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You can't call this the South-least anymore because two of the past four Stanley Cup winners have come from this division, but it was tempting last season when everyone here seemed to wallow in mediocrity.
The Washington Capitals ended up claiming the Southeast Division title and an automatic third seed with 94 points, which happened to be the same total as the Eastern Conference's eighth seed. The Carolina Hurricanes gave them a strong run despite playing with a decimated lineup. The rest of the division was made up of also-rans, but the worst of the pack was Tampa Bay, and the Lightning have added so much this summer they could easily contend for a division flag.
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| The Caps locked up young defenseman Mike Green after his big season. (Getty Images) |
Washington Capitals
The Caps were the NHL's most improved team from start to finish, a turnaround that took place after Bruce Boudreau became coach at Thanksgiving. Boudreau earned a contract extension after winning the division title, and he'll get in his first full season as an NHL coach with a lineup that looks largely the same except in goal. Washington wanted Cristobal Huet back, but the Caps weren't going to come near the $5.75 million-per-season price tag Huet got from Chicago. Instead, they went quickly to Jose Theodore, who came a little bit cheaper after reviving his career last season in Colorado.
Still, Washington's biggest move this summer was getting standout young defenseman Mike Green locked up before anyone could give him an offer sheet. The Caps re-signed several restricted free agents and brought back Sergei Fedorov, who has fit in nicely as a mentor of sorts to the team's young Russian players. Grade: A
Carolina Hurricanes
No one likes to use injuries as an excuse, but they were impossible to overlook last season for the impact on the Hurricanes' failed bid to make the playoffs. That meant there was no real need for wholesale changes heading into this summer. Instead the 'Canes have been re-signing most of their restricted free agents while trying to tweak a blue line that lost two veteran mainstays over the summer.
The most important new acquisition was puck-moving defenseman Joni Pitkanen, who came in a trade with Edmonton for Erik Cole, but the Hurricanes added two other players for the back end with Josef Melichar and Anton Babchuk, who will both be returning from Europe at modest prices. That might be enough. Remember, Carolina finished just two points shy of the postseason after missing key players like Rod Brind'Amour and Justin Williams for extended stretches. Grade: B+
Florida Panthers
It has been another busy summer of moving sideways for the Panthers, who will look very different next season, if nothing else. Rookie coach Peter DeBoer takes over after a very successful junior career, his predecessor Jacques Martin will be upstairs as a full time GM and longtime captain Olli Jokinen is no longer in the lineup after being traded to Phoenix for defensemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton.
The new guys will add some depth on the blue line, while Florida's biggest free-agent signing, veteran forward Cory Stillman, is expected to pick up some of the slack left by Jokinen. The Panthers have also locked up emerging young forward Rostislav Olesz for six seasons, but they are going to arbitration for the second consecutive summer with No. 1 defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. If they can't extend him for a longer term as a result, this will probably be Bouwmeester's last season in South Florida. Grade: C
Atlanta Thrashers
New coach John Anderson is a minor league lifer who is finally getting his shot at the NHL. He's good friends with Washington coach Bruce Boudreau, and the Thrashers are hoping Anderson can emulate his buddy's success after getting his first chance last season.
The difference is that Anderson doesn't have nearly as much to work with. Once Atlanta traded Marian Hossa at the deadline, the Thrashers became a team of Ilya Kovalchuk and everyone else. And it hasn't gotten any better since with veterans like captain Bobby Holik jumping ship and none of the best talent available in free agency wanting to play for Atlanta. Brian Campbell took less money to sign with Chicago, and Dan Boyle gave up his no-trade clause so he wouldn't end up there via waivers.
Atlanta managed one notable signing by getting former Columbus defenseman Ron Hainsey, but it took what many consider an overpayment to do it. It looks like Atlanta is in for another long season. Grade: D
Tampa Bay Lightning
The complete overhaul of the Lightning could pay big dividends or it might bomb. But the frantic makeover driven by the new owners since they took over in June has been and should continue to be fun to watch.
The duo of Oren Koules and Len Barrie started their new regime by drafting Steven Stamkos first overall and then quickly changed the organization from top to bottom. Barry Melrose was hired as coach, GM Jay Feaster was dumped and replaced by a new management team and the owners have been actively involved in making player moves on a daily basis.
The Lightning spent a lot of money even before extending franchise player Vinnie Lecavalier for 11 years, and most of it was directed to forwards. Among them were scorers like Ryan Malone, Vaclav Prospal and Radim Vrbata.
The weakest part of Tampa Bay's game last season was defense, and the Lightning have not really addressed that issue so far. The goaltending should be better with veteran Olaf Kolzig signing as a free agent to compete with Mike Smith, who looked very sharp after being acquired at the deadline. Which means the Lightning have the chance to come out on the long end of many 7-5 games. Grade: A
