Western Conference Preview, Part Two

Here we go with the best in the West (god, that's an awful cliche). Also, this preview and my essays on the East will be simplified. I'm getting a bit lazy.

8. Nashville Predators
What I like: Pekka Riine was solid in goal last year; Weber, Suter and Hamhuis are nice young defensive base; Barry Trotz is one of the best coaches in the NHL who consistently gets more out of his players than their abilities indicate; Steve Sullivan, Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont is a decent first line; The penalty kill was top ten last year; The Predators didn't lose any quality players in the off-season.

What I don't like: Scoring lags after the front line; Power-play was bottom five in the league last year; Didn't add any particularly great players either; It's too bad this team isn't playing in Southern Ontario. They would be an interesting team to watch in Toronto/Hamilton.

7. St. Louis Blues
What I like: Full of ex-Leaf first round draft picks (Boyes, Colaiacovo); Top ten PP and PK last season (8th and 3rd); Good goaltending provided by Chris Mason; Solid coach in Andy Murray; A good scoring balance with a lot of potential on the first line. T.J. Oshie and David Backes could break out this year.

What I don't like: Full of ex-Leaf first round draft picks (Steen, Jackman); Not a lot of defence beyond the first pairing of Jackman and Erik Johnson (and Johnson cannot be allowed anywhere near a golf cart); St. Louis is relying on Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya for the scoring on the second line with Boyes. Both have had their best days behind them.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets
What I like: Rick Nash opted to stay with the team and sign an eight-year extension. I might not like this for the future but I love it for 09-10; Nash's linemate Derrick Brassard was poised for a breakout year in '09 (10 goals and 15 assists in 31 games) before going dislocating his shoulder in a fight. All the more reason I like this guy to explode in 2010. Ken Hitchcock a is proven winner and routinely makes the most of what little defence he's got; Steve Mason is coming off a great rookie year in goal.

What I don't like: The Jackets had worst power-play in the league last year; Hitchcock might be able to improve the play of mediocre defencemen in their own end but can't do much about the fact that this team is completely lacking a PP quarterback; Goaltenders coming off great rookie years have a slight tendency to drop off in their second season - reread the last sentence of What I Like.

5. Anaheim Ducks
What I like: Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan are arguably the best first line in the NHL; Saku and Teemu are pleased to be playing with each other; Scott Niedermayer remains one of the best leaders in the game and is still a pretty good defencemen; Artyukhin, Lupul and Marchant are one of the better third lines in the league; Randy Caryle is a quality coach who usually gets this team motivated to play; Jonas Hiller was great for the Ducks in last year's playoffs.

What I don't like: With Pronger and Beauchemin both gone, the defence is a thin beyond the first pairing (even though Beauchemin hasn't preformed yet in Toronto); The overall makeup seems to be a departure from the Brian Burke way. The tough guys aren't quite on the same level as in the years past. Savu Koivu and Ryan Whitney, though both talented, would not have played on a BB team; Ducks have to hope that Hiller can carry the load over a full season.

4. Chicago Blackhawks
What I like: The first line is awesome; The defence is great combination of stoppers and puck-movers; The third line has John Madden, one of the best defensive forwards in the league; I've always liked Joel Quinnville as a coach (possible Avs bias); Stan Bowman might be the titular GM but has never run a team before. But Bowman, that name sounds familiar no? That's right, Stan is Scotty's son. And wouldn't you know Dad is the Senior Adviser. I think Stan will be alright.

What I don't like: Havlat's gone and Hossa's out until November; Patrick Kane had an incident with a Buffalo cabbie; Huet has never been counted on to do the job on his own for an entire year; Everyone is taking the Hawks to win the Central and it seems too easy to join that bandwagon.


3. Detroit Red Wings
What I like: The Red Wings have been the model franchise in hockey for almost 15 years. They have one of the best owners, GMs, Coaches and Scouting teams in the NHL; Their line up is among the best in the league; Datysuk, Zetterberg, Fippula and Draper could be the league's best centre combination; Franzen is emerging as a top-six winger; Hossa was useless in the playoffs and he's gone; Lidstrom leads what's still one of the best defensive units in the league.

What I don't like: The Red Wings employ a certain cretin who wears the number 44; All Avs' bias aside, Osgood is a year older and he couldn't go for a full season last year. Backup Jimmy Howard has played exactly 10 games in four seasons; Hossa's gone (meaning that they lose his 40 regular season goals. Playoffs are another issue); Everyone is a year older and even the "Youngsters" such as Fippula and Abdelkader aren't that young (25 and 22). Lidstrom is 39, Draper is 38, Osgood, Holmstrom and Matlby are 37. At some point age will catch up to the Red Wings.

2. San Jose Sharks
What I like: The Sharks fleeced the Sens for Dany Heatley (not that it's too difficult). Cheecoo is a one-season wonder, Michalek will be always a year away and they didn't give up any defencemen or Patrick Marleau. Heatley, Thornton and whoever is the third winger will be one the best combinations in the league this year; Dan Boyle and Rob Blake provide a very solid base on defence; Evgeni Nabokov has been remarkably consistent in the post-lockout era. He's one of two goaltenders to have posted three straight seasons with a GAA under 2.50, a save percentage of .910 or better and at least 6 shutouts. The only other player to manage this feat: Martin Brodeur; Top five in both power-play and PK in '09.

What I don't like: Not a lot of depth beyond beyond first two lines; Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley have their respective reputations (poor playoff performer and prima donna). The Sharks will need both of these reps to be overcome; This team is dangerously close to the salary cap and will have to unload players next year.

1. Calgary Flames
What I like: Calgary has the single best defensive unit in the league. Dion, Bouwmeester and Regehr are downright scaring on the blue line. Expect Pierre Maguire to have a heart attack for all the monster plays these three will make; In goal, ole Kipper has looked decent so far, though three games do not a season make. Up front, Jerome Iginla continues to lead by example and finally has a centre of similar talent in Olli Jokenin. Craig Conroy and Damon Langkow can finally play on the second and third lines (likely interchangeably) while wingers Rene Bourque and David Moss are both coming off 20 goal seasons and have the potential to make the leap this year.

What I don't like: Losing Mike Cammalleri and his 39 goals will naturally be noticed as there was a large drop-off in goalscoring after the Italian/Jewish speedster; Kipper might be good so far but hasn't been great in the past couple seasons. While his defence is strong, there will likely be night that he needs to save the team while the offence meshes together; Gone with Cammalleri are 19 of the Flames' 61 power-play goals from last year. Not only will the Flames need to step up with the man advantage but Big Dion has to rediscover his booming slap shot from the point.