Middle of the Pack

Here are a look at the teams I have ranked from 6th to 10th place for the 2010-2011 NHL season.

6) Ottawa Senators
The biggest news out of Ottawa this year is that the thought to be disgruntled Jason Spezza didn't pull a Danny Heatley on the Sens this off-season. It looked as if Spezza had grown frustrated with the team and fan base as he was the target of the boo-birds at the end of the seasons. Turns out that this wasn't the case, and the cornerstone of the franchise will be back again for this year's campaign. In addition to retaining Spezza, the Sens brought in veteran defensemen Sergei Gonchar, who is always scary offensively from the blue line. Look for Nick Foligno to be primed for a break-out season this year. The Sens will remain a middle of the road, consistent team in 2010-2011. I have picked them to come in Second in the Northeast, but a distant second from the Bruins.

7) Buffalo Sabres
I apologize for being a bit harsh on the Buffalo Sabres, but how long can you rely on the league's best goaltender to carry a team with a mediocre roster at best. I think the whole 2009-2010 season was long enough, and the Sabres will slid back to the bottom of the playoff race in 2010-2011. Granted, Miller will still continue to be the league's best goaltender, but it will be a tough challenge to replicate his 41 win and 5 SO Vezina winning performance from last year. For one, their defense is suspect this season with the departure of both Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman. They did bring in both Jordan Leopold and Shaone Morrison. How quickly their new pairings develop chemistry will determine how successful this team can be. Tyler Myers is going to be a star defensemen, and perhaps this year he can put his stamp on the Northeast Division. Secondly, the play of the overpaid Vanek will go a long way towards this team's fate. I expect them to be in a battle for the last playoff position throughout the season.


8) Tampa Bay Lighting
The Capitals now have some competition for the Southeast Division crown...well not exactly. But hey, at least they might have 2 teams in the playoffs this year. The Steve Yzerman era has begun in sunny Tampa Bay, and the ex Red Wing has already put his stamp on the franchise. This team has a lot of top end talent in Lecavalier, St. Louis, Stamkos, Ryan Malone and Simon Gange. With just that list of talent, you would think that this team has a chance at being a contender this year... but not quite. They have the top level talent, but the supporting cast leaves a lot to be desired. The addition of Pavel Kubina and the maturation of Victor Hedman will do a lot to bolster their defensive core for years to come. The good news in Tampa is that they have a solid mix of veterans and younger talent and a lot of cap room this year as well as a majority of the role players having contracts that expire at the end of the season. This team is close, real close to being a serious contender in the Eastern Conference once again, but they may just be a year away, and that's why I take the safe pick and take them 8th.

9) Montreal Canadiens
Serioulsy? Price over Halak? Ok?!? I am going to chalk this one up to the salary cap era, that has to be the reason right? I don't know much about the prospects they got in return from St. Louis, and maybe they will help out down the road, but to me this move didn't make much sense. But what makes this move even more confusing is that the club has yet to sign Price for the current season. Essentially, this is the same exact team from last year, with the major addition being PK Suban most likely seeing more time on the NHL roster. He had a strong run in last year's playoffs and I am excited (is that the right word to use for a Canadien player, probably not)to see how he plays this year. The team that was just good enough this year won't have the same results finding themselves just out of the last spot.

10) New York Rangers
For a team that was a SO win on the last day of the season away from being in the playoffs, you would think that New York would be right in the thick of the playoff race again. And while they may be, the franchise continues to make questionable roster moves in the summer. Signing knuckle chucker Boogard to a 4 year deal worth 1.625 a year is a head scratcher to say the least. In the last 5 years, the often injured Boogard has played only 60+ games 1 time while recording a total of 14 points to an astounding 544 PIM. Whatever sells tickets I guess. The sad thing is, for a team with some serious cap issues, this money could and should have gone to re-siging Stall on the blueline. I do like the addition of Frolov, but this team needed something a bit more. I am beginning to feel bad for Lundquist who is routinely one of the best goalies in the league year after year. The dysfunctional family that is the New York Rangers will again fall short of the playoffs this year. Additionally, I am going to go out on a limb here and predict that Sean Avery will cause some sort of controversy this season... shocking and breaking news.