Early NHL 2006-2007 Predictions, Part 1: Western Conference

Free agency began a few weeks ago, and almost instantly most big name players got snatched-up. Rob Blake, Jeremy Roenick, Alex Tanguay, Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and Jason Arnott are some of the stars that were on the move early on, and for the most part, all the dealing is complete. Unless a blockbuster trade comes out of no where (which is unlikely, now that the king of all blockbusters, Pierre Lacroix is gone), what you see today will basically be the roster for your team come October. With that being said, it's time to make my predictions for the upcoming 2006-2007 NHL season, starting today with the Western Conference.

Central Division

1) St. Louis Blues

2) Nashville Predators

3) Detroit Red Wings

4) Columbus Blue Jackets

5) Chicago Blackhawks

Ok, ok, ok, let’s hear it... Get it out now... "Detroit won the Presidents trophy last year, they are going to win it again, they are so good, blah, blah, blah." I've explained that a million times, explained how they would lose in the first round, no one believed me then, and I was correct, so go ahead and think what you want now. Detroit isn't that good. The only reason they had so many points was because their division sucked last year, like I've explained. It won't suck as bad this year. They won't pick up an automatic 16 points from St. Louis like last year. They won't pick up an automatic 16 points from Chicago like last year. They won't even pick up an automatic 16 points from Columbus. That's 48 points right there that they won't automatically get next year. Take away all those points they won from awful teams (that aren't awful anymore), and you have an average team that finishes in the middle of the division. St. Louis picked up a few names like Bill Guerin, Dan Hinote, and Doug Weight, and Detroit lost a few names like Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman. I think that is enough said right there. Nashville picked up Arnott, and combined with Kariya that will be enough to sneak them into the 2nd seed. Both Columbus and Chicago have a few good names, on paper, too bad they can't get it together over there in the Midwest.

Northwest Division

1) Calgary Flames

2) Edmonton Oilers

3) Colorado Avalanche

4) Vancouver Canucks

5) Minnesota Wild

It's always a dog-fight until the very end, and (last year) all 5 teams were good enough to make the playoffs. The Calgary Flames are going to repeat as the division champions, and Minnesota will round it out at the bottom. Those are the only two I am comfortable placing solidly at a spot, after that, it's a little jumbled. The only reason I can't go ahead and throw the Avalanche into 4th place is because as many bad moves as they have made this off-season, the other two real contenders left in the division haven't done much better. Even after the Oilers cup run, Chris Pronger, Georges Laraque, and Jaroslav Spacek, three key names in last years playoffs, all booked it out of there like the city was burning. The same thing happened in Vancouver (is there something wrong with Canada?). Todd Bertuzzi and Ed Jovanovski were the big names that moved out, but Dan Cloutier, who was the starting goalie until he was injured, also decided to head south out of Canada. These three teams are going to be in a battle until the very end, Colorado always seems to find a way into the playoffs, and I don't think that streak is going to end, and Edmonton can still ride a little momentum throughout (at least part) of the season. Vancouver will have a new coach, and a new goalie (sure, he is supposed to be good, but look how far Florida went in the playoffs last year... 15 feet off their back porches to the golf course). Those two things will keep the Canucks near the bottom towards the end.

Pacific Division

1) Anaheim Ducks

2) San Jose Sharks

3) Dallas Stars

4) Phoenix Coyotes

5) Los Angeles Kings

This is going to be the hardest division to predict this season. All 5 teams have a legitimate chance at coming in first place, and all 5 have a good chance at coming in last. The Dallas Stars are almost always contenders, and the Ducks have risen to become a year-after-year threat. The Sharks are returning their key players Jonathan Cheechoo, and Joe Thornton, who just happened to be the league MVP and scoring champ last season. Phoenix has had a great off-season, picking up Jovanovski, Jeremy Roenick, and Georges Laraque to go along with their Captain Shane Doan and coach Wayne Gretzky. The Kings only big acquisition has been getting Rob Blake back in a purple uniform, and although it will help, it won't be enough to lift the Kings to the cup.

Playoff Seeds

1) Calgary Flames

2) St. Louis Blues

3) Anaheim Ducks

4) Nashville Predators

5) Edmonton Oilers

6) San Jose Sharks

7) Colorado Avalanche

8) Dallas Stars