NHL preview: A changing of the guard continues

By George Kuhn

Last season the NHL featured something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. The old were the graybeard Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup with the league’s oldest lineup. The new were the league’s new star players, scoring leader Jerome Iginla of Calgary, Vancouver scoring star linemates Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, and NHL MVP and top goalie Jose Theodore of Montreal. Something borrowed was Dominik Hasek, whom the Red Wings "borrowed" from the Sabres and the something blue includes all hard core fans of the game who are disturbed by the NHL’s inability to promote a playing style that delivers excitement.

The league has pledged to enforce the rulebook this coming season and penalize teams that practice the art of obstruction. This could promote an up-tempo playing style along the lines of the 1980s Wayne Gretzky led Oilers. Who will be the new dominant players in 2002-03? Let’s take a look at how these developments and other off-season changes will affect the NHL in the coming season.

Eastern Conference

1. New Jersey Devils – are retooling their team on the fly, trying to maintain a viable veteran team capable of challenging for the Stanley Cup while adding speed and youth to their lineup. Jason Arnott was sacrificed in an attempt to go for a Cup win last year, by acquiring Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner. But the Devils were eliminated in the first round and continued to change their lineup this summer by allowing free agent Bobby Holik to sign with the Rangers, and trading Peter Sykora to Anaheim for speedsters Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky. Look for the Devils to modify or abandon their defensive orientation with three of the NHL’s most skilled skating, puck-handling defensemen now on one team, Scott Niedermeyer, Brain Rafalski and Tverdovsky.

The Devils need Patrick Elias to reestablish himself as a big scorer. The defense is good with stalwart Scott Stevens and goalie Martin Brodeur. New coach Pat Burns has always started strong with a new team. Burns is a player’s coach who instills confidence in his team. Look for a strong season from the Devils in 2002-03.

2. Philadelphia Flyers – have the talent to compete at the highest level, but have underachieved for so long that teams actually hope to draw the Flyers as their first round playoff opponent. New coach Ken Hitchcock has been brought in to elevate the team’s performance to it’s full potential – in other words to kick some butt. Hitchcock demands an unconditional commitment to defensive hockey, and is an absolute terror as an authority figure. The Flyers have decided against overhauling their lineup, and are banking on Hitch’s influence to improve this team.

3. Washington Capitals – return with a very skilled lineup; a healthy Jaromir Jagr is the key player. Jagr’s presence relegates star Peter Bondra to the second line. Defenseman Calle Johansson returns from injury to anchor the defense along with Sergei Gonchar. Highly skilled Robert Lang has been brought in to play with Jagr. Look out for another Jaromir scoring title. Veterans have been deleted from the lineup in an attempt to get younger, faster and cheaper. There is plenty of offensive and defensive talent here to contend for the top spot. It will be interesting to see if new coach Butch Cassidy can keep Jagr in line as a two way player, or if Jaromir will send his coach packing like the Sundance Kid.

4. Ottawa Senators – have been the model NHL franchise for years, producing a European style offense on a budget, while establishing a consistently sound defensive team. The shortcoming is that the team cannot find playoff successes to equal its strong regular season performances.

In 2001-02, the Sens slipped to 15th overall in the NHL, but stunned Stanley Cup favorite Philadelphia with elimination in a five game series where the Flyers scored only two goals while the Sens dazzled with stylish scores. But the season ended on a familiar note with a loss to understaffed underdog Toronto.

Former Sabres coach and GM John Muckler has replaced GM Marshall Johnston and his chief scouts. Muckler has been charged with the responsibility of adding the grit to the lineup, which is necessary to succeed in the playoffs. The foundation of success is already in place, with star players Daniel Alfredsson and Marian Hossa. Look for the old school Muckler to tweak the lineup throughout the season and have the Sens ready for the playoff wars in April. A big season from rookie Jason Spezza will help.

5. NY Islanders – are coming off a season that finally restored some pride in the franchise, after what seemed like an eternity of ineptitude. Michael Peca is the heart and soul of this team. (sound familiar Buffalo fans?) But the real strength of this team is on defense, where Adrain Aucoin, Kenny Jonsson and Roman Hamrlik are a strong starting threesome.

The bad news is that the rest of the defense corps is rather ordinary. Any injury to the big three exposes this lack of depth, and Kenny Jonsson was rocked with a concussion in the playoffs. His absence from the lineup was the biggest factor in an undermanned Leafs team eliminating Long Island’s new heroes.

Alexei Yashin found enough time to score 75 points while dating former Rangers star Ron Greschner’s ex-wife, supermodel Carol Alt. Even more amazing is that he did so with no scoring help from his wingers. With a little support there, Yashin should produce a top-10 scoring, MVP caliber season.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs – have lost their key player, goalie Curtis Joseph, and replaced him with the fading Ed Belfour. These Leafs must be out of their minds if they think Belfour can provide the necessary defensive support for the Eastern Conference’s highest scoring team. Further, rock solid defenseman Dimitri Yuskevich was swapped for Florida’s Robert Svehla. Svehla is a skilled player, but this deal cost the Leafs their best defenseman, and Svehla will not replace Yuskevich’s grit. The Leafs have regressed by losing these key players and not adequately replacing them.

It will take a concerted defensive effort to keep the Leafs successful. The Buds did allow the third-lowest shots total in the entire NHL last season. They may need to improve on that record in order to keep Belfour from a meltdown.

7. NY Rangers – retain the high-scoring Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros, Brian Leetch and Peter Nedved, while adding the physical Bobby Holik and Darius Kasparaitis, along with a new coaching staff consisting of three of the grittiest players ever seen in the modern NHL.

They are head coach Bryan Trottier and assistants Jim Schoenfeld and Terry O’Rielly.

The Rangers are clearly trying to add character and grit to the league’s second-worst defense and worst penalty killers. The hope is that the Irish work ethic of Schony and Taz will make a positive impression on a bunch of guys who could only check their bank balances last season. These guys can score some goals, but improving their defensive effort is the only way this team can hope to make the playoffs, which they haven’t done in five years. Look for a rebirth of the Broadway Blueshirts this season.

8. Montreal Canadiens – finally made it back to the postseason after three seasons on the golf course. MVP and Vezina winner Jose Theodore will do his considerable best to ensure that the Habs delay their golf games into May or later in 2003. If a healthy Saku Koivu can play at a high level, and get help from newcomer Randy McKay and an effective Doug Gilmour, these Habs won’t play like the Rocket, but they should return to the postseason.

9. Carolina Hurricanes – are a decent team who will miss the playoffs, even though they enjoyed a nice 2002 run to the Stanley Cup finals. A strong season by Washington will prevent the Canes from winning the weak Southeast Division, thus depriving them of the undeserved 3rd seed in the eastern playoffs. Montreal’s improved play in 2002-03 will push the Canes to the 9th spot in the East, at best. Carolina was only 16th in the NHL’s overall standings last season, so any slip in their play or improvement from their competition threatens their playoff status. Plus, any drop off in the level of play of 39-year-old star Ron Francis will hurt the team. His declining influence on the ice is inevitable; if this is the season his slide begins, that could be fatal to this team. Also, if the NHL is effective in its stated goal of eliminating obstruction and encouraging a skating game, the Canes’ trademark forechecking and trapping style of play will be less effective.

10. Buffalo Sabres – will frustrate their fans in spite of brilliant performances, great goaltending and defensive play, exciting rushes by Maxim Afinogenov and the brilliant scoring and playmaking of Miro Satan. Satan manages to produce even though every team in the league knows he is the Sabres’ only big time scorer. This team has a fatal flaw; they don’t score enough goals to be competitive, unless their defense can hold opponents to two goals or less. If Afinogenov develops into a 25-35 goal scorer, Taylor Pyatt scores 15-20, Chris Gratton plays to his potential for 80 games and Tim Connolly starts to shoot the puck, these guys could threaten the Habs and Leafs and Rangers for a playoff spot.

11. Boston Bruins will finally finish behind the Sabres again. All it took was their decision to not re-sign top players like 41-goal scorer Bill Guerin and star goalie Byron Dafoe. The Bruins refuse to enter into long-term, high money contracts, anticipating a lower player cost structure in 2004 with the new NHL labor agreement. The result is that Boston’s loyal fan base will get a watered down Bruins team that still boasts star players like Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsononv. Players like Jozef Stumpel, Glen Murray and Brian Rolston enjoyed great success in 2001-02, but will likely regress this season. The B’s will also lose their number three defenseman Kyle McLaren, who has demanded a trade. These factors will all contribute to a dizzying fall from first place.

12. Pittsburgh Penguins – are excited about Alexandre Daigle attending training camp. Are they kidding us? Daigle was one of the biggest busts in NHL draft history, going #1 overall in 1993 and failing to achieve even a modest success before being passed around the expansion-bloated NHL like a modern day Larry Hillman. If you think Mario Lemieux is capable of carrying the Pens, consider that unrestricted free agent center Robert Lang chose to sign with the Capitals. Apparently centering for Jaromir Jagr is more desireable than playing with Lemieux. Mario is still great, but is now mostly a perimeter player and an effective playmaker who did not have the necessary speed last season to be a dangerous goal scorer. Alexei Kovalev is now the Pens most exciting player. If either he or Mario is lost, this team should get sent down to the American League.

13. Tampa Bay Lightning – are terrible, and only goalie Nikolai Khabibulin keeps them competitive on most nights. The "Bulin wall" was sentenced to exile here by his former employers in Phoenix as punishment for holding out for an improved contract. Superstar in waiting Vincent Lecavalier should be embarrassed that walk-on Martin St.-Louis and old fogey Dave Andreychuk are more effective than he is.

14. Atlanta Thrashers – have the Dynamic Duo of Danny Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk, who are two tremendous young talents. Heatley and Kovalchuk already mean more to the Thrashers than the young Gil Perreault and Rick Martin meant to the early 1970’s Sabres. With the inevitable improvements forthcoming in their game, these guys could be the leagues next two superstars. New forwards Slava Kozlov and Shawn Mceachern should help the Thrashers develop two scoring lines. This is where Buffalo dealt the immortal Kamil Piros to obtain Donald Audette. The team is trying to improve, but not too hard.

15. Florida Panthers – seem to have given up on being competitive in the NHL. Only goalie Roberto Luongo is a high-level performer. Coach Mike Keenan and GM Rick Dudley were turning the cats into a goon team last season. This is a horrible defensive team whose ineptitude will only help Luongo develop his skills before he is dealt to another team in a few seasons to dump his salary.

Western Conference

1. Colorado Avalanche have the best talent in the league, including the incomparable Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Alex Tanguay, Chris Drury, Milan Hejduk and Patrick Roy. The defense has been weakened by the loss of free agent Darius Kasparitis.

This is not good news for a team that scored fewer goals than the offensively starved Sabres last season. No team relied more on their defense for success in 2001-02 than the Avs. The offense will be improved by a full season from Peter Forsberg, the best player in the NHL. The Wings and Avs could be headed for another Western Conference showdown on the path to the Stanley Cup Finals. The survivor of that series should be the 2003 Stanley Cup Champion.

2. Detroit Red Wings – will finish second because they know first place does not mean a Stanley Cup. Steve Yzerman will likely miss half the season recuperating from surgery. The Wings have won three Championships in six years because they have the best depth in the NHL. Injuries can deplete most teams during the two-month championship run. Only Detroit boasts talent like Igor Larionov, Kris Draper, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom slotted on the third and fourth lines. Of course, players with names like Yzerman, Fedorov, Hull, Shanahan, Lidstrom, Chelios and Hasek help a little bit too.

Hasek’s retirement has been countered by signing standout goalie Curtis Joseph, so the Wings will remain strong in goal even without the dominator. Scotty Bowman’s retirement is a huge loss; it will be interesting to see how new head coach Dave Lewis and Associate Coach and Town of Tonawanda native Barry Smith handle the team in his absence. Don’t be surprised to see the Stanley Cup again on the beach in Angola in 2003.

3. Dallas Stars – will rebound from last season’s disappointing finish and climb the Western Conference standings. New roster additions Bill Guerin (41 goals) and Scott Young add scoring punch. Young scored 40 goals playing with Pierre Turgeon two years ago in St. Louis, and will be reunited with Pierre in Dallas. They could re-ignite their personal successes. Guerin and Young also bring a gritty style of play where they compete hard every shift. The Stars dumped flaky goalie Ed Belfour and will go with Marty Turco as the starter in goal. Ron Tugnutt is the backup, and is capable of assuming the starting job if Turco fails to live up to expectations. This team is scary good at forward, with Mike Modano, Turgeon and Jason Arnott at center; Guerin and Young on right wing and Jere Lehtinen, Brendan Morrow and Kirk Muller on left wing. The forwards bring a strong combination of goals, speed, grit and defense.

4. San Jose Sharks – have a great goalie in Evgeni Nabakov, good forwards who play both ways, and a good defense. This team is ready to step up to elite status as soon as one or more players can model a 2002-03 season on the 2001-02 Jarome Iginla model. Perhaps Patrick Marleau is the one; he finished with 10 goals and 16 points in his final 10 games last year, and was the Sharks leading playoff scorer.

5. Edmonton Oilers – will benefit the most from the NHL’s stated commitment to enforcing obstruction rules and promoting a skating, skilled style of play. The Oilers traditionally build their teams around swift-skating physical players, and their fortunes will be on the rise in a law & order NHL. Goalie Tommy Salo provides the backbone for a good young defense core. Center Mike Comrie is one of the NHL’s most exciting talents, but Ryan Smyth, Mike York and Anson Carter have to score some goals to keep the Oilers slick.

6. Vancouver Canucks – were the NHL’s highest scoring team in 2002 thanks to Markus

Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. But the Canucks have no backup goalie and lost number two center Andrew Cassels and defenseman Scott Lachance to free agency without adequate replacements. Their strong finish in 2002 suggests better days are ahead, but the team appears headed for a letdown with these roster subtractions.

7. Los Angeles Kings – success will go the way of star Jason Allison; a big season from him will maintain the Kings playoff status. If he stumbles, the Kings will be hard pressed to hold off rivals like Phoenix, who has improved its lineup in the offseason while LA chose to stand pat.

8. St. Louis Blues – are slipping, as star Al MacInnis ages and the teams underwhelming playoff successes catch up with the players who have begun to cycle in and out of St. Louis like tourists. Goalie Brent Johnson is not the best-conditioned athlete and runs out of steam late in the 100-plus game schedule.

9. Phoenix Coyotes – promoted a strong, team-first style of play after cutting loose star players Roenick and Tkachuk. Surprisingly, the Dogs made the playoffs behind the usual strong play of goalie Sean Burke. Free agent Tony Amonte is the new star, but his addition won’t be enough to hold off the improved Dallas Stars, and the Hounds appear to be relegated to April on the beautiful Arizona golf courses. Tough luck guys.

10. Anaheim Mighty Ducks – have finally strengthened their lineup. With Adam Oates centering Paul Kariya and newcomer Petr Sykora, the Ducks have a dynamic number one line and Kariya’s career has been resuscitated. This is not a playoff team, but at least is no longer a Disney disgrace.

11. Chicago Blackhawks – have the all time greatest uniforms, but the loss of Tony Amonte means that this team is going down, down, down in the standings. The Hawks hope newcomer Sergei Berezin fills Amonte’s skates, but Berezin is a one-dimensional player who scored only eight goals last season.

12. Calgary Flames – star Jarome Iginla couldn’t get the team into the playoffs last season, and with no improvements in the offseason, more spring golfing is in store.

13. Minnesota Wild – coach Jacques Lemaire’s patient building process continues, and further improvement is likely, although not much.

14. Columbus Blue Jackets – Hartford Whaler fans unite! The Jackets have re-united Andrew Cassels, Geoff Sanderson and Kevin Dineen. The great Whalers line is reborn. Sabres fans will remember the hue and cry for Andrew Cassels to rejuvenate Sanderson’s lost scoring touch in Buffalo. Columbus is buried so deep that only the remaining members of the Whalers’ fan club are likely to notice.

15. Nashville Predators – bring up the western basement. Can you name five players on the cats without looking at the roster? Neither can I. Former Kenmore native Pete Weber is the play-by-play guy.