New York Rangers
They were considered by some Stanley Cup Contenders last year but I think this year they absolutely HAVE to be in that conversation. Starting from the back and working out this team is one of the deepest in the NHL. It all starts with the best goalie in the league in Henrik Lundqvist. He is the epitome of consistency, winning 30 or more games in his first 7 seasons. Couple that with the emergence of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh as a premiere shutdown pairing and scoring goals on the Rangers has become all but impossible.
Oh, and now their middle of the road offence features Rick Nash. The two time 40 goal scorer will be joining three time 40 goal scorer Marain Gaborik alongside playmaker Brad Richards. They will be relying on some exciting young players (Stepan, Hagelin, Kreider) for secondary scoring but all in all I think the Rangers have to be early season favourites.
Edmonton Oilers
How can you not be excited to watch a team that could feature the last three 1st overall picks and the most highly sought after college prospect of last year. And after years of terrible hockey....the Oilers will finally be relevant come playoff time. Yes I said it. Their top line of Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins has already been playing (and dominating) the AHL for the last couple months. They will be hitting the ground running while other teams take a week or two to re-adjust. A few moves on defence such as the signing of college prospect Justin Schultz and trading for Mark Fistric filled some glaring holes from years past.
Goaltending will still be the biggest question mark. Devan Dubnyk did not look like a goalie who can carry a team deep into the playoffs, but being a year older and a year wiser, coupled with not being as hung out to dry as last year should help him improve his numbers. You know the Oilers are going to play run-and-gun hockey and it will be up to him to make sure they aren't on the losing end most nights.
Carolina Hurricanes
For no reason what so ever I just have a soft spot in my heart for the Carolina Hurricanes. Don't know if I would consider myself a fan but I like to see them do well. That being said this season they should find themselves back in the playoffs. Trading for Jordan Staal was brilliant (for both teams) and the signing of Semin finally gives Jordans brother Eric a decent winger to work with (You aren't scoring as often as you can with Chad Larose and Jiri Tlusty as your wingers).
Another team that has a good group of young players to look out for. Outside the obvious in Jeff Skinner the Hurricanes defence features a couple young guns who are finding their own. Jamie McBain will be entering his 3rd full season and has averaged close to 30 points a year in the past two seasons. The other name tolook out for is Justin Faulk who will be entering his sophomore year after scoring 22 points in 66 games (just ignore his plus/minus...we can chop that up to playing for the Hurricanes last year).
Anaheim Ducks
This is a team to watch for different reasons than the above. We are going to see one of two things from the Ducks this year. Either a resurgence back to the playoffs after an abysmal year last year. Or the dismantling of the team, headlined by the trading of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Both are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year and their futures at this time are uncertain. If the Ducks are not a legitimate playoff team come close to deadline day....we could see fireworks out of Anaheim.
This is a team to watch for different reasons than the above. We are going to see one of two things from the Ducks this year. Either a resurgence back to the playoffs after an abysmal year last year. Or the dismantling of the team, headlined by the trading of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Both are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year and their futures at this time are uncertain. If the Ducks are not a legitimate playoff team come close to deadline day....we could see fireworks out of Anaheim.
The return you can get for any or all of Bobby Ryan, Getzlaf and Perry would be enough to instantly rebuild your team. Ducks ownership and management need to asses where they want to go with this team and whether or not they want the future to feature the big three.
Minnesota Wild
Another team that made some significant moves during the off-season. The Wild were the big winners of free agency signing defenceman Ryan Suter and five time 30 goal scorer Zach Parise. For a team that ranked last in goals for, adding one of the most consistent goal scorers in the league will only be a positive. Is it enough to get the Wild back into the playoffs though? I like what I see in Minnesota and think they can contend for a playoff spot.
I say watch them because they are going to show teams whether spending money in free agency is a good fix to a bad team, or just a waste of money. If they are in playoff contention 25 games in they will be the 'it' story. If not, a lot of questions will be asked in Minnesota.
Another team that made some significant moves during the off-season. The Wild were the big winners of free agency signing defenceman Ryan Suter and five time 30 goal scorer Zach Parise. For a team that ranked last in goals for, adding one of the most consistent goal scorers in the league will only be a positive. Is it enough to get the Wild back into the playoffs though? I like what I see in Minnesota and think they can contend for a playoff spot.
I say watch them because they are going to show teams whether spending money in free agency is a good fix to a bad team, or just a waste of money. If they are in playoff contention 25 games in they will be the 'it' story. If not, a lot of questions will be asked in Minnesota.
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