2014-15 Outlook: Atlantic Division

Today we begin out previews of the entire league with a look at how the Atlantic Division will finish.

Meet The New Divisions: Atlantic Division

Today, we kick off our countdown to the beginning of the new NHL season by taking a look at each of the new divisions. The divisions are Atlantic, Metropolitan, Pacific, and Central. In these posts, we will predict the order of finish from the teams within the division while giving you a little rundown of each squad.

NHL 2013 Preview: Atlantic Division

5. New York Islanders-In a division that is very top heavy, the New York Islanders won't offer much of anything in 2013. They have a young star in John Tavares, and a 30 goal scorer in Matt Moulson, but after them, this team is very weak. They have no real depth at forward and they are pretty weak defensively. Evgeni Nabokov will be the #1 goalie this year, but with his age (37), how much longer can he produce solid numbers. Give the Islanders a few more years to rebuild, and maybe they will pull out of the cellar. But it for this year, you can write their last place finish in pen.

4. New Jersey Devils-The Devils are returning virtually the same team that took them to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago. The one exception to that roster is Zach Parise, their leader and top scorer. Now that Parise is gone, New Jersey will rely heavily on Ilya Kovalchuk to put points on the board. Martin Brodeur, the ageless wonder, is returning for another year and will give them a solid presence in net, but you have to wonder about how well he can do now that he is entering his 20th NHL season. The Devils have a team that can still sneak in the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed. But, can they get the points necessary to do so, while playing in this division?

3. Philadelphia Flyers-All eyes are on Ilya Bryzgalov this year. He was horribly inconsistent in 2011-12, and if he can't right the ship this year, the Flyers will be better off using one of their buyouts on him this summer since he still will have 7 years left on his deal ($5.66M per year). The Flyers lost Matt Carle, their best blueliner, and now have a real weak defense to go with the inconsistent Bryzgalov. Philly does have a good offense (2nd in the NHL in goals scored), lead by one of the game's best players, Claude Giroux. They have 4 solid forward lines, which gives them great ability to score frequently. But, unless Philly can fix the defense and goaltending, they will have to settle for 3rd in the division, but make the playoffs once again.

2. New York Rangers-Last year, we saw the Rangers become the best team in the East. They did it while riding the backs of their stars (Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, Henrik Lundqvist), and that took them to the conference finals. But since it did not take them to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Rangers brought in another star to help push them there, Rick Nash. Nash will give the Rangers another elite goal scorer, and will help take some heat off of Gaborik (41 goals in 2011-12). The Rangers have a young, but quietly solid blue line, and they have the Vezina trophy winner Lundqvist between the pipes. This will be one of the top teams in the East again, but, they will be looking up at one team in the division standings.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins-For once, Sidney Crosby will open the season on the roster, not the injured list. So as long as everyone in Pittsburgh can be healthy to open the year, this team should get off to a fast start, which will help propel them to the top. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should have big years, once again. They have solid depth at forward, despite trading Jordan Staal in the offseason. Kris Letang leads a core of solid veteran blue liners. And Marc-Andre Fleury looks to rebound in 2013, after his performance in the playoffs last year. Pittsburgh is clearly a preseason favorite for the Stanley Cup. In a close race, they win this division, and will lock up the #1 seed in the East. But can they play good hockey to even get out of the first round this year? Bet on it.


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NHL 2011 Preview-Atlantic Division

5. New York Islanders-The Islanders are still a ways away from being a contender again. They have some good young forwards (John Tavares, Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner, and former Gopher Kyle Okposo), but their lack of solid defense really brings this team down. Also, goaltending has been a concern for the team in the past years, and probably will be going forward with the injury prone Rick DiPietro locked under contract through 2021. Look for the Islanders to put up lots of goals, but give up a lot in return as well.

4. New Jersey Devils-Last season, the Devils ranked last in the NHL in goals scored. Not a surprise for a Jacques Lemaire coached team. Now with new coach Pete DeBoer, the Devils hope to get out of the basement among goal scoring teams. But, with the team returning the same top two lines as last year, its pretty hard to believe the Devils will finish near or in the basement in scoring again. You also have to wonder if this is the final season for netminder Martin Brodeur, who turns 40 next May and is in the final season of his contract. Look for the Devils to flutter around the 10-12 seed in the East this year.

3. Philadelphia Flyers-This summer, the Flyers traded their two best players: Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. For this season, I believe we will see the Flyers take a small step back, but in the long run we will see them take bigger steps forward from these deals. The Flyers will have young F's Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek, and Wayne Simmonds on their roster this season, all coming over in the deals involving Richards and Carter. The Flyers also traded for G Ilya Bryzgalov, and inked him to a 9 year deal. The team also inked the ageless Jaromir Jagr to a one year deal, and by how he has looked so far this preseason, The Flyers have a very solid team. But with the young forwards, I believe 2011-12 will not be their year. They are still a playoff team, but a first round exit is more like it this year.

2. New York Rangers-The Rangers made the biggest splash of the offseason by signing C Brad Richards to an 9 year/$60 million deal, in the hopes of finally having an elite center for F Marian Gaborik. This move should help bolster a offense that was only good enough to finish 16th in the NHL last year. The Rangers now have two solid scoring lines to compliment their good defensive core. Factor in G Hendrik Lundqvist, and you have a very solid team for 2011-12. Look for the Rangers to finally make some noise in the playoffs this season.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins-Last year, the Penguins lost both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for their postseason run. They were taken out in the first round by Tampa Bay in 7 games. Now as we move to 2011-12, the Pens have gotten Malkin back and are expecting a Crosby return sometime before Thanksgiving. Once he returns, the Pens will be back as one of the East's elite. Offense, Defense, and Goaltending are all solid. Somehow, their defensive core is still one of the best in the league despite losing many key D-Men since winning the Cup in '09. The Penguins will win the Atlantic Division, and should be making a deep postseason run once again. But how far will they go?

Tomorrow's post takes a look at the Northeast Division.