- No players accused of steroid abuse.
- No players convicted of animal abuse.
- No on-ice officials allegedly betting on games.
- No coaches taping the other team's signals.
- No sexual harassment lawsuits.
OK, so there are drawbacks.
- Hits so violent, they end up on the evening news and end a player's career (if not his life).
- Five minutes of overtime is never enough to settle a game.
- Schedules that find teams in one conference playing the other conference less and less (We hear the league is working on it).
The Anaheim Ducks are the defending Stanley Cup champions. They began their season in London, England splitting a two-game series with the appropriately-named Los Angeles Kings. Then the Ducks had two days to fly across the ocean to Detroit, where they lost to the Red Wings in a shootout. The demands of being a champion are one reason why they will not repeat. The other is that the last team to do that are the Red Wings--ten years ago.
The two marquee names of the NHL these days are Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. According to some hockey pundits, Crosby and the Penguins are Stanley Cup material while Ovechkin and the Capitals won't even make the playoffs. I agree with both assessments. But in the Penguins' case, not this year. Crosby is 20 years old. How old was Wayne Gretzky, to whom Crosby is often compared to, when he started winning Cups?
Instead of telling you who will play for the Stanley Cup, here's who we think will make the playoffs. Remember, you can't win it if you don't get there.
EAST: Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
WEST: San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars.
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The Minnesota Wild, with the exception of Niklas Backstrom replacing goaltender Manny Fernandez when he was traded to the Boston Bruins, made no real changes in personnel during the off-season. They seem to be confident that the lineup that got them to the playoffs last season will do the same for them this season.
How high in the standings and how far the Wild get in the playoffs depends on the health of Marian Gaborik, who spent a good chunk of last season nursing a groin--excuse me, lower body--injury. Also, they need to pick up the scoring slack and not depend so much on coach Jacques Lemaire's defensive style. And it says a lot about a franchise when one of your most popular players is a no-talent goon named Derek Boogaard.
After all, the Wild are under a lot of pressure. The Twins finished in third place. The Vikings and football Gophers are terrible. And the Timberwolves without Kevin Garnett are a disaster waiting to happen.
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