At last, the battle between the millionaires and billionaires has come to an end! What is the significance of this you may ask? Well, with this sacred peace restored comes the most important TV entertainment of the year: NHL hockey. For those of us who suffered through the terrifying 2013 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, there has never been better news! Now it’s time to take a look at Canada’s Eastern Conference teams going into this 48-game season.
It looks as though Ottawa is in good shape given their success last year. Up front notable contributors will likely be Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and sniper Milan Michalek who each had over 50 points last season. On the blueline, we have the experienced Sergei Gonchar and the high-flying offensive defensemen, Jesse Karlsson, who lead all NHL defensemen in scoring last season with 65 points. The question for the Senators likely lies between the goal posts. With four goalies playing last year, none of them were consistent enough to be a starter. This needs to be answered before the Sens can make a deep run into the playoffs.
Though Ottawa does look like our best bet, let’s not rule out the good old/new Winnipeg Jets. Last year, they had a very strong run near the end of the season and were a serious candidate for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. With the experience of Andrew Ladd and Olli Jokinen and young snipers Evander Kane and Mark Scheifele (providing he makes the team out of training camp), the Jets should be motoring along up front. The newly D-efined Dustin Byfuglien has proven to be quite the asset on defense. In goal is the not-so-flashy yet consistent Ondrej Pavelec. Also note that Winnipeg fans are not your usual crazed hockey crowd, they practically blow the roof off the stadium! With that kind of crowd behind you (or against your nemesis) you probably have an advantage at home.
Speaking of nutty home crowds, Toronto boasts a strong scoring duo in Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul along with newbie James van Riemsdyk. They also have second line strength in Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur, however, after that, there’s not much more to work with in terms of putting pucks in the net. Nazem Kadri is unlikely to make the team out of training camp and, if he does, it is doubtful whether he’d be put with appropriate linemates (the Leafs are a little short on these) to create some scoring chances. Further down the bench, Toronto’s only notable defensemen is captain, Dion Phaneuf. He logged more ice time (but not more contract time, that prize will forever belong to Mike Komisarek) than any other Leafs defensemen last season, and it looks as though it’ll be another one-man show/shut-down this year. The goalie situation has not gotten better either for the Leafs but if Reimer can repeat his performance from the 2011 season, the Leafs may do better than we might think.
Over in La Belle Provence, the Montreal Canadiens are in rebuilding mode, to put it nicely. Players to watch will be mouthy but high-scoring defensemen P.K. Subban and forwards Scott Gomez (Will he ever prove he is worthy of that contract?) and David Desharnais, who is a restricted free agent at the end of this year. The usual suspects up front will likely be the main source of goal scoring for Habs, as in Brian Gionta, Thomas Plekanec, and Max Pacioretty. This year will also likely be a good year for rising youngsters Louis Leblanc and Ryan White to get some NHL experience even if they don’t make the team out of training camp. However, for Montreal to climb out of their hole, goaltender Carey Price will have to find his game—sometimes it seems like less pucks would go in without him in net.
Stay tuned for the Benchwarmer’s Canadian Western Conference preview. Happy hockey watching!
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