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"Mike's Random Musings about hockey"
West Lafayette, IN • United States • 21 Years Old • Male
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Hope everyone had a good weekend. Today I want to tell you 5 teams I'm excited to see this upcomming season.

<h3>5. St. Louis Blues</h3>
After two dismal seasons, the Blues are going to attempt to turn it around this season. After making key additions, I believe the Blues will be headed on the right path this season. GM John Davidson has done a spectacular job of building this team. He has talent galore on this team including Paul Kariya, Doug Weight, and Keith Tkachuck. Also he has a great goaltender in Manny Legace and former Bruins goaltender Hannu Toivonen who may be the backup this year. Look for this team to be in the thick of the race with a more competitive Central division this year. Don't be suprised if they slip into the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed.

<h3>4. Calgary Flames</h3>
The Calgary Flames have a great team. Unfortunately, last season the Flames were unable to defeat the Red Wings in the first round. Mostly their lack of discipline during that series was the reason for their downfall. With that being said the Flames management decided to bring the notorious Mike Keenan back to the NHL. Keenan, known for his strict nature, tends to make teams play well. However, Keenan has failed to see success in the playoffs since his Stanley Cup win with the Rangers in 1994. I expect the Flames to be a 4 or 5 seed, and should be a tough opponent all season.

<h3>3. Boston Bruins</h3>
This may be a suprising team this upcomming season. Now that the Bruins have finally signed an established goaltender. This time, they can't give up on a young goaltender! Also with a maturing squad, the Bruins could be contenders this year. They are in a rough division where they will be seeing the Sabres and Senators a lot. The only problem this team will have making the playoffs will be beating out the other Atlantic division teams. This will be an exciting year for the Bruins, and will probably considered a success if they can muster 80-90 points.

<h3>2. Anaheim Ducks</h3>
I wouldn't be suiprised to see the ducks contend for the Stanley Cup again, because they have re-loaded with more talent. With additions such as Todd Bertuzzi and Matthieu Schneider, the Ducks will again be a gritty defensive squad. The team is solid on every front. To defeat the Ducks it will take a lot of discipline. Even with the loss of Dustin Penner, the Ducks will not lose a lot. They will not be as much of a scoring threat as they were this past season, but they will still be able to be a threat. They should be able to easily take their division, however this team will rack up the penalty minutes. This team will be great again, and may be an early favorite to win the west.

<h3>1. New York Rangers</h3>
This roster is stacked! With the additions they made this off-season, the Rangers triggered an arms race in the Atlantic division. However, I believe the Rangers may have made the best moves. They picked up Sabres captain Chris Drury, nd long-time Devils cetner Scott Gomez. In addition, the Rangers solidified their line-up re-signing Brendan Shanahan, Steve Avery, and Henrik Lundqvist. Jaromir Jagr will continue to lead this team. and hopefully to a Stanley Cup. Other key players will play a large role in the team's success include: Martin Straka, Michal Rozsival, and Marcel Hossa. This team to me seems set up for a Stanley Cup run, and this is the first time in years I can honestly say that.

<h3>Final Thoughts</h3>
The Rangers and Flyers have their teams pretty much locked up for the next two years, so they better like their teams I guess. In Glen Sather's case, he should be very pleased with what he has, because his team will be very competitive this year, if not in great shape to take a stab at the Stanley Cup. If there is one thing that could send the NHL into the mainstream without ridicule it would be a Stanley Cup victory by the New York Rangers.
Filed Under:   blue jackets   blues   flames   bruins   ducks   rangers  
August 13, 2007 5:15 PM ET | Delete
OK StLouis may contend for the playoffs that it, Funny how you don't have Washington (which has Ovechkin and Nylander) and Pittsburgh. And when has Marcel Hossa ever been great??? No Philly with the new pairing or Briere and Gagne (which will be more successful then forsberg and gagne)Anyway only team I'm excited to watch is Montreal Canadiens (Big reason is because Hockey is starting to suck, 3/4 of the hockey games out there are just a big bore with no meaning to any hockey game, no hitting, and no fighting, makes for a boring hockey for me.) NOTE I SAID BORING HOCKEY FOR ME. Some games are fun to watch, but 99% of the hockey games that are exciting are not because of hitting and fighting (considering there is no more) it's all because of goaltending and scoring.
August 13, 2007 6:17 PM ET | Delete
here's a thought: The flames for the cup. If we go by historical trends, The last two teams to win the cup have been finalists for it three seasons before. That means...Oh wait, The oilers In 2 years? forget I said anything.
August 13, 2007 6:59 PM ET | Delete
honestly, how do you not have the penguins on that list...but the blues?????????
August 13, 2007 11:57 PM ET | Delete
Give the Wild the cup in 2008 or 2009 To Risebroughs credit he has been patient growing his roster. It looks like his patience has paid off as the Wild now have some young stars like James Sheppard, Benoit Pouliott, and Petr Kalus (acquired from Boston for Manny Fernandez) to go along with a strong veteran cast of players. Risebroughs biggest accomplishment recently was the acquisition of Nicolas Backstrom, the goalie that shocked the league last year with his incredible play in the nets. To put it plain and simple you have to ask yourself how long is it reasonable for two Hockey Icons like Lemaire and Risebrough to have to wait to win the Stanley cup ?? I personally think that it could happen for the Wild this year, but if it's not this year it absolutely will be in 2009
August 14, 2007 8:18 AM ET | Delete
Sabres baby ...Sabres
August 14, 2007 9:34 AM ET | Delete
Interesting blog. I agree with your comments re: Calgary. I find it hard to describe Legace and Toivonen as giving the Blues "great" goaltending, while they will be a better team, I still think the Blues will miss the playoffs. I agree for the most part about what you said about Anaheim, although I think San Jose will take the division. However, the Ducks are built for playoff success, and may very well win the West again. While Ferandez will certainly help the B's, this team will still struggle to score goals and their depth on defense is pretty weak. In a conference where a lot of teams have improved, I see little, if any, chance of the Bruins making the playoffs. I agree with most of what you said re the Rangers. Where they may have problems is with depth up front and experience on D. Couple that with the fact that they have little room to make deals due to cap issues, I see a team that could wear down as the playoffs progress, especially since Jagr usually seems to wilt as the games get more physical. Finally I think three other teams that have improved and should be a lot of fun to watch are Philly, Pittsburgh and Colorado. The Flyers should be the most improved team in the league and if Biron can do the job in goal, they could be a dark horse in the East. The Pens young stars will only be better and the additions of Sykora and Sydor will only help, and Colorado has improved themselves greatly with the adds of Hannan and Smyth and if they can talk Forsberg into returning at some point during the season, and he can play at his best, they could be a powerhouse.
August 14, 2007 2:18 PM ET | Delete
where is the thorntons sharks. i mean seriously are u not interested in how we will own everyone in our league.
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