NHL Conferences

NORTHEAST DIVISION

TORONTO

All of Toronto is still fretting the loss of G Curtis Joseph to Detroit via free agency, and the quirky Ed Belfour has been signed to replace him. But it's hardly the end of the world for the Leafs – unless Belfour gets hurt. LW Gary Roberts (shoulders) might not play until February, which hurts, but Toronto returns a strong offensive team. It's uncertain if Robert Svehla can replace D Dmitry Yushkevich, but Pat Quinn's defense needs more grit to complement the skills of Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle.

OTTAWA

New GM John Muckler's goal is to get what has become a perennially strong team deeper into the playoffs. Aside from the trade of Shawn McEachern and the acquisition of C Shaun Van Allen, the Senators return largely intact. Much of Ottawa's offensive power is concentrated on the right side with Daniel Alfredsson, Martin Havlat and Marian Hossa, but Hossa is a special talent. Perhaps C Jason Spezza will help. G Patrick Lalime is solid, as is a defense led by Zdeno Chara, Chris Phillips and Wade Redden.

MONTREAL

Things are looking up in Montreal, where C Saku Koivu is healthy and there is the hope, at least, that the acquisition of RW Mariusz Czerkawski and a full season from RW Donald Audette will beef up the attack. It will hurt, however, if LW Richard Zednik doesn't re-sign. With emerging star Jose Theodore handling the goaltending, the focus is on the Canadiens' mediocre defense, which has been weakened by another wrist surgery for Sheldon Souray.

BOSTON

The Bruins were the conference's best team last season, but several key players are gone from that team. RW Bill Guerin signed with Dallas, G Byron Dafoe was not re-signed and D Kyle McLaren greeted training camp by asking for a trade. C Joe Thornton and RW Sergei Samsonov will shoulder the scoring burden, but it's doubtful RW Glen Murray and C Brian Rolston will match last season's totals. Neither Steve Shields nor John Grahame inspires confidence as a No. 1 goaltender.

BUFFALO

While the league operates the Sabres and searches for new ownership, GM Darcy Regier has to carry on business as usual. Good luck. Buffalo has a good, young goaltending tandem in Martin Biron and Mika Noronen and a functional defense led by Jay McKee, Rhett Warrener and Alexei Zhitnik. The problem, as usual, is finding forwards to score consistently. RW Miroslav Satan did it last season, but it's time for C Chris Gratton, LW J-P Dumont, C Tim Connolly and RW Maxim Afinogenov to contribute more.

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SOUTHEAST DIVISION

WASHINGTON

If the Capitals stay healthy, they should not only qualify for the playoffs but be among the conference's best teams. New coach Bruce Cassidy will likely keep RW Jaromir Jagr on one line and newly-acquired C Robert Lang and RW Peter Bondra on another, a solid foundation for scoring balance without Adam Oates. LW Steve Konowalchuk and C Jeff Halpern are healthy, and the power play should again be dominant. The defense is solid, and G Olaf Kolzig can be expected to rebound.

CAROLINA

With C's Ron Francis and Rod Brind'Amour and RW Jeff O'Neill returning, the key to a balanced attack will be the play of mercurial LW Sami Kapanen and RW Eric Cole, who was impressive in the post-season. Improvement from David Tanabe and a whole season from Sean Hill will make the defense even better, and G Arturs Irbe will hold up his end of the job. The Hurricanes can't sneak up on anyone anymore, however, and their penalty killing needs to improve.

TAMPA BAY

After what he gave up to get him, GM Jay Feaster better hope LW Ruslan Fedotenko is productive. If he is, and LW Fredrik Modin and RW Martin St. Louis stay healthy, the Lightning should score more goals. C Brad Richards has been impressive, unlike C Vincent Lecavalier. G Nikolai Khabibulin remains among the game's best, and the addition of Brad Lukowich will help a defense that also needs Pavel Kubina to mature. All the losing has left a mental hurdle the team must overcome.

ATLANTA

The dynamic duo of LW Ilya Kovalchuk and C Dany Heatley will get some veteran help from LW Shawn McEachern and RW Slava Kozlov. Adding Richard Smehlik will help the defense a little, but it's far from certain Uwe Krupp can contribute to a unit that will be overmatched on most nights. The Thrashers are still waiting for C Patrik Stefan to pull his weight. Milan Hnilicka is capable in goal, but the special teams and team defense must improve greatly.

FLORIDA

Mike Keenan rides herd on these guys, and they're just not capable of responding on most nights. RW Valeri Bure and C Viktor Kozlov are underachievers – when healthy – and sustaining an attack may depend on the improvement of LWs Kristian Huselius, Narcus Nilson and Niklas Hagman. Ouch. Keenan might as well play D Jay Bowmeester and C Stephen Weiss now and let them take their lumps while it doesn't matter. Pity spectacular young G Roberto Luongo.

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CENTRAL DIVISION

DETROIT

New coach Dave Lewis inherits a championship team that has lost two key figures in Scotty Bowman and G Dominik Hasek but will still be a power. Curtis Joseph isn't quite as spectacular as Hasek, or quite as good. C Steve Yzerman (knee) will miss the first half, pushing exciting Pavel Datsyuk up the depth chart. It might be a good time to get youngsters C Jason Williams and D Maxim Kuznetsov more ice time, because this team won't be together forever.

ST. LOUIS

Ownership provided no free agent fix after a second-round exit, although it did re-sign LW Keith Tkachuk, who teams with underrated C Pavol Demitra on the top line. Improving from within, however, will be difficult with D Chris Pronger (knee) out for the first half and D Al MacInnis approaching 40. C Doug Weight simply must play a major offensive role, although that won't be easy given the dearth of scoring wingers. Expect continued improvement from D Mike Van Ryn and G Brent Johnson.

CHICAGO

The Hawks lost dependable LW Tony Amonte via free agency and cast their lot with RW Theo Fleury, and that means all bets are off. The Hawks are coming off a terrific season, but one wonders whether D Phil Housley, who turns 39 in March, and G Jocelyn Thibault can match their past performance. LW Sergei Berezin isn't scoring like he used to, and that responsibility will fall to LW Eric Daze and C Alexei Zhamnov. Expect coach Brian Sutter to improve the penalty killing.

COLUMBUS

The Jackets' anemic attack will benefit from the addition of C Andrew Cassels and the return of LW Geoff Sanderson, and the defense will be better with Luke Richardson and Scott Lachance. D Jaroslav Spacek is capable of contributing more, and keep your eyes on emerging star D Rostislav Klesla. The goaltending duties finally fall to Marc Denis, and he will be a critical part of coach Dave King's emphasis on improving special teams. First-round pick Rick Nash will make the team.

NASHVILLE

Here's another team that just doesn't have the skill level to win. The Predators work hard but often have little to show for it. C Greg Johnson led the team in scoring last season, which says it all. RW Scott Hartnell, C Denis Arkhipov and LW Martin Erat all show promise, and it's time now for C David Legwand to take a major scoring role. The loss of Jere Karalahti (alcohol rehab) will hurt the defense, and G Mike Dunham must play better.

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PACIFIC DIVISION

SAN JOSE

The Sharks have improved in each of the last seven seasons, and they're now among the NHL's elite. Maybe that's why GM Dean Lombardi wasn't active over the summer; the sting of losing to Colorado last spring will serve as a valuable lesson to a team that has grit (C Mike Ricci, LW Adam Graves, RW Owen Nolan), skill (Nolan, RW Teemu Selanne, C Vincent Damphousse, D Brad Stuart) and fine goaltending (Evgeni Nabokov). Coach Darryl Sutter needs to develop a better power play.

DALLAS

The Stars were the NHL's most active team over the summer, adding RWs Bill Guerin and Scott Young, G Ron Tugnutt and D Philippe Boucher. They're stacked at center with Jason Arnott, Mike Modano and Pierre Turgeon, and LWs Jere Lehtinen and Brendan Morrow are solid. Offensive defenseman Darryl Sydor slumped last season and should rebound, and D Sergei Zubov and D Derian Hatcher can play better. New coach Dave Tippett has a lot riding on G Marty Turco, but Tugnutt is a capable Plan B.

PHOENIX

The Coyotes surprised everyone by landing RW Tony Amonte, and he will certainly benefit a team that has produced 90 or more points in four straight seasons. They got splendid production last season from C's Daymond Langkow and Daniel Briere and RW Shane Doan, and the Coyotes will need it again. The defense is underrated and will improve as Paul Mara and Ossi Vaananen mature, and G Sean Burke has become Mr. Dependable. The checking tandem of C Kelly Buchberger and RW Claude Lemieux could be infuriating.

LOS ANGELES

The Kings lost Cliff Ronning, Philippe Boucher, Nelson Emerson and Kelly Buchberger and added only LW Erik Rasmussen – not exactly an upgrade. The top line of LW Adam Deadmarsh, C Jason Allison and RW Ziggy Palffy remains one of the league's best, but after that there's plenty of question marks. The power play may suffer from the loss of assistant Dave Tippett, and the defense needs a better effort from Lubomir Visnovsky. Special teams unlikely to repeat last season's impressive performance.

ANAHEIM

The Ducks have a pulse. New GM Bryan Murray has added C Adam Oates, RW Petr Sykora and Ds Fredrik Olausson and Mike Commodore, which upgrades depth at both ends of the ice for new coach Mike Babcock. This should make LW Paul Kariya smile again. If LW Mike LeClerc continues to improve and C Steve Rucchin puts his injuries behind him, Anaheim will have some weapons to improve the NHL's worst power play. J-S Giguere is a competitor in goal.

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NORTHWEST DIVISION

COLORADO

Came as close as anyone to beating Detroit last spring, and they can get more out of just about every skilled forward on the roster. G Patrick Roy, 37, was incredible last season, and this time around C Peter Forsberg will be present to take checking pressure off C Joe Sakic. One key to a solid defense is the play of Martin Skoula, who is gaining confidence. Coach Bob Hartley is one of the best in the league.

EDMONTON

The Oilers missed the playoffs with 92 points last season, which hurts, but there remain plenty of reasons for optimism. These are good times to play a skating, up-tempo game, and Edmonton has a solid goaltender in Tommy Salo and a promising defense that features Eric Brewer, Janne Niinimaa and Jason Smith. Their only off-season addition was C Jiri Dopita, and he might be the key to a strong second line.

No. 1 C Mike Comrie was a revelation last season, especially in critical situations.

VANCOUVER

Nobody was hotter last April than Vancouver, which then built a 2-0 first-round lead on Detroit and lost four straight. One of the big questions now is how that playoff disaster might affect G Dan Cloutier. Ed Jovanovski has become a terrific D, and LW Markus Naslund and RW Todd Bertuzzi are sometimes unstoppable. The loss of Andrew Cassels puts pressure on C Brendan Morrison, and the Canucks need to find more scoring depth if they're going to stay with the best in the West.

CALGARY

The Flames re-signed RW Jarome Iginla, the NHL scoring leader, but otherwise the attack is so suspect they're counting on RW Robert Dome and LW Martin Gelinas to find the net along with rookie RW Chuck Kobasew. C Rob Niedermayer underachieved last season, and cranky C Marc Savard was asking for a trade last month. The defense doesn't inspire much confidence, and neither do the special teams.

MINNESOTA

The Wild signed C Cliff Ronning to lend some creativity to their forward ranks, and he will team with promising LW Marian Gaborik and RW Andrew Brunette to form a decent No. 1 line. After that, who knows? The defense, featuring Filip Kuba and Nick Schultz, is still a bit too young and bland, and G Manny Fernandez is facing a critical season after a subpar performance. The special teams need major improvement.