How the West was won: LA Kings 2011-12 timeline

"Careful, Dustin, this rug is awfully slippery. We wouldn't want you to fall so easily."

Last night, the Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes in overtime to clinch the Western Conference and advance to the franchise's second Stanley Cup Final.  This is good news for us Twitter maniacs, as this means the LA Kings' Twitter account will be busy through the Finals.  So how did this Kings run to the Finals come to be?


June 23rd: Flyers GM Paul Holmgren promises Kings GM Dean Lombardi that trading for Mike Richards would help him land the Richards he really wanted to sign.

June 24th: Mike Richards sends Jeff Carter a sympathy card postmarked Columbus, Ohio.

July 2nd: Brad Richards signs with the Rangers, to nobody's surprise.  Except a very frustrated Dean Lombardi.

July 3rd: Lombardi calls Gary Bettman to see if the NHL has rejected Ilya Kovalchuk's second contract with the Devils yet.

October 7th: The Kings open their season in Sweden (yes, the NHL used to do that...) against the New York Rangers.  Hmm...

October 13th: The Kings play their first game in North America, against the New Jersey Devils.  Hmm...

Biggest surprises in the 2012 playoffs (so far)

A collection of objects that went through Ilya Bryzgalov's five-hole this month.

The 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs turned four weeks old this past Wednesday, and by now, most people's brackets have been ruined.  Things haven't exactly gone as 'experts' thought they would to this point, but there have been more surprises than just which teams are still playing.  Here's what I mean.

• Jeremy Roenick called out several Russian players in the playoffs this season.  None of them were his ex-teammates in San Jose.
   
• After beating the Bruins in Game 7, Caps GM George McPhee said he might break the team's tradition of trading away their best goalie after flopping in the playoffs.
   
• Jamie Langenbrunner's team is on the brink of being bounced out of the playoffs in the second round.  The real surprise is that Jamie Langenbrunner's team hasn't been bounced out already.
   
• It's surprising that with all the bad shots Michael Yormark took at Devils fans that none of them went through Ilya Bryzgalov's five-hole.
   
• Tyler Seguin's popularity among females is gaining on Justin Bieber's.

2012 NHL Playoff Bracket

I worked this out several different ways.  Boston-Nashville kept turning out to be the Stanley Cup Finals.

It's mid-April.  The NHL playoffs are about to start, and 16 fan bases are optimistic that this could be their team's year to win the Stanley Cup!  The horrible truth to this is that most of us will be let down and our teams will be knocked out of the playoffs earlier than we had originally hoped.  So now that I've depressed you a bit, it's time for the second installment (here's last year's bracket, in case for some bizarre reason, you'd like to see it) of my playoff bracket.

*All NHL logos were


Eastern Conference (I start with the East because of East Coast Bias)


#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa Senators
Series slogan: What goes first?  Paul MacLean's 'stache or John Tortorella's temper?

I'm used to seeing the Rangers in the 1/8 matchup, but not as the #1 seed.  Both of these teams would be considered "over-achievers" this season.  A lot has to go right for Ottawa to win the series, and although I'm not crazy about giving goalies all the credit in the world, but this series will come down to goaltending.  Craig Anderson has seen this before: his Colorado Avalanche were the 8th seed in the spring of 2010, and he stole a pair of games for the Avs before losing in six to San Jose.  This series will be similar, although this Senators team is a much more offensively skilled team.  Ottawa will need to be very patient in this series, because the Rangers not only love to collapse in the neutral zone, but they collapse around the net and will make it difficult for Erik Karlsson and the Sens' defense to get their point shots through to Henrik Lundqvist.  Lundqvist, by the way, had a save percentage of .895 in March and April, so he'll need to be much better than that, or his Rangers could be heading home early again.

My pick: Rangers in 6.
Confidence in my pick: 9/10


#2 Boston Bruins vs. #7 Washington Capitals
Series slogan: Tim Thomas can ship up to Boston, but he'll have to be in the city of the White House too

It's been an inconsistently brilliant season for the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, but when they're on, they are the best team in the NHL.  They have a dynamic, yet balanced attack, which compliments Zdeno Chara, the world's best defenseman, and Tim Thomas, an elite NHL goaltender, very well.  The Capitals, meanwhile, had a very disappointing season and almost missed the playoffs, yet here they are, playing very well lately, as they've won four of five games heading into the playoffs.  If they had a consistent and healthy goaltender, I would pick this as the upset, since Washington is far overdue to make a long playoff run, but they don't, so it'll be another early exit for the Caps, even with Nicklas Backstrom healthy.  But hey, at least they fired Bruce Boudreau, riiight?!

My pick: Bruins in 6.
Confidence in my pick: 5/10


#3 Florida Panthers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils
Series slogan: If a playoff series was buried off NBC's networks and nobody saw it, did it really happen?

(I'll have a more detailed preview of this series during the week) It's been a long time coming since the Florida Panthers made the playoffs, but finally, the Panthers are the latest Miami team to take advantage of free agency to improve their team.  And the Panthers didn't sign LeBron James or Jose Reyes, so you don't have to hate on them.  The Panthers have their "Big 3," though, as Fleischmann, Weiss and Versteeg make up a very dangerous scoring line.  Meanwhile, it's been a huge bounce-back season for the Devils under yet another new coach, Pete DeBoer.  They won 48 games and picked up 102 points after missing the playoffs for just the second time in 22 seasons.  The Devils are no longer the old trap Devils, in fact, they're one of the East's most up-tempo and deep offensive teams.  That will be why the Devils win this series.  They have depth, as good of a defense as any New Jersey blue line since the lockout and Martin Brodeur has been playing very well since the All-Star Break.  Plus, DeBoer would love to beat the team that fired him.  If the Devils play a disciplined and smart game, which they'll have to against Florida, this won't be a very long series.

My pick: Devils in 5.
Confidence in my pick: 9/10

NHL Power Rankings - Week of March 5th, 2012

The regular season is winding down, and at this point, we know most of the teams who will participate in this spring's Stanley Cup playoffs.  We also know that others will hope to land Nail Yakupov in this June's entry draft.  All 30 teams get to be in the power rankings, so here's my top 30.


1. New York Rangers - I can't deny it anymore: the Rangers are the President's Trophy favorites, which by default, means they aren't Stanley Cup favorites.

2. Vancouver Canucks - The Canucks knew Cody Hodgson could never succeed in Vancouver, thus proving that no actual human beings can be superstar scorers in Vancouver.

3. St. Louis Blues - If Jamie Langenbrunner had sustained an injury last season with the Devils, fans probably would have celebrated.

4. Nashville Predators - Pekka Rinne : Vesa Toskala :: Ferrari : Kia

5. Pittsburgh Penguins - Here's a new outlook on the Penguins that nobody has thought of before me: if Sidney Crosby returns this season, the Pens are going to be reeeeally good.

6. Detroit Red Wings - They can't win at home.  Throw in the towel, the season's lost.

7. Chicago Blackhawks - The Hawks have found ways to win without Jonathan Toews.  Hopefully, before they can blink, Toews will be back.  Unless they're waiting for Toews to blink.

8. Philadelphia Flyers - Ilya Bryzgalov shut out the Caps last night.  Michael Leighton could have shut out the Caps last night.

Ex-Devils who returned to New Jersey

"Hey, remember when we played in New Jersey? Yeah, me neither."

As many players have moved on from New Jersey in their careers, Devils fans never forget them.  That's why, when the players return to New Jersey, we don't forget what they did and we usually give them some kind of acknowledgement.  Sometimes we cheer, sometimes we boo, and other times we didn't care enough about the guy to give a crap.  On Thursday, Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott (if he's healthy) will return to New Jersey.  Let's take a look at past Devils and how they were treated (or should have been treated) when they returned to New Jersey.


Brian Gionta - Gio signed a free agent contract with Montreal, and when he came back to New Jersey for the first time, Devils fans tried to cheer him when he was on the ice, but nobody could find him.

Scott Gomez - Gomer committed the unthinkable crime: he left New Jersey to sign a free agent contract with the rival Rangers.  Devils fans booed him mercilessly and have successfully laid the Curse of the Devils on him.  He no longer possesses the ability to score goals.  Job well done, Devils fans.

John Madden - When Madden returned to New Jersey with Minnesota, Devils fans wanted to give him an ovation, but the glare of his Stanley Cup ring from Chicago blinded many fans.

Brendan Shanahan - Shanahan's return to New Jersey was with St. Louis in 1991.  Devils fans cheered him and thanked him, because he became the franchise's MVP...for leaving.

Tom Kurvers - Kurvers was forever cheered and thanked, similarly to how Shanahan was honored, when he returned to New Jersey.

Scott Clemmensen - Clemmer saved the Devils' season in 2008-09 when Martin Brodeur went down, but when he returned with the Panthers, his goals against average was about 5.00, so we laughed.  And then cheered.  Then we laughed again.

NHL Power Rankings - Week of February 6th, 2012

This week's power rankings are a little late to come out.  First of all, the NFL team which I am devoted to happened to win the Superbowl last night and I doubt anyone would have read a hockey post last night anyway.  So, now that another football season is behind us, it's time for the stretch run this NHL season.  Here's a look at my power rankings for a week, with some very careful and insightful analysis.


1. Detroit Red Wings - The Wings are trying to pretend that Montreal doesn't exist...

2. Nashville Predators - It's early on, but Pekka Rinne is proving the notion that all rich goalies are terrible this season.

3. New York Rangers - The NHL should let the Rangers have two timeouts per game under the condition that John Tortorella can throw two tantrums per game.

4. St. Louis Blues - Ken Hitchcock reportedly had his players bag skate today after they attempted an aggressive forecheck in practice.

5. Vancouver Canucks - Neither Sedin practiced this morning.  Clearly, they're being traded tonight.

6. Boston Bruins - They're 33-12-2 against teams not from Raleigh, North Carolina.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins - Evgeni Malkin is all well and good, but the Penguins could really use a second line center...

8. San Jose Sharks - The Sharks are hoping that Couture being picked last in the All-Star draft will fuel an epic season from him next year as Kessel has this year.

How are NHL teams preparing for the playoffs?

Pictured: Patrick Kane and sunglasses.  Not pictured: Patrick Kane's playoff beard.  Also not pictured: Peggy.

Now that the NHL All-Star break is behind us, many teams begin their push towards the playoffs.  For many teams, they'll look to add a player or two at the deadline that they hope will push them towards a long playoff run.  For some other teams, they'll look to make a big splash to move up the standings.  For others, they'll try to convince their fan base that they're still in the playoff picture, even though they're not.  Here's a guide I put together regarding how teams are preparing for the playoffs.


Boston Bruins - Claude Julien spends most of practice these days reminding his team that all goaltenders are awful and that they can beat anyone.  Of course, he only does this on days Tim Thomas is boycotting the team's events.

Detroit Red Wings - Ken Holland is spending the next few months trying to convince Gary Bettman that making the Joe Louis Arena the exclusive home for all playoff games this year is a good idea.

New York Rangers - MSG officials have begun playoff preparations by reluctantly cancelling "Stage 2" renovation plans for the arena during the middle of May.

Chicago Blackhawks - The Blackhawks have informed Patrick Kane that every game for the rest of the season will now be referred to as the "All-Star Game," in the hopes of increasing his goal totals.

Vancouver Canucks - Alain Vigneault has told his players that swimming pools are off limits until after the season, because his team has already mastered diving.

Philadelphia Flyers - Ilya Bryzgalov has already begun his pre-playoff ritual, which mainly consists of saying "please don't let us play Detroit in the first round."

NHL Power Rankings - Week of January 16th, 2012

Well, it's that time of week again.  It's time to randomly shuffle all 30 teams into an order that seems logical in some ways and illogical in other ways.  I like to believe that this isn't random and that it's my DGA NHL Power Rankings.  For last week's rankings, click here.


1. Boston Bruins (--) - Their recent loss to the Hurricanes hurts their chances at scoring double the amount of goals as their opponent this season.  Another 9-0 win this week would get them back on track, though.

2. New York Rangers (--) - Henrik Lundqvist's ability to stop everything makes you wonder if someday, he can stop world poverty and hunger.

3. St. Louis Blues (+2) - Jaroslav Halak's recent shutout of his former team, the Montreal Canadiens, brought memories of his playoff run in Montreal and being a backup goal--...well, I guess some things don't change.

4. Vancouver Canucks (-1) - Only Roberto Luongo could have a puck hit him, roll down every piece of goalie equipment on him and steer itself into the net...

5. Detroit Red Wings (-1) - Jimmy Howard recently won his 100th career game, which isn't that much if you compare him to Chris Osgood, but it does make him the second-best American-born goalkeeper with the last name "Howard" right now.

6. Chicago Blackhawks (+1) - Jonathan Toews recently blinked, but it was only because he saw Patrick Kane only had 10 goals this season and thought he misread something.

7. San Jose Sharks (-1) - Patrick Marleau already has 5 game-winning goals this season, which is kind of a shot to the gut of Jeremy Roenick.

NHL Power Rankings - Week of January 8th, 2012

After a two-week absence, DGA's NHL Power Rankings returns.  A lot has happened since the last edition of power rankings, so I'll start over without considering where teams were before the little break.  Take a look.


1. Boston Bruins - The Bruins are to the rest of the league as Zdeno Chara's height is to every other Bruin.

2. New York Rangers - Since John Tortorella is obsessed with conspiracies recently, maybe it's time to remind everyone how the Rangers cleared cap space for Brad Richards (hint: he's an overpaid defenseman currently in the AHL).

3. Vancouver Canucks - Cory Schneider gets the win in Boston?  Imagine what could have been last June...

4. Detroit Red Wings - Detroit rallied in Toronto on Saturday, but then realized they were on the road.  So they lost.

5. St. Louis Blues - Brian Elliott might be the best goaltender in hockey right now, but he has no chance to be an All-Star, because he is no longer an Ottawa Senator.

6. San Jose Sharks - The Sharks have been rather quiet lately.  Maybe they're trying to draw less attention in the regular season to minimize the impact of their inevitable playoff collapse.

7. Chicago Blackhawks - Pierre McGuire said that Brent Seabrook is the Hawks' versions of Nick Kronwall, although Sea-brook'ed doesn't sound as good as Kron-wall'ed...

Who are the worst players in the NHL?

Well, worst players other than this guy...

A common hockey discussion could center around who the best player in the NHL is right now.  Of course, it's always amusing to discuss the flashiest goal scorers and the best defensemen and goaltenders in the league, but sometimes those talks can become boring after a while.  That's why I've decided to dedicate a post all about the worst players in the NHL this season, as in players who either don't do anything or don't have it anymore.  Take a look at some of my nominations.


Brad Staubitz (MIN) - Here's a guy with no goals and no assists in 34 games this season.  Then again, considering the team he plays for, he isn't too far off the lead in scoring on his team.


Aaron Palushaj (MTL) - He's played 15 games this season and has yet to record a point.  Why is he still in the organization, then?  Well, at 5'11", he is one of the tallest forwards on the team.


Philippe Dupuis (TOR) - He may be pointless through 30 games this season, but Phil Kessel laughed and snapped his photo when he was picked last for a team scrimmage.


Eric Boulton (NJ) - It seems Lou Lamoriello signed Boulton simply to show his young players, such as Larsson and Henrique, what not to do on the ice during a game.


Trevor Lewis (LA) - After a career-high 13 points last season, it seems Lewis is suffering from Kings-syndrome with just a single point this season.

NHL Power Rankings - Week of December 18th, 2011

It's that time of week again.  It's time for DGA's Week 10 NHL Power Rankings.  We saw a lot of offense this week, which means teams are playing more wide open or goaltenders are just awful lately.  I think it's safe to say it's a combination of both.


1. Boston Bruins (+2) - The absence of Gregory Campbell has really hurt the Bruins.  Something like that...

2. Detroit Red Wings (-1) - The Wings' 13-2-1 home record doesn't even account for their absolute demolition of all opponents recently.  If only Shea Weber hadn't happened to them...

3. Pittsburgh Penguins (-1) - Sidney Crosby's time off has allowed him to teach the rest of the team how to score goals.

4. Chicago Blackhawks (+3) - Patrick Kane's shootout goal on Niklas Backstrom was cool and all, but nobody seriously wants a shootout because of that, right?

5. Minnesota Wild (-1) - It's remarkable that the Wild lost in another shootout considering the Islanders don't have Patrick Kane.

6. St. Louis Blues (+2) - Jaroslav Halak must have realized that he's been outplayed by Brian Elliott this season, so he's decided to start playing.

7. New York Rangers (-2) - Brad Richards is the first free agent Glen Sather has ever signed to successfully bindly throw a puck to the net and win a game with 0.1 seconds to go.

8. Florida Panthers (+1) - The Panthers are either really good or the New York Rangers are the only team that takes them seriously.

9. Vancouver Canucks (+2) - The Sedin's are trying to make sure the Canucks will win with any goaltender better than Toskala.

NHL Power Rankings - Week of December 4th, 2011

By my count, Week 8 of the 2011-12 NHL season is in the books.  Unfortunately, Sidney Crosby did not make another return to the lineup this week.  Instead he stayed in the lineup.  David Perron and Ryan Miller returned to the lineup, though.

1. Boston Bruins (--) - I wonder if Zdeno Chara made Phil Kessel look as helpless as he did in Toronto Saturday back when they were teammates in practice.

2. Detroit Red Wings (--) - While the Wings are washed up, too old, too slow and have too many big contracts, they're also busy being the hottest team in the NHL.

3. Pittsburgh Penguins (--) - When healthy, Pittsburgh's "Big 3" is an unbelievably dynamic trio.  Who knew?

4. New York Rangers (+3) - After many years of failures after signing big ticket free agents, perhaps it's time to realize that Glen Sather got it right with Brad Richards...at least for now.

5. Minnesota Wild (-1) - After backup goaltender Niklas Backstrom was lifted from the game against New Jersey due to injury, Josh Harding shined to steer the Wild to victory.

6. Chicago Blackhawks (--) - To those who may have forgotten, the Blackhawks have Marian Hossa, and he's ridiculously good.

7. Philadelphia Flyers (+2) - The fact that Scott Hartnell plays on one of the best lines in hockey is just weird, but it's true.

8. Florida Panthers (+2) - No Panthers forward even has half of the points as Versteeg, Fleischmann and Weiss do each.

9. San Jose Sharks (-4) - The Sharks have been in three shootouts this season: all wins against Eastern Conference teams.

10. St. Louis Blues (+3) - David Perron scored in his first game back in the NHL after 97 games missed from a concussion.  Didn't someone else pull a similar feat recently?

11. Toronto Maple Leafs (-3) - I wonder if James Reimer will be able to beat the Bruins.  I guess we'll find out in March.

12. Dallas Stars (+5) - The Stars are thankful that Matt Moulson doesn't still play in the Western Conference.

13. Los Angeles Kings (+2) - Dustin Penner is heating up again.  I'm pretty sure he had a few shots on goal this past week.

14. Phoenix Coyotes (-3) - Ilya Bryzgalov left Phoenox thinking "ha, the Coyotes miss me."  The thing is, though, they don't.

15. Vancouver Canucks (-3) - Roberto Luongo came in to relieve Cory Schneider against Nashville.  He eventually collapsed and the Canucks lost late, so order is still restored in the world.

16. Buffalo Sabres (-2) - Terry Pegula will definitely look to acquire a 'tough guy' to be Ryan Miller's personal bodyguard.

17. Washington Capitals (+1) - Dale Hunter was very excited to learn that he'd be coaching such elite players like Jason Chimera in Washington.

18. Nashville Predators (-2) - In their latest attempt to imitate the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, the Preds wear gold jerseys and have their players run over Ryan Miller.

19. Montreal Canadiens (+2) - There is something ironic about Max Pacioretty getting suspended for a nasty hit after his experiences from last season.

20. Winnipeg Jets (+3) - Don Cherry predicted the Jets would miss the playoffs.  Winnipeg is determined to prove him wrong just to make him admit he's wrong about something.

21. Colorado Avalanche (+4) - The Avs spent their week learning how to score goals at home, and well, it worked.

22. Ottawa Senators (--) - Isn't it weird that Milan Michalek already has 16 goals, but he's third on his team in points?

23. Edmonton Oilers (+1) - Randy Jones is the latest Oiler to do his Wayne Gretzky impression for a game.

24. Tampa Bay Lightning (-4) - Brad Richards and John Tortorella returned to Tampa Bay this past week.  The team is about as good as after the two of them left.

25. New Jersey Devils (-6) - Martin Brodeur spent his week making sure nobody will ever catch his most losses record.

26. Calgary Flames (--) - Jarome Iginla insists that he wants to win in Calgary.  I guess we'll see if he'll still be playing in 15 years, then.

27. New York Islanders (+1) - Matt Moulson decided he's sick of his team not scoring, so he went a bit insane in Dallas.

28. Carolina Hurricanes (-1) - If Paul Maurice was leaving a note for John MacLean instead of Kirk Muller, you'd think if probably would have read "I already got them a bad record, so you can't really screw up much worse."

29. Anaheim Ducks (--) - After completing an anonymous poll following their first game under Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim players are in agreement that Boudreau is "f$%&ing" awesome.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets (--) - Nail Yakupov reportedly owns a blue jacket...not that there's any signifiance to that...

Biggest surprises so far this season

Parise: "Hey Adam, could you slow down a little so it looks like I'm still the best player on the team?"

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/11/08/henrique-show-continues-scores-winner-as-devils-take-3rd-straight/

By this point in a season, players who have gotten off to hot starts have cooled off a bit and players who started slow have found their rhythm again.  However, there are some surprises as well this season, and some of them might not go away as many had predicted.  Well, here's what I mean.


Adam Henrique - He has brought a unique dynamic to the Devils' lineup, as apparently he's the only player in on the team who enjoys scoring goals.

Nikolai Khabibulin - His resurgence has brought hope to the Edmonton faithful.  Now fans are simply hoping he doesn't get himself into legal trouble, such as getting arrested for a DUI.

Ilya Bryzgalov - Has surprised many in his first year with the Flyers as Roberto Luongo's biggest challenger as to who can keep a save percentage under .900 the longest.

Eric Lindros - He surprised Flyers management after saying he actually wants to be associated with the organization again by playing in the Alumni Game and knocking out John Leclair...okay, so he didn't exactly say that...

Dany Heatley - He continues to surprise everyone every time he enters the defensive zone.

Jeff Carter - Being traded from a team you've signed long-term with can be devastating, especially to Columbus, but Carter is actually quite happy right now, but only because he isn't playing for the team.

Tampa Bay Lighting - Marc-Andre Bergeron and Martin St. Louis are both averaging at least a point per game, which has many General Managers calling Steve Yzerman and asking how he cloned St. Louis.

Dallas Stars - They've surprised many people by being so good early on, but also by their selfishness of making hockey fans memorize a player's name other than Loui Eriksson.

Rick DiPietro - Has surprised almost all Islander fans by playing his fourth game of the season before April 1st, granted he didn't actually play a single minute of regulation or overtime in one of those games...

Dustin Penner - He surprised many people last night following a multi-point game, and also saying "well, it's not like I'm Ville Leino."

29 NHL teams - Have surprised many by not sending dozens of scouts to Nashville Predators games to watch Ryan Suter and Shea Weber.

Phil Kessel - He surprised the entire hockey world by stealing Tyler Seguin's jersey Saturday and wearing it for the entire game while his team lost, 7-0.

Brian Burke - It's November 9th and he hasn't made an Earth-shattering trade yet.

Darryl Sutter - It's November 9th and he hasn't made a stupid trade yet.

Flyers and Leafs' 2012 First Round Draft Picks - Have surprised many by existing without any trades.

Lou Lamoriello - Surprised many by saying he will not re-acquire Jason Arnott again to fill the team's hole at the center position.

Carolina Hurricanes - Have surprised many by seeming disinterested in playing hockey this season, outside of Jeff Skinner.

Ty Conklin - He's been a surprise since he's only two points behind Todd Bertuzzi this season.

Jaroslav Halak - He's been a big surprise, but only because he's allowed double the amount of goals that Brian Elliott has, while making almost the same number of saves as Elliott.

Teams and players that need to bounce back in 2011-12

Ilya Kovalchuk's stick...probably about to snap in half.

The 2010-11 NHL season was a dream season for the Boston Bruins, but for 29 other teams, it failed to produce a championship season.  Of course, that happens every year, however, some teams (and players) are due for a big bounce-back season in 2011-12.

Martin Havlat - He hasn't even come close to his 77 points in 2008-09 since he left Chicago, but he leaves the offensively inept Minnesota Wild in favor of the San Jose Sharks.  This assures Havlat that his linemates will accumulate more points than the league's average goaltender.

Jamie Langenbrunner - He saw his point total nearly slice in half from a season prior between the Devils and Stars, and he probably won't rebound this season either.  Luckily, he'll be teammates with Jason Arnott again, and together, they can sing the Blues...

Ottawa Senators - Last year could not have gone much worse for the Sens, but they traded some of their older players away to build draft picks (and to satisfy country music stars).  They also signed Zenon Konopka to center their second line, which is nice, because last year Konopka put up 307......oh wait those are penalty minutes, not points...

Ilya Kovalchuk - Like many Devils, he didn't exactly thrive under John MacLean, but Kovalchuk will look to bounce back from his worst offensive season since 2002.  He's also under a lot of pressure from fans and media, but if he struggles again in 2011-12, he might not be able to get a big contract when his current one is up.

Edmonton Oilers - Edmonton finished last season true to form: last place and another first overall draft pick.  Many people believe that the Oilers will be a much better team, though, which has GM Steve Tambellini wondering if he should cancel the party he planned for late June 2012.

Florida Panthers - Many people think the Panthers went on their free agent spree to put a better team on the ice, when in fact, they signed those people to sit in the stands so it looks like people go to games there.

Scott Gomez - He had his worst season ever (by far) last year in Montreal, and it has people wondering if he'll ever live up to the huge contract he signed with the Rangers in 2007.  Well, since he probably won't, let's hope the hometown fans will be very forgiving of his struggles in Montreal.  They would never, say, throw waffles at him...

Alexander Ovechkin - For the first time in his career, he failed to score at least 40 goals and 90 points last season, proving that even the great Alex Ovechkin can be a victim of defensive hockey.  Even so, he managed to score 19 more points than Sidney Crosby.

Marian Gaborik - Scoring just 22 goals a season ago, he'll be looking for a bounce back season, and he'll have some help.  Having Brad Richards center him should help, until he inevitably has a season-ending injury after he gets checked by Nathan Gerbe.

Teemu Selanne - Last season, he put up just four more points than he did goals during his rookie season with the now-reinstated Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93.  He needs to make his decision about his playing future soon, because Brett Favre is officially retired (for now) and ESPN has no time available for a live special for him.  ESPN reportedly has a poker commitment every night until the hockey season starts.

Winnipeg Jets - Last time they existed, they finished the season with 78 points, and their leading scorer (Keith Tkachuk) has since retired.  Luckily, Dustin Byfuglien added a few extra pounds during the off-season, making him almost big enough to play on the Jets' offensive line.  Oops, wrong sport...

Mike Richards - His leadership was questioned at times last season, but he has a fresh new start as the face of the Kings.  Unfortunately, he wasn't even LA's most desired hockey player with the last name "Richards" during the 2011 off-season.