Northeast Division Preview

Like most hockey fans, I feel the contant urge to share my opinions about the game. Without wasting any time, I present to you, the reader, my predictions for the Northeast Division in hockey.

1st - Ottawa
2nd - Buffalo
3rd - Toronto
4th - Montreal
5th - Boston

Ottawa - Stanley Cup finalists this past season, you may think I am being slightly biased and taking the easy way out. The Sens added more depth at D, but at the same time lost some key forwards. Mike Comrie and Peter Schaefer were key players for the Senatores, Comrie for his powerplay, and Schaefer for his penalty killing abilities. The Sens will need their young players to step it up this year. Last year, the Sens were counting on Alexei Kaigarodov, but that experiment failed, so its even more critical that the Sens draft picks to be successful. If the rumors are true about Peter Forsberg, look for this team to make another long cup run.

Buffalo - Despite losing its two co-captains, Briere and Drury, I still believe this team has the depth to be successful. If Afinogenov and Connolly can remain healthy, the Sabres are going to still be really tough to beat. With Ryan Miller between the pipes a good puck-moving defencemen, I expect the Sabres to hang in tough with the Senators for the division title.

Toronto - As much as I enjoy seeing the Leafs lose, I don't see them as a poorer team than Montreal or Boston. The Leafs grabbed 40-goal scorer Jason Blake. Although he's not a saviour, he is a 40-goal scorer. He should take at least some of the pressure off of Mats Sundin. The Leafs had some critical injuries last year that might have given them enough of a boost to make the playoffs if they happend to be healthy. I do not expect to see great things from the Leafs this year, and a playoff berth will be a struggle.

Montreal - This is a funny team to analyze. At a first glance, they've gotten rid of Sheldon Souray, their top Powerplay guy. Last year, it was the Powerplay that got the Canadiens a shot at making the playoffs. It was their 5 on 5 play that kept them out. Souray was a huge liability on defence, and his departure should be a welcomed fact because he was a minus -28. However, Montreal does not seem to have the same depth at forward or defence as the Leafs, so I cannot put them ahead of them. Montreal is a young team and I would expect them to make a push later on in the season, but still failing to make the playoffs.

Boston - Boston, once my favourite, might be this year's laughing stock of a team. They went out to get Manny Fernandez to help solidify its goaltending, but its the lack of team defence that will sink this team to the bottom. Zdeno Chara is going to wear out. His physical attributes are astonishing, but are only effective when he serves as a complementary role. There is no way that he can shoulder the whole load. Pronger, of similar stature, was effective for Anaheim because he was a supporting cast member. You may have argued that Pronger carried the Oilers to the cup finals, which is true, but I don't think he could have done that if he had carried them to anything more that the 8th place seed they were going into the playoffs. Pronger and Chara are only effective for a couple of months by themselves. They are great because they can do that, but the human body has its limits.