New York Rangers - difficult times ahead

Goaltending: One of the few things that were looking good for the Rangers was the goalie situtaton. However after the expansiondraft that changed drastically. Cloutier left and now only Richter remains. Richter is a star keeper so the Rangers have no problems at the moment but looking behind him we only find Jamie Ram. Rangers only own two keepers which means that sooner or later they will have to get themselves a third keeper so they won't have to forfeit games due to injuries. Richter is one of the three cornerstones of the Rangers franchise but maybe for the sake of the future of Rangers they need to trade him...

Defence: Defensive play has been the trade mark for the Rangers in the past. They have had pretty solid defence and a lot of defensive forwards. This year the defence looks less impressive then ever before. Leetch is still there and so is Krupp. Also Samulelsson and Karpovtsev are decent looking but after them it looks very bleak. With Lidster recently gone it looks as if Blouin will make the team and that's even worse then the Sabres. Leetch, Krupp and Samulesson are still good but they are also aging and their game has been going down slowly but surely. Krupp has been rumoured to leave and that might be a smart move.

Offense: Last year only a few players contributed to the Rangers' offense. The Rangers was probably the only team in which a defender won the scoring race. Gretzky is still here. Sundstrom is still here. But Lindbom who finished 4th in Rangers' point league has left the club for play in Europe. The Rangers are extremely thin on offense and extremely old. Gretzky, Graves and Keane are the stars with May as a supporting star. Sundstrom is the only young player of class and maybe he will be the future franchise player for the Rangers. Besides these five player the Rangers have nothing up front. In the past they have had defensive stars to eliminate the other teams better players but Otto left for Colorado and Skrudland was given up in the waiverdraft... This must be the weakest troop and especially offense in the Eastern Conference. Even the Sabres look better. Especially future wise!

Overall: This looks like a hard time for the former greats from New York. With so few players of skills. With so few prospects. With so few things looking in the Rangers' favor the Rangers might very well finish deadlast in the Eastern Conference. Only thing that could save them is superb play from Richter but the question is how much one man can accomplish.

Florida Panthers - not enough killer instinct in the animals

Goaltending: In the past years the franchise of Panthers have been known for one thing: John VanBiesbrouck. In the offseason they traded him away for Sean Burke and by the looks of it, this will hurt the team. However, behind Burke the Panthers have a pretty good back up in Jimmy Waite. In a couple of years Waite will take over from Burke and then this franchise will once again have the strong keeper they have been renowned for.

Defence: This years edition of Panthers' defence look very weak. Olausson is the star with Laus as his sidekick and that pretty much says it all. The rest of the defenders are bad if not very bad. This and the fact that they have Burke in goal instead of Beezer makes this looking like a very bad year for the Panthers. Mertzig and Crowley are the future for the Panthers but this year they will have a rough time.

Offense: Unlike the defence the the offense of Panthers looks pretty good. They lack major stars but instead they have plenty of solid looking players. They have 8 or 9 players that are pretty good with the leaders being Murray, Drake, Harvey & Lindsay. Last years scorinwinners for the Panthers were Gagner and Muller are also here together with the major prospect Jokkinen. The only problem for the Panthers is that they have no real passer nor a real scorer. Drake and Harvey is the duo that probably could contribute but as they play on the same wing it looks unlikely that they will play togehter. The age is also worrying for the Panthers as many of the influential and dominating players are getting of age.

Overall: This year the Panthers strenght is in the offense, unlike their past years and it will be interesting watching how the players willcope with this drastic transition in style of hockey. With no stars to turn to and without their past gamewinner Beezer it looks to become a very hard year for the Panthers.

New York Islanders - no Nedved this year to help...

Goaltending: The keeper situation for the Isles looks pretty good. As starting keeper they have Stephane Fiset, who only seems to be better and better. They have a decent back up in Wregget + a couple of other keepers. Fiset will be one of the stars of this New Yorkian side. In the battle for New York Fiset will have a cool battle with Richter.

Defence: The defence of Isles looks half decent but more then anything it looks offensive. Four of the probable six starting defenders are better offensivly then defensivly. Housley, Galley and Ellet are the best they've got and also the oldest. The age is interesting part of this is that in former years the Isles have been all about youth but this off season they went after veterans. The powerplay should be better for them this year but the PK unit looks weak.

Offence: Without Nedved in the line up this year the Isles will have problems up front but they do have some interesting names. Beranek, Ronning, Richer and McCarty. But the main star is of course Sergei Samsonov. With Nedved gone he will get all the ice time he wants so expect him to set new records for the franchise. With the additions of a couple of veterans like Ronning, Bellows and Fitzgerald they brought in experience and leadership into the team. These veterans will help to mold the youth of the franchise and there are still plenty of prospects left in the Islanders. Especially Thornton is looking to finally get a breakthrough. Despite him winning the Calder Trophy year one he never shone last year and this year he will look to bring himself back to the top.

Overall: In the first two years the Islanders have won the Calder Trophy for the best rookie. Thornton in year one, despite being outshined by Samsonov who was brutally overlooked, and Brown last year. However this year the rookies of Isles don't look as good as they have had before. Islanders have never made the playoffs and with at least five teams better in the North East division alone the Isles will probably have to wait another year at least before climbing up the ladder...

Tampa Bay Lightning - Bolts looking to strike

Goaltending: Felix Potvin is the starter and that is great for the Bolts, as Potvin is still young. Hopefully for their sake he will be traded in the NHL soon or his ratings might drop by a whole deal next year, but that seems unlikely. Behind Potvin isn't exactly a lot so the Bolts better pray for an injury free season for Potvin.

Defence: The Bolt's defence is one of the most interesting ones in the league, They have some major stars there like Malakhov, MacInnis and Niinimaa. Also McLaren and Smehlik are in the club, making it one of the best defences in the league. This defence and Potvin in goal makes this one hard team to score upon! Good fefensivly sure, but with Malakhov and MacInnis in the team they will have one hell of a powerplay. Also a couple of prospects in the club makes the future look good for the club. Jackman especially will be interesting to watch.

Offence: The offence of Bolts isn't as impressive as their defence but it still is good. Bondra is the great team leader and he will rack up a lot of points. Rucinsky is his main sidekick but others can produce too. Smolinski, Carter and Smyth will be counted upon to score a few of their own. What makes this a fun team to watch develop are their rookies. Drury and Fata especially will be great fun to watch develop.

Overall: With their great defence and a great goalkeeper the Bolts will win many games. Bondra up front will score his share of the goals but it's really up to the defence to provide him with the right passes. The one weakness one can spot is that Bolt's offence lack players that can take responsibilty defensivly. Their PK looks weak and with an offensive defence and an overly offensive offence they might be punished by teams that have patience.

Philadelphia Flyers - now without Lindros

Goaltending: Keeperwise the Flyers look pretty set. In Roy they have a given starter. Roy had a bad year last year in Philadelphia but now that he has spent all off season training with the team hopefully Roy will pick up his play into the standrad we got used to before he signed for the Flyers. Behind him there used to be Turek, but he was snatched by the Flyers in the Free Agency. Now, the back up job looks to go to rookie Manny Legace. In Legace and Boucher they have two major prospects so even if Roy is getting older the future still looks good for the Flyers.

Defence: The strenght of the Flyers this year will be their defence. With Roy in goal and in front of him players like Zubov, Zhitnik, Hamrlik, Desjardins and McCabe it will be hard for other teams to score upon Flyers. Behind them also Lumme, Richardson and Heward await chances to get some ice time. With the defenders being young the future for the Flyers looks great defending wise.

Offence: In past years the offence has been about the duo Lindros-LeClair. With Lindros gone LeClair hasn't found a new partner in scoring. The problem for Flyers isn't lack of stars but the lack of depth. Francis, Recchi, Guerin and Pallfy are the other stars and Langenbrunner, Kozlov, Dawe and McAmmond make up the checking players. The few prospects that Flyers look forward to anytime soon are Brylin and Aalto who are getting more and more ice time in NHL. With the exeption of Francis the team looks pretty young, but the lack of a star center was evident in last years playoffs. Wingers just didn't seem to be enough to win games for the Flyers last year.

Overall: Flyers need to get themselves a better 1st line center. Preferably also a good 2nd line center too at the expence of their wingers or their defence. Otherwise the team looks good but with last years early exit in the playoffs and with unispiring play in the pre season nobody really knwos where the Flyers stand.

New Jersey Devils - on their way to the top

Goaltending: Brodeur. Nothing more is needed to be said. In Brodeur they have one of the top 2, maybe top 3 goaltenders in the world. And not only that. Behind him they have Thibault as a back up. This makes the Devils probably the best set team goalie wise not only in the Eastern Conference but also the whole of LML.

Defence: Not only do the Devils have a great goalie but they also have a great defence in front of him. Stevens, Niedermayer, Redden, Mironov and youngster Derek Morris make up a great defensive core. The downside to the franchise is the lack of number of defenders in the club. They have the least number of players in the Confernce which makes the ma little sensitive to injuries even though it would take a hell of a lot for them to get so many injuries it would actually hurt them.

Offence: The team has developed and developed nicely. Holik is now a great center, Rucchin and Zezel back him up on center position. Rolston, Khristich, McKay and Thomas make up the star wingers. It's especially the depth behind these players that make the Devils look hard to beat. That and the fact that the stars  are all hardworking make the Devils look very sharp indeed this year.

Overall: The Devils are looking forward to this year and it's easy to understand why. Great depth spiced up with stars up front. Stars in numbers in defence plus Brodeur in goal makes the Devils look stronger then ever. They are also hungry for succes, they have yet to get past the first playoff round. This year they should pass that easily.

Washington Capitals - now with Jagr

Goaltending: Ron Hextall is the starter and this looks to be the only questionmark for the Caps. Is Hextall good enough to bring home the gold? Doubtfully, but maybe a trade will change this later on. As a back up they have Ranford, who last year set a record in wins per year! Problem for the Caps is that they also lack a real prospect in goal.

Defence: The defence of Caps isn't as impressive as the one of the Devils or the Flyers but it's still good. Johansson and Gonchar are the leaders backed by Eriksson, Salei and Reekie. Two of these players are young and promising while the others have seen their glory days. The defensive aspect of the game is the questionmark for the Caps. Hextall behind this defence is what might bring the Caps down.

Offence: The offence of Caps looks like heaven. They have two pair of dous in the first and second line that are good enough to get them the gold. In the first line they have Sundin and Jagr!! In the second they have the old duo Oates and Hull! Behind these four major stars the Caps a pack of players ready to fight. Malhorta is especially exiting.What's great for the Caps is that they will get a great PK unit as well as a killer powerplay! In pre season Caps showed what we can expect... domination.

Overall:  The offence is the key to succes. The defence and goalkeeping might be what brings Caps down. Sunind and Jagr will be one of the most exiting duos in LML's history and maybe, just maybe, they will bring home the gold to Washington.

Atlantic Division - time for revenge

Goaltending: Potvin, Roy, Brodeur, Richter, Fiset and Burke. The goaltenders look great. Especially the first three look incredible. Goalie wise the Atlantic has actually taken a step forward in the evolutionary scale.

Defence: Leetch, Krupp, Housley, Malakhov, MacInnis, Niinimaa, Hamrlik, McCabe, Zhitnik, Zubov, Stevens, Niedermayer, Mironov, Redden and Johansson. The list just goes on and on. The defence could possibly be the best in the LML.

Offense: Gretzky, Samsonov, Bondra, Rucinsky, Holik, LeClair, Francis, Recchi, Guerin, Pallfy, Sundin, Hull and Jagr. The talent seems to have thinned out a little but the best still look impressive. A first line with Sundin, LeClair and Jagr would be cool to watch!

Overall: It looks as if North East gained a little on the Atlantic. Even though North East won everything last year the Atlantic was better in the regular season and this scenario will most likely to be the same this year round. If one would guess over the finished positions in the East then maybe they would look like this:

1. Capitals

2. Devils

3. Flyers

4. Hurricane

5. Lightning

6. Penguins

7. Canadiens

8. Maple Leafs

9. Bruins

10. Islanders

11. Panthers

12. Senators

13. Sabres

14. Rangers

That would mean that the reigning champions wouldn't even make the playoffs! So either this is one screwed up table, one screwed up writer or maybe the Bruins just really lucked out last year...