Atlantic Division: Tight gets tighter with Philly flip-flop

Anyone wondering what a difference a year makes needs to look no further than the Philadelphia Flyers.

After suffering the worst season in franchise history and finishing last in the league, the Flyers have spent the past few months putting their lineup through enough of an overhaul to start the new season as a legitimate candidate for a playoff spot and even the Atlantic Division crown. That's how quickly things can change in the NHL's new salary-capped world, especially for teams with deep pockets and lots of payroll room to utilize.

'Parity is here,' Flyers GM Paul Holmgren says. 'As it is right now, it's very, very evenly balanced.' (Getty Images)

"You just never know," Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said when asked about his team's chances this season. "The additions over the course of the summer cranked the anticipation level up another notch. I like to believe we are a better team."

On paper at least, which means that heading into training camp, things look even tighter in the Atlantic Division than last season, when a league-high four teams made the playoffs.

However, the balance of power seems destined to shift a bit this time around because the first-place New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders each lost two key players to free agency, while the New York Rangers joined the Flyers as big winners on the open market for talent.

At the same time, the precocious Pittsburgh Penguins, led by the game's best player, Sidney Crosby, have an important year's worth of experience under their belts and could very well improve on their tremendous season.

"Parity is here," Holmgren said. "I think the league, with the new rules package, with free agency as it is right now, it's very, very evenly balanced."

Much like the Philadelphia lineup appears to be. The Flyers transformation began at the trade deadline when they landed a No. 1 goalie in Martin Biron and a gritty young winger in Scottie Upshall, and continued after the season when they picked up talented young forwards Scott Hartnell and Joffrey Lupul, veteran defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Jason Smith along with one of the prizes of free agency, center Daniel Briere.

The Rangers also got better by signing high-profile free agents Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, and getting star goalie Henrik Lundqvist's name on a new contract.

The upstart Penguins, who improved by an astonishing 47 points last season, look even stronger after bringing back one of the game's best leaders in Gary Roberts and adding savvy veterans Darryl Sydor and Petr Sykora.

And who can ever count out the Devils? New Jersey has lost critical players in each season since the lockout, yet has managed to make the suffocating system they are noted for work well enough to keep them contending. They'll have a new rookie coach running the show, but Brent Sutter was an effective player during his long NHL career and a standout behind the bench at the junior level, where he was known for getting the most of out his players.

Islanders coach Ted Nolan has a similar reputation to Sutter and he'll have to live up to it this season for New York to sneak back into the playoffs. The Isles managed to get rid of an expensive albatross by buying out Alexei Yashin, but the money they saved didn't help them hang on to top producers Jason Blake or Ryan Smyth, either.

Bill Guerin, along with forwards Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko and Jon Sim, did take the Islanders' cash this summer, but all of them are most effective in support roles these days. And without any real go-to guys in the lineup, New York will face a tough challenge keeping up with some of the other conference bubble teams that improved over the summer.