Oct 4, 2008 - 9:15 PM
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A pair of two-game sets in Europe, the 100-year anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens and an outdoor contest at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day.
Throw in the Detroit Red Wings' quest of becoming the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champion since they accomplished the feat over a decade ago, and the 2008-09 National Hockey League campaign figures to provide an abundance of excitement.
After beginning 2007-08 with two games in London, England between the then-reigning champion Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, the league decided to double its amount of games on foreign ice.
Billed as NHL Premiere 2008, the New York Rangers recorded a 2-1 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in the first of two games in Prague, Czech Republic this weekend, while the defending Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins notched a 4-3 victory in overtime in the first of two encounters in Stockholm, Sweden.
It is the second season-opening trip overseas in the history of the Penguins, who began the 2000-01 campaign with two games against the Nashville Predators in Tokyo.
The series between the Lightning and Rangers was expected to receive plenty of attention from the host nation, but natives Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka left New York as free agents over the summer, electing to play in Russia and the Czech Republic, respectively.
Back in North America, the NHL kicks off with four games on October 9, including the Red Wings' home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs before which Detroit will unveil its championship banner in the rafters of Joe Louis Arena.
While it has become somewhat of a tradition to list the defending champion as the favorite for the Cup, no team has won consecutive titles since the Red Wings followed a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997 with one of the Washington Capitals in 1998.
However, Detroit is a strong candidate to repeat as it did not lose any key members save for 43-year-old goaltender Dominik Hasek, who apparently has retired for good this time. In fact, the Red Wings got even stronger offensively in the offseason.
Obviously familiar with the phrase "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," Marian Hossa elected not to return to the Penguins following their loss in the Finals and signed a one-year, $7.45 million contract with the Red Wings. Despite receiving longer and more lucrative offers from other teams, the four-time All-Star believed "Hockeytown" was the best place to be in order to win a Cup.
A six-time 30-goal scorer, Hossa joins an offense that already boasts 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient Henrik Zetterberg (43), reigning Selke and Lady Byng Trophy winner Pavel Datsyuk (31) and Johan Franzen, who followed a 27-goal regular season with 13 in the playoffs - tying Zetterberg for the league lead.
Ageless captain Nicklas Lidstrom remains the anchor of Detroit's defense corps. The 38-year-old Swede, who won his sixth Norris Trophy in seven seasons in 2007-08, will be joined once again by a group that includes Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart, Niklas Kronwall and Chris Chelios, who at the age of 46 will be participating in his 25th season in the NHL.
Chris Osgood should not have to answer critics anymore. By stepping in for an ineffective Hasek against Nashville in the Western Conference quarterfinals and proceeding to go 14-4 the rest of the way, the 35-year-old got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup for a third time - including twice as a starting netminder.
While the rich got richer, the richest franchise in history gets set to celebrate its 100th year of existence.
Founded in 1909, the Canadiens' centennial officially will fall on December 9, 2009. However, Montreal will be beginning the celebration early as the NHL selected the city to host All-Star Weekend from January 24-25 and the 2009 draft on June 26-27.
The Canadiens have won a record 24 Stanley Cups, with the last coming in 1993. They surprised many by finishing as the top seed in the East last season but underwhelmed in the playoffs, nearly squandering a three-games-to-one lead to the Boston Bruins before falling in the conference semifinals to the Flyers.
As if there was not enough pressure in the hockey-crazed city, Montreal will have the added burden of attempting to succeed in its 100th year of existence. Coach Guy Carbonneau will be putting plenty of weight on the shoulders of 21-year-old netminder Carey Price, who burst onto the scene last season to go 24-12-3 after taking over for the traded Cristobal Huet.
Price struggled in the playoffs, though, allowing a few soft goals to allow Boston to creep back into the conference quarterfinals and yielding several more against Philadelphia before being replaced by fellow rookie Jaroslav Halak. But Price, who was drafted fifth overall in 2005 and was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 2008, undoubtedly will get the chance to lead the Canadiens in their quest for a 25th championship.
In addition to defending their title, the Red Wings will have the honor of participating in the 2009 Winter Classic against the host Chicago Blackhawks at historic Wrigley Field on January 1.
Attempting to follow the success of last season's outdoor game in Buffalo between the Sabres and Penguins, the NHL selected the home of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs as this campaign's venue. However, the league is running the risk of wearing out the novelty by having it in back-to-back years, even though hockey is becoming relevant again in the Windy City thanks to the promise of the Blackhawks.
With rising stars Patrick Kane, the reigning Calder Trophy winner, and 20-year-old captain Jonathan Toews leading the way, Chicago is hoping to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and just the second time in 11 seasons. The club gave the young duo some help by signing free agents Huet and All-Star defenseman Brian Campbell, and if Martin Havlat can have an injury-free campaign, the Blackhawks figure to contend for a postseason berth.
Two teams which likely will give Detroit a run in the West hail from the Golden State.
After falling to Dallas in the conference quarterfinals, Anaheim hopes to return to the top of the mountain. While last season was surrounded by the indecisiveness of defenseman Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne, both of whom contemplated retirement after winning the Cup in 2007 only to return in midseason, the duo has committed to starting the campaign with the Ducks, with Selanne even signing a new two-year contract last weekend.
Anaheim used the Honda Center to its advantage last season, going 28-9-4 on home ice - just one win shy of Detroit's league-high 29 in its own building.
Despite finishing atop the Pacific Division, the San Jose Sharks disappointed in the playoffs, losing to the Stars in the conference semifinals and costing coach Ron Wilson his job. General manager Doug Wilson believed defense was the team's downfall and brought in a pair of offensive-minded blue-liners in Rob Blake and Dan Boyle, as well as two-time Stanley Cup champion Brad Lukowich, to help address the deficiency.
Vezina Trophy runner-up Evgeni Nabokov likely will need more rest this season as the native of Kazakhstan appeared in an astounding 77 games in 2007-08. New coach Todd McLellan must rely more on backup Brian Boucher, who has proven capable of performing well in the NHL during his career, leading Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference finals as a rookie in 2000 and setting the modern record for the longest shutout sequence with a scoreless streak of 332 minutes, 1 second while with Phoenix in 2003-04.
The Dallas Stars gave the Red Wings a challenge in the conference finals last postseason, taking Detroit to six games after falling into a three-games-to-none hole. The Stars added super agitator Sean Avery and Swedish prospect Fabian Brunnstrom over the summer with hopes of generating enough offense to compete with the high-scoring Red Wings.
Phoenix and Los Angeles again figure to be the bottom-feeders in the Pacific Division, although the Coyotes have an exciting young nucleus in Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal and 2007 third overall pick Kyle Turris. They also obtained Olli Jokinen from Florida during the offseason, but the Finn's hopes of making his first career playoff appearance in 11 NHL campaigns appear slim.
The Kings, who finished with the worst record in the West in 2007-08 at 32-43-7, did little to improve. In fact, they appear to have gotten weaker, trading Michael Cammalleri and defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky while also allowing former Norris Trophy winner Blake to leave via free agency.
Trying to shed the label of being a defensive team, the Minnesota Wild are attempting to spread out the offense.
Gone are Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra, the club's third- and fourth-leading scorers last campaign. The reigning Northwest Division champs brought in veterans Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan to try and make up for the departed pair's offense, and they also acquired defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron and Marek Zidlicky through trades.
Both Bergeron and Zidlicky are considered power-play specialists. Bergeron has scored 29 of his 48 career goals with the man advantage, while all but 10 of Zidlicky's 35 career tallies have come with the extra skater.
Joe Sakic is back for his 20th season with the Colorado Avalanche franchise, but a third Stanley Cup championship will not be in the cards. The Calgary Flames are hoping Todd Bertuzzi can return to his old form as he returns to the Northwest, while the Vancouver Canucks said goodbye to aging veterans Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison despite their need for offense.
After making a surprising run for a playoff spot last season, the Edmonton Oilers think the additions of Visnovsky, Erik Cole and youngster Gilbert Brule can help them get over the hump. But they parted with defenseman Joni Pitkanen, Raffi Torres and Jarret Stoll in return, so the moves could wind up being a wash.
Nashville's streak of four straight postseason appearances could be in jeopardy if Dan Ellis is unable to repeat his strong performance of 2007-08, as Chris Mason was traded to St. Louis. But the Blues will need much more than Mason to end a three-year playoff drought, especially with stud defenseman Erik Johnson out for the season with a knee injury.
In Columbus, the Blue Jackets appear serious about claiming a postseason berth for the first time in their eight-season existence. The club added offense in Torres, R.J. Umberger and Kristian Huselius while strengthening its defense with Mike Commodore, Christian Backman and Fedor Tyutin.
However, Columbus may regret giving up on Nikolai Zherdev. Despite possessing an abundance of talent, the 23-year-old Ukrainian was unable to get his act together with the Blue Jackets and was traded to the Rangers for Backman and Tyutin.
Following their trip to Sweden, the Penguins return to the Steel City to face the New Jersey Devils in their home opener on October 11. Save for the obvious, the fans at Mellon Arena may not even recognize their team when it gets home.
The nucleus of captain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury are back to help Pittsburgh defend its conference title, but a good portion of the supporting cast is gone. Hossa, Ryan Malone, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque, Adam Hall, backup goalie Ty Conklin and Gary Roberts all departed, with Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Matt Cooke and Eric Godard coming in as replacements.
Whether the additions prove to be enough for the Penguins to reclaim their crown remains to be seen. If the newcomers fail to get the job done, Pittsburgh may have trouble just remaining atop the Atlantic Division.
After finishing with a franchise-worst 56 points in 2006-07, Philadelphia made an astounding 39-point improvement, returning to the playoffs and reaching the conference finals before falling to Pittsburgh. However, Umberger, Vaclav Prospal and defenseman Jason Smith no longer are in the City of Brotherly Love, and the Flyers made very few additions in order to take the next step.
But Philadelphia may receive a spark from Simon Gagne, who is on course to return after missing all but 25 games last season due to post-concussion symptoms. The 28-year-old was the Flyers' top goal-scorer prior to the injury, eclipsing the 40-goal mark each of the previous two campaigns.
The Devils always are dangerous as long as Martin Brodeur is between the pipes. The four-time Vezina Trophy winner is closing in on several records, needing 14 victories to pass Hall of Famer Patrick Roy for first place on the all-time list, eight shutouts to eclipse Terry Sawchuk's record of 103 and 62 games to reach 1,030 and move ahead of Roy for most appearances by a netminder.
New Jersey brought back a pair of familiar faces in Rolston and Bobby Holik, but that likely will not be enough to capture the Cup for the fourth time in 14 seasons.
Even with the addition of Zherdev, the Rangers do not have enough offense to be a serious contender. The losses of Jagr, Straka, Avery and Brendan Shanahan will be too much to overcome.
The other New York team figures to be in even worse shape offensively. The Islanders scored a league-low 189 goals last season, and the departures of Satan and Fedotenko, who both had down years with 16 tallies apiece, does not bode well for improvement under new coach Scott Gordon.
Following their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, the Senators began the 2007-08 season on a mission, winning 16 of their first 19 games. But Ottawa limped into the playoffs, going 2-5-1 down the stretch, before being swept by Pittsburgh in the conference quarterfinals.
Craig Hartsburg was hired to help turn things around, and he has toyed with the idea of inserting rookie Jesse Winchester on the top line with Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza and moving captain Daniel Alfredsson to the second unit.
Hartsburg will not have to deal with the headache known as Ray Emery, who spent all of 2007-08 in the doghouse before being bought out of his contract and heading to Russia. Martin Gerber returns as the Senators' No. 1 goalie, while Alex Auld was signed to serve as the backup.
The rest of the Northeast Division is considerably weaker.
The Bruins will receive a boost from the return of Patrice Bergeron, who appeared in just 10 games last season before a crushing hit by Philadelphia's Randy Jones put him on the shelf. But Boston's biggest offseason addition was the signing of Michael Ryder, who scored just 14 goals for Montreal last season after back-to-back 30-tally campaigns.
It basically was status quo in Buffalo despite the fact the Sabres missed the playoffs after reaching the conference finals each of the previous two seasons. And the Toronto Maple Leafs' hopes of ending a three-year postseason drought are practically non-existent, especially since long-time captain Mats Sundin will not be returning.
Thanks to Alex Ovechkin and coach Bruce Boudreau, the Washington Capitals went from worst to first in the Southeast Division, claiming their first division title since 2001. Ovechkin put the team on his back, winning the Maurice Richard, Art Ross and Hart Trophies after scoring 65 goals and 112 points as the Capitals went 37-17-7 after Boudreau replaced Glen Hanlon behind the bench.
Washington could be challenged for the division crown by Tampa Bay, which under new ownership has undergone a complete overhaul in an attempt to rebound from a league-worst 31-42-9 record last season.
After selecting Steven Stamkos with the first overall draft pick in June, the Lightning dived head-first into the free-agent pool, signing Prospal, Malone, Roberts, Hall, Radim Vrbata, Mark Recchi and netminder Olaf Kolzig. Tampa Bay also acquired young defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Matt Carle, but many believe the blue line is too thin for the team to be considered a serious threat.
The team also hired Barry Melrose as coach after a hiatus of more than a decade, and with captain Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis still leading the way, the Lightning figure to win their share of high-scoring games and could surprise in the weak Southeast.
The Carolina Hurricanes were hoping to return to the postseason for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. But captain Rod Brind'Amour underwent offseason knee surgery and Justin Williams suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during camp and is expected to miss four to six months, putting the Hurricanes in a precarious position even though Brind'Amour is expected to return at the start of the season.
Unable to make the playoffs with Jokinen, the Florida Panthers certainly will be hard-pressed to qualify without him. And the Atlanta Thrashers did very little to provide Ilya Kovalchuk with a supporting cast, meaning the former Maurice Richard Trophy winner will be have very little room with which to work in order to score goals.
