A playoff picture emerges from the summer's moves

If Mike Keenan whips Calgary's formidable talent into fighting trim, the Flames will be one of the top contenders in the West. AP

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Before everyone begins putting their fantasy teams together and making pre-season predictions, let's take stock of what has transpired this summer. After all, many teams made substantial moves both on the ice and behind the bench.

When it comes to coaching moves, Flames GM Darryl Sutter surprised many by giving Iron Mike Keenan the task of getting the most out of Calgary's impressive assemblage of parts. While Keenan's eighth NHL stop makes for an interesting storyline, the Flames' revamped blueline holds the key. Adrian Aucoin, Cory Sarich and Anders Ericksson will hopefully add dimensions that were lacking last season -- especially Sarich on the penalty kill.

In the other major coaching move, Sutter's brother Brent takes over in New Jersey. But with the Devils' eternally entrenched in their conservative brand of hockey and longtime assistants Larry Robinson and John MacLean in place -- not to mention the omnipotent presence of GM Lou Lamoriello (who is never shy about descending from the mount to take control behind the bench) -- what can Sutter really bring to bear? A harmonious locker room is paramount, including lessening Martin Brodeur's workload by at least one start per month. With veteran backup Kevin Weekes in the fold, that task doesn't sound like much, but Brodeur has always favored 70-plus starts as opposed to a number closer to 60.

Daunting as well for Sutter is the fact that the Devils lost much of their offensive luster with centerman Scott Gomez signing with the Rangers and defenseman Brian Rafalski bolting to Detroit. They were two of the bigger free agents on the move this summer, but strangely, Rafalski was the only big-name skater that switched conferences -- that's not counting Ryan Smyth's short tenure in the East with the Islanders. That the Rangers added Gomez and then Chris Drury while the Flyers likewise plucked Daniel Briere from the beleaguered Sabres will shift the balance of power within the conference. The already good Rangers are now the favorite to reach the Stanley Cup Final, and the Flyers are back in the playoff mix after a troublesome season of discontent. The Devils now face a much steeper climb.

When it comes to goaltenders, the two boldest moves saw inter-conference shuffling. The Maple Leafs landed Vesa Toskala from the Sharks and the Panthers upgraded substantially by getting Tomas Vokoun from Nashville. With the addition of Vokoun and the continued growth and development of young stars Jay Bouwmeester, Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton, the Panthers are a legitimate playoff contender for the first time in years.

It isn't surprising that some of the talent between the pipes went west-to-east, since the Western Conference was deeper and more experienced at that position. Overall, the West was stronger that the East last season, and that might hold true again when you consider that three Western teams that failed to make the playoffs have upgraded admirably. The Avalanche added Smyth up front and Scott Hannan on defense and now have to hope that Jose Theodore can provide the topflight goaltending he gave Montreal once upon a time.

In Chicago, Nik Khabibulin gives the Blackhawks quality in goal and they've added veterans Robert Lang and Kevyn Adams, as well as the enigmatic Sergei Samsonov up front. The future looks more hopeful for this perpetually downtrodden franchise when you consider that the Blackhawks have top blue chip prospects Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to potentially add to the attack as well. And the recently woeful Blues signed Paul Kariya to lead the way offensively and seemed to have bolstered their entire roster within the space of a year.

All told, both conferences have seen some significant re-shuffling of the cards. How teams play their hands remains to be seen, of course, but the likelihood of fresh faces in the playoff and Cup picture next spring is closer to certainty.