Since APT has his hands full writing about baseball’s hectic off-season, I decided to help out and write a mid-season review for all 30 teams in the NHL. Also, I’ll mention some organizational needs and how they can be addressed in the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft coming up in June from LA.
First the Atlantic Division:
New Jersey Devils
Arguably the most consistently quality lineup over the past decade (much to my personal chagrin), the Devils have recent been in the news for their deal to obtain Ilya Kovalchuk from Atlanta Thrashers, but more on him later. The cornerstone of the Devils for the past decade has been Martin Brodeur, and this year is no different. Arguably the greatest goalie ever, Marty has had an average Marty year this year, which is to say he’s having a great year. The Devils feature one the best American talents currently in the NHL in former North Dakota standout Zach Parise. He is one of the hardest working players in the league, and has put up significant point numbers the past two seasons. Travis Zajac, one the better two way players you’ll find, centers their second line. The Devils secondary scoring comes largely from the likes of Patrick Elias, whose career is on the decline, but is still a great sniper, and Clarkson, a serviceable winger. On defense the Devils feature American Paul Martin, who would have been one the cornerstones of Team USA’s blue line has he not been hurt earlier this year and currently on IR. The rest of the Devils blue line consists of former Hobey Baker winner Mike Mottau (Go Eagles), and all around douche Colin White (APT’s least favorite Devil). The deal for Kovalchuk sent Oduya, rookie two way forward Nicklas Bergfors, and prospect Patrice Cormier (currently serving an indefinite suspension for an elbow to the head of an unsuspecting player away from the pay). In return, the Devils got one the most consistent goal scorers in the league since he was drafted in 2001. Kovalchuk has scored over 40 goals every year since his rookie year, and now he’s on the Devils. Now Kovalchuk is set to become a free agent on July 1st, and will demand upwards of a 10 million/year deal. Personally, I believe it is unlikely that the Devils will sign him to a long term deal in the offseason and instead made the trade to gear up for a run at the Cup. In terms of organizational needs, the Devils need depth more than anything else. They could use a sniper to go with Parise for the next decade, and need some more defensemen with the loss of Oduya. Finally, the Devils need to begin scouting for their next franchise goalie, as Marty won’t be around forever.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Penguins have two of the best 3 players in the NHL in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby and Malkin center the top two lines which also feature the likes of Bill Guerin (Go Eagles), Chris Kunitz, Max Talbot, and Ruslan Fedontenko. Some believe Crosby is a better player than Ovechkin, but personally I would take the Russian over the cry baby Crosby any day. Crosby has decided to show people that he can fill the net as he is currently in the top 3 in goal scoring, already surpassing his previous career high for goals scored. He still bitches to the refs about every call, and still loves to dive, so he’s still got that to work on before I can even think of taking him over Ovechkin. Malkin is the consensus 3rd best player in the league and is the best 2nd line center in the league. The Penguins have Jordan Staal centering their 3rd line. Arguably the best 3rd line center in the game, Staal plays an excellent two way game. On any other team he would be the centering the 2nd line and putting up lots of points, but on the Penguins he is part of the shut down 3rd line, constantly playing against the other teams best lines. On defense, the Penguins have a plethora of offensive defensemen. Sergei Gonchar QBs their powerplay, and they also have on their back line young offensive defensemen Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski. Last year while playing in the AHL, Goligoski led all scorers in the playoffs, which should be an indication of his offensive abilities. Along with these offensive d-men, the Penguins feature Brooks Orpik, a hard hitting shutdown defenseman. In goal the Pens feature former number 1 overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury. He has been a solid, if unspectacular goalie for the Pens. He was excellent in last year’s playoffs, however, and was a cornerstone of the Stanley Cup winning team from last year. As an organization, the Penguins have almost no immediate needs. The only position that could use some bolstering would be on defense, where the Penguins will need defensemen with the upcoming free agency of Gonchar and the less than stellar defensive play of their offensive-minded kids. The future is bright for the Penguins, who should be an annual Cup contender for the next decade.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have had an up and down series of years over the last half decade. They have reached the playoffs pretty much every year in the 2000s, except for one year in which they finished with the worst record in the NHL and ended up with 2nd overall pick. Up front, the Flyers are led by their young captain Mike Richards, a great two way center who is not afraid to make a big hit. Along with Richards, the Flyers have one of the more underrated snipers in the game with Jeff Carter, and free agent signee Danny Briere, who while playing solidly, is not living up to the over 6.5 million he is currently making. Secondary scoring comes from youngins Claude Giroux and James Van Riemsdyk (2nd overall in 2007, henceforth referred to as JVR). Giroux is a highly skilled diminutive scorer and JVR has size at 6’3, but is very nimble and has a plethora of slick moves. To provide the grit and general douchebaggery the Flyers are known for, they have Dan Carcillo. Carcillo will chip in between 40-50 points this year, and will fight anyone. Carcillo also has a tendency to cheap shot and throw some questionable hits, but that is to be expected from the Flyers. On defense, the Flyers traded at the deadline last year for Chris Pronger, not the most sportsmanlike player in his own right. Pronger, while 37, is still a premier defenseman in the NHL, who can shut people down as well as provide a great shot from the point on the PP. Along with Pronger, the Flyers have a pair that play great together in Brayden Coburn and Kimo Timonen. They both play a very basic and un-flashy game, but have emerged as one the best pairings in the division, if not the conference, in the past few seasons. As always with the Flyers, the question mark that will determine their ability to contend for a Cup is their goaltending. They signed former Senator Ray Emery in the off-season, and he has been serviceable thus far for the Flyers. He has been known to be easily knocked off his game if things start going badly, so an implosion could happen at any moment with Emery. In terms of organizational needs, there are two main areas that the Flyers need to improve themselves in. The first, which was just explained is the need to find a franchise goalie. Goaltending has held this team back for the greater part of the decade, and they have not been able to address it permanently. Drafting goalies in the first round is many times seen as a crapshoot due to the time it takes for goalies to develop, but the Flyers need to do something if they want to win a Cup. Another area that could be addressed is depth on defense. Pronger will only be around for a few more years, and the Flyers don’t have much on the blueline after Coburn and Timonen.
New York Rangers
The Rangers started off the season on fire, winning 9 of their first 10 games, but then realized that they were the Rangers, and have commenced their suckitude over the course of the past 50 games. Up front, the Rangers pretty much only have one player who can score. Marian Gaborik has 35 goals, while the next highest goal scorer on the team is Ryan Callahan with 15. The Rangers lack any secondary scoring, and their depth up front is pretty laughable. The first line has consisted on Gaborik, free agent signee Vinny Prospal, and a rotating third player. The Rangers have solid young players in Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, and Artem Anisimov, but none of them are truly suited for the first line. Their captain, making 7.35 million this year, is Chris Drury, and he has been buried on the 3rd/4th line throughout the season. On defense, the Rangers best player is Marc Staal, who is 23 and steady presence on the blueline. He is not a flashy player, but simply gets the job done most of the time. The blueline also features two albatrosses around the necks of the Rangers in Michal Roszival and Wade Redden. Redden makes 6.5 million and Roszival 5.5, and are arguably the Rangers two worst defensemen for the money. They are alright on most nights, but are being paid to be elite. Along with Staal, a bright spot along the blueline is 19 year old rookie Michael Del Zotto. Del Zotto is an offensive defenseman who can make a damn good outlet pass and can QB the powerplay, something the Rangers haven’t really had since the heyday of Brian Leetch. Along the blueline the Rangers also have rookie Matt Gilroy, last year’s Hobey Baker winner, who has played like a rookie but had some flashes great play and Dan Girardi, a solid 2nd pairing defenseman. In goal is perhaps the only place that the Rangers can say they have a truly elite talent (no disrespect to Marian Gaborik, who gets hurt too much to be on that level) in Henrik “Hank, Hankenstein, Lundy, King” Lundqvist. Hank is a top 5 goalie in the NHL, and does his best to give the Rangers a chance to win every night. Hell, he almost beat Washington in the first round of the playoffs last year pretty much singlehandedly. It is unfortunate that Hank’s immense talents are being wasted on a team like this that can’t put forth a consistent scoring effort in front of him. The Rangers organization, more than anything, needs game breaking talent/1st liners. The Rangers have oodles of 2nd/3rd line forwards who play a great two way game. What they need are players who can put up points. In the last two drafts they have tried to address this need, drafting boom or bust projects that if they boom can be great 1st line talents. In the draft this year, I look for the Rangers to be in the middle of the first round and look to pick a sniper, or another project pick to try to get 1st line talent.
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a team that is pretty much in full rebuilding mode at this point in time. They have a slew of young talent that is getting loads of playing time, which bodes well for their future. Up front, the Islanders are led by rookie John Tavares, the OHL’s career goal leader and #1 overall pick this past draft. He has been playing well during his rookie year, but has recently been slowing down as he hits the proverbial “rookie wall”. On his line are former Minnesota Golden Gopher Kyle Okposo and Matt Mouslon (Canadian). The line has provided much of the Islander scoring for the year. Their secondary scoring comes from crafty veteran Doug Weight, who can still put up points even after 15+ seasons in the show, and second year man Josh Bailey, who has bulked up since last year and is showing much more comfort with the level of play this year. On the powerplay, the Islanders feature two weapons, one on offense and one on defense. On offense, they have Rob Schremp, a man who was once touted as the probable number one overall pick in the 2005 draft. His puck skills and ability to score on the powerplay allowed him to put up gaudy numbers in juniors, but he was never really able to round out his game due to a "meh" work ethic and a lack of commitment to bettering his all around game. He can still put up points on the powerplay and is deadly in the shootout. On defense they have Mark Streit, who was one of the best free agent signings of the 2008 off-season. He is a great offensive defenseman, and is a great powerplay quarterback who has made the Islander powerplay something to be feared. The rest of the defensive corps for the Islanders is fairly forgettable, as I cannot even think of another defenseman and I watch a lot of Ranger/Islander games. In goal, Rick DiPietro has finally returned from another long term injury. When he plays, DiPietro is a great goaltender who is a difference maker. The only problem is that he is always hurt. In terms of organization needs, the Islanders need look for impact defensemen in this years draft as well as a goalie to eventually take the torch from DiPietro. The Islander forwards will be solid for years to come as they have a young core already in the NHL, with many talented prospects already in the system.
--THE-A-TRAIN--
No comments:
Post a Comment