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 Southeast Division Hurricanes, Lightning and other natural disasters
Posted: Tuesday September 28, 1999 05:07 PM
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Ticker) -- The Carolina Hurricanes will try to overcome off-ice tragedy in their quest to repeat as Southeast Division champions. Power-play quarterback Steve Chaisson was killed in a one-car accident following a team party after the Hurricanes were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs. The franchise was making its first postseason appearance since 1992, when it was based in Hartford. The Hurricanes begin a new season with a new building and hopes of overcoming the emotional loss. The 19,000-seat Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena will be a welcome change for the 'Canes, who played before embarrassingly sparse crowds in Greensboro since moving from Hartford. Carolina likely will open their new building without captain Keith Primeau, whose continued to hold out well into training camp as he seeks a contract that will pay him at least $5 million per season. General Manager Jim Rutherford was offering around $4 million a year. In 1998-99, Primeau led the team with 30 goals, 62 points and nine power-play goals. Primeau's are not the only skates coach Paul Maurice must fill. Gone are right wings Kevin Dineen and Ray Sheppard, who combined for 33 goals last season. Until Primeau returns, Carolina will need more production from right wing Sami Kapanen and veteran center Ron Francis. Playing alongside Primeau, Kapanen was second on the team last season with 59 points. Francis, 36, was a disappointment in his first season on Tobacco Road with 21 goals and 31 assists, although he played all 82 games. Although thin on offense and toughness, the Hurricanes defense is a dependable unit with veterans Glen Wesley, Curtis Leschyshyn, Sean Hill and Dave Karpa combining with youngsters Marek Malik and Nolan Pratt. Goaltending gives the Hurricanes a chance to repeat. Arturs Irbe, last season's free-agent steal, is the No. 1 netminder with injury-prone Eric Fichaud serving as backup after Trevor Kidd left via expansion. The Florida Panthers are salivating over the prospect of a full season with superstar Pavel Bure. With Bure coming off another knee operation, coach Terry Murray protected his meal ticket by keeping the perennial All-Star out of preseason games. Murray has good reason. Bure played only 11 games with the Panthers last season but scored 13 goals, including a pair of hat tricks. A healthy Bure will be part of a first line that could include Viktor Kozlov and Ray Whitney. Two players with vast potential could be on the bubble this season. Rob Niedermayer is quickly running out of chances in Florida, while Radek Dvorak is showing signs of producing after a 43-point effort. Right wing Mark Parrish led all rookies with 24 goals last season but was not even nominated for the Calder Trophy after slumping down the stretch. Kidd ended up in South Florida, where he will team with Sean Burke to give the Panthers a goaltending tandem of ex-Hurricanes. Burke was 21-24-14 with a 2.66 GAA. Florida's defense should be a physical unit with free-agent acquisition Lance Pitlick joining Paul Laus. The presence of Bure should improve the Panthers' power play, which means better production from defenseman Robert Svehla. The Washington Capitals lost a league-high 511 man-games to injury last season and Capitals coach Ron Wilson knows his team has no chance unless that changes. "Sportswriters don't like to hear that excuse, but that's six regulars a game," Wilson said. "That's twice as many as anybody else." The Capitals took measures in an effort to limit injuries for the upcoming season. General manager George McPhee scheduled only seven preseason games, two fewer than normal. The team's trainer was fired and players were put on strict weight training programs during the offseason. "Stay healthy," Wilson said regarding his team's key to success. "If we were healthy last year, things would have been different."
Adam Oates remains one of the most talented playmakers in the league and this season inherits the captaincy from the retired Dale Hunter. Young snipers Jan Bulis and Yogi Svejkovsky could benefit from playing alongside Oates. Still, Peter Bondra will provide the bulk of Washington's scoring. Injuries limited him to 31 goals, but he should bounce back and hover near the 50-goal average he posted over the previous three seasons. The Capitals also are expecting big things from Richard Zednik, who signed a three-year $2.1 million contract on the eve of the season. Washington's defense remains solid. Sergei Gonchar somehow finished second on the team with 21 goals despite missing 29 games to a holdout and injuries. Calle Johansson and Joe Reekie provide a veteran presence, and Ken Klee is steady. Olaf Kolzig's numbers were disappointing to some people, including himself. Coming off a scorching 1998 postseason, Kolzig was 26-31-5 with a 2.58 GAA. Craig Billington replaces Rick Tabaracci as the veteran backup. The Sunshine State's other entry continues to rebuild with the familiar thought that it can't get much worse. After a dreadful 1997-98 season, the Tampa Bay Lightning won only 19 games and again finished last in the NHL. This season starts with new ownership, a new general manager and a new coach. Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson bought the team from Art Williams and plucked GM Rick Dudley from the Ottawa Senators. Dudley hired Steve Ludzik, who coached under him with the IHL's Detroit Vipers. Ludzik's first task is to instill confidence in a team that has posted just one winning record in its seven seasons. Finding some offense is another priority since the Lightning boast only one 20-goal scorer in Darcy Tucker. Two former No. 1 overall draft picks are on the roster, although Vincent Lecavalier has much more potential than Alexandre Daigle. Last season, the Lightning used six goalies. Three are gone and the starting nod should go to Dan Cloutier, who was 6-8-3 with a 2.68 GAA in a limited role with the New York Rangers. Cloutier should be busy while playing behind a defense that features a mix of veterans -- Petr Svoboda and Bill Houlder -- and younsters -- Pavel Kubina, Paul Mara and Andrei Zyuzin. Like the Lightning, the Atlanta Thrashers figure to have some long nights as hockey returns to the heart of Dixie. Rookie coach Curt Fraser knows offense will be hard to find on a first-year teams. Veterans Ray Ferraro and Nelson Emerson are former 20-goal scorers and will provide leadership along with former Edmonton Oilers captain Kelly Buchberger. Top overall draft pick Patrik Stefan is immensely talented, although questions continue to dog him after a pair of concussions limited him to 33 games with the IHL's Long Beach Ice Dogs last season. Like the Nashville Predators before them, the Thrashers built from goaltending out. Damian Rhodes was Atlanta's first acquisition after going 22-13-7 with a 2.44 GAA in Ottawa. The defense is a capable if slow unit featuring veterans Darryl Shannon, Kevin Dean, Gord Murphy and Chris Tamer. Enthusiasm abounds in Atlanta, which has been without hockey since the Flames left for Calgary in 1980, but this is a long-term project. The weakest division in the NHL again could send only one representative to the playoffs. The Hurricanes, Panthers and Capitals figure to battle it out, with a healthy Bure giving Florida the edge.
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