When Oilers' rookie Taylor Hall goes six games without a goal, Armageddon is unleashed upon the world of hockey, but when veteran Detroit sniper Henrik Zetterberg bags his first after six games nobody blinks. The Wings are so deep and talented there is no hope that the remaining core of the Blackhawks can measure up. There will be no repeat parade in the Windy City.
The brain trust of Red Wing management must be paying the likes of Jiri Hudler, Johan Franzen and Danny Cleary in A&W mozza burgers to balance the books. Look for Lidstrom to go out on top - assuming his retirement is imminent. By then Todd Bertuzzi will look like a guitar player in ZZ Top.
Detroit Red Wings - A ridiculous blend of talented scorers and enough blue-collar types to compete with anyone. If Datsyuk and company get even decent goaltending then it's a no-doubter. Adding Modano was a genius move and even Bertuzzi is starting to look like his old self and can spew facial hair as fast as Luongo in case this affects your fantasy leagues.
When these geezers smell the hardware at the end of the season it's all but over. An early injury to Draper hurts, but he will be back in time to claim a ring.
Chicago Blackhawks - The deadly duo of Toews and Kane suddenly lacks the support of the half dozen ringers they lost in the salary cap shuffle and even Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa will not be enough to hold off the Wings. Keith and Seabrook anchor the defence, which needs a big year out of promising Nokomis youngster and former Battlefords North Star Jordan Hendry.
Brower and Bolland provide the physical style that keeps the opposition from harassing the sharpshooters.
Columbus Blue Jackets - An early season injury to Ethan Moreau means that younger more talented players will get some minutes. Kids like Kindersley native Derek Dorsett, and Russian Nikita Filatov need to produceto take the heat off of Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius to light the lamp.
Sami Pahlsson is a quality two-way player and the Jackets have enough of these types to stay close. Steady goaltending and a deep farm system will help.
Nashville Predators -Sadly, with a ton of forwards with hands of stone simply makes for plenty of gutsy wins, but more than enough losses to keep them out of contention.
Jordan Tootoo still has a ton of fans, but has yet to produce any significant numbers. Veterans like Legwand, Sullivan and Dumont are on their last legs. It could be a long year E-mail me for good local pubs if you're a Predators fan.
St Louis Blues - Not a lot of good news to report other than a handful of journeymen types like David Backes and enough fourth line material the senior team in my town of Odessa might be able to handle them.
Youngster TJ Oshie plays full blast for a smaller forward and will score some, but not nearly enough. Patrick Berglund has a bright future and Brad Boyes could make any NHL roster. Erik Johnson is a future all-star, but can't hold down the blue-line alone. Halak did the job for Montreal but willbe hoping Ty Conklin can spell him from a long season of grief and bone bruises.?
This is yet another division that defines why too many NHL teams make the playoffs. Then again revenue is everything when the league has a mitt full of franchises that lose money faster than my kids lose cell phones. Cinderella teams like Phoenix will be analyzed next and I plan on taking no prisoners. After the year they had in 2009, the Coyotes still can't sell enough beer and hot dogs to keep the team afloat. Only Bettman can do that and when the smoke clears and teams like Atlanta, Columbus and Phoenix end up in Humboldt, Maple Creek and Moose Jaw and I'll be the first one to say I told you so.
That is generally the case isn't it? Davidson is on the short list. Publish my column and things could change dramatically. Foam Lake might be too small of a market, as is Watrous, despite their limited night life, but even these noble leather ball capped farmers might rally to the cause and outdraw the U.S.A. failures.
No gofor Wadena, Kelvington would only boycott them. Seven hundred eighty-nine fans from those two towns alonewould generate more money than a group of 5,000 sunburned Phoenix golf junkies locked into a rink only to get out of the heat.Molson stocks would skyrocket and the recession would end overnight. Trust me I know about Pilsner.
You can contact me through the psychiatric ward at the nearest full service hospital if my predictions cost you your bungalow.Don't be discouraged readers, even when I'm wrong there are clear cut excuses. At least that is what my doctors tell me.
Praying is fruitless. God cares not for hockey- he's busy enough with cholera in Haiti. What man messes up, man must fix. Except when it's Brian Burke thinking that better equipment will only lead to more violence. Have another drink Burkie. The only way to change the culture of hockey mayhem is to have Burke play two shifts against Sean Avery. Then he might not sound so tough and lobby for Kevlar vests for all.
