Northeast Division Preview

With the season about two weeks away we continue our season previews for the upcoming 2010-2011 NHL Season. Today we take a look at the Northeast Division.

They sent four teams to the playoffs last season. Buffalo, who won the division. Ottawa, who pushed the Penguins to six games before being eliminated. Montreal, who reached the Conference Finals for the 1st time since 1993. And the Boston Bruins who became the first NHL team since 1975 to blow a three games to none lead in the post-season. Only the Toronto Maple Leafs didn't make the post season from this division.

Who makes it this season, let's break it down.

Buffalo Sabres

Last Season: 45-27-10  100 points  Lost in 1st Round to Boston


New additions:

Rob Niedermeyer, C (New Jersey) Jordan Leopold, D (Pittsburgh) Shaone Morrison, D (Washington)

Subtractions:

Tim Kennedy, LW/C (NY Rangers)  Henrik Tallinder, D (New Jersey)  Toni Lydman, D Anaheim

Why they'll succeed:

They pretty much have the same team they did last season. Niedermeyer is an upgrade on Kennedy, at least defensively while replacing Tallinder & Lydman with Leopold & Morrison is practically a wash. Neither defenseman stands out from who they replaced.

Ryan Miller is still in goal and long as he is in net the Sabres are a threat to win the Northeast.

Tyler Myers became a presence on the blueline, winning the Calder Trophy last season. He'll be counted on to anchor the Sabres defense in front of Miller.

Four Sabres reached the 20 goal mark last season. Thomas Vanek (28), Derek Roy (26), Jason Pominville (24), & Jochen Hecht (21). They will be expected to continue where they left off last season and provide the scoring for the team.

Why they'll fail:

They aren't as deep as they were four years ago. They could roll out four lines and skate with any team in the NHL. That hasn't been the case the last couple season due to free agent defections.

It took three seasons but the four players listed above finally came together and were able to replace the scoring & leadership they lost when Danny Briere & Chris Drury left back in 2007.

Buffalo is hoping that Drew Stafford can make the leap and join the four players listed above. He has yet to live up to his potential.

The health of center Tim Connolly is another factor. When healthy is is capable of being a 20 goal scorer. He has yet to play a full season since the lockout. If he can't stay healthy it will make things more difficult for the Sabres to contend.

Playoff team:
 
As of right now they are, as long as Ryan Miller is healthy. His play alone makes them a playoff team. Whether this team goes anywhere in the post-season depends on the players in front of him and how well they play.

Boston Bruins:

Last Season: 39-30-13  91 points  Lost on 2nd Round to Philadelphia.
 New additions:

Nathan Horton, C (Florida) Greg Campbell, C/W  (Florida) Tyler Seguin, C (OHL)

Subtractions:

Dennis Wideman, D (Florida)

Why they'll succeed:

They are deeper up the middle than they were last season. The additions of Horton & Seguin to center behind Marc Savard should make it difficult for other teams to match up against.

Defensively they are still led by 2009 Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara. With Wideman playing in Florida look for Johnny Boychuk (He just sounds like he should be a Bruin) to be paired with Chara this season.

Tuukka Rask was able to overtake Tim Thomas has the number one goaltender last season. He'll enter camp number one but Thomas will push him for the starting job and will get some playing time eventually. Competition should keep both goalies on top of their game.

Why they'll fail:
 This team still has trouble scoring goals. They finished last season with 196 goals, down from the 270 they scored in 2008-2009. Horton has averaged 25 goals since the lockout & should help but they will need Marc Savard & David Krecji to remain healthy if they want to return to being a top four team in the East.

Losing Krecji after Game four changed the momentum of the whole series. More has to be expected from Michael Ryder, Milan Lucic & Blake Wheeler on offense. Playing with Horton should help one of these three, whoever it is that ends up playing with him.

After Chara there is a drop-off of talent on the blueline. A healthy Dennis Seidenberg should bridge the gap a little bit but the Bruins still could use another top four defenseman. They are still hoping that Mark Stuart, Matt Hunwick or Andrew Ference are able to step up and fill that void.Playoff team:

Despite calling for their coach to be fired & Chara to be stripped of the captaincy I still believe the Bruins are a playoff team as long as they are healthy.

I think Boston is a lot closer to missing the playoffs than being a  top four team but as long as they are healthy they should grab one of the final spots.

Montreal Canadiens

Last Season: 39-33-10  88 Points  Lost in Conference Finals to Philadelphia
New additions:

Lars Eller, C (St. Louis) Alex Auld, G (NY Rangers) Jeff Halperin, C (Los Angeles)  Dustin Boyd, C (Nashville) Alexandre Picard, D (Carolina)

Subtractions:
Jaroslav Halak, G (St. Louis)  Sergei Kostitsyn, RW (Nashville) Glen Metropolit, C (Swiss League) Dominic Moore, C (Tampa Bay)

Why they'll succeed:
 Forwards Mike Cammalieri & Brian Gionta came up big in the post-season scoring timely goals for the Canadiens. Their success in the post-season is expected to carry over into the regular season.
Andrei Markov is healthy once again after hurting his knee in the post-season. He'll be the anchor on the blueline for Montreal. The emergence of PK Subban along with veteran Roman Hamirlik & Hal Gill give Montreal a deep core of players on defense

Why they'll fail:
 The biggest hero in their playoff run is now playing in St. Louis. With the trade of Jaroslav Halak, Cary Price is now the number one goalie once again. He has yet to prove he can handle the pressure of playing goal in Montreal.


Why would Montreal Halak? So they could sign Tomas Plekanec to a six year $30 million deal. That's a lot of money to give to a guy who has only reached the 70 point mark once in his career.
 Playoff team:

I think the Canadiens fall short this season. If they would have held onto Halak I would have made them the favorite to win the Northeast. With Price in net I see a meltdown coming at some point (sooner rather than later)

Montreal is good enough to be in the mix but will eventually miss out on a post-season berth.

Ottawa Senators:

Last Season: 44-32-6  94 points, lost in 1st round to Pittsburgh

New additions:
 Sergei Gonchar, D (Pittsburgh)
 Subtractions:
Anton Volchenkov, D (New Jersey)  Andy Sutton, D (Anaheim)  Matt Cullen, C (Minnesota)


Why they'll succeed:

Gonchar gives them a puck moving defenseman they haven't seen on the blueline since Wade Redden left for New York a couple seasons ago. His presence as a mentor for Erik Karlsson should only help his development for Ottawa.

Alexei Kovalev (18 goals, 49 points) did a good job of filling the void of Dany Heatley on the 1st line playing with Jason Spezza & Daniel Alfredsson.

The Senators also got goal scoring on their 2nd line from Mike Fisher (25 goals) & Milan Michalek (22 goals) Rookie Peter Regin scored 13 goals for the senators last season and should improve on that this season.Why they'll fail:
 Their goaltending is still shaky. Pascal LeClaire was acquired to be the number one goaltender only to lose it to Brian Elliott. Elliott had a couple bad games in the post-season and was replaced by LeClaire. As of right now Elliott has the starting job but is being challenged by LeClaire.

Playoff team:
 
One thing that worked well for Ottawa last season was no one expected them to be in the post-season. After missing the playoffs in 08-09 and trading Heatley they flew under the radar through the 1st part of the season. By the time teams realized how good Ottawa was they were in position for a playoff berth clinching the number five seed in the East.
 
They won't sneak up on anyone this season. They have a good core of young players but will need to get off to another strong start to make the playoffs. I don't think they will catch anyone off guard this season. I see them missing the post-season
 
Toronto Maple Leafs:
 
Last Season: 30-38-14  74 points, Did Not Qualify for Playoffs
 New additions:

Colby Armstrong, RW (Atlanta) Clarke McArthur, LW (Atlanta) Kris Versteeg, RW (Chicago) Brett Lebda, D (Detroit)

Subtractions:

Viktor Stahlberg, C/W (Chicago)
 Why they'll succeed:

Their Blueline. Anchored by Dion Phaneuf they have four quality defenseman (Mike Komisarek, Tomas Kaberle, Brayden Schenn) that can match up with just about anybody in the league.

Why they'll fail:

Lack of depth at forward. Yes it has gotten better with the acquisitions of Armstrong & Versteeg to go along with Kessel last season but they still aren't deep enough up front to skate with the other teams in the East
 Playoff team:
 
Not yet but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Brian Burke has done a good job building this team from the goal outward, acquiring Phaneuf from Calgary & Jean-Sebastian Giguere from Anaheim last season.
 
I still think they need two more forwards to compete but I could see them doing what Ottawa did last season. Eventually their lack of scoring up front will have the Leafs on the outside looking in.