SOUTHEAST DIVISION
Washington Capitals
The years of suckitude have finally paid off for the Capitals, as they have the most potent offense in the league, with 239 goals. They are obviously led by Alex Ovechkin, who is without a doubt the most electrifying player in the game. They also boast one of the best up and coming playmakers in the league in Niklas Backstrom, who has surprised many by not only dishing it out but by actually shooting the puck (the main knock of Backstrom was his tendency to try to make the extra pass, something that is a knock on many young Swedes) and has tallied 25 goals as of the writing of this review. Providing more scoring prowess is Alexander Semin, who has finally been able to put it together after years of inconsistent play and Mike Green, arguably the best purely offensive defenseman in the league. They have scoring depth with Brooks Laich and APT’s boy Mike Knuble on their bottom lines, and a solid, if unspectacular second and third pairing of defensemen. The only thing that has the potential to derail the Caps Stanley Cup hopes is their goaltending. Like pitching in baseball, if you don’t have goaltending, you can’t win championships. The Caps have a quality young net minder in Semeyon Varlamov, who carried them through much of the playoffs last year, but he has spent most of the year in Hershey with the Caps AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. The Caps have relied on the once great Jose Theodore, but he has been inconsistent at best. As an organization, the Capitals have young talent that should be able to fill the holes in their current lineup. Along with Varlamov, they have defensemen Karl Alzner and John Carlson (who scored the game winner in the U20 World Junior Championships in January), defensemen who will bolster the Caps blue line for years to come.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning have almost finished their rebuilding project, as they sit on the edge of a playoff spot after having a series of dismal seasons after the lockout. They are led by 2008 #1 overall pick Steve Stamkos, who in his second year in the league has 35 goals already after only 23 goals last year. He is a sniper who has some serious wheels and, in my humble opinion, the 3rd best one-timer in the league. After down years, Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier are both back on form (not pulling a Luca Toni), and are first and third in scoring for the Lightning. Along with those three, recent Team USA team member Ryan Malone, a big body who can score goals and free agent signing Alex Tanguay provide scoring depth for the Lightning. On defense, they are lead by veteran Mattias Ohlund, as well as 18 year old rookie Victor Hedman. Hedman, a 6’6 Swede, can skate like the wind and is playing beyond his years as a rookie. Along with those two Swedes, the Lightning feature fellow young gun Andrej Meszaros. Apart from them, the defense corps is forgettable. In goal, the Lightning feature the Finn Antero Niittymaki. Niittymaki is a solid, but unspectacular starting goalie who came to the Lightning from the Flyers. As an organization, the Lightning could use depth throughout the offense and defense, as well as another goalie for the future.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes (hereby referred to as the Whalers) are in the midst of an extremely disappointing year after getting to the Eastern Conference finals last season. They are led by the eldest Staal, Eric, who has rebounded from a horrid start to the season to get to a point per game rate. Along with Staal, the Whalers are led by shootout specialist Jussi Jokinen, and veterans Rod Brind’amour (he's still playing?) and Ray Whitney. They both continue to play at a high level despite the fact that they are 39 and 37. The Whalers have young talent coming up through the system in Brandon Sutter, Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman. These three are arguably the three top prospects in the Whaler system, so they seem to be largely set at forward for the future. On defense, they are led by former #4 overall pick Joni Pitkanen, USA Olympian Tim Gleason and the 6-7 Joe Corvo. The organization needs to get more depth on defense, as the 2nd and 3rd pairs leave a lot to be desired. They will have a high pick this year, and there are many high quality defensemen that will be available when they are picking. In goal, the Whalers are set for the next decade, with Cam Ward. Ward is only 25, and has already won a Stanley Cup and almost single handedly brought his team to the Conference finals last year. He is a clutch performer, and is one of the best goalies in the league already. APT and I had a conversation where we debated what goalie we would build around. I would pick Ward, because he is both young and highly skilled, and has already shown that he plays his best in big stages. The Whalers are really just some better defense away from being back in the playoffs, and should benefit down the road from this one crappy season.
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers are mired in the state of perpetually rebuilding, but never really getting better (ala Kansas City Royals). In order to benefit the future, they recently traded their franchise player Ilya Kovalchuk to the Devils for Niklas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya and Patrice Cormier. Since Kovalchuk will be a free agent on July 1 and he was not going to sign with the Thrashers, this was a quality move for them as they got something for Kovalchuk. Bergfors and Oduya provide some depth up front and on the back end. Up front, the Thrashers are led by 18 year old rookie Evander Kane, the 4th overall pick from this past years draft. An excellent two way player with good wheels, Kane has had his ups and downs this year but has shown great potential. Along with Kane, the Thrashers feature former Maple Leaf and Ranger Nik Antropov and former Sabre Maxim Afinogenov. They have both performed admirably, but it remains to be seen whether they can keep up this level of play. Of course, the Thrashers still have the great Slava Kozlov, who refuses to stop playing well. On defense, the Thrashers are built around last years 3rd overall pick Zach Bogosian, who is a great al around defender who is playing far beyond his years. They also feature the aforementioned Oduya, as well as offensive defenseman Toby Enstrom and veteran Pavel Kubina, who has a rocket for a shot. In goal, the Thrashers feature a combination of Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec. Pavelec is a young, talented netminder who will begin to shoulder more of the load as he adjusts to the NHL game. The Thrashers made a statement that Pavelec is their goalie for the future when they traded away former #3 overall pick Kari Lethonen, who while very talented, was always injured. The future could be bright for the Thrashers, provided they continue to draft intelligently and Pavelec can be their franchise goalie. They’re organizational needs are depth, in all areas. With more depth they will be able to have success going forward.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are another team that seems to be perpetually in a state of rebuilding (the pirates to the thrashers royals?), and this year is no different. They are led up front by Stephen Weiss, Nate Horton and David Booth. They have depth to go along with those leaders in Michael Frolik, Rostislav Olesz and Steve Reinprecht (APT loves this dude!). The Panthers, theoretically, should not have any problems scoring goals, as many of those players are young. The Panthers have drafted their share of forwards in the past few years, and it's beginning to pay dividends. On the back end, the Panthers are led by Bryan McCabe, a powerplay specialist who puts up points, Keith Ballard and Dmitri Kulikov. Ballard is 26 and plays a great defensive game. Kulikov is a rookie, who plays well in his own zone but excels at rushing the puck out of the zone as well as making great outlet passes. In goal, the have the venerable Tomas Vokoun, fresh off a solid showing with the Czech team at the Olympics. Vokoun is a veteran who is a quality starting goalie, but the Panthers need to draft another goalie to eventually take the reins from Vokoun. As an organization, the Panthers could use depth at defense, and are likely to take another defenseman in the first round this year. They are largely set at forward for the time being, but they are rumored to be sellers for the trade deadline March 3rd, so I may have to come back later and see what they’ve done. The Panthers could be successful in the future if they build around their quality young forwards and defensemen, but you could have said that years ago and they haven’t done much. It remains to be seen, but they could do some damage in a few years with this core of good players.
-THE-A-TRAIN-
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