Who are the favorites in the East now?

[Bizzle McDizzle]

I read that Toronto will have the best defense of any team in the East next year.

Hard to argue that they will be the team to beat.

Their top 11 on D does look pretty strong.

 

[TOX1]

Their top 11 on D does look pretty strong.

LOL

 

[awaz]

the reason i dont think the pens are getting 'as much credit as they deserve' is because they barely have a winger thats worthy of playing on a top line.. i realize crosby, malkin, and staal are phenominal centers (probably the deepest in the league).. but at some point you have to have a winger there somewhere.. look at it this way.. would you want dupuis, cooke, kennedy, or tangradi on your top line(!?!?).. would you even want 2 of them on your 2nd line?

and dont discount the loss of gonchar.. over the past few years when he was out, the pens PP completely fell apart.. obviously it wont be quite as drastic since they have a few months to get used to it, but gonch was a big part of that team, regardless of who comes into replace him (they were great signings tho)

 

[loki604]

the reason i dont think the pens are getting 'as much credit as they deserve' is because they barely have a winger thats worthy of playing on a top line.. i realize crosby, malkin, and staal are phenominal centers (probably the deepest in the league).. but at some point you have to have a winger there somewhere.. look at it this way.. would you want dupuis, cooke, kennedy, or tangradi on your top line(!?!?).. would you even want 2 of them on your 2nd line?

and dont discount the loss of gonchar.. over the past few years when he was out, the pens PP completely fell apart.. obviously it wont be quite as drastic since they have a few months to get used to it, but gonch was a big part of that team, regardless of who comes into replace him (they were great signings tho)

The Pens had crap wingers last year...what's your point? Unless you think the Pens offense depended on the talents of Bill Guerin, it's virtually the same compliment of wingers.

The Pens PP sucked with and without Gonchar...it was marginally better with him. Don't underestimate the loss of Yeo...a fresh look at the PP can only help. Everyone thinks Gonch was some lynchpin to the team, but his defense steadily declined throughout the season (what was there to begin with) and he was awful in the playoffs. His offense wasn't making up for that in the end. The defense is younger and better.

And do we all just expect Malkin to suck again this year? He had a down year last year and the Pens offense was still fifth in the league.

Offense is not an issue (even with the wings). The defense is what struggled throughout the season. That and goaltending. The Pens may have had issues scoring goals at points against Montreal, but that was a combination of factors and Halak outplaying Fleury. Those games were an anomaly. The 82 game sample clearly showed the Pens offense to be its strength, regardless of what others may feel about "needing" better wingers.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I still would like to see the Pens experiment with Letang on the wing. As a former defenseman, his mechanics are so so at best and he has wicked speed. Some coach should have made that move a while back.

I also fully expect to see Tangradi and Conner as full time players this season and score in the mid teens to low twenties in goals. The Pens offense will be fine.

(did I just post something complimentary about the pens...I have to go squirt lime juice in eye now)

 

[Dupster]

I believe the Pens won the Cup with those same "crap" wingers. And those "crap" wingers have won a Cup elsewhere, too.

 

[evolver115]

I still would like to see the Pens experiment with Letang on the wing. As a former defenseman, his mechanics are so so at best and he has wicked speed. Some coach should have made that move a while back.

I also fully expect to see Tangradi and Conner as full time players this season and score in the mid teens to low twenties in goals. The Pens offense will be fine.

(did I just post something complimentary about the pens...I have to go squirt lime juice in eye now)

If the Penguins ever dabble with that experiment, I hope it's only as a last ditch effort if Letang is struggling in the upcoming season. IMO, I saw a marked improvement from him last year in his defensive abilities. His scoring numbers declined in 2009 from 2008, but I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that he was honing his game for more defensive responsibilities. Letang finished the regular season with his best +/- of his short career, and in the 09 playoffs, Letang was arguably the Pens best blue-liner.

Here is my best guess on the final east standings for 10-11:

1. Washington (bar-none top notch offense in the NHL)
2. New Jersey (Marty is still the man in the regular season, owns the atlantic)
3. Boston (no one will knock them out of the top spot in the NE)
4. Pittsburgh (biggest team weakness was addressed with Z and Martin)
5. Philly (top notch blue-line and a potent scoring threat)
6. Buffalo (Miller is one of the top three goal-tenders in the NHL)
7. Montreal (Carey Price will have the weight of the world on his shoulders)
8. Tampa Bay (Top two scoring lines will be potent, good adds in the net too)

 

[loki604]

I believe the Pens won the Cup with those same "crap" wingers. And those "crap" wingers have won a Cup elsewhere, too.

Well, since you're quoting me, yeah they aren't "crap", but not first line worthy on most teams is certainly true. I'll take it. They proved you can win with strength down the middle.

I am really excited to see Tangradi make the big club. I would rather watch him than some old/risky $1 million wing that Shero could pick up.

 

[Dupster]

Wasn't really quoting you, just reinforcing your stance to awaz

 

[awaz]

The 82 game sample clearly showed the Pens offense to be its strength, regardless of what others may feel about "needing" better wingers.

Say what you want about the wingers, but Guerin scored 21 goals last year and added 24 assists.. couple with gonch you're losing 90 points from last season and replacing it with 44 (martin's past 2 seasons, combines for close to 82 games) and 17 from michalek.. obviously malkin will improve, but you've still lost a lot of offense.. guerin was the teams 2nd best winger last year, regardless of talent levels, losing your 2nd best anything (except maybe goalie) is relevant.. you cant really be confident in an offense that has 0 wingers that recorded over 38 points last season (kunitz probably would've)

 

[Dupster]

and what goalie is going to bring Philly to the promised land?

It's the salary cap era. Every team has weakness(es).

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Hey, as long as the Caps don't draw St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs, i am fine with all of these predictions.

 

[awaz]

satan, fedetenko, sykora > kennedy, cooke, dupuis.. not to mention all 6 of those guys were on the roster when they won the cup.. that is a significantly more formiddable group of wingers than the current set

 

[Darkstone42]

Kunitz and Tangradi should both play at the level of top six wingers next season. When healthy, Kunitz has produced at a good level for the Penguins (20 G, 30 A in 70 GP, for a 0.71 ppg average), and Tangradi's got huge upside as a big body, front of the net player. I expect Malone-like production from him rather early in his career.

Dupuis was also very solid last year and is a fringe top-six guy. Good speed and a big shot. So there's three guys who can pass as top-six guys. And as 46-2 mentioned, there are other guys in the minors, like Conner and Jeffrey, who might be able to produce at a decent level next season in a top six role.

Are they elite? No. But the Penguins do have 2 of the top 5 centers in the league, so that shouldn't really matter.

 

[awaz]

and what goalie is going to bring Philly to the promised land?

It's the salary cap era. Every team has weakness(es).

well, leighton did an alright job taking them to the cup last year, and out-performing halak who shut down the pens high powered offense last season.. so if you look at it that way, the flyers are better off in net than the pens..

but i'm not confident in him, he's a waiver-wire goalie that got hot, he's definitely a weakness.. i'm not trying to argue about the flyers, goaltending is obviously a weakness.. i'm just saying that the pens do have a weakness.. the way loki responded to my post showed no signs of believing a weakness

and my response was just to the fact that someone said the pens weren't getting enough credit.. most of the posts i saw had them at 2, 4, or 5, just like the devs and flyers.. so i was assuming that poster thought the pens would finish first..

 

[Dupster]

Leighton got to the Finals, the Pens wingers won the Cup.

 

[loki604]

Say what you want about the wingers, but Guerin scored 21 goals last year and added 24 assists.. couple with gonch you're losing 90 points from last season and replacing it with 44 (martin's past 2 seasons, combines for close to 82 games) and 17 from michalek.. obviously malkin will improve, but you've still lost a lot of offense.. guerin was the teams 2nd best winger last year, regardless of talent levels, losing your 2nd best anything (except maybe goalie) is relevant.. you cant really be confident in an offense that has 0 wingers that recorded over 38 points last season (kunitz probably would've)

So whoever replaces Guerin is not going to do anything? Please. Guerin still had a shot, but he was slow as hell. Crosby isn't going to turn a scrub into Gretzky, but he will get 15-20 goals out of whoever they decide to stick next to him.

And Satan, Fedotenko and Sykora all sucked. Fedotenko had a decent playoff during the Cup year, but I will take Kennedy, Cooke, and Dupuis any day over the others (the versions we had of them). Just because Satan caught lightning in a bottle this past postseason doesn't erase seasons of ineptitude. Sykora was benched when we won the Cup.

 

[loki604]

well, leighton did an alright job taking them to the cup last year, and out-performing halak who shut down the pens high powered offense last season.. so if you look at it that way, the flyers are better off in net than the pens..

but i'm not confident in him, he's a waiver-wire goalie that got hot, he's definitely a weakness.. i'm not trying to argue about the flyers, goaltending is obviously a weakness.. i'm just saying that the pens do have a weakness.. the way loki responded to my post showed no signs of believing a weakness

and my response was just to the fact that someone said the pens weren't getting enough credit.. most of the posts i saw had them at 2, 4, or 5, just like the devs and flyers.. so i was assuming that poster thought the pens would finish first..

Obviously it's a weakness. You were saying it was the reason the Pens weren't getting enough credit. I think they should be getting more credit (from those putting them at 5th or not mentioning them) regardless of this fact.

 

[The Croz Man Cometh]

satan, fedetenko, sykora > kennedy, cooke, dupuis.. not to mention all 6 of those guys were on the roster when they won the cup.. that is a significantly more formiddable group of wingers than the current set

Are you talking about the Satan that got sent down to the minors at the trade deadline and the Sykora that scored 3 goals in 20 something games in the regular season and playoffs that was replaced by Satan?

Don't forget about Fedotenko who had 30 points playing beside Malkin for most of the season. And only 11 goals. But if you want to go back to the last couple years when he had 16 goals each year, while still playing on the second line. But what about his defense, he must have been good at that, right? No. -17 for worst on the team.

Now, Dupuis had 18 goals last year while bouncing between lines.
Kennedy had his worst season but still finished with 13 goals while playing on the 3rd line.

Cooke, while being a great agitator, he chipped in with 15 and 15 for 30 points. So not too bad.

I don't know about most of the people on here, but I would take Dupuis, Kennedy and Cooke over the other 3 at this stage of their careers without even thinking about it.

 

[loki604]

Are you talking about the Satan that got sent down to the minors at the trade deadline and the Sykora that scored 3 goals in 20 something games in the regular season and playoffs that was replaced by Satan?

Don't forget about Fedotenko who had 30 points playing beside Malkin for most of the season. And only 11 goals. But if you want to go back to the last couple years when he had 16 goals each year, while still playing on the second line. But what about his defense, he must have been good at that, right? No. -17 for worst on the team.

Now, Dupuis had 18 goals last year while bouncing between lines.
Kennedy had his worst season but still finished with 13 goals while playing on the 3rd line.

Cooke, while being a great agitator, he chipped in with 15 and 15 for 30 points. So not too bad.

I don't know about most of the people on here, but I would take Dupuis, Kennedy and Cooke over the other 3 at this stage of their careers without even thinking about it.

Yeah, this dude is high.