I think this year will be a real tough battle to 3peat the division. I see Carolina and Tampa Bay giving us a run for our money. Ultimately though I do feel we will win the SE.
What do you guys think was the biggest addition? Biggest loss? Who will be the pleasant surprise?
I think it will be a cakewalk, with Carolina, our main competitor, getting off to a slow start as usual. Should get closer down the stretch. Biggest addition: Brendan Morrison. A good two-way center with great wheels. Should complement Semin well.Biggest loss: Fedorov. Leadership, plus if you read Japers' Rink, you'll know he was still pretty effective. Also versatile (can play D)Surprise: Pothier. I think he hits 10 goals, 35 points.
I think the division overall will be a little stronger but the Capitals are still the strongest team within the division and stand a good chance of repeating, barring major injuries. Carolina should be a solid playoff team and its not out of the question the division could post a 3rd playoff team. Biggest addition - Knuble. I think he'll put up 35+ goals picking up trash around the net from Ovechkin shots. Plus he'll go into the corners. I didn't see enough of that from Kozlov, who tended to float. Biggest surprise - Team defense as a whole. I think you'll see the unit bear down significantly and become one of the top 10 defensive units in the league. They need to do this to be more solid of a Cup contender. Detroit had to make this adjustment in the 90s, is a good model (not the left wing lock, but a general focus on D)
My thinking is that the biggest surprise will be how competitive the SE division will be, league-wide. Not just us and the 'canes, but look for the Panthers to improve as well. I agree with stanley that ifBrendan Morrison can find even part of his old form, he'll bring a great "North American" style to our game.
Also on pleasant surprises, Semyon Varlamov will be our full time net minder and we will start to see "Uncle Teddy's" vision (his famous "list") move to the next level. We were moving along nicely, until the Jagr fiasco derailed us back a few seasons. But we're back, and with attitude and I like that!
Losses? Well, losing Feds and also Brash's goonery. But the biggest could be Tomas Fleischmann and his leg/infection deal. I see him as a part of our youth movement and to lose him would hurt. Other than that...
I think we will win the division, with carolina getting close, and maybe the Panthers. Biggest addition; Mike Knuble, watch for him to get around 20 goalsBiggest loss; Fedorov, we lost his leadershipSurprise; I see Shultz, if he finally sees how big he is, starting to hit
We win the division with ease. I think that the 4 teams to watch out for in the East who will be heads above everyone else will be Boston, Philly, Pitt and Us.
The biggest addition by far is Knuble. I actually believe he is the X factor for a Stanley Cup victory. With him being an unmoveable object in front of the net, that will go beautifully with OV's massive amount of shots!
The 2nd biggest addition to the team is Arturs Irbe, the goaltending coach. He knows exactly what he is doing and can speak fluent Russian so there will be no communication issues with Varlamov.
No losses...Picking up Knuble and Morrison more than make up for the only 3 guys we dropped. Knuble had more goals than Feds and Koslov combined and fills our void in front of the net perfectly.
Biggest surprises - Sold out stadium for the season is just great! I think by mid - 3/4 season the goaltending situation is a battle of Varlamov and Neuvirth for 1/2 spot. Scary prospect, but Neuvirth is actually a more sound goalie than Varly!
I also say Knuble. Especially when Clark makes his annual season long trip to the IR we miss having someone take up space around the net. Laiche is also getting very good at this. With the number of shots we take and the number of juicy rebounds it is essential to have a rock in there that with good hands that won't get pushed around. I like Morrison too, but Knuble is going to be an x factoe like Guerrin was for pittsburgh last year, except we get knuble all year..
By the way, congrats caps on pounding Boston tonight in their barn!! Outplayes Boston in every facet of the game, and even held our own in the fight, but I sure would rather see Brashear still here doing it.
I think we have a good team this year. Fans are always wanting more so we should hope to clinch the eastern Division this year. With losses of Sergei Fedorov and Viktor Kozlov we might have a little trouble readjusting to different players on certain lines, but after a few practices and some ice time they should be back to normal!!!
The Hurricanes are a tough team, and will challenge the Caps for dominance. However, the rest of the division is terrible, and will be lucky to get 200 pts. between them. The best part about winning the Southeast Division for me, is that looking around at my fellow fans and at the players on the team, I can see they felt like winning it 2008-09 was a consolation prize. They are hungry for more.
The biggest addition will be Semyon Varlamov in net as the undisputed #1 by the end of the season. It's too early to tell, but Brendan Morrison and Mike Knuble seem to be at least a slight upgrade over the departed Kozlov & Federov. But having the goaltending in better shape than each of the last two years feels very good.
The biggest loss is Michael Nylander's dead salary. The guy can't play with this offense, even though he's healthy, and no one wants to take on an older, slower forward, albeit with some good passing skills. It's a continual loss for Washington to have him on the roster, as he limits what GMGM can do with personnel. Chris Bourque was already lost, as was Karl Alzner. I expect Nylander will either be moved prior to the trade deadline by Washington paying a portion of the $9.75M / 2 years that he has left, just to get rid of him.
The pleasant surprise is that multiple players not named 'Alex' will have 20-goal, or 50-point seasons. Most people don't expect Mike Green to get 20-30 goals again soon, but already Brooks Laich are proving they can be offensive threats. If Tomas Fleischmann and Eric Fehr can come back healthy and chip in, this team has more than enough talent to run 4 lines every game.
I expect Nylander will either be moved prior to the trade deadline by Washington paying a portion of the $9.75M / 2 years that he has left, just to get rid of him. Unfortunately, the CBA no longer allows that. The Jagr deal with NYR was made under the old CBA, so they allowed it to finish its term.
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