How the Atlantic Division will finish: The Winners

The final (and very late) instalment of my Atlantic Division preview.  

The Top Four: The Winners

The winner of the Atlantic Division is given control of all Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes.  This guarantees the winner global hegemony for the next calendar year.

1)  Boston Bruins. (Highest 1, Lowest 3)

The fact I chose Boston to win the Atlantic Division should not be a surprise.  The Boston Bruins are like a schoolyard bully who happens to also be a straight-A student, class president, and debate club champion.

Strengths:

Defence: Zdeno Chara may be the most valuable player in the league.  He can play 30 minutes a game, can contribute offensively, is dominant defensively, and is probably the most devastating fighter in the NHL.

Offense: Patrice Bergeron is one of the best two-way players in hockey, and David Krejci, Milan Lucic and recently added Loui Eriksson will help get goals.  May not be the best goal scoring team but through physically and hard work this team will score enough to win.

Goaltending: Tuukka Rask is a good goalie.  (Citation: last year’s playoffs)

Weaknesses:  

Kryptonite?  The sacred dagger of Odin dipped in ram’s blood?  Velociraptors with machine-guns strapped to their arms?

In all seriousness scoring may be a problem at times.

Ridiculously easy prediction:  

At some point in the season a Boston player does something that can be construed as attempting to injure a player on another team.

2) Detroit Red Wings (Highest 1, lowest 4)

The Detroit Red Wings spent years asking to be moved to the Eastern Conference in a high-pitched whiny voice. They finally got their wish.  The Wings may not be quite as good as they once were, but they are consistent, and that will mean a lot in a division with so many young teams.

Strengths: 

Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg:  They are magic. Also possibly witches.

Coaching: Mike Babcock is arguably the best coach in the NHL.  Last year in the playoffs his system even made his subpar d-men look par. 

Weaknesses:

The ravaging hand of time:  Alfredsson is 40, Bertuzzi is 38, Datsyuk is 35, Cleary is 34, Franzen is 33, Kronwall and Zetterberg are 32.

Defence: The Red Wings' bottom pairing is suspect.  Wings have missed out on some high-end defenceman in free agency and it shows.

Ridiculously easy prediction:

Every time Alfredsson plays in Canada the play-by-play crew will have at least one long conversation about his departure from Ottawa .

3) Ottawa Senators (Highest 1, Lowest 5)

The Senators have high end talent, good forward depth, and award winning coaching, but have lost their Captain Daniel Alfredsson and their reliance on youth could be a problem.  Ottawa also has a lot of players recovering from injuries they sustained last season.

Strengths:

Forward depth:  Ottawa have a strong core of veteran forwards including Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Bobby Ryan, and Kyle Turris.  They will be supplemented by other veterans such as Clarke MacArthur, and Chris Neil, and talented young players like Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Cory Conacher.

First Defensive Pairing: Norris winning defenceman Erik Karlsson is perhaps the best offensive defenceman in the NHL.  Marc Methot’s well-rounded defensive game makes him the ideal partner for Karlsson.

Goaltending:  Last season Craig Anderson led the league in goals against average, and save percentage.  Ottawa also has a talented backup goaltender in Robin Lehner.

Coaching: Head coach Paul “fat buy eyed walrus” MacLean is last season’s Jack Adams Award winner for coach of the year.

Weaknesses: 

Second and third defensive pairings:  The Sens have some talented players in their bottom 2 pairings, but inexperience and over-experience (Chris Phillips is old) may play a factor.

Youth: Ottawa has a lot of young players and a first time captain.  This could lead to them struggling with constancy.

Ridiculously easy prediction: This season Senators owner Eugene Melnyk says something stupid to the media at the worst possible time.

4) Toronto Maple Leafs (Highest 3, lowest 6)

I do not believe the Toronto Maple Leafs would have made the playoffs if last season had been 82 games.  The Maple Leafs were a poor puck possession team, and were riding an unsustainable shooting percentage.  The Leafs did however get better in the offseason with the acquisition of David Clarkson and have a good tough coach in Randy Carlyle.

Strengths:

Forwards:  Toronto have some good forwards including Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, David Clarkson, James Van Riemsdyk, and Nazem Kadri. 

Truculence and Pugnacity: Brian Burke may be gone but the Leafs keep getting tougher.  Enforcer Frazer McLaren (a Winnipegger) and Colton Orr (a Winnipegger, and notably not the best Orr in league history) will help make sure other teams don't get too aggressive with Toronto’s scoring forwards

Weaknesses:

Defence: Toronto was a terrible puck position team last year and that defence is mostly returning intact.  I also heard somewhere that Dion Phaneuf is overrated.

Ridiculously Easy Prediction:

Like every year The Maple Leafs will find a way to break the hearts of everyone who believes in them.

Picture from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean