2010-2011 NHL Preview

The East:
It's gonna be between the Capitals and the Penguins. Both teams are way better then anyone else the east has to offer. Even though the Flyers made it to the finals last year that was only because they caught lightning in a bottle with Michael Leighton. If he plays most of a season he wont be as durable in the playoffs and he just hasn't proven he's a top goalie. There are a few other teams that could give the Caps and Pens a run for the east crown. The Devils have Ilya for a whole season now but does Brodeur have enough left in the tank? The Rangers could have a Vezina trophy winner in Lundqvist and if they can just figure out how to score on a consistent basis they could be a really good team. On the downside Glen Sather is still the GM and is bound to make a bad move. Then there is the Canadiens who have an American captain(Brian Gionta go figure) and a big question mark at goalie. Is Carey Price going to go back to All-Star form? Or is Alex Auld going to outplay him like Halak did last year. Their whole season hinges on that. The Bruins may have the best team other then Pitt and Washington but after losing like they did in last years playoffs I just don't see how you can comeback from that. I think the Pens will end up winning the east but it wont be easy.

The West:
Unlike the east, the west is full of cup contenders but no team stands out more than the Vancouver Canucks. I think they'll end up coming out of the west because they have everything a team needs to win a Stanley Cup. They have the scoring with Henrik Sedin(Hart Trophy winner) and his brother Daniel along with Ryan Kessler. They have one of the best two way defenses in the league and one of the best goalies in Robby Luongo. Even with a really good team they were very injured last year and that could kill this run. Plus with the depth in the west its going to be difficult but i think they'll get over the hump and finally beat the Blackhawks in the playoffs en route to their Stanley Cup appearance. The Red Wings will be give them a run for the best record in the west. Lidstrom making his final run and Datsyuk and Zetterberg at the top of their games they could go far but that may all depends on how good Jimmy Howard plays. San Jose is always a good team and always seem like they can make a cup run but they always hit a road block somewhere in the playoffs which i expect yet again. The Blackhawks are missing half their cup winning team. Can they really return with this one? I don't think so. I'm not a believer in Marty Turco who has been a shell of himself for the past two years. Then that leaves the L.A Kings. A team that could be 1 forward away from a cup. Look for them to make a move before the March deadline to add the immense young talent on this team. They have 2 great defensemen in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson, An awesome 1st line of Kopitar, Brown and Ryan Smyth, and a great young goalie in Jonathan Quick. If the Kings couldve gotten Kovalchuk I'd probably have them going to the cup but theyre still one guy away. I'm anxious to see if they'll pull the trigger on something but I think the Kings will be the most exciting team to watch this year. It'd be a great thing for L.A to finally have a hockey team again.

Stanley Cup:
Canucks over Penguins. It only took 40 years but I think Vancouver will raise the cup behind stellar goal tending and the twins.

Award Winners:
Vezina- Henrik Lundqvist
Hart-Alex Ovechkin
Selke-Pavel Datsyuk
Norris-Shea Weber
Calder-Tyler Ennis
Jack Adams-Alain Vigneault