As the NHL season begins its second year since its lockout, teams and players are eagerly trying to prepare and make a favorable impression on the rest of the league. This season aims to generate puzzles in terms of winners and losers similar to last year’s winners from Carolina, Edmonton and Buffalo or losers from Toronto, Boston and Vancouver. This update I will tackle the Northwest divide in hopes of finding new changes, surprises and disappointments.
The Calgary Flames have gone from being the worst Canadian team in recent years to one of the best teams in the NHL overall. Making the playoffs thanks to Miikka Kiprusoff and other notables, the Flames are looking to make the playoffs once again this season. Dion Phaneuf, one of the best young defenders in the league, looks to improve even further this season by helping an already potent defense that includes Rhett Warrener, Robyn Regehr and deep newcomers like Andrei Zyuzin. Having potentially one of the best defenses and goalkeeping tandems in the league, it will be a struggle trying to score many points against the Flames. While the defense and goalie situation is almost insurmountable, there are still concerns with the offense. It’s true that the Flames added Alex Tanguay to the lineup to complement Jarome Iginla, but in addition to the front row, a lack of depth will haunt the team on some nights. While the team has notable players like Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow, the team also has underachievers like Jamie Lundmark, Jeff Friesen, and Tony Amonte. If these players can up their game next season, I can see the Flames winning the division easily. Otherwise, the Flames should still make the playoffs, but potentially not where they’d like to be, facing the toughest division on a tough schedule.
One of the major powerhouses in the NHL in the late 1990s, the Colorado Avalanche are looking to extend the team’s playoff streak by trying to compete again this year. However, with financial problems, losing players, and old age, the Avalanche may not seem like the juggernaut of years past. Losing Rob Blake hurts a lot. Yes, he was old and not as productive as he was during his glory days, but he was still one of the best defenders in the league and he will be missed immensely in Denver. While the Avalanche added Jordan Leopold to a now lackluster defense, the team did so with the loss of Alex Tanguay, which severely hurt the offense. While the team still has notable stars like Milan Hejduck and Joe Sakic, both of them, especially in Sakic’s case, are aging and on track for negative margins in terms of productivity. While there are some bright spots in Andrew Brunette, Marek Svatos, and Steve Konowalchuk, there are also plenty of notable underachievers, like Tyler Arnason and Patrice Brisebois. Also, with Jose Theodore’s instability, this could be a very difficult year for Avalanche fans.
The Edmonton Oilers had a playoff dream a few months ago, defying all pundits’ predictions with the team’s incredible run. While some may call this a Cinderella situation, especially with the loss of notables like Peca, Pronger and Tarnstrom, I think the Oilers are in for another great season based on chemistry more than anything. Adding some deep players like Joffrey Lupul, Petr Sykora and Ladislav Smid, I think this group of younger players will outdo themselves this year trying to get back into Stanley Cup contention. Having a full year of a true No. 1 goalkeeper in Dwayne Roloson should also help. While there are some concerns with the defense, I think the critics are exaggerating when they say the Oilers have the worst defensive core in the NHL. Will it be a problem in some games? It might, but with an excellent offensive core and an underrated goalie, Edmonton should be atop the Northwest division come April.
The Vancouver Canucks surprised a lot of viewers last season in a negative way more than anything. Underachieving to compete for just ninth place in the West, the Canucks tried to renew this offseason by trading Todd Bertuzzi to Florida for Roberto Luongo. While this was a slightly better improvement than Auld and Coultier, aside from the playoffs, the Canucks haven’t had much trouble racking up playoff wins. While Luongo might be a better goaltender in the playoffs, the team has to make it to the postseason first before showing any playoff competency. With the acquisition of Luongo, the Canucks were forced to give up star Todd Bertuzzi, who, despite the notorious alteration a few years ago, has played an excellent role as a power forward adding passion and goals. With him gone, along with notables like Anson Carter, there’s little to be optimistic about in terms of offense minus Naslund, the Sedins and potentially Morrison. On the defensive end, losing Jovanovski, no matter how overrated some critics may label him, will hurt. Despite adding Willie Mitchell, with the added losses of Keith Carney and Bryan Allen, there should be a negative impact on the already lackluster defense. With the added problem of facing the toughest division on Canuck’s schedule, I don’t see much optimism for Canuck fans.
The Minnesota Wild’s defensive mindset has changed a bit this offseason, potentially having the positive impact of putting this team back in the playoffs. Adding Pavol Demitra with Marian Gaborik will produce a stealth pairing on both the power play and full strength, with each being a nice complement to each other. Along with other notables like Mark Parrish, Minnesota’s offensive outlook is improving. In terms of defense, while Wild lost some key players like Kuba, Minnesota added some depth in Kim Johnsson and Keith Carney. With a favorable amount of depth on both offense and defense along with a goalie in Manny Fernandez who challenged some of the goalie stats last season, Wild has the tools to make the playoffs after a drought.
2006-2007 Season Northwest Final Results (ranking based on West rank):
3. Edmonton Oilers
7. Calgary Flames
8. Wild Minnesota
11. Colorado Avalanche
13. Vancouver Canucks