And for equality sake, I invite someone to do the same in another thread for the East.... (I am waaaay too unfamiliar with the east to make proper evaluations)
15) St. Louis - no way I thought they'd be this bad. Goaltending is bad, defense is lost, offense is sporadic at best. They did pretty well when Tkachuk played... too bad that's not gonna happen much. Looks like the 38 year streak of making the playoffs (or whatever it was) is over. In fact, I guarantee that it is. And to think the Flames still have 4 games left to get fat off these losers!
Will not make the playoffs.14) Columbus - Sergei Fedorov playing on a loser actually kinda looks good on the money-hungry bastard. But despite all that, he and Rick Nash are developing some chemistry. This team is improving, but how long before the fans quit on them? The expansion team excuse has worn its welcome. This team needs to make the playoffs just to prove its legitimacy in the NHL. Rick Nash is the only item suggesting such a thing to date... Will not make the playoffs.
13) Chicago - Money well spent is not a slogan the Blackhawks should be using this year. "Captain" Adrian Aucoin has done nothing, and actually been injured for most of his Blackhawk career so far. Ditto Nikolai Khabibulin. That signing scared me. After seeing Khabibulin out-duel Kiprusoff in the last Finals, I figured this was a huge signing for the Blackhawks. Apparently not... the Wall has been mostly injured, and even when he's played, he hasn't been the same guy as in Tampa last year. Uh, oh yeah, enjoy overpaying Marty Lapointe too. This team has no direction from the front office, but Trent Yawney seems to have them playing a decent system on the ice. Yawney will eventually pay the price for all the other things that are going wrong with the 'Hawks. Will not make the playoffs.
12) Minnesota - the poor bastards are the worst team in the best division in hockey. Minnesota will beat any team on any night. You can't go to St. Paul and just expect to face a 12th place team. You gotta play like you want to beat a 1st place team. These guys are fast and work hard. Their goaltending is outstanding. They just don't give enough license to guys like Gaborik and Rolston to go out and score. I think if Lemaire removed the reins, this team could rise up above itself and take the next level. But Lemaire is convinced (for good reason) that their success is solely due to their system. I think it's time for a change in Minnesota... someone who will let talent do its thing, while maintaining the solid fundamentals that Lemaire has instilled in this team. Will not make the playoffs.
11) Phoenix - Haven't seen much of these guys since October. But it seems as though Gretzky has helped them. They struggled during Gretzky's absense when his mom died. They seemed to pick things back up when he returned. But overall, Joseph has been their MVP. Their offense is a strange mix of soft players and not-so-soft players... their defense looks decent on paper... I guess injuries have hampered that unit, with Gauthier and Morris both missing large chunks of this season. However, it should be noted that I am ecstatic that neither Gauthier nor Morris will be gracing the blue line of the Calgary Flames this year. Uh, what's that, Oleg Saprykin is -12? What a shock!! Yeah, thanks for Langkow, Mr. Barnett... Will not make the playoffs.
10) San Jose - Have to admit, I've maybe seen a period or two of Sharks' hockey this year. I was down in Oakland in November and ran into a Sharks' fan on the BART... he was rather disgruntled and very envious of myself for being a Flames' fan and having Darryl Sutter running our show. Maybe that's all I have to go off of, but seems to me that Joe Thornton should help immensely. During last season's Western Conference Championship, the biggest differences between the Flames and the Sharks were: 1) we had a game-breaker in Iginla, and 2) Kiprusoff outplayed Nabokov. Point 1) has been addressed with the Thornton addition. Nabokov is capable of playing better than he did in that playoff series, but I think the Sharks would be wise to find someone more consistent. Will make the playoffs.
9) Anaheim - alright, I've watched ZERO periods of Anaheim hockey this year. Uh, has Niedermayer helped? I dunno. Is Giguere better than last season? I dunno. I guess some things must be going right, since they've had some good runs. But it's obvious Brian Burke is going to sell this team off until he's made it his own. Sykora and Fedorov gone, and more to come. I guess it's probably a good thing Selanne has had a great comeback or this team would be in trouble. Will not make the playoffs.
Edmonton - I hate 'em. OK, got the obvious out of the way, now for a realistic evaluation: I've never seen a team get so much out of nothing. Maybe I'm biased, but I'm shocked at how many players on this team are experiencing career years, yet, they keep on rolling like it all comes naturally! Chris Pronger has been a huge calming, confidence-building presense for this team. I really believe that he, Ryan Smyth, and Jason Smith have this team believing in itself and in the mythology that is Oilers hockey! Will make the playoffs. Will do nothing in them.7) Colorado - not the same invincible team as before. In fact, they need a goalie more than most in the NW division, and that's saying something!! Their offense is still prolific, and the fact that they've found another dynamo in Svatos seems unfair, but their defense is less spectacular. I truly think that the Av(e)s' success this year will depend, (as it often does), on their trade deadline acquisitions. You know Mr. Lacroix will be shopping as usual, salary cap or not. Will make the playoffs.
6) Vancouver - Soft, soft, soft. And divers too. But they're talented. And they have no goaltending. Not great defensively, either... Sopel and Malik's departures had more effect on them than most suspected. Inserting Bryan Allen wasn't as systematic as many a Free Willy fan has hoped. And they've actually had to deal with injuries this year.. Jovanovski has been hurt a lot, Cloutier's out for the year, and Ohlund's been in and out of the lineup. That's huge for them. Matt Cooke has missed a lot of time. Cooke is one of their most well-rounded players. Notable from my perspective: Many a Canuck fan and Vancouver media pundit has excused the Canucks' 2004 playoff loss to the Flames by saying that if Bertuzzi were in the lineup, the Flames don't advance. It's a fair point, but really only debatable by what happens on the ice. Thus far this season, Bertuzzi participating in all 5 games, the Flames are 4-0-1 against the 'nucks. Hmmmm... maybe that playoff series wouldn't have gone the way it did if Bertuzzi played... maybe it would have been done SOONER!! Will make the playoffs.
5) Los Angeles - The Kings started out huge, very much due to Pavol Demitra and Mathieu Garon. Both are now injured. How King-like. At least LaBarbara can fill in... but ain't no filling in for Demitra, and Frolov, now, as it turns out. The Kings are still the same old injury-prone Kings. Maybe they need a new training guy. Nevertheless, Craig Conroy turned out to be a good signing... love to have him back in Calgary... many have blamed his departure on Iginla's slow start. The Kings have a breakout season from Visnovsky, and retain a pretty solid defense with Norstrom and Miller. The Kings are solid roster-wise, but not a real hard team to play against, and their injuries seem to be piling up, as they always do. Will not make the playoffs ( = freefall!!)
4) Nashville - The scariest team in the Western Conference, so far, IMO. Speedy, gritty, hard-working, and well-coached. The Predators also have some talent now, too, with Kariya and Sullivan flanking David Legwand. Nevermind that they probably have the best young defense corps in the league. Suter, Weber, Zidlicky, and Timonen is only the beginning... they are SOLID on the backend. And then you've got Vokoun, certainly one of the top 5 goalies in the NHL so far this year. He's stoned the Flames twice so far... outstanding both times. Detractors will point to their weak division with St. Louis, Chicago, and Columbus providing them with 24 winnable games, but having seen them play the games they've played against Calgary so far, I'm officially scared. Will make the playoffs.
3) Calgary - Lofty heights for this here FlameFan. Yet, they haven't seemed to have hit their stride. Many underperforming players on the Flames right now, including Mr. Iginla. I expect them to get better, but Sutter is building them up for the playoffs. I don't expect them to finish spectacularly in the regular season, but I know damn well Mr. Sutter has built this team to compete in the playoffs... especially now that their core knows how to win in the playoffs. I can't think of many teams that can beat the Flames in a 7 game competition. Will make the playoffs.
2) Dallas - another scary team. Haven't seen much of them against Calgary, but they've been on Canadian TV plenty... Modano is back. Turco is one of the best goalies in the league this year. They've got impressive rookies contributing. Getting Niinimaa ain't gonna hurt them either. Dallas should be a strong team. Will make the playoffs.
1) Detroit - Meh. They're going as well as ever. They seem to get good goaltending no matter who they play. Scoring will never be a problem for them. Their defense is a little suspect on the bottom 2, but their top 3 or 4 is damn solid, depending on the health status of Chris Chelios. Then again, losing Fischer, likely for the year, will hurt. I see Detroit as a soft team taking advantage of Shanahan's new rules. The Flames have exposed their weaknesses each time they've played them. The Wings just may be getting fat off weak sisters. Will make the playoffs.
Anyway, that's my Western breakdown. What do all of you smack vets have to say in response?
