Round One: Western Picks

The Western Conference has been exceptionally good this season. California teams have dominated, and every team was nervous going into their California road trips. Chicago has shown no signs of having a Stanley Cup hangover. Colorado has had a huge turnaround season under Patrick Roy. St. Louis, Minnesota, and Dallas all had exceptional years. So there is no wonder why the West holds several favourites for the Cup this year. It could literally go anywhere.

WEST Match-ups

Anaheim VS. Dallas

Anaheim finished the season with 114 points, second in the race for the Presidents Trophy. They have had stellar goaltending, and their offense has been nothing short of excellent with 266 goals for on the season. They have proven to be a dominating force, and will continue this image through the playoffs.

Dallas squeaked into the playoffs with 91 points (one of two western teams under 100), the lowest of all teams in the playoffs. I don’t think they are a true competitor or threat for the cup this season, especially considering who they have to get through. 

I am taking Anaheim in five. They are just all-around a better team, and I don’t see Dallas being a threat to them this season. But, Dallas has potential in the upcoming years.

San Jose VS. Los Angeles

Both of teams are truly superb. It’s a shame they play in the first round as it would certainly be an entertaining conference final. They both have the talent and the ability to make a deep run, but in this scenario only one will prevail. Both have the depth, elite calibre goaltending, speed, scoring, and defense to be cup contenders. 

On gut feeling I am taking San Jose in seven, because I can’t logically pick one or the other based on statistics/line-up. This could go either way. Watch this series for probably some of the best hockey these playoffs have to offer.

Colorado VS. Minnesota

Colorado has had a huge year when looking at where they were last year. With Patrick Roy (my Jack Adams nominee, hands down) at the helm, this team is as determined as ever, and are confident this is their year. They have everything it takes to win a cup.

Minnesota is the second western team to make the playoffs under 100 points. They have a good line-up, and their goaltending has been playing well. With guys like Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, it’s hard to argue that they don’t deserve to move on. They are a good team, but Colorado is simply better.

I am taking Colorado in six. They have a good team, and a great coach. They are convinced that they have what it takes, and this confidence will help carry them to the next level.

St. Louis VS. Chicago

St. Louis has a good team, and managed to bring in a great goaltender in Ryan Miller to prepare for the playoffs. They believe they have a team capable of winning a cup. Top-end talent such as TJ Oshie, and Alex Pietrangelo can carry a team very far. They are certainly going to give the defending champs a run for their money.

Chicago has not slowed down at all coming off of their Stanley Cup championship one year ago.  They have continued their winning ways this season and proved they are ready to take it again. They are looking to continue their trend by winning a third cup in a span of four years which is quite remarkable.

I am taking Chicago in seven. St. Louis will leave everything on the ice and this one will go right down to the wire. Chicago will ultimately take it as they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to win a cup in today’s NHL.

Summary

The West is just as wide open as the East in the sense that there are so many elite hockey teams in this bunch. Any team that is determined enough, and showcases their talent can go all the way this year. There are some excellent match-ups on this side of the league, so get ready for some great hockey, and some surprises en route to a Stanley cup final.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to give your input below.

Follow me @darrinharmy

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Fantasy Focus, Hockey in New Orleans, Negotiations and More

Good AM Hockey Fans!

I will keep my ramblings short this morning.

I am in Chicago visiting my two sisters and young nephews.

A treat to see my family, for sure. And Chicago is an awesome town. You should try the pizza.

But, with my very young nephews vying for attention, I feel brevity is best!

Habs and Hockey News

- HabsWorld continues its fantasy focus series, looking at Carey Price and P.K Subban.

- The Hockey News takes an interesting look back at ice hockey in New Orleans.

- Stu Hackel reflects on the possibility of a lockout and losing the Winter Classic - and perhaps a whole season. Meanwhile, USA Today looks at how supplemental discipline is an issue in current negotiations.

-  The IIHF lists the 51 champions from the various ice hockey leagues in the world. Always love reading this, just shows how international the game truly has become.

(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 2 - Avs 3

Ugh. This was the closest Montreal has come so far, in this young season, to playing a full 60 minutes. However, sadly, they decided to take the 2nd period off and as a result ended up losing the game. Yes, both Colorado goals were lucky bounces, butt hey resulted from work. They simply out-worked Montreal in the 2nd and were rewarded with two lucky goals. Here are a few observations:
1 - Price played a solid game, which was nice to see, because I think the jury is still out on whether he is ready for prime time yet, or not.
2 - Tomas Plekanec was the best Canadien on the ice, and maybe the best player for either team. He played aggressive, went to the net, took checks to make the play, won faceoffs and created offense. Nice to see him playing like he did two seasons ago!
3 - Welcome back Andrei Kostitsyn. The older of the Kostitsyn brothers seems to have taken his benching - from the final period of their game against Edmonton - to heart and responded with his likely best game of the year.
4 - Montreal does not have enough offense. I know, I know...it is early....this is only the 6th game of the season. That is all true, but if there is one thing that seems to be taking shape, it is that Montreal is not - at least not yet - a high scoring team. To their credit, they haven't yet played enough games for us to know what they really play like, however from what I am smelling, they just look like a team that doesn't have the horses. They look like a team that is a fringe playoff team. Montreal needs to have a solid second AND first line. When Gomez, Cammalleri and Gionta are on the same line, good things happen. But there is no question that they are small. In the last minute of the game, when Montreal needed a goal, that line tried, but was often pushed off of the puck.

Again, I know it is still early in the season, but I think that this team is going to have a tough time this year. WITH Markov, they look like a fringe playoff team. Without him...who knows.

How good would Patrick Sharp and/or Cam Barker and/or Brent Seabrook look on this team right about now? You know Chicago needs a goalie. Let's see what Gainey does, as the season progresses. This, in my opinion, is his last kick at the can, so you would think that he will pull out all stops. To be continued....

K.

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Edmonton? Chicago? Who else would want Sergei Kostitsyn?

Let me start by saying, "I called it!" re: the Sergei Kostitsyn situation. Hooray. Nice for me. Ok, enough patting myself on the back...

After being demoted to the AHL but a) refusing to report to the Bulldogs and b) requesting to be traded, it appears that Sergei 'lil-punk' Kostitsyn's time in Montreal is over. I can't say that I am sad about it but definitely disappointed, as there is no questions that Sergei is a talented player. But, like Mike Ribiero and Mikhael Grabovski before him, his bad attitude will mean that he will have to ply his trade with another NHL (or KHL) team.

So this begs the question of who in their right mind would be interested in Sergei Kostitsyn. While he has shown flashes or top-6 talent, he has also shown that he has a serious attitude problem. This fact is only exemplified by his refusal to report to Hamilton. I mean think about it...if I am a team in the NHL that is possibly interested in Sergei, I know that he has already refused to report to the AHL. So I would imagine that if he signs with my team, I have to play him in the NHL or he will react the same way. So why would I want to take that chance on a sulky, unproven player?

On the surface, and in a sane world, there is no reason why any team would take want acquire Sergei with all of the baggage that he comes with. But if there is one thing I have learned, it is that NHL GM's aren't always sane. Moreover, there has got to be at least a few NHL GM's that would take a flyer on a 22 year old player who has a lot of potential upside. You figure that someone is going to think that a change of scene might help Sergei become a great player. No?

If you think about it logically, the only two places that come to mind are Edmonton and Chicago. Why? Well, Sergei Kostitsyn put up over 130 points, a few years back in Junior, playing on a line with Patrick Kane (Chicago) and Sam Gagner (Edmonton). You would think that the GM's of both of those teams will at least consider the idea of bringing Sergei to their team given his past history with those players. Edmonton might be excited to get him just for the simple fact that they seem to have a hard time getting players to sign with their team. By trading for Sergei, they wouldn't have to worry about whether he wanted to come to town or not. The only problem with that logic is the Edmonton just waived Robbie Schremp, who is a more talented Kostitsyn-type player. So that seems unlikely. I think that out of the two teams, Chicago might be the better fit for a whole slew of reasons.

Chicago, as most people know, has some horrific cap issues going forward. Both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Towes are RFA's this coming summer and will take a lot of money to resign. That, plus the huge Marian Hossa contract, mean that Chicago will have no choice but to free up some cap space at some point between now and next summer. Sergei Kostitsyn is only making 850K US a season and even though he is also an RFA next summer, he hasn't had good enough results in the NHL to earn anthing more than a neglible raise, at best. So, his cap friendly contract would work well for Chicago.

The speculation has been that Patrick Sharp and/or Brent Seabrook and/or Dustin Byfuglien could be moveable parts. Not necessarily because Chicago wants to move them, you understand, but more because they have to move someone. They just don't have a choice but to part with some of the good players they have acquired.

The other issue with Chicago is that Huet just doesn't seem to be good enough. Sure he can be a steadying force in the nets and he puts in some great efforts, but he has shown that he is not the guy who can carry a team in the post-season. I believe that Chicago will have problems with him this year and will be looking for an upgrade in nets.

Montreal has Halak as Price's backup. Halak is also going to be an free agent at the end of the year, and I think that there is NO WAY he will finish the season in Montreal. Starting last year and continuing in training camp, Halak has shown that he is likely capable of being a #1 on some team somewhere. That being said, it is clear that Gainey has chosen to live and die by Price and as such, it would seem logical that he will trade Halak before the end of the season.

Another piece that might be on the move, in Montreal, is Tomas Plekanec. He was great two years ago, bad last season and is waiting to exhale, this year. There is no question that he has talent, but there is a lot of questions as to whether he is a legit #2 center. Also, Montreal needs to upgrade one of their centers if they are ever going to become a contender and with Gomez's horid contract, he isn't going anywhere! Finally, Plekanec signed a 1 year deal in the off season meaning that he will be a UFA at seasons end. This all smells like a "let's see what you can do this year, and if you can't do anything I'll trade you before the deadline" type of situation.

So, to sum up, Chicago needs cap room, needs better goaltending and will have no choice but to move some players at some point this year. While Montreal has an expendable goaltender, needs an upgrade at the center postion, and has a talented but bad attitude-ridden player to move who had incredible chemisty, in the past, with Patrick Kane.

Hmmmm.....sounds like a match to me.

All of this is of course conjecture and even if these two teams did do a deal, there is no way to know who would be involved nor which players would go in which direction. That being said, there is no doubt that, on paper at least, these two dance partners seems like a good fit. Only time will tell whether they just glance at each other from across the room or gather the courage to ask the other to dance.

K.

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