Eastern Conference: Atlantic

EASTERN CONFERENCE: Atlantic | Northeast | Southeast
WESTERN CONFERENCE: Central | Northwest | Pacific

ATLANTIC

New York Rangers
Last Season: 42-30-10 (sixth in East); lost in second round to Buffalo
Key Additions: C Chris Drury, C Scott Gomez
Key Losses: C Matt Cullen, C Michael Nylander, D Karel Rachunek, G Kevin Weekes

Lundqvist's 2.34 goals-against average was second in the conference. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Within 18 hours of the start of the free-agent signing period on July 1, the Rangers transformed themselves from an ordinary playoff team into a Stanley Cup contender, by signing $7 million-a-year centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. The 27-year-old Gomez is a superb playmaker who adapts expertly to the finishers around him; Drury, 31 and without flaws in his game, has a heavy shot and a seemingly unwavering intensity. Both have been vital contributors on Cup winners.

Big stars on Broadway! Does that sound familiar? "Only one thing scares me," captain Jaromir Jagr recently told The New York Times . "I don't want it to be like six years ago." Jagr was referring to the prelockout Rangers, who spent recklessly on free agents (see: left wing Valeri Kamensky at $17 million over four years) yet went years without having a cohesive -- or playoff-worthy -- team.

Things are different now. The salary cap has forced G.M. Glen Sather to do what he did best in Edmonton: assemble a strong core of under-the-radar and complementary players. Along with the big names (38-year-old right wing Brendan Shanahan is another one), New York has quietly capable defensemen in Marek Malik, Michal Rozsival and Fedor Tyutin; solid secondary forwards in ornery Sean Avery, soft-handed Petr Prucha and elusive Martin Starka; and 25-year-old goalie Henrik Lundqvist, the 205th overall pick in the 2000 draft, who has emerged as one of the NHL's least flappable netminders.

This time, in other words, the stars are well-aligned.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Last Season: 47-24-11 (fifth in East); lost in first round to Ottawa
Key Additions: G Ty Conklin, D Darryl Sydor, RW Petr Sykora
Key Losses: RW Michel Ouellet, G Jocelyn Thibault

A year ago the Penguins were coming off a conference-worst 58-point season, couldn't get financing for a new arena and thus didn't know how long they would stay in Pittsburgh. Now, after a dramatic 47-point jump in their record and an agreement that will put them in new downtown digs for the 2010-11 season, no other NHL team has a more promising future -- or a more daunting young core.

The league's best player, center Sidney Crosby, is signed through 2012-13, as is offensive defenseman Ryan Whitney, an All-Star-to-be. Explosive center Evgeni Malkin, the league's top rookie in 2006-07, precocious 19-year-old winger Jordan Staal (29 goals) and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, 22, the No. 1 draft pick in 2003, are all years from unrestricted free agency. Consider that the Penguins have a half-dozen other very able 25-and-under players, and the team, without even having won a playoff round, has the look of a dynasty-in-waiting. Says G.M. Ray Shero, "This is not a one-year window for us."

The team's young defense can be exploited, but with the presence of some skilled, battle-worn forwards -- Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts and Petr Sykora -- to help lead, Pittsburgh could go deep into next spring's playoffs.

Philadelphia Flyers
Last Season: 22-48-12 (15th in East)
Key Additions: C Daniel Briere, LW Scott Hartnell, D Jason Smith, LW Joffrey Lupul D Kimmo Timonen
Key Losses: LW Todd Fedoruk, D Joni Pitkanen, LW Mike York

A few weeks ago second-year G.M. Paul Holmgren was reflecting on his team: "I think we sort of fell behind the eight ball the last few years." To say the least. After a first-round playoff loss in 2005-06, Philadelphia opened last season 3-12-2 en route to its worst record in 40 seasons.

Unnerved by the Flyers' ponderous defensive core and their overall inability to adapt to the zippy, postlockout NHL (they were 1-6 in shootouts, for example), Holmgren began the league's most impressive overhaul. Trades last February brought, most important, goalie Martin Biron from the Sabres and, most telling, speedy blueliner Braydon Coburn from the Thrashers. In the off-season Holmgren added Nashville puck mover Kimmo Timonen, who'll quarterback the power play.

Philly ultimately broke camp with nine players who weren't on the roster at the start of last season, among them Holmgrem's prized import: free-agent signee Daniel Briere, a swift, high-scoring center who sees in the remade Flyers a chance for a reversal of fortune. When Briere went to the Sabres in 2002-03, he recalls, "we were near the bottom. We had to get together and grow together. I have the feeling the same thing is happening here."

New Jersey Devils
Last Season: 49-24-9 (second in East); lost in second round to Ottawa
Key Additions: Coach Brent Sutter, RW Aaron Asham, D Karel Rachunek, D Vitaly Vishnevski, C Danius Zubrus
Key Losses: C Scott Gomez, D Brad Lukowich, D Brian Rafalski, C Erik Rasmussen

The Devils have left the Meadowlands and a 16-year-old building, where they won three Stanley Cups from 1994-95 through 2002-03, for downtown Newark and the ultramodern Prudential Center. Does it augur a new era on ice? Well, in the off-season G.M. Lou Lamoriello went outside the organization to bring in rookie coach Brent Sutter, a firebrand who'll implement the puck-control style he used to lead Canada to back-to-back world junior championships.

That would be a break from New Jersey's trademark defensive style and could lead to a repurposing of lines. (As Lamoriello says, "Brent will come in with no preconceived notions.") Despite that, and despite the offensive void created by the loss of playmaker Scott Gomez and puck-rusher Brian Rafalski, the Devils will rely on the assets that have made them perennial contenders: 1) peerless goalie Martin Brodeur, who last year won his third Vezina Trophy while playing in a league-high 78 games; 2) the scoring of left wing Patrik Elias, who has led the team in points in six of the last seven seasons; 3) übercheckers, such as John Madden and Jay Pandolfo, hounding opposing forwards into oblivion; and 4) Lamoriello's incessant micromanaging. The Devils might not quite be the Devils of old -- Colin White is the only defenseman who was with the team when it won its last Cup -- but the new version will retain a classic look.

New York Islanders
Last Season: 40-30-12 (eighth in East); lost in first round to Buffalo
Key Additions: C Mike Comrie, LW Ruslan Fedotenko, RW Bill Guerin
Key Losses: RW Jason Blake, D Sean Hill, C Viktor Kozlov, D Tom Poti, LW Ryan Smyth, C Alexei Yashin

This maligned team finally got some good mojo going at the end of last season, winning its final four games to make the playoffs. As in every postseason appearance since 1993, however, the Islanders failed to get out of the first round. And then came the off-season. New York lost three of its top five forwards (Ryan Smyth, who was acquired last February, Jason Blake and Viktor Kozlov) and two core defensemen (Sean Hill, Tom Poti) to free agency. Meanwhile, franchise goalie Rick DiPietro, plagued by concussion-related issues at the end of last season, underwent surgery to clear bone fragments from his left hip.

DiPietro at least appears healthy now, but the replacement players in front of him represent a significant drop-off in talent. That means the Islanders will need coach Ted Nolan to inspire a middling cast to overachieve. He has the benefit of a favorable early-season schedule -- New York plays nine of its first 13 at home -- and can only hope that some October wins will get his charges to believe in themselves as few others do. -- Kostya Kennedy

MVP

Jaromir Jagr. Lou Capozzola/SI

Jaromir Jagr
RW, Rangers
His value is not only in the array of skills that makes him one of the game's top five offensive players but also in his infectious temperament. When the captain is happy and playing at full intensity, the team follows suit.

Overrated

Sergei Gonchar
D, Penguins
He gets his points -- 67 last season, second among NHL defensemen -- but he's eminently beatable, as his team-worst -5 rating in 2006-07 showed. His game also suffers in the playoffs, when he has been regularly undressed.

Underrated

Jay Pandolfo
LW, Devils
There is no more effective shadow in hockey -- he'll shut down Sidney Crosby or Jaromir Jagr for long stretches -- and he's a roadblock on the penalty kill. All that, and durable, too: Pandolfo has played in 283 straight games.

Pierre McGuire's In the Crease

This could be the NHL's toughest division: It's balanced and highly skilled.... Keep an eye out for Devils prospect Barry Tallackson, a forward with size (6' 5", 210), speed and skill. If he ratchets up his determination, he'll make an impact.... The Rangers expect rookie Marc Staal to help solidify their defense.... Penguins second-year center Evgeni Malkin will benefit greatly from being better acclimated to the U.S. and having improved his English. Teammate Jordan Staal -- Marc's brother -- may be shifted from wing to his natural center position.

EASTERN CONFERENCE: Atlantic | Northeast | Southeast
WESTERN CONFERENCE: Central | Northwest | Pacific