This Just In...

The Phoenix Coyotes (4th Seed) and the Detroit Red Wings (5th Seed), the two teams we wholeheartedly endorse on this blog, are going to be facing off in the opening round of the playoffs.

Regardless of who wins, this is a major coup for the Coyotes organization, especially when you consider how many Wings fans live in Arizona.

Season Review: New York Rangers

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the last team to be eliminated from playoff contention before the postseason begins: The New York Rangers.

Season expectations: The team made it to the postseason last year when they were eliminated by the Washington Capitals after having a 3-1 series lead over them. GM Glen Sather did a good job in sending Scott Gomez to Montreal for Christopher Higgins and, essentially, cap space. He used that to sign Marian Gaborik from the Minnesota Wild in hopes that could invigorate Chris Drury's struggles despite his massive contract. While there were complimentary signings such as Vaclav Prospal and Don Brashear, there wasn't much room for improvement because of the contracts that Drury, Wade Redden, and Michal Rozsival were earning receiving so the team had to use their young talent and role players to develop some type of cohesive scoring.

My prediction: I figured they would end up fourth in the Atlantic Division and eleventh overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: They finished ninth in the conference and fourth in the division.

What went wrong?: You mean besides the fact that Gaborik was the team's only consistent point producer?

The "Fire Sather" mantra that seems to becoming more prominent has a lot to do with it. The guys on the team making the highest salaries are Gaborik, Drury, Redden, Rozsival, and Hendrik Lundqvist to which only Gaborik and Lundqvist have even come remotely close to justifying their pay. As a matter of fact, Drury, Rozival, and Redden each had career lows despite the fact that they're being paid to be the team's "go-to-guys" In the end, Gaborik, Prospal, and Brandon Dubinsky, were the only full-time Ranger members to earn more than 40 points for the season and no matter how good goaltending is, to only have three 40-point-scoring players is a huge problem, especially when you consider that there were only four other players who score better than 30 points.

So it turns out when you spend all that money on a handful of players, the guys you get to compliment them can either be hit or miss. Brashear was acquired to be the team's enforcer while Aaron Voros was acquired during the 08-09 offseason to give that third or fourth line toughness. In the end, the team had to trade for both Jody Shelley and Brandon Prust because the former two couldn't effectively carry out their duties. The team traded Lauri Korpikoski to the Phoenix Coyotes for speedy Enver Lisin and while Lisin was on fire during his first few games, he eventually cooled down as the season progressed. Olli Jokinen fared well when he initially came over from the Calgary Flames, but he became completely invisible. The team has promise but too much inconsistency throughout the lineup to make it gel.

So what's next?: Well, the team's going to go into the off-season wanting to lock up their RFAs (Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Prust, and Erik Christiansen, to be specific) and maybe bring back Lisin and some of the other UFAs like Prospal, who was very well considering his $1.1M salary. Otherwise, Sather's going to have to maneuver over some elephantine contracts and the Rangers faithful may have to spend the next season or two watching someone else come April.

Season Review: Calgary Flames

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Calgary Flames.

Season expectations: Many people in Alberta expected these guys to go deep into the playoffs this season. They acquired Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes to give them a big first-line center, Jay Bouwmeester joined a defensive corps that featured Dion Phaneuf, and goaltender Miikka Kipprusoff is regarded as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL.

They spent a lot of money on their top guys while not necessarily having the best fortification on the lower lines. Heck, they really didn't have much of a secondary scoring line and while Nigel Dawes was solid at the start of the season, they eventually started to cool. I forewarned in my preseason preview that "This team looks like a Jenga game to me... if that one piece at the bottom gets removed at the wrong time, expect disaster and nothing else."

My prediction: The team will finish third in the Northwest Division and tenth overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: The team was the last team to be eliminated from playoff contention following their loss to the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche's victory over the Vancouver Canucks. They'll likely finish third and ninth, respectively.

What went wrong?: You mean aside from the salary structure that made building a balanced team nearly impossible?

I can't fault how they've paid Kipprusoff but they didn't use Curtis McElhinney nearly enough and even when they got a proven backup in Vesa Toskala, coach Brent Sutter may have rode Kipprusoff a little too hard.

The Jay Bouwmeester signing didn't pan-out as well as they hoped and that lead to Dion Phaneuf, who was considered to be the defensive face of the franchise, leaving via trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rest of the defense was very underwhelming. Maybe too underwhelming from what they were being paid.

Finally, the depth forwards were essentially rebuild out of cast-offs from a losing Phoenix Coyotes team. While Dawes was a bright spot, Jokinen and Sjostrom ended up moved due mid-season while Brian McGrattan hasn't been in a game since the end of January. There's some guys who wanna win and there's some guys who wanna paycheck. Calgary learned that the hard way.

So what's next?: Massive reconstruction that may have to involve biting the financial bullet or salary banishment to the AHL. These guys already have over $49M committed to next season. They're gonna have to eat some salaries for trades certainly but who's going to take Daymond Langkow at $4.5M? Next year might be just as bad, folks.

Season Review: St. Louis Blues

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The St. Louis Blues.

Season expectations: These guys were the Cinderella team of the Western Conference last season. No one expected them to do much (especially since blue-chip prospect Erik Johnson had a freak accident while golfing) but they ended up crashing the playoff party, where they were dispatched in the opening round. No they weren't spectacular, but they seemed to find a system that suited them. Still, they still didn't seem to have "it" so if they were to make the playoffs, they'd have to work harder than everyone else.

My prediction: I figured they would finish fourth in the Central Division and ninth overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: They were eliminated last night with the Colorado Avalanche victory over the Vancouver Canucks and will likely finish fourth and tenth, respectively.

What went wrong?: You mean besides having the worst home record in the NHL?

One thing is true, you can't blame the fans! 17 consecutive sellouts for a non-playoff team in a struggling midwestern market goes to show that despite the terrible home record, these people love their team. Hopefully the young guys realize that and use that as ammunition to terrorize one of the toughest divisions in hockey next season.

Really though, there wasn't much wrong with the team; just not enough to get them over the hump. There wasn't enough offense from their defense and not enough defense from their their offense. Yet for a team who scores by committee, they're definitely doing it right. The goaltending was very solid and given their depth at that position; they'll be good even if Chris Mason takes off during free agency. Coach Andy Murray seemed to be rubbing players the wrong way and was canned halfway through for Davis Payne, who's earned a 22-14-3 so far with the club.

So what's next?: It's not uncommon for such a young team to experience a setback like that. They weren't blown out of the water; they just didn't have enough stuff. A good off-season can change that quickly though, even though Keith Tkachuk is figuring to retire, so a good veteran signing could make a difference for the developing players.

Season Review: Anaheim Ducks

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Anaheim Ducks.

Season expectations: The Stanley Cup Champions in 2007, the Ducks were looking to go into the season with an explosive group of forwards and an exceptional pair of goaltenders. Sure the defense was a little thin but Scott Niedermeyer could do the work of 2 men and their young guys like Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski could step in an make a difference offensively. These guys were looking to at least compete for a playoff spot if not go deep into the playoffs.

My prediction: I picked them for first in the Pacific Division and second overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: The Ducks were eliminated last night thanks to both losing in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings and with the Colorado Avalanche's victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

What went wrong?: You mean besides being the most penalized team in the NHL?

Well, the platoon couldn't quite platoon after all. J-S Giguere ended up performing poorly for the Ducks and was eventually shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Vesa Toskala, who then traded to the Calgary Flames for Curtis McElhinney (and considering McElhinney's success in Anaheim and Toskala's success in Calgary, one wonders how the teams would have fared had a three-way trade been completed sooner.) Jonas Hiller performed admirably for both his NHL and National Team this season, but now he's down with injuries and out of the playoffs, which is such an undeserving end for a goaltender who's been a warrior all season.

The defense didn't work out the way the team hoped as well. Whitney was eventually traded for Lubonmir Vishnovsky, Wisniewski was effective whenever he wasn't serving a suspension, and there never seemed to be the "Number 4" guy for people to have on the team; just a top-3/bottom 4 defensive group. Not to disrespect the efforts of Sheldon Brookbank (who made the Nick Boynton signing seem redundant) but there just had to be that one extra guy who could make the Top 3 the Top 4. It just didn't happen.

To an effect, I was also not a fan as to how the scoring forwards were set up. I mean, it's cool to have the youth on one line and the experience on another, but is that really the best way to develop a winning chemistry? Why not have Bobby Ryan skate with Saku Koivu and get the Finnish Flash himself (Teemu Selanne in case you don't know) to act as a deft compliment to Ryan Getzlaf? The defensive forwards weren't necessarily ideal but definitely adequate so I think more could have been done to address scoring (though in fairness, Joffery Lupul's injury didn't help things.)

So what's next?: Well, there needs to be some well thought-out additions made in the off-season to work within their cap and plans. I'm also not certain coach Randy Carlyle will be back next season given the team's issues with discipline now coupled with a lost season. They've got a competitive team though, so they shouldn't have to blow it up to make it work.

Season Review: Atlanta Thrashers

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Atlanta Thrashers.

Season expectations: Everyone knew going into the season that this was Ilya Kovalchuk's walk-year. GM Don Waddell, the only constant since the Thrashers' inception into the league, did what he could to sign a group of players to compliment Kovalchuk and most those were of the Russian/Eastern European variety. Nevertheless, Rich Peverly was emerging as a great playmaker while Brian Little was emerging as a great scoring forward. The defense had some great production from younger players like Tobias Enstrom and the goaltending looked solid besides Kari Lehtonen's fat ass getting in the way. This was the season the Thrashers had to go for the gusto and win.

My prediction: I figured they would be third in their division and eighth in the Eastern Conference.

The truth: They were statistically eliminated from playoff contention following a 3-0 shutout loss to the New Jersey Devils this evening.

What went wrong?: You mean besides the fact that Waddell is still their GM and that their ownership situation is a joke?

Essentially, that's it. There's a great group of capable players on the team but now really superstar to fire it up. Sure, Waddell played it safe by getting a return on his investment but the team was doing far better with him in the lineup than they were once he was gone. Will the pieces he acquired really mean much for the future? None of it has yet, and that's why they've only been to the playoffs once.

I will say this though, there looks to be a lot of players on that club who are allergic to playing defense. I know that some players should play within their limitations but backchecking is essential if you wanna win games.

So what's next?: If Kovalchuk actually manages to come back next season, then it wasn't a complete and total loss. If not, then Atlanta Spirit LLC either needs to hire a new GM or do the city of Atlanta a favor and sell the team to someone who'll make the team successful but not relocate the team. Yes attendance there is at an all-time low but how can you attract fans in a non-traditional market when the team spends 10 of its 11 seasons in existence as a team that doesn't qualify for the playoffs?

Season Review: New York Islanders

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The New York Islanders.

Season expectations: There wasn't much to expect from the team going into the season. Just the hope that some of their younger guys would gain another year of pro experience while newcomer John Tavares would step in and get used to the major leagues. They had a decent goaltending tandem going into the season but even optimists had to see the lack of overall depth and expect that it would be too much for them to overcome.

My prediction: I figured they'd be last in the division and last in the Eastern Conference.

The truth: They were the fifth team to be eliminated from playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.

What went wrong?: You mean besides the contracts with Rick DiPietro and Alexei Yashin that still have them in bondage?

Long story short, these guys are still in full-rebuild mode. Add a penny pinching owner who hired a brown-nosing yes-man as his GM and you've got a plethora of young forwards with no veteran scoring presence that isn't past their prime (sorry Doug Weight.) Sure Tavares and Kyle Okposo have immense upside. Sure Matt Moulson is having an exceptional season. After them it just kinda drops off and for a team that needs scoring by committee, that's kinda a problem. The defense is paper-thin and while Mark Streit has been excellent for the team, they need more reinforcements to help with the production from the blue line. The goaltending was good, but should be considered a stop-gap solution at best if/when Rick DiPietro ever returns to regular NHL duty. If he doesn't then that's just going to be another piece of the puzzle the Islanders will have to figure out.

So what's next?: They need reinforcements but they don't have to blow the bank to make that happen. If Charles Wang will let Garth Snow build a better team, then these guys can start to make noise next season. If they're going to try and ice the cheapest team possible, however, then they may as well start getting the moving trucks ready for Kansas City.