I'm not well-connected enough to have the scoop on prospect events and training camp, I'll leave that for people who are actually connected, have real contacts, or pretend to and ask for people to give them money to avoid autoplay videos. That said, we're less than a month away from the season so it's time to see how the conference may play out.
I won't give a seeded rank, I'll just say whether a team will likely be in the postseason or not.
Boston - Boston had an outstanding run last year! They managed to make both Tim Thomas and Paul Maurice look good in one season, which is an outstanding goal. I think though, they'll do what Montreal did last season and drop from first to middle of the pack. Their competition is tougher, their backup is less solid, it's unlikely they'll still have Kessel, they're broke, and Milan Lucic may get serious arm strain after six more thrashings of Mike Komisarek. Expect them middle of the post-season pack. Which, by the way, is where Montreal will be. Here we go again.
Washington - Doing all they can to prove you can win without ever actually using a goaltender, expect Washington to be just as strong as last year. Jose Theodore suffered a terrible loss which will likely effect his playing time. Expect Washington to do better than last season.
New Jersey - Their talented goaltender is aging, their offense that wasnt there is now.. less there.. their coach is more defensive without a whole lot of real defensive tract. Expect them to fall faster than Marty Turco after making a dramatic save.
Pittsburg - They still have Crosby and Malkin. They have less defensemen. Expect them to either finish embarassingly out of the playoffs as it seemed last season and to do their best Carolina Hurricanes impression, or to shock no one and still be a contender.
Philidelphia - If Chelios doesn't resign anywhere, these guys will likely be where I direct aging-defensemen jokes all season. That said it's not as if they've really changed more than that except for adding a goalie with a suspiciously runny nose. Will make the playoffs for sure.
Carolina - Paul Maurice will remember he's actually a bad coach, Cam Ward will realize again he's not good enough to hold a lackluster team afloat. Martin Broduer will cry.
New York Rangers - They lost a playmaking centre and added two wingers; one of which couldn't score on a shootout with an empty net the other is professionally imitating Samuel L Jackson from the movie Unbreakable. Don't expect a long playoff run.
Montreal - Our forwards can get points but can't get on rides at an amusment park. Our defense is tall and slow. Plan the parade.
Florida - Florida gave up a good D-man for an average one and a good goalie for nothing. Which is exactly what they can expect from this season outside of a high draft pick.
Ottawa - Currently employing two wingers who'd rather be playing elsewhere (thanks for the shout-out by the way, Alex), they nonetheless have at least three players who can light the lamp, and a goaltender who is solid when he's not hanging out with Marian Gaborik and Rick Dipietro in a hospital ward. I honestly can't predict how they'll do considering how different their results with the same group of players are.
Toronto - Proud employer of half the defensemen in the conference, Toronto will be a pain in the ass to face assuming you're a team without a goalie. Look out Washington! Expect them to injure the rest of the division, helpng every other team make the playoffs.
Atlanta - Now with the more threatening additions of Pavel Kubina and Nik Antropov, Atlanta looks to for the first time in recent memory, finish tenth overall.
Tampa Bay - Improved all around, but still have too many question marks for me to assess or come up with something witty about. How is Tanguay making less than Plekanec/
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