|
|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE | |
Four to the floor (again) Colorado, Dallas, Detroit and St. Louis pace the West
Stop us if you've heard this before ... With four legitimate contenders, the West is again apparently twice as strong as the two-team East. A couple of teams remain overmatched in the powerful Western Conference, despite their several changes. The Mighty Ducks continued to change their personnel, bolstering their blue line and hiring veteran Bryan Murray as bench boss. Anaheim, however, still sports a team that is generally too thin, too small, with few legitimate prospects. They have some fine position players scattered throughout their roster, but hardly enough to contend for much. Same view from Calgary where the Flames have a talented but very young blue line corps. They’ve added some veteran grinders, yet still possess little punch up front -- although they do have one of game’s best young power forwards in Jarome Iginla. The Flames -- like the Ducks -- have some pieces, but they hardly resemble a well-conceived team assembled according to a master plan. Then there are a couple of teams where the plan is clear although they are in transition. Still, enthusiasm should abound in Phoenix, where a young, balanced up-tempo attack and team approach replaces the selfish, self-centered atmosphere created by the Coyotes' two former stars Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk. Goaltender Sean Burke must repeat his career season for the team to compete this year, but either way, the desert dogs are going to be exciting to watch. Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks are looking to complete their transition as a top echelon team. They should make the move to being a legitimate top-five team in the NHL. That final step is based on meshing Teemu Selanne’s return to prolific goal-scorer status; no sophomore slump by netminder Evgeni Nabokov; the continued development of blueliners Brad Stuart and Scott Hannan and the addition of Jeff Jillson to that youthful mix. The Shark Tank will reverberate this season, as the Sharks’ mix of veterans and maturing twenty-something nucleus has never been better.
Unlike the newer franchises -- where the answers are clear despite their best efforts -- questions abound in the wild-card cities of LA, Edmonton and Vancouver. After their improbable late-season surge and playoff performance, Kings fans have to wonder about the Robitaille shuffle -- Randy for Luc, who was possibly the most popular player in franchise history. More critically, who will emerge from the flock of three flawed netminders to provide consistency? And if the departure of Lucky Luc left an offensive void in LA, how much will the Oilers miss Doug Weight? Further, can anyone else perform effectively in goal other than Tommy Salo? Along those lines, who will stop the puck for the Canucks and can the young forwards continue to progress and produce in Marc Crawford’s offense by committee? Interesting scenarios that will certainly influence conference seedings come April. One team that doesn’t figure to impact the balance of power is the Chicago Blackhawks. Their organizational direction appears as muddled as it has for the past several seasons. Last year they hired a European coach to direct their decidedly Euro-tinged lineup. This season, at the helm is hard-nosed, salt-of-the-earth bench boss Brian Sutter, whose motto in every situation is "work harder, work harder, work harder". Given the Blackhawks recent penchant for decidedly uneven efforts from night to night, let’s just say something has to give this season in the Windy City. That leaves the Fantastic Four -- with Detroit, Dallas and St. Louis all chasing the Avalanche. Detroit made the boldest, star-grabbing off-season moves -- adding Dominik Hasek in goal and Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull up front. The Red Wings just might prove to be the most effective collection of over-30-year-olds since the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup. The difference? Those oldie-but-goodie Leafs only needed to endure two rounds of the postseason compared to the four facing Hockeytown’s collection of Hall of Fame heroes. Dallas restocked their lineup with veterans as well, most notably Pierre Turgeon and Donald Audette. It’s an odd and confusing mix right now by adding a third offensive centerman in Turgeon and a no-check one-dimensional winger in Audette -- exactly the type of player coach Ken Hitchcock typically battles with. Playing in a new building and being part of the Pacific Division will mask their vulnerability early, but the Stars inclusion in the league’s elite is fading. While the Wings, Stars and Avalanche have collectively claimed five of the last six Stanley Cups, the Blues haven’t even been to the conference finals. They have been included in this group based on regular-season success and potential. Yet, the many moves made by the Blues still has them aging and vulnerable on the blue line and unproven in goal. Instead of offense by committee, with a balanced attack fueled by youthful skaters, they will rely heavily on the all-American line of Keith Tkachuk-Doug Weight-Scott Young. In shipping many young legs out of town, they lost depth and speed. After all the maneuvering, the Blues may actually be further from the top than they were 12 months ago. These major retooling projects will make for interesting and heightened competition, but Colorado remains the top team, even with the losses of Ray Bourque and Peter Forsberg Why? Because they still have the best talent-mix and balance. Yes, they have the big three covering each position: Patrick Roy in goal, Rob Blake on the blue line and Joe Sakic on the front lines. What sets them apart, though, is the contribution of their younger players -- Chris Drury, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, Dan Hinote, Ville Niemenen, Steve Reinprecht and Martin Skoula. They are all integral to the bottom line -- winning. Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
