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The goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings may change, but the goal remains the same - winning the Stanley Cup.
The Red Wings fell far short of that last season, losing to Anaheim in four straight first-round games. That set off a soap opera that began when Dominik Hasek decided to come out of retirement, forcing the Red Wings to pick up his $8 million option. It also put Curtis Joseph in a difficult position. With a no-trade clause in his contract, Joseph could have refused to leave. He also underwent ankle surgery and missed training camp, but Detroit did not protect him in the waiver draft.
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Joseph has two years and $16 million left on his contract, making him less attractive
to cost-conscious teams. But that's a group that does not include archrival
Colorado. The Red Wings already had a solid defense, with Nicklas Lidstrom and
Chris Chelios combining for six Norris Trophies. Then they added hometown boy
Derian Hatcher, a Norris finalist last season, to the mix. Ticketmaster
"He's a guy that we wanted to add a dimension to our hockey team, especially since we lost Vladimir Konstantinov," Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. "He'll be a physical presence."
The Red Wings will need Hasek to be "The Dominator" of old and the defense to play up to expectations since their offense took a big hit. Leading scorer Sergei Fedorov spurned Detroit's contract offer and signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. That, along with captain Steve Yzerman's shift to wing and the departure of Igor Larionov, means Detroit suddenly is very young up the middle. Third-year center Pavel Datsyuk likely will center the No. 1 line. Calder Trophy runner-up Henrik Zetterberg will move back to his natural center spot and 19-year-old rookie Jiri Hudler is expected to make the team. Veteran Kris Draper is back to center the "Grind Line."
Most of the scoring will have to come from Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull and newcomer Ray Whitney. The Red Wings still have all the ingredients for a championship, plus a little history on their side. "We hope that history repeats itself," right wing Darren McCarty said. "The last time we went out in the first round, we won the Cup next year." Ticketmaster
Another team that experienced a postseason crash after a stellar regular season was the St. Louis Blues. After taking a three games to one series lead, the Blues lost to Vancouver in depressing fashion. That depression usually has occurred when the Blues face the Red Wings - they have won just two of the last 15 meetings with their division rivals. But Holland called St. Louis "a very good hockey club."
The best news for coach Joel Quenneville is that he will have star defenseman Chris Pronger healthy from the start of the season. Pronger, who missed all but five games last season with wrist and knee injuries, returned the captaincy to Norris Trophy finalist Al MacInnis. Calder Trophy winner Barret Jackman rounds out the top three on a defense that also includes Alex Khavanov, Bryce Salvador, Jeff Finley and Christian Laflamme. Scoring will come from Pavol Demitra, who posted a career-high 90 points, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Scott Mellanby, Dallas Drake, Petr Cajanek and rookie Peter Sejna.
As always, goaltending will be the main issue in St. Louis. Chris Osgood, who won a Stanley Cup with Detroit six years ago, enters the season as the No. 1 goaltender. After coming over from the New York Islanders before the trade deadline, he went 4-3-2 with a 3.05 goals-against average. Brent Johnson, the Blues' former No. 1, is poised to reclaim his job. He was an inconsistent 16-13-5 with a 2.47 GAA. If Osgood can return to form, St. Louis will have a chance to close out a playoff series. Ticketmaster
Guess which team is on the clock for longest time between Stanley Cup championships? It's the Chicago Blackhawks, who have not lifted the silver chalice since 1961. That drought is not likely to end this season.
"Our division will be tough," coach Brian Sutter cautioned. "St. Louis made changes. They are not happy about last year's playoffs. But they will have Pronger from day one. All the teams that just missed the playoffs in our conference will be better. It will take the low 90s to make it and we have to be better at home, not a game or two over .500."
Jocelyn Thibault is coming off his first All-Star appearance but tends to wear down late in the season. Michael Leighton, 22, was 2-3-2 with a 2.82 GAA and .913 save percentage in eight games but needs to see more action to give Thibault a rest. There already was a lot of pressure on Thibault since he can't expect a lot of help from his defense. Steve Poapst was the only regular defenseman to finish with a plus rating, but he's not a prototypical No. 1. Neither is Jon Klemm, who is forced into those situations anyway. Ticketmaster
Alexander Karpovtsev has to stay healthy for a change. The Blackhawks will count on Eric Daze, Alexei Zhamnov, Steve Sullivan, Tyler Arnason, Kyle Calder and perhaps rookie Tuomo Ruutu for offense. But for Chicago fans hoping for an elusive championship, it is likely to be a very long season.
If the Nashville Predators stay healthy, get lucky and unearth a few surprises this season, they finally may make their first playoff appearance. Goalie Tomas Vokoun has to play at least as well as he did last season, when he was 25-31-11 with a 2.20 GAA and .918 save percentage. His play was so good that Nashville traded away Mike Dunham.
Most of the question marks for this team are on defense, where the Predators lost four of their top seven to free agency. They still have Kimmo Timonen, who will play in every situation, and veteran Jason York. Tomas Kloucek, 23, has to avoid injuries and improve his consistency. Marek Zidlicky, who played in the Finnish Elite League last season, also will get a look, as will former first-round pick Dan Hamhuis.
On offense, David Legwand was having a career season until he broke his collarbone and missed the final month. That helped contribute to a season-ending 15-game winless streak.
Scott Hartnell, Denis Arkhipov, Scott Walker, Andreas Johansson, Greg Johnson, Adam Hall and Vladimir Orszagh comprise the rest of a group of largely blue collar forwards who have to work for everything they get.
"Our young guys have to produce over 82 games," coach Barry Trotz said. "It is one thing for them to make it to the NHL, it is another thing to stay here."
Quite a bit has to go right for Nashville to make it to the postseason, but stranger things have happened.
The Blue Jackets have a chance, albeit slim, to make their first playoff appearance. But many things would have to fall into place for them to follow the lead of their expansion brethren, the Minnesota Wild.
One thing already in place is goaltending. Marc Denis appeared in 77 games last season, setting a record for minutes played by a goalie. He went 27-41-8 with a 3.09 GAA and a respectable .903 save percentage.
Former Blue Fred Brathwaite will back up Denis and hopefully leave him fresher for the end of the season.
On defense, Columbus acquired 12-year veteran Darryl Sydor, who will add a lot to a group that includes Jaroslav Spacek, Luke Richardson, Scott Lachance and former first-round pick Rostislav Klesla.
"Our puck-moving ability is better coming out of our own end, so obviously you spend a lot less time in there," Blue Jackets president, general manager and coach Doug MacLean said. "With Sydor and (Duvie) Westcott and Spacek, the way they are moving the puck, it really helps the defensive zone."
Up front, the Blue Jackets let leading scorer Ray Whitney leave for division-rival Detroit. MacLean signed speedy Todd Marchant, who could find himself centering a line with former first-round pick Rick Nash.
The line of Geoff Sanderson, Andrew Cassels and David Vyborny should remain intact and the rest of the forwards include former All-Star Espen Knutsen, Tyler Wright, Lasse Pirjeta, newcomer Trevor Letowski and perhaps first-round pick Nikolai Zherdev.
If Columbus has any chance to make the playoffs, it will have to play better defense and play better away from home. Only Atlanta gave up more goals last season and no one won fewer road games.