Capitals Lead the Way….
The 2011-2012 season is close at hand and the anticipation is killing me. Now is the time that we start to get ready for our fantasy drafts and make our predictions for the coming year. In the following weeks I’ll be posting my thoughts on things like fantasy strategies, sleepers and busts, and of course my yearly standings prediction.
Before you look into my rankings I just want to say one thing. The maximum and minimum salary caps have really changed the game. In the case of league standings, things have been getting tighter and tighter every year. While this has made the playoff race extremely exciting, it has also made picking the standings before the year nearly impossible. I’m sure my ideas and yours will be way different so I encourage you to reply your thoughts and even your own standings predictions along with this blog. Oh and sorry Canada…(you’ll see).
1. Washington – With the addition of Tomas Vokoun and more defensive depth in Wideman (last year at the deadline) and Hamrlik, the Caps should have no problem taking 1st in the eastern conference. The President’s Trophy is not out of the question. Expect the big guns (Ovie, Backstrom, Green, Semin) to bounce back to better numbers.
2. Philadelphia – I believe Ilya Bryzgalov will be good enough on the back end to make up for the absence of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter on forward. Giroux, Briere and James van Riemsdyk will pick up the slack and the man with the mullet (Jaromir Jagr) has returned to the NHL in a Flyers uniform.
3. Buffalo – The Sabres did well this off-season adding Leino and Ehrhoff amongst others. Roy returning to the line-up is key and a few budding youngsters (Ennis, Myers, Stafford) make Buffalo a cup contender for me. Look for another good year from Ryan Miller at the backstop.
4. Boston – Not much has changed in Boston but they will be hard pressed to defend the cup again. They failed to keep Tomas Kaberle and Michael Ryder. Between them and Buffalo really is a toss up but I don’t think Thomas can pull off another year with a 2.00 GAA and a .938 SV%….ridiculous.
5. Tampa Bay – I have Tampa in the same spot as last year. Re-signing Stamkos was obviously huge and getting Roloson on for another year will be beneficial as well. Simon Gagne will be missed but that leaves room for Teddy Purcell, Ryan Malone and Steve Downie to round out an excellent top 6.
6. Pittsburgh – I know that the Pens did alright without Sid the Kid last year but I don’t think they can do it again. Malkin is healthy and should have a better season but the Atlantic division will prove a little tougher this year. I have Pittsburgh dropping a few spots in the standings.
7. NY Rangers – The Rangers re-signed many players (Boyle, Callahan, Dubinsky..etc..) and also picked up Brad Richards in a 9 year 58.5 million dollar deal. Richards and Gaborik could click together translating into a bounce back year for Gaborik. The Rangers are on the cusp again for me and could lose out to some of the following teams.
8. Carolina – 7th to 12th spot is next to impossible to sort out. Unfortunately the Canadian teams aren’t making the cut in my books. Bring on the angry Toronto fans! The Hurricanes are a youthful team on offence and have added Tomas Kaberle on the blue line in front of Ward. Lots of room to improve in Carolina and I think they should.
9. Montreal – Andrei Markov should provide an offensive boost from the back end but I thought the Habs overachieved last year. Cary Price is the make or break factor in whether or not they can make the playoffs. I know MR. B. Kerr will disagree with me but I don’t like their chances of playing in the post-season.
10. Toronto – The new additions of Tim Connolly and John-Michael Liles are helpful. The pressure on James Reimer to perform is great and I’m not convinced he’ll be able to handle it. Sorry fellas, I almost put them in 8th just to avoid the abuse I’ll get for this. (A Few of our bloggers are die hard Leafs fans.)
11. New Jersey – The Devils were able to ink a deal with Parise to their relief. Although he returns to the line-up, C Travis Zajac is out for the start of the year shortening the list of centers. The LW is strong but a lack of depth at both RW and D should cripple the Devils yet again.
12. NY Islanders – Mark Streit is fully recovered and ready to get back on the ice. Kyle Okposo will also be back and the youthful islanders are now 1 year older. I expect big things from John Tavares this year as well as Michael Grabner. This team will continue to climb the standings in years to come.
13. Florida – The Panthers spent plenty of money in the off-season signing Brian Campbell and Ed Jovanovski amongst others. Too bad their MVP Tomas Vokoun is off chasing lord Stanley in Washington this year. I like the defence in Florida but they need a 1st line and a goalie. It is possible that Jacob Markstrom could take the crease this year.
14. Winnipeg – The travel alone will be enough to wear these guys down by the end of the year. Add settling into a new city to the equation and things don’t look promising for the Winnipeg Jets. Evander Kane will be the player I have my eye on. He may not be ready for a first line roll but he is close.
15. Ottawa – Let’s face it the nation’s capital city has been steadily declining in the standings and Alfie is getting old. Zenon Konopka should make losing interesting for the fans though. Between him, Chris Neil and Matt Carkner there should be plenty of scraps to watch. I have the Sens sitting last in the whole league this year.
