularly if the team finds itself on the bubble of the playoff picture nearing the trade deadline. Do they move proven performers like the woefully underpaid Cory Stillman or do they attempt to add to their roster?

The Hurricanes had better start deciding who they wish to keep and who they can afford to lose, because they are likely to be a bubble team for most of the season.

Major Additions: Tomas Vokoun, Brett McLean, Richard Zednik, Radek Dvorak

Major Subtractions: Alex Auld, Martin Gelinas, Gary Roberts, Joe Niewendyk

Analysis

The addition of Vokoun, acquired at the entry draft for nothing but draft picks, rivals the re-signing of restricted free agent Stephen Weiss for the best moves made by the Panthers over the summer.

Florida missed the playoffs by 6 points but played very well down the stretch, even after the trade deadline that saw veteran Gary Roberts moved in what normally signals a team “giving up.”

The bad news is virtually nothing remains of the trade that saw All-Star netminder Roberto Luongo depart town. The good news is that the team retains several young players with superstar potential, notably the aforementioned Weiss but perhaps more importantly defenceman Jay Bouwmeester - expect to see the impending RFA resigned sometime this season, by the way. If the Buffalo Sabres have done nothing else this summer, you can bet they’ve taught the GM’s of the league the danger of leaving top RFA’s unprotected.

I don’t see enough veteran leadership on this team for them to make much noise in the playoffs but I can certainly see them picking up some playoff experience before the hockey year is up. One thing that may scare potential first round opponents: the Panthers currently sit at about $42 million in payroll, giving them ample room to pick up some extra help if they decide to.

Major Additions: Michael Nylander, Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov

Major Subtractions: Kris Beech, Alexandre Giroux

Analysis

The future of Washington’s franchise is obviously in the capable hands of Alexander Ovechkin, but the Capitals also took some steps to securing success both now and in the future.

For a star like Ovechkin to become the centerpiece of a championship caliber team, several things must happen. First, the star central piece needs to be surrounded by other players of talent. Alexander Semin and the highly heralded young Nicklas Backstrom are the primary pieces of this group.

Another factor is also neccessary, however. Young players like Ovechkin and Semin need to learn how to win at the NHL level - particularly in the playoffs. Bringing in key veterans such as Nylander and Kozlov doesn’t just give stars like Ovechkin someone to play with; it also brings experience and poise to the dressing room.

Enough improvements to make the playoffs? Not likely. Few teams in the Eastern Conference got substantially worse and many got considerably better. However, teams such as Boston and Florida will need to look behind themselves in the standings as well as ahead. Washington will be much more competitive this year. Look for players in their final contract year such as Donald Brashear or Olaf Kolzig to become the topic of trade rumours as we approach the deadlin.

Major Additions: Dallas Drake, Brian Rafalski

Major Subtractions: Robert Lang, Kyle Calder, Matthieu Schneider

Analysis

Detroit didn’t do much in the off-season but they made smart moves. The team is now firmly built around a younger core, with veterans Lang and Schneider making room for the burgeoning contracts of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalaski.

That being said, the immediate success of this team still rests in the lands of a pair of old-timers. Luckily for Red Wings fans, that pair happens to be Dominic Hasek and Nicklas Lidstrom.

I still don’t agree with or understand the length of contract offered to Datsyuk, and I wonder what the backup plan is should Hasek’s groin give out in the spring. But with the addition of Rafalski and the increased cap space of Lang’s departure, and the commitment they showed last year to resting Hasek’s all-important groin, you have to like the Wings’ chances at least as much as a year ago.

Major Additions: Martin Gelinas, Radek Bonk, Greg De Vries

Major Subtractions: Paul Kariya, Timmo Kimmonen, Scott Hartnell, Tomas Vokoun

Analysis

It’s been a sad year for Predators fans. While they had a great season last year they were bounced from the playoffs earlier than hoped and then had to suffer through the uncertainty of the almost-sale and relocation of the team. While a recent intent to purchase from a group of local investors appears to have offered stability at least for the short term, the specifics of the deal - notably the involvement of one named “Boots” who has made no secret of his desire to move a franchise to Kansas City - should at least make the faithful nervous. Even worse, in a desire to cut payroll and losses, the Predators have parted with virtually the entire core of their recent success. Steve Sullivan remains but will miss several months of the season due to surgery!

Nashville is in real danger of missing the playoffs this year - terrible slide for a team that challenged for the President’s Trophy for much of the past season. Not merely the players they’ve lost but the attitude of their owners will likely result in a massive backwards slide. Sure, they still boast Chris Mason, statistically one of the top 5 goalies in the league last year though dangerously unproven; yes, they have a number of exciting and solid young players like Alexander Radulov. However, they lost their captain, their starting goaltender and their leading scorer in a single summer. The players have to know the future of the team is uncertain at best, and they also have to know they’re no longer expected or supposed to be competing for the Cup. Don’t expect a Peter Forsberg to arrive in town at the trade deadline to bolster a cup run.

Major Additions: Paul Kariya

Major Subtractions: Dallas Drake, Curtis Sanford

Analysis

St. Louis should be a fun team to root for over the next few years. They’ve recovered from a pretty disastrous fall and seem now to be heading in the right direction on all fronts.

Paul Kariya won’t turn the team around overnight, nor is he the kind of player you build a franchise around anymore (though he’s close) but he will add some spark and excitement to a team that’s been lacking in both. Aside from his addition, the Blues will look mostly within for improvement. They will also hope that Jay McKee stays healthy to solidify and anchor their blueline.

Playoffs? I wouldn’t count on it, though it’s not out of the question. To truly compete with the big boys in the division and conference, however, St. Louis would need a truly inspired season from one of their goaltenders - and with Manny Legace the expected starter, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that happening anytime soon.