2008 Stanley Cup - Sharks vs. Rangers

Jul 6, 2007, 18:45 GMT

Philadelphia, PA - The Anaheim Ducks look to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, but will most likely have to do so without Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer. However, GM Brian Burke reacted quickly once free agency opened this week and signed free agents Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider. The Ducks are still favored, but other teams, such as the Rangers and Flyers, are picking up steam.

Lets take an early look at the 'Run for the Cup' based on the current odds, beginning with the Western Conference:

1) Anaheim (11-2) - Theres an outside chance that Niedermayer will return, but if he does, hell have to take a significant pay cut as Schneider signed for 5.6 million this season. The former Red Wing d-man cant play 28 minutes per game these days, which should alter the balance of the time on ice for a club that becomes much older on defense. In addition, the last time there was a repeat Stanley Cup winner was 10 years ago and it will not happen once again. Pass.

2) Detroit (8-1) - It took the Wings about an hour to replace the departed Schneider, with the announced signing of former NJ Devil Brian Rafalski. However, the biggest move they made this year was extending Pavel Datsyuks contract another seven years late last season. The number-one seed in the West failed to take down the Ducks in the Conference Finals as two overtime wins in games two and five were the difference. Dominik Hasek will be another year older (43 next season), so dont expect Detroit to get to the finals again.

3) San Jose (11-1) - This is the team to beat next year. The Sharks lost three straight to the Wings in the Western Semis and fell in six games. However, they are loaded with young talent and made perhaps the smartest move this past week by re-signing Joe Thornton. The conference point leader accepted less money to remain a Shark and by doing so, left a little cap room so the organization can swing a deal come the 08 trade deadline for a much-needed defensive defenseman. The best bet at 11-1.

4) Vancouver (14-1) - Vancouvers lack of scoring was its undoing come playoff time and without much cap space available, it looks as if the Canucks will be hard-pressed to improve in that area. Still, any team with Roberto Luongo in net has to be given an outside chance at the Cup, but dont expect him or any Canuck to be drinking out of it any time soon.

5) Colorado (18-1) - No team in the West improved itself more than the Avalanche this week. After missing the playoffs by a single point, Colorado beefed up its defense with Scott Hannan, who was never a minus player in seven seasons with the Sharks. The Avs also signed Ryan Smith, who will love playing with Joe Sakic on the top line. Goalie Peter Budaj must improve in the net, as he was 18th in the league in GAA and 25th in save percentage. After years of superlative play, Colorado is on its way back, but is still a couple of years away.

6) Dallas (18-1) - With all the talk last season about Anaheim, Detroit, San Jose and Nashville, the Stars flew under the radar with a 50-win season and 107 points. They accomplished this with Brenden Morrow missing half the season and Mike Modano playing in only 59 games. Goalie Marty Turco still hasnt won a playoff series since 2003, but he certainly wasnt to blame last year, posting a 1.29 GAA with a .952 save percentage against Vancouver. He just had the misfortune of squaring off against Vancouver's Luongo. Until he gets the Stars into the second round, stay away from Dallas.

7) Minnesota (20-1) - The Wild have been extremely conservative this off- season after opening up the checkbook last year with the signing of Mark Parrish, Kim Johnsson and others. They did however trade Manny Fernandez to Boston for young sniper Petr Kalus. It will be interesting to see how Niklas Backstrom plays knowing hes the number one goalie in Minnesota. (It certainly didnt pan out for Fernandez last season). The native of Finland came out of nowhere to snag top honors in GAA and save percentage last season, but must do so for a full season as the top dog. The Wild will be good once again, but they are still not in the same class as the top teams in the conference.

8) Calgary (20-1) - Miikka Kiprusoff had an off year with a road goals-against average above 2.80. In addition, his home GAA moved up a half-goal from 1.57 in 06 to 2.12 in 07. The offense improved dramatically from 216 goals to 255, but the inability to win games away from the Saddledome (13-20-8) were its undoing. Look for new coach Mike Keenan to light a fire under this club and vault them back to first place next season. The Flames are the Western Conference value play at 20-1.

NOTES FROM THE WEST

The bottom of the barrel is filled with teams going nowhere fast, such as the Coyotes (125-1), Blackhawks (100-1), Blue Jackets (85-1) and Oilers (75-1). I like how the Kings are building towards the future with last seasons Jack Johnson trade and the wealth of young talent in Anze Kopitar, Michael Cammalleri and Alexander Frolov.

They also added Michal Handzus, who was a superb pickup if he can return to form following a knee injury, which limited him to just eight games last season. Ladislav Nagy, a teammate of Handzus in St. Louis and Phoenix, could rebound in an offensive system similar to the style he played in Phoenix.

It all comes down to goaltending. Dan Cloutier was perhaps the worst signing of last season and at 60-1, the odds are stacked against them.

Its a shame whats happening out in Nashville, as the Preds were becoming a top-tier team. Well see how they do without Peter Forsberg, Tomas Vokoun, Paul Kariya, Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell with not much to show for those transactions.

On the other hand, theres still an abundance of talent remaining in Opryland and too many folks are writing them off too quickly. Look for Alexander Radulov to offset the loss of Kariya and Shea Weber to take the place of Timonen as the teams power play specialist. Chris Mason proved he could handle the load in goal when Vokoun was injured, but like Backstrom in Minnesota, he will have to prove it over the entire season. Theyre 22-1, but not a threat to reach the Finals.

One club moving in the right direction is St. Louis. After failing to make the playoffs since the lockout a few years ago, the Blues (50-1) finished last season 27-16-7 in their last 50 games, and, under the direction of coach Andy Murray and GM John Davidson, they will be a team to be reckoned with on a night in, night out basis.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1) Ottawa (6-1) - The Senators finally reached the Stanley Cup last season, but were dismantled by the Ducks in five games. The pieces are there for another run as long as they re-sign goaltender Ray Emery, which should happen during the summer. With the Sabres losing both captains to free agency, the Sens will win the Northeast Division.

2) Buffalo (10-1) - The Sabres have shown the past couple of seasons that most of their offensive parts are interchangeable, like the Devils of the 90's. However, losing both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere will be killer, even if Tim Connolly comes back healthy. In addition, expect opposing defenses to pay closer attention to the Roy-Vanek-Afinogenov line, as it was technically the second or third line for most of the year. Pass.

3) NY Rangers (11-1) - New York is the chic pick to win the cup after picking up Drury and Scott Gomez on Sunday. Well see how well Gomez meshes with Jaromir Jagr, in place of Michael Nylander, and if the Blue Shirts are able to re-sign unrestricted free agent Brendan Shanahan. If Glen Sather is able to bring Shanny back and get restricted free agents, Henrik Lundqvist and Sean Avery in tow prior to camp, then the chic pick becomes the most realistic choice. Take the 11-1.

4) Pittsburgh (14-1) - The Penguins got a taste of the postseason last year, but it was quick and painless, going down to the Senators in five games. The offense will be on fire once again, but the problem in Pittsburgh will always be defense. The Pens did sign Darryl Sydor but his best days are behind him. Pittsburgh has the look of the NFLs Indianapolis Colts, where most of the money is spent on offense. Indy finally won the Super Bowl, but remember it did take a few years to get there.

5) Toronto (20-1) - The Maple Leafs opened at 30-1 and the whole continent jumped on them after trading for Vesa Toskala. The best backup in the league last year will finally have his chance to shine, which is eerily similar to another Sharks goalie (Miikka Kiprusoff) that was traded and backstopped his team (Flames) to the Stanley Cup Finals a few years ago. Unfortunately, Torontos defense is nowhere near the level that Calgarys 'D' was and still is.

6) Atlanta (22-1) - Getting Slava Kozlov re-signed was the best move GM Don Waddell made this past week, but one wonders how the club, specifically goalie Kari Lehtonen, will respond after a disturbing playoff loss to the Rangers.

7) New Jersey (22-1) - So long Brian Rafalski. Bye-bye Scott Gomez. The Devils replaced their lone two plus players in plus/minus last year (besides David Hale) with enigmatic forward Dainius Zubrus and terribly-inconsistent defenseman Karel Rachunek. Rumors are circulating that they are close to bringing in Sheldon Souray, which will bring in a booming shot from the point. A lot of Souray backers point to his -28 last year as being a result of a horrible season overall by the Canadiens. However, he was also a team worst -11 the year before when Montreal made the postseason.

8) Carolina (25-1) - Cam Ward was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner during the Hurricanes Cup run in 2006, but an off year, combined with an old defense, kept the Carolina home from the playoffs last season. The Canes have not brought over any new blood this summer and as long the 'D' remains constructed as is, a long playoff run is not in the cards.

NOTES FROM THE EAST

Save your money on Tampa Bay (25-1), Montreal (28-1), Boston (45-1), Washington (50-1) and the Islanders (60-1). These five clubs have virtually zero chance of winning Lord Stanleys Cup. However, there are two clubs not in the first group of eight that have a chance to reach the postseason and maybe go even farther - Philadelphia (35-1) and Florida (35-1).

The Flyers were the busiest of all teams this summer and will not finish with the worst record in the league in 07-08. It will take more than a few trades to go from worst to first, but at least they are headed in the right direction.

The Panthers ended the season above .500 with an entertaining 15-6-4 finish in their last 25 games. They stole Tomas Vokoun from Nashville and the young kids, namely Jay Bouwmeester and Nathan Horton, have one more year experience. Dont be surprised if Florida wins the Southeast Division at a huge price.

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