2008-09 Southeast Division Standings
Washington – 50-24-8 – 108 pts’‘Carolina – 45-30-7 – 97 pts'’Florida – 41-30-11 – 93 pts’‘Atlanta – 35-41-6 – 76 pts'’Tampa Bay – 24-40-18 – 66 pts
The Southeast Division has been considered one of the weaker divisions in the NHL for some time now, but the resurgent Washington Capitals are doing much to set the record straight. Carolina has been the only really steady franchise in the division since the lockout, while Tampa Bay appears to be on the verge of making a comeback. Atlanta has only been to the playoffs once, and Florida just can’t seem to get all the right pieces together at the same time.
Up front, the team with the most firepower is clearly the up and coming Washington Capitals. Not only did they finish 3rd in the league in total offense, they added two quality players to their forward lines, most notably Mike Knuble. Knuble will be a perfect fit in Washington, and could potentially give the Caps the best chemistry on a first line. No one shoots more than Alex Ovechkin, and now that Knuble will be parking himself on the doorstep of the crease, opposing goaltenders will not only have to worry about stopping bullets from Ovie, but also making sure they don’t leave loose rebounds. Surprisingly, Atlanta ranked 9th in total offense last year, and improved their offensive capabilities this offseason, adding Nik Antropov and puck-moving defenseman Pavel Kubina. Tampa Bay definitely has the potential to have a high-powered offense, but never really got off the ground last season. Carolina’s combination of offense and team defense has worked well for them, and they haven’t changed much of anything. The Panthers continue to rebuild from the crease out, and still don’t have a household name to speak of on the front half on their bench.
Defensively, Carolina and Florida were head and shoulders above the rest of their division last season, ranking 8th and 9th respectively, while the rest of the Southeast ranked in the bottom third of the league in team defense. Florida may not have the same success this year, as they will sorely miss the services of Jay Bouwmeester. Tampa Bay took strides to improve their blueline this offseason, drafting Victor Hedman and putting together a corps of physical, tough D-men that should help them better their 3.28 GAA from last year. Washington can afford to give up a few goals, especially now, considering that they should have three lines capable of scoring on a regular basis. Atlanta should also see some improved play from their blueline if only due to the return of the highly touted Zach Bogosian, who missed most of last season with a leg injury.
In net, Carolina has the clearcut advantage, with the incomparable Cam Ward between the pipes. The Capitals will undoubtedly be hoping that Simeon Varlamov can duplicate some of his success in the 2009 postseason in the regular season. If he is able to do so, Washington will not be a fun opponent for even the strongest teams in the league next year. Tampa Bay has a very unstable situation in net, with a number of candidates currently competing for the starting job. Unfortunately, none of the candidates has had any real, consistent success in the NHL so far. Atlanta managed to re-sign starter Kari Lehtonen, but the Finnish keeper is coming off a poor season in which he managed only 19 wins and a 3.06 GAA. Tomas Vokoun will need to bring his best stuff in Florida if the Panthers hope to have any chance of competing in 2009-10.
2009-10 Standings Prediction’‘Washington'’Carolina’‘Tampa Bay'’Atlanta’‘Florida’’