East and West
July 9th, 2008 by Jason ChenScott Burnside at ESPN offers up a short analysis of every team in the East and West and whether these teams are trending up, down, or sideways. I’ve never really been a Burnside fan (I’m more of a John Buccigross guy), and so not surprisingly I’m going to have to disagree with him on several teams.
Penguins: Burnside says Up, I say Down
- The most important part for the Pens moving forward is tying up Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury to long-term contracts. Ray Shero did just that, but among the casualties were playoff heroes Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa, both of whom played vital roles in their Cup run. While it was inevitable that one of the two was going to cut loose, it was a little surprising the Pens didn’t manage to keep either. While I’m sure the Pens made a very fair offer to Hossa, he elected to head west to Detroit where he thought the chances of him winning the Cup was higher (had the Pens somehow retained Malone would it have made a difference to Hossa, I wonder?) The Pens offense is only half as dangerous as it once was, and Burnside believes that Ruslan Fedotenko and Miroslav Satan can provide as much scoring, if not more, than Hossa and Malone. I’m laughing, Scott, I am.
Flyers: Burnside says Up, I say Sideways
- The biggest news coming out of Philadelphia this year was Jeff Carter’s extension. The Flyers did not land the top defenseman they wanted due to cap reasons, and was therefore forced to settle with Danny Syvret, Steve Eminger, and Ossi Vaananen. All three are serviceable, and I guess Paul Holmgren decided to replace Jason Smith with more youth and mobility. Understandable. Up front, they added checking liners Glen Metropolit and Arron Asham, but made no changes to their top scoring lines. Veteran Jim Dowd is gone, and so is Patrick Thoresen, but I wonder in which of these minor moves exactly makes the Flyers better?
Panthers: Burnside says Sideways, I say Down
- I thought the Coyotes robbed the Panthers of Olli Jokinen. With so much fuss created over Jacques Martin wanting a “fair” return for Jokinen after the Panthers were completely fleeced by Vancouver, I still can’t believe Jokinen only went for Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton. Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton are now the team’s top forwards, and with all due respect to those two youngsters, they’re not exactly elite material, certainly not at Jokinen’s level. Their team remains largely the same, although they did land the Cory Stillman, however, neither him nor the other new incomers will be saving this team from the Eastern Conference cellar.
Thrashers: Burnside says Down, I say Up
- The biggest problem with the Thrashers is that they’re never going down or going up. They’re just stuck in perpetual mediocrity. Atlanta itself is a hard place to sell for a hockey player, and if you tack on a struggling hockey team it’s almost impossible - which I think why signing Ron Hainsey was so important (their defense isn’t as “woefully thin” as Burnside suggests). They cut dead weight in Alexei Zhitnik and Bobby Holik, which is a move in the right direction, and then fixed the Zhitnik trade debacle by drafting Zach Bogosian. Ilya Kovalchuk is still signed for a couple more years, which bodes well for Don Waddell, considering the fact that after Kovalchuk there really isn’t another marketable player on their roster. They’re very slowly improving, but it’s improvement nonetheless.
Blues: Burnside says Down, I say Sideways
- The only reason the Blues would be going down is because the West is so tough. The fact that the Blues were quiet on July 1st bodes well for the organization. They realized very quickly that the market was too expensive for them, and opted to improve from within. They got another excellent defenseman this year in Alex Pietrangelo, who will very likely form the best 1-2 punch in the league a couple years down the road with Erik Johnson. Instead of saddling themselves with potential bad contracts, the Blues played it smart and safe. They made no major improvements, but that doesn’t mean they’re going down.
Stars: Burnside says Up, I say Sideways
- Again, I’m a little confused as to why Burnside thinks the Stars are on their way up. He only makes mention of Sean Avery, and while he is a good hockey player, he doesn’t replace the combined production of the departed Niklas Hagman or Antti Miettinen. The Stars remain largely the same as last year’s, so I fail to see how this team is going up.
Kings: Burnside says Sideways, I say Down
- Obviously Burnside hasn’t seen the Kings defense yet, because it’s atrocious. They lost their two best defensemen in Rob Blake and Lubomir Visnovsky, but didn’t compensate for that loss in net or up front. Jarrett Stoll and Matt Greene will not be the big difference makers on this team, and it’ll be a long season for this young Kings squad.
Coyotes: Burnside says Sideways, I say Up
- Sometimes, I really wonder if Burnside even watches West hockey. He says that Jokinen helps Phoenix bring “much-needed size” down the middle, but I guess he clearly forgot that Martin Hanzal is 6′5″, 210 lbs. and Peter Mueller is 6′2″, 205 lbs. I’ve been going on about this team since they landed Jokinen, and I’m not about to change my stance. Losing Boynton and Ballard is not going to hurt as much as Burnside thinks, especially when they’ve brought in the very dependable Kurt Sauer and have Ilya Bryzgalov in net for the entire season. They’ve now got a first line centre for Shane Doan, and Jokinen and Sauer’s presence will no doubt speed up the maturing and development of Phoenix’s promising group of young forwards.
5 Responses to “East and West”
By PeterS on Jul 10, 2008
I agree with everything you say over Burnside, except the Thrashers, who have done little to improve. They have dropped some dead-weight but also lost Hossa (though admittedly that was before the end of the season). Unless they make some trade moves, I can’t imagine a playoff team here, which tells me they are sliding sideways at best.
Also, as I Sabres booster, I have to point out he accuses the Sabres of mostly keeping their own and not making many moves and he accuses them of moving down. There off-season moves amounted to replacing a lousy back-up goalie and trading their overstock of forwards for a key defensive piece. At worst, I think a “sideways” rating would be fair, certainly not down, though I will continue to argue that they have the right pieces in place for a playoff run next season.
By Jason C on Jul 10, 2008
I was actually going to put down the Thrashers as sideways, but purely based on the moves since the end of the playoffs their team actually looks better on paper. I think their defense is underrated and while they’re a long ways away from being a playoff team, they’re really just one elite centreman away from being a playoff contender.
By Nick on Jul 10, 2008
for the record, I don’t know of anyone that is a burnside fan. There is only one, John Buccigross.
By Gerald Norton on Jul 10, 2008
Ottawa loses Stillmans 5 goals in 28 games, and Burnside concludes the 2007/08 #1 5-5 and SH scoring team is now thin on offense. Who is this guy? Come on buddy, slam the lack of top flite offensive Dmen, sure, but to suggest Alfredsson, Heatley, and Spezza represent thinness in offense is idiocy.
By Jason C on Jul 10, 2008
I’ve always thought Sens fans and Murray’s obsession with finding a second line centre or secondary scoring a little perplexing. I think he has more than capable players in Fisher and Vermette, but refuses to give them a chance to really show themselves offensively. The Sens were a good team last year and they didn’t lose because of Stillman and Lapointe’s failures to contribute.