The Southeast Divsion: How They'll Fare

1. Tampa Bay
2006-07 Record: 44-33-5, 2nd Southeast

Who Came In?
- D Brad Lukowich
- F Michel Ouellet
- F Chris Gratton

Who Went Out?
- F Ruslan Fedotenko
- D Cory Sarich
- F Eric Perrin

Why They Will Finish 1st:

The three-headed monster known as Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards will rise again. Even though the Lightning have been without a star goalie since their Cup run in 04, they have made the playoffs both years. They might not have the stellar goalie that teams that have won this division had the past few years (Ward and Lehtonen), but they still have the talent to make the playoffs, while other teams have regressed.

Why I might be Wrong:

If that three-headed beast fails, the Lightning don't have a lot of depth in scoring. Tampa lost top defenseman Sarich which will hurt Tampa's already weakened defense (Tampa finished 7th worst in the league with a 3.16 GAA last year). The bigger question is will one of their goaltenders, Holmqvist or Denis, be able to keep them in games?

2. Washington Capitals
2006-07 Record: 28-40-14, 5th Southeast

Who Came In?
- F Michael Nylander
- D Tom Poti
- F Viktor Kozlov

Who Went Out?
- F Kris Beech
- F Jiri Novotny

Why They Will Finish 2nd:

Because of all the teams in the Southeast, no team has improved more than Washington. They added free agents Nylander, Poti and Kozlov while discarding the rubble of Beech and Novotny. The Caps improved in key areas and fortified a squad containing established superstars Alex Ovechkin and Olaf Kolzig. The Caps can also count on scrappy performances from Alex Semin and Chris Clark as well as rookie Niklas Backstrom.

Why I Might Be Wrong:

The Capitals failed to adaquately address defense, only adding Poti. Washington was fifth worst in GAA last year 3.15 even with Kolzig and Johnson protecting the nets. Washington is also banking on players like Backstrom, Fleischmann and Green stepping up and playing key roles in Washington's line-up. Maybe some of the prospects aren't as good as they thought. Worst yet, if the free agents and young players don't gel, it could be diasterous.

3. Atlanta Thrashers
2006-07 Record:
43-28-11, 1st Southeast

Who Came In?
- D Ken Klee
- F Todd White
- F Eric Perrin

Who Went Out?
- F Scott Mellanby
- D Andy Sutton
- D Shane Hnidy
- F Eric Belanger
- F Greg de Vries
- F Jean-Pierre Vigier

Why They Will Finish 3rd:

Atlanta lost the most quality players of any team in the Southeast and made only modest gains. Captain Mellanby, as well as two quality defensemen are now gone and now the Thrash will require some young-uns to step in. The Thrashers don't fall too far because of the incredible talent on the front line (Kovalchuk and Hossa) and Kari Lehtonen will look to have another stellar year.

Why I Might Be Wrong:

I don't think Atlanta will fall too far, unless the injury bug catches some key players. If the players gel and the stars can continue to lead the younger players (Atlanta does have a LOT of younger depth) and Lehtonen plays outside his mind, Atlanta might be able to challenge for the Southeast crown. It's a lof of "if's."

4. Carolina Hurricanes
2006-07 Record: 40-34-8, 3rd Southeast

Who Came In?
- F Jeff Hamilton
- F Matt Cullen

Who Went Out?
- F Josef Vasicek
- D Anton Babchuk
- D David Tanabe
- F Eric Belanger

Why They Will Finish 4th:
Only modest gains from last year, where they were close, but not close enough to making the playoffs. A lot of other teams in the Southeast have gotten a lot better, while Carolina still doesn't have the dependability on the back line that they did once. A lot of Carolina's success will depend on how well Cam Ward plays, especially now that his backup is Michael Leighton, and he still has not shown to be a dependable goaltender.

Why I Might Be Wrong:
Either Florida plays better than I think, or one of the teams above them plays worse. Either way, Carolina needs Eric Staal and Ward to play well. The days of the Stanley Cup lore are far behind them, but if Erik Cole and some of the younger kids can step up their games, Carolina could finish higher.

5. Florida Panthers
2006-07 Record: 35-31-16, 4th Southeast

Who Came In?
- G Tomas Vokoun
- F Richard Zednik
- F Radek Dvorak

Who Went Out?
- G Ed Belfour
- F Martin Gelinas
- D Alexei Semenov
- F Chris Gratton

Why They Will Finish 5th:
Florida lost a lot of quality talent from a team that was not very good last year. Many think that Vokoun will bring Florida to the playoff level, but the Panthers weren't winning back when they had Roberto Luongo. Olli Jokinen is a superb player, but around him are a lot of "maybes" (Weiss, Stumpel, Horton). In short, Florida doesn't have the everyday talent and they lost a lot of it over the summer.

Why I Might Be Wrong:
If those "maybes" step up and play well, and Vokoun is indeed the missing piece of the puzzle, then the Panthers might be the surprise team that many believe they are. If Florida can manage to somehow bolster that struggling defensive core, and the offense gains some consistency, they could make a push.