The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Canadian hockey fans will get used to cheering for seven, not six, big-league teams as the NHL makes its stately return to Winnipeg this coming season. And in advance of the puck drop on the 2011-12 campaign, The Reminder is analyzing those seven clubs, beginning today with the members of the Eastern Conference. Montreal Sometimes the Canadiens make the most out of little. Sometimes they make little out of the most. Either way, they usually bring at least somewhat competitive hockey to the sport's toughest market. Last season, the Habs posted a highly respectable 96-point season. But their (regular season) success camouflaged weaknesses that the team will have to address to take their game to the next level. On offense, Montreal placed 24th out of 30 teams, below even (gasp!) Toronto. With 57-point man Tomas Plekanec as their leading producer, they were the lowest-scoring squad to qualify for the post-season. The Canadiens were also a disappointing road team. While they were 14 games above .500 overall, they were just one game over that mark when skating outside the familiar confines of the Bell Centre. If you had to pick one ingredient for building a winning club, an ability to keep pucks out of nets would rank at the top. This is where Montreal and their sometimes-superhuman goaltender, Carey Price, excel. The Habs had the eighth-best defensive record in the league last season, allowing a stingy 209 goals. Clearly if this part of their game falters, they are done for. Montreal's signing of winger Erik Cole was quite astute. At 6-2 and 205 lbs., he brings a physical presence that should give the team's smaller forwards Ð of whom there are many Ð more room to showcase their skills. He can also score, potting 26 goals and 52 points with Carolina last season. But the Canadiens still have too many good players and not enough great ones. And although Price is a proven workhorse, the team can ill afford to lean on him game after game, tempting as that may be. In 2011-12, look for Montreal to maintain their place near the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff teams. Still far from perfect, they might even steal a post-season round. Continued on pg 5 Continued from pg. 4 Ottawa When the Ottawa Senators rejoined the league in 1992-93, the thought of them ever challenging for the Stanley Cup seemed laughable. Indeed that year's edition of the Sens was among the worst clubs to ever compete (and I used the term loosely) in the NHL. But by the late '90s and throughout much of the '00s, Ottawa was a force to be reckoned with. Any year now, it was said, they would break through and bring Lord Stanley back to the capital of hockey's homeland. It never happened, of course, and now that phase of Senators history is over. These days the club is absolutely pitiful, and as has long been their problem, it all starts in net. Sorry, Bryan Murray, but your Pascal Leclaire experiment was an unmitigated disaster. He had one good season, years back, and will probably never have another one. Kudos for not re-signing him. But if you honestly think that the road to success is paved with Craig Anderson and Alex Auld guarding the mesh, you have another thing coming. Sure, both of them are okay, but since when are okay goalies good enough? If anyone should know better, it is the GM of Ottawa. Offensively, the Sens are a mess. Last season they were saved from the humiliation of placing last in goals-for only by the lifeless Devils. In fairness, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson missed 20 and 28 games respectively. Still, when Nick Foligno is viewed as an offensive force, you know your roster needs more "oomph" in the production department. It would appear that rather than looking for a quick fix for their scoring woes, the Sens are trying to improve from within, praying guys like Bobby Butler, Erik Condra and Colin Greening blossom into stars. Is that the wisest approach? Probably. After all, allowing young talent to develop, as painful as that can be to watch at times, is precisely how Ottawa became an elite team the last time around. Watch for the Senators to stumble through another unmemorable playoffs-less season. But also watch for them to gradually improve as the season goes on. It's called rebuilding. It takes time. Toronto Last season went far better for the Leafs than just about anyone predicted. Going down their roster, not many familiar names stand out, but that is bound to change as this young squad matures. Production wise, Toronto was in the bottom third of the league last year, placing 23rd. It should be noted, however, that only 28 goals separated them from the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. The Leafs extracted an awful lot from winger Clarke MacArthur, who generated career bests in goals (21) and assists (41). Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin also supplied decent scoring and, miraculously, managed to stay on the good side of their plus-minus ratings. Then there is speedy leading scorer Phil Kessel, who cost the Leafs two first-rounders in a controversial 2009 trade with Boston. He may or may not morph into the upper-echelon player fans crave, but he did put up a none-too-shabby 32 goals and 32 assists while under relentless scrutiny. Considering the Leafs allowed more goals than 24 other clubs, it is rather amazing they were as competitive as they were. Their blueline has a lot of size, but not one of their regular D-men had a positive plus-minus. In net, rookie James Reimer posted a marvelous .921 save percentage while winning twice as many games as he lost. It remains an open question whether he can continue that sort of pace over an entire season. And if Jonas Gustavsson can somehow replicate his pre-NHL success, Reimer may not get the chance. The Leafs have picked up injury-prone centre Tim Connolly, for whom they seriously overpaid at $9.5 million over two years. He has been touted as Toronto's next number one centre, but with just 13 goals and 42 points in 68 games last season, one wonders how sensible that would be. Also new to TO is centre Matthew Lombardi, a capable 20-goal, 50-point man who brings experience and intangibles to the dressing room. He would be a quality addition to virtually any franchise. GM Brian Burke insists his team has improved despite his failure (or reluctance) to nab any big-name free agents. He is right. And having missed the post-season by just eight points, the Leafs stand a genuine chance of securing the eighth, seventh or even sixth seed. The stars will just have to line up in their favour. Winnipeg The excitement surrounding the NHL's return to Manitoba remains as palpable today as it was the day the historic deal was unveiled. But just as man cannot live on bread alone, a hockey club cannot exist on hype alone. These former Atlanta Thrashers cannot expect fanfare to translate into W's. Accustomed to a perch on the lower rung of the standings, Atlanta was once again inferior last season. They were 25th overall, 20th in goals-for and 28th in goals-against. Virtually nothing about them impressed anyone. But here's the thing: they underachieved. Big time. The new Jets actually have a pretty solid (and young) core in place. Big Andrew Ladd enjoyed a career-best 59 points, an almost even split between goals and assists. As captain, he also showed tremendous leadership. On the blueline, the even bigger Dustin Byfuglien (pronounced "Bufflin") racked up an outstanding 20 goals and 53 points. In time, this man WILL win the Norris. Production was bolstered by the likes of D-man Tobias Enstrom, centre Bryan Little and left-winger Evander Kane, who, having just turned 20, enters his third NHL campaign. With Chris Mason injured, Ondrej Pavelec amassed the most minutes in net. Considering how poorly the Thrashers played, his .914 save percentage and 2.73 GAA was more than tolerable. The hot-and-cold Mason has put up some decent numbers in his career. Though he has never consistently been among the league's elite, if he can stay healthy and regain his past form, he could become a key player for Winnipeg. What may dog the Jets the most is their long history of monumental failure. The Thrashers made the playoffs exactly once in 11 seasons. Are too many players too used to losing? Hopefully the change of scenery to a more traditional hockey market helps the players recalibrate and, more importantly, reach their collective potential. And that potential will have to come from within, as the Jets steered clear of major off-season moves (sorry, Eric Fehr). The playoffs are within reach, but these Jets may still be a season or two away from true takeoff. (Watch for our Western Conference preview later this week).8/8/11
