eastern conference

A huge trade could be on the way between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens.  Teams know they have Montreal over a barrel, don’t they?  With the unfortunate opening night loss of number one defenseman Andrei Markov — their top point producer in 2008-09 — the win-now Habs will likely find themselves on the [...]

After a difficult 2008-09 season, the NHL’s eastern conference Atlanta Thrashers have added some talent through free agency ( Nik Antropov ), a trade ( Pavel Kubina ) and the NHL Draft ( Evander Kane ) in an effort to make the Thrashers more competitive.  One of the game’s premier scorers, Ilya Kovalchuk is the Thrashers’ [...]

The Florida Panthers have been relatively quiet in the offseason because of their impending sale which is being finalized with a New York investment group.  Oh-so-close to a playoff spot in 2008-2009, the Florida Panthers will have to be active this summer in order to avoid falling back, especially since they lost their workhorse defenceman [...]

The Hurricanes certainly exceeded expectations in 2008-09 with a run all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. However, even with so much success, the team has specific areas that need improvement.  Mainly they need a couple of big-scoring wingers.  Perhaps the most important realization to come out of the Hurricanes’ playoff run was that [...]

Despite a first-round playoff loss to the Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers have a quality young roster that should be in contention for years to come.  The perception is that Philadelphia’s problem was in the crease, with free-agent goalies Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki.  However the real problem was the Flyers defensive [...]

This offseason will see many changes in the New York Rangers organization.  The Rangers seemed to wake up after a coaching change and came together under the tutelage of head coach John Tortorella to earn a playoff spot and then pushing the Washington Capitals to seven games in the first round.  Last season the Rangers’ [...]

The Toronto Maple Leafs had themselves a busy day yesterday.  They signed defesman Francois Beauchemin after having agreed a three-year deal with the Leafs worth an average of $3.8 million per season.  He’ll be a welcome addition to the Toronto blueline.  In 246 career games split between the Montreal Canadiens, the Columbus Blue Jackets and [...]

The first team I’m starting my off season analysis with is the Boston Bruins.  The Bruins were the top team in the NHL’s eastern conference this past regular season and despite their disappointing loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the playoffs, the Bruins have to be considered one of the best and most balanced teams [...]

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 Tuesday night at the RBC Center in Raleigh-Durham.  With the win the Penguins complete a sweep of the Canes and now move on to the Stanley Cup Final where they await there opponent, either Detroit or Chicago.  At first it looked like Carolina was [...]

After a night off, play resumes in Carolina tonight where the Hurricanes have their backs up against the wall.  They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in the best of seven Eastern Conference Final.  Carolina has got to figure a way to slow down the Penguins juggernaut offense.  Sidney Crosby and Evegni Malkin have been on [...]