This is an interesting division to say the least. It’s competitive, diverse, especially in regards to coaching and the different approaches. It has some stunning goaltenders and terrific individual talent and now it has – pause now for dramatic effect – Iron Mike Keenan.
The return of the much-traveled and oft-successful and oft-vilified Keenan is a story unto itself. That he’ll be coaching the Flames AND keeping former Flames head coach Jim Playfair as his associate coach makes it even more interesting.
Amazingly, there’s even more.
Minnesota, after years of development seems poised for a breakthrough season, one that could serve to validate the methods of the only coach the Wild has ever known, Jacques Lemaire.
Meanwhile, flags will wave for Vancouver, which has rejoined the competitive fray now that it has an all-world goaltender and kids that are starting to grow into the roles envisioned for them by former GM Brian Burke and since cultivated by current boss Dave Nonis.
In Colorado, the fans are banking on a return to glory mostly on the back of second-year pro Paul Statsny whose link to fame is as clear as his last name.
In Edmonton, there are issues of ownership and management and even coaching as the organization tries to regain its past glory and make the franchise viable in a market that players seem to want to ignore.
Except for Edmonton it’s an intensely competitive division and while the Oilers don’t get a lot of consideration, in their own minds they are ready to re-join the fray.
The teams:
Minnesota Wild: 2006-07 Record-48-26-8, 104 points, second in Division, seventh in conference, 11th overall, lost to Anaheim Ducks, 4-1 in quarterfinal round.
Incoming Players: Eric Belanger (F), Sean Hill (D).
Outgoing Players: Manny Fernandez (G), Todd White (F), Adam Hall (F).
Burning Question: But for the loss of a single point, the Wild missed out on winning the Northwest Division last season. That single point caused them to draw Anaheim, the eventual Stanley Cup champion in the first round of the playoffs and, not surprisingly, they were beaten with relative ease. The question here is whether or not the Wild learns from that, builds on their most successful season since hockey resumed there in the wake of the departure of the Stars to Dallas and move on. To do that they have to know whether or not scoring star Marion Gaborik can stay relatively healthy for an entire season and that the surprising development of goalie Nicklas Backstrom continues.
Prediction: First in the division. The Wild are good and getting better. They play the best defence of any team in the conference and their pop-gun offence is going to finally have a little more pop with Bellanger anchoring a second scoring line.
Vancouver Canucks: 2006-07 Record-49-26-7, 105 points, first in division, third in conference, eighth overall, beat Dallas, 4-3 in conference quarterfinal round, lost to Anaheim, 4-1 in conference semifinal.
Incoming Players: Brad Isbister (F), Byron Ritchie (F), Ryan Shannon (F),Aaron Miller (D).
Outgoing Players: Jan Bulis (F), Marc Chouinard (F), Rory Fitzpatrick (D), Josh Green (F), Dany Sabourin (G), Brian Smolinski (F), Brent Sopel (D).
Forwards: It’s a good group, anchored by the Sedin twins and Brendan Morrison and even Markus Naslund, but it’s not deep and Naslund and Morrison and more than a handful of others didn’t play to their talent levels last season. That hurt a lot because the kids weren’t ready and may not be ready this season either. Simply put the Canucks can’t score enough goals and especially can’t score enough clutch goals both at even strength and on what was a woeful power play, the single biggest reason they struggled against Dallas and lost to Anaheim in the playoffs last spring. Things could get better if Ryan Kessler grows and Taylor Pyatt ever rises to the level of his perceived ability, but overall there’s not a lot of promise here.
Defence: There are no game-controlling defencemen here and not even any All-Stars in waiting, but that’s not a huge problem. Vancouver plays a good to very good team defence and their best defender is their goaltender, Roberto Luongo.
Goal: Luongo was the single biggest reason the Canucks came from nowhere at Christmas to first in division and third in conference last season. He’s the single biggest reason coach Alain Vigneault won the Jack Adams as coach of the year and he’s the single biggest reason the very real flaws in this team were largely overlooked until playoff time.
Burning Question: It’s not fair to ask of Luongo can do it again. He’s so good it’s a given. The big burning question is whether or not the rest of the team, grows up around him. Young players have to play better. Older players, especially Naslund and Morrison, have to play better, even the Sedin twins have to play better and they both had good seasons last season. Can they do it?
Prediction: Second in a very tight division. This is a good team, but it’s not great anywhere except in goal and that will make for problems in head to head battles with conference rivals.
Calgary Flames: 2006-07 Record-43-29-10, 96 points, third in division, eighth in conference, 13th overall, lost to Detroit, 4-2, in conference quarterfinals.
Incoming Players: Owen Nolan (F), Grant Stevenson (F), Adrian Aucoin (D), Cory Sarich (D), Anders Eriksson (D).
Outgoing Players: Tony Amonte (F), Jeff Friesen (F), Roman Hamrlik (D), Darren McCarty (F), Jamie McLennan (G), Byron Ritchie (F), Brad Stuart (D), Andrei Zyuzin (D).
Forwards: A solid top six led by one of the game’s best players, Jarome Iginla and now complemented by the acquisition of veteran goal scorer (when healthy at least) Owen Nolan. The Flames up-front group can play you both ways. They score and some of them can hit and play defence. Only Colorado and Nashville scored more goals last season and if the unit can avoid devastating injuries, they should be as good or better this time around. There’s a solid third line of checkers but it and the fourth line can’t be counted on for anything more than the occasional goal
Defence: The perception was that coach Jim Playfair was the reason the Flames failed to ignite last season, but if you look at GM Darryl Sutter’s offseason work this is where most of the upgrading took place. It wasn’t very good in its own end and with the forwards not coming back as regularly as they once did and with goalie Miikka Kiprusoff not at his best, the whole team struggled. It should be better this time around as Cory Sarich is steady in his own zone and a hitter but it may not be as productive point wise as Adrian Aucoin and Anders Eriksson are not as offensive minded as the players they replaced.
Goal: Kiprusoff didn’t have so much a bad year (he was a Vezina Trophy candidate and the Flames made the playoffs largely on his late-season heroics), it was more that he didn’t have an All-World year. That bit of a falloff from previous seasons exposed just how much the Flames are dependant on his individual brilliance. With Mike Keenan behind the bench he will be pushed to new limits and that should be impressive.
Burning Questions: Both Sutter and Keenan are hard-nosed types and it remains to be seen if that’s going to be a flash point between them. Keenan needs to drive this team but the big question is whether or not it will respond. The other big question is whether or not Keenan and Kiprusoff can get along. The coach is tough on goalies, the goalie is a sensitive sort who seems to respond more to patience, kindness and understanding rather than a quick hook and a media roasting. It’s an interesting dynamic, especially in that Kiprusoff is in negotiations for Jarome Iginla-like money.
Prediction: Third in division. They’ll respond all right, but there will also be a period of adjustment. A good team that will get better near season’s end.
Colorado Avalanche: 2006-07 Record-44-31-7, 95 points, fourth in division, ninth in conference, 14th overall, did not qualify for the playoffs.
Incoming Players: Ryan Smyth (F), Jaroslav Hlinka (F), Scott Hannan (D), Jeff Jillson (D), Dale Purinton (D).
Outgoing Players: Patrice Brisebois (D), Ken Klee (D), Brett McLean (F), Mark Rycroft (F), Pierre Turgeon (F), Ossi Vaananen (F).
Burning Question: Can a team in transition recapture past glory? It’s possible when you have a veteran like Joe Sakic and a rising star like Paul Stastny, but the burning question surrounding the Avs is whether or not they’ve completed the transition from the glory days when Sakic played with Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy, to today’s team where it’s Stastny, the still-learning Peter Budaj and a defence that’s decidedly average and a penalty-killing unit that simply isn’t very good.
Prediction: Fourth in division. One miss since 1994 isn’t bad and the turnaround has begun. The defence still isn’t of championship caliber, but it’s good enough to end the one-year drought.
Edmonton Oilers: 2006-07 Record-32-42-7, 71 points, fifth in division, 12th in conference, 25th overall, did not qualify for the playoffs.
Incoming Players: Geoff Sanderson (F), Dustin Penner (F), Joni Pitkanen, (D), Sheldon (Souray) (D), Dick Tarnstrom (D), Mathieu Garon (G).
Outgoing Players: Jan Hejda (D), Joffrey Lupul (F), Jussi Markkanen (G), Toby Peterson (F), Jason Smith (D), Petr Sykora (F), Daniel Tjarnqvist (D), Brad Winchester (F).
Forwards: Not much here. Worst producing offence in the NHL last season and the only team in the league not to score 200 or more goals last season. Left winger Geoff Sanderson can be an upgrade, but only if he’s in the mood and his best years are behind him. Dustin Penner is a big upgrade, but he may have trouble living up to his big free-agent contract and the best one could hope for is that replaces the points produced by last season’s leading scorer while bringing some much needed physical play. Power play is almost nonexistent.
Defence: Major overall here and mostly for the good. Souray’s big shot should create offence for the power play and Tarnstrom can be a decent stay-at-home player. Pitkanen has talent but it’s uneven talent and he’s especially weak in his own zone. Souray is no stay at home either, so expect the unit to be fairly porous.
Goal: Dwayne Roloson, arguably the team’s best player, gets a little help in the form of backup Garon who should play enough games to keep Roloson fresh.
Burning Question: Can anyone in an Oilers sweater play defence?
Prediction: Fifth in division. GM Kevin Lowe shuffled the deck somewhat, but that doesn’t mean the ship will stay afloat.
