Insane Atlantic!
Posted 5:45 PM ET | Comments 15
A lot has been happening in the hockey world over the past few weeks. Many signings that will set the direction of clubs for some time as long contracts seem to be the off season flavor.
The Islanders have been making waves by signing Guerin, Fedetenko, Sim, Comrie, Sutton, and Vasicek. This is a major overhaul for a club that squeezed into the show last year and is looking to go to the next level. It may not be so easy....
With the Atlantic Division gearing up for a Cup run, it is hard to imagine that all the clubs in the Atlantic will make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However with the aforementioned players along with Briere, Drury, and Gomez relocated it seems that the competition will be amazing in the division this year.
The Devils look like the ones who may be left behind, however with new coaching and Lou in the front office, the Dev's may surprise everyone. It will be interesting!
See more at yodingdong.com
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The Islanders have been making waves by signing Guerin, Fedetenko, Sim, Comrie, Sutton, and Vasicek. This is a major overhaul for a club that squeezed into the show last year and is looking to go to the next level. It may not be so easy....
With the Atlantic Division gearing up for a Cup run, it is hard to imagine that all the clubs in the Atlantic will make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However with the aforementioned players along with Briere, Drury, and Gomez relocated it seems that the competition will be amazing in the division this year.
The Devils look like the ones who may be left behind, however with new coaching and Lou in the front office, the Dev's may surprise everyone. It will be interesting!
See more at yodingdong.com
<img src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_k...opbannergif.gif">
It's going to be a hell of a division. Hopefully, the Flyers can survive in it. I'm not so sure about the Islanders, but I'm not sure about the Devils either. I think Lou and his crew are due for a bad season (lots of rhymes, haha). This might be the first year since 1995 where either the Devils or the Flyers have not won the Atlantic. Pretty crazy to think about that!
I am not so sure there is anything that can be called a sure thing in the Atlantic. Yes, the Rangers and Flyers signed the big names, the Devils are always in it, and Pittsburgh looks real tough too. But the Isles have IMPROVED their lineup this year line 1 through 4. It should be a real interesting fight, and I bet 4 of 5 teams (maybe even 5) get in the 2nd season.
hey guys, this is my first post on here- not to make it a "glass half empty" one, but even as a diehard isles fan, i still see the rangers coming out on top of us this year, barring any injuries on their part. yes, we did improve our overall team, but the rangers took their team to another level in getting drury and gomez. they already have a solid goalie, and with the offensive depth that they just added to their team, that offense could overload some of the weaker eastern teams. i don't consider us weak by any stretch. we should be a solid team, with accomplished, talented veterans, and athletic, improving youngsters. however, i think on paper, and fearfully, in games the rangers may have an edge on us. complete faith in nolan though, to prove again that it's all about proving the doubters wrong, getting the most out of his guys, and outworking the "better" teams
It's too bad the Sens couldn't resign Comrie, he seemed like he really enjoyed playing there. Nonetheless, he's going to make a great 1st centre with the Isles.
I just cant wait for hockey season!!!!!
Fact is, if the Rangers don't do it this year, they won't be doing it for another 5. After this season, the following will be UFAs. Kasparitis, Mara, Malik, Shanahan, Rozsival, Prucha and Avery, with Lundqvidst being a RFA by the time 08 hits. Granted, they could probably benefit from getting rid of Malik...but that's now my opinion interjecting.
Frank, Prucha has 2 years in his contract, Lundqvist will be resigned in January possibly along with Avery, Kasperitis hasn't played in th NHL now for awhile so he doesn't even fit into the equation. Rozival should be a priority to resign, but even if he isn't the Rangers are set to be a competitive young team with the wealth of talent in Hartford. With the talent that some of these kids have and Drury and Gomez at the helm with Lundqvist, thisteam should be competitive for a while.
Pittsburgh, Rangers, Philly, Devils, Isles, those are my predictions for the Atlantic, not saying that the islanders don't have a good team, because they do, but they're gonna be buried in their division
Guys, do you honestly think Briere is going to make that much of a difference for the Flyers? They still have issues with their goaltending too. I see the division panning out as: Pittsburgh, Rangers, Isles, Flyers, Devils. The division is going to be sick this year. No doubt about that.
Puck082, I hope you're not saying Briere is the only reason the team got better. The Gagne/Briere/Knuble line is going to be sick, but the Flyers have added a lot more than a good top line this offseason. If Biron is solid, they will be fine, although I'm sure they'll run into trouble in the postseason. I see the Flyers 3rd in the division behind the Devils and Isles, whatever order that may come in.
I mean ahead of the Devils and Isles
No I agree they did get better with other aquisitions, I just feel they are a year or two away from being more of a contender.The NYI definitely have their work cut out for them and probably aren't as strong as last year but they still have a shot to get 90-95 pts and sneak in the playoffs again. Flyers had a tough season to overcome but things can only get better for them. Like I said, this division is going to be sick this year.
I laugh at everyone who thinks the Devils will be bad this season. They may have lost Gomez and Rafalski, but they also signed Zubrus, Rachunek, Vishnevski, Weekes, and Asham. They were one of the smallest teams last year, so this year they will be a lot bigger. Also Parise will have a all star season. Last season Broduer played to many games, that would not be the same this season with Weekes as his backup. Gomez was not that big of a hit for the Devils. He only had around 30 points last years, the same number as Zubrus. The big hit was Rafaski. However they now have a coach who is good with young players and Sutter will mold Martin and Greene into better players than Rafalski will ever be. They may not win first in the division, but they will be either second or third.
I agree, Puck082. I think every team in this division has their work cut out for them in one way or another, not to mention playing against the rest of the teams in the Atlantic. I would love nothing more, though, than to have 5 great teams in this division and witness some incredible hockey.
psstars, as a Devil fan you should know that Gomez had 60 points, that's double what you said. Granted he did not score much, but you are out of your mind if you think Zubrus will be just as good at setting people up. Look, I agree that Devs will be competitive and could make the playoffs, but they will certainly drop in standings. Think about it - Weeks (who I think was a good addition to your team) will play about 15 games, and win about 60% of them. That's 7 more loses, given everything else is the same, which it's not. 14 points less than last year, at least.