2011-2012 NHL Season

Yeah, totally overrated. Was running away with the scoring race when he got injured with 66 points in 41 games. Still finished in a tie for 30th in the scoring race with guys like Jeff Carter, Rick Nash and Mike Richards who played the entire season while he played just half. Plays in both ends of the rink. He was a +20 when he got hurt and is a career +65. A solid face-off man. Runs the show in Pittsburgh. A Stanley Cup. 31 points in 24 games during their cup run (yeah he did nothing). A Hart, a Pearson, a Richard, a Ross. Olympic Gold, scoring the game winner in overtime.

Did the Penguins survive without him in the lineup? They found a way. I'm sure they'll treasure that first round exit to Tampa Bay. But you cannot argue that they wouldn't have been significantly better with him on the ice -- they would have been an actual contender.

Plus Ovechkin is coming off of the worst season of his career.

It's Crosby -- if he's healthy -- and no one else.

 

The cap hit is a little prohibitive, but it's not horrible. Just $1.9 mil and change and just one year remaining. What I meant by I don't think it's the last we've seen of him is that he could be a late-season addition for a team picking him up on re-entry waivers at half cost, which really could be like a quarter of the cap hit depending on when he gets picked up.

 

You do not watch very much hockey do you. Not one educated hockey fan can possibly believe this nonsense.

 

Sonovoabitch. JC and I actually in agreement on something.

 

We agree on a hell of a lot more than this. Now can we get back to Penner?

 

I've heard he's rededicated himself this year, supposed to be in the best shape of his career, contract year, etc. . . . Damn did he make me look bad after getting traded to LA. He took three steps back after going to SoCal after his trade last year.

 

Avery is my fave NHLer (I have always loved the heels), would be great to see him on the Leafs!

 

I've decided to make a list of my own. I'm no expert by any means. I did this for fun to start a bit of discussion. Feel free to critique, if you like.

My list looks a bit different then TSN's list. I ranked my top 15 centers, top 15 wingers, top 15 defenseman and top five goalies.

My list:

Centers 15

S.Crosby
S.Stamkos
E.Malkin
R.Getzlaf
P.Datsyuk
H.Sedin
E.Staal
J.Toews
R.Kesler
A.Kopitar
J.Tavares
H.Zetterberg
J.Thornton
N.Backstrom
B.Richards


Wingers 15

A.Ovechkin
M.St.Louis
C.Perry
D.Sedin
J.Iginla
P.Kane
P.Marleau
R.Nash
B.Ryan
T.Vanek
M.Hossa
T.Selanne
A.Semin
M.Gaborik
D.Heatley


Defense 15

S.Weber
Z.Chara
N.Lidstrom
D.Keith
D.Doughty
R.Suter
B.Seabrook
C.Pronger
D.Boyle
M.Green
K.Yandle
A.Edler
T.Enstrom
L.Visnovsky
J.Bouwmeester


Goalies 5

P.Rinne
R.Luongo
H.Lundqvist
T.Thomas
C.Price

 

Alright, time for the least anticipated set of predictions of the year, my annual NHL predictions.

Western Conference
1) Vancouver Canucks -- as long as Kesler doesn't miss much time they should be good for top spot in the West. Biggest issue is replacing Erhoff.
2) San Jose Sharks -- Solid from top to bottom. If Havlat can stay healthy I think this will be a good move for him. Niemi will continue to establish himself as a top flight goalie.
3) Chicago Blackhawks -- Now set in net with Crawford/Emry tandem. No messing around with an over the hill Turco that cost them early last year. Plus I think their young talent will be that much better this year after a full tour of duty last year.
4) Detroit Red Wings -- can never count them out. But will Datsyuk and Zetterberg be able to rediscover their scoring touch?
5) Anaheim Ducks -- If Hiller's vertigo problems are behind him they could be in line for a good season, particularly if Selanne has another 35 goal campaign in him
6) L.A. Kings -- Is Richards the answer in La La Land? We will find out soon. Need Penner to find some kind of consistency/pride. Great young goaltending and defence will carry them, also will be better with a full year of Kopitar, scoring depth is still an issue though.
7) Columbus Blue Jackets -- for some reason I like how this team is coming together. If Steve Mason can play at a high level the Jackets could return to the playoffs.
8) Nashville Predators -- I see a big year for Colin Wilson coming, plus they will be tough to beat whenever they put Suter, Rinne and Weber out on the ice.

9) Calgary Flames -- So many questions, so little depth. Need a bounce back year form Kipper. Need Iginla to get healthy and find his touch immediately which is a problem early in the season when he is healthy. Will miss Backlund who is out with a broken hand.
10) Colorado Avalanche -- love their young talent, love their some of their young D. Not a fan of them putting all their eggs in the Varlamov basket.
11) Dallas Stars -- No way they can replace the loss of Richards, they have some exciting young talent like Jaime Benn, but they take a step back this year.
12) Edmonton Oilers -- will take a step forward this year, but the question is how far. Not a playoff team yet and they must find a way to stay healthy if they even want to be in the playoff hunt late. Not a good start with Whitney still on the shelf and Smid set to miss about a month.
13) St. Louis Blues -- a lot of good young talent, but still missing something to put them over the top. Another team that was hit hard by the injury bug last year.
14) Minnesota Wild -- A new coach, a new system. Again. Hurt big with loss of Burns, and Heately is a cancer at the best of times. Not looking forward to Heatley without a top setup man. They also need one of their goalies to have a HUGE year to avoid a basement finish.
15) Phoenix Coyotes -- Not a team in the league that lost more talent this offseason. Kyle Turris being a douche and holding out for a kings ransom when he's approached bust status doesn't help either.

Eastern Conference
1) Washington Capitals -- Still loaded, Vokun was the best off-season signing, and managed to add some much needed grit. Will be awesome in the regular season, but nobody cares how they do in the regular season.
2) Boston Bruins -- To be the champ, you gotta beat the champs. So few holes in their lineup, I expect Seguin to step into Savard's role and for the Bruins to hardly skip a beat. Thomas still has a lot of gas in the tank and their Defence is rock solid once again. Not a lot of flash but they get the job done.
3) Pittsburgh Penguins -- I now believe Crosby will return sooner rather than later. Malkin is supposed to be rejuvenated. I think they take the division in a walk.
4) Tampa Bay Lightning -- No goaltending issues for the lightning this year, Stamkos will find a way not to fade down the stretch.
5) Montreal Canadiens -- I like a lot of what they have done. Price proved me wrong last year, and I will not make the same mistake again this year. If Camalleri can stay healthy and Cole (huge overpayment) give them a solid second scoring option and some much needed toughness they can make some noise again.
6) Buffalo Sabres -- spent big this offseason and I think it will pay off. Miller and Myers will be great again and they have some terrific young talent coming up if their hired guns fail.
7) New Jersey Devils -- this is a bit of a guess here. A lot of question marks. Goaltending being one of the biggest. Also Parise and Kovalchuk have not played well together at all in the previous two seasons, they need them to find a way to get it together to get into the post-season.
8) Philadelphia Flyers -- a big step back this year for a big step forward in the future. They reloaded on youth and potential but should still have enough to make the playoffs.
9) New York Islanders -- I think they surprise a lot of people and make a push for the playoffs. Nabakov gives them stability in net when DiPietro goes on the IR. Plus they have a great collection of young forwards and some real nice young defencemen, but experience will hurt them, particularly on the back end.
10) New York Rangers -- will be a big disappointment this year. Will miss Staal on the back end big time if he is still out long term. Not sure how well Richards will play under the weight and expectations of the New York media.
11) Toronto Maple Leafs -- It pains me to say it, but they are starting to look pretty good. Solid young blue-line and I think Reimer is more than a flash in the pan. But they are still hurting for any scoring depth up front. They are essentially a one line team and if Grabovski misses any time they could really be in trouble.
12) Carolina Hurricanes --I always have a hard time reading this team for whatever reason. They have depth issues again and will need a big year from Ward, Staal, and Skinner to be a factor.
13) Winnipeg Jets -- They lack depth just about everywhere, especially up front and their schedule playing in the SOutheast will be a killer. I think they'll actually get off to a good start with all of the momentum they will have from the excitement of their return to the Peg, but they will fade badly. Big Pavelic fan but he will need a lot of help.
14) Ottawa Senators -- They could surprise if they get a huge year from Andersen, a career year from Spezza, A return to form from Alfredsson, some of their young talent (I'm looking at you Regin and Filatov) finally take that next step and they are inspired by their new coach. It's too many ifs for me.
15) Florida Panthers -- I like a lot of what they are doing with their rebuild, but they still have no scoring and they are still years away from capitalizing on that youth movement, at which point they probably will not be able to resign the youth and they will sell them off again as they always do.

Selke -- Toews
Norris -- Shea Weber
Calder -- Gabriel Landeskog, unless Ryan Nugent-Hopkins somehow sticks after his nine games.
Vezina -- Rinne
Richard -- Getzlaf
Art Ross -- Daniel Sedin
Hart -- Crosby
Kennedy -- Crosby
Adams -- Julien

 

30 forwards on that lists and no mention of Parise or Kovalchuk?

 

Because Heatley is clearly a better winger?[/bluefont]

 

The chances of Columbus making the playoffs are as good as mine meeting Ona Zee.