From east to west: The NHL’s Atlantic Division
Teams in the Atlantic Division, more specifically the Pittsburgh Penguins, enter the season with great uncertainty as to whether Sidney Crosby, the face of the NHL, will return at some point or continue to man the sidelines.
Sir Crosby’s health dramatically affects the outcome of the coastal division, as the 24-year-old’s impact on each game Pittsburgh competes in vibrates throughout the Atlantic.
While the Penguins are happy to have Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal both returning to the line-up on a full-time basis, the team as a whole – Crosby or no Crosby – is not necessarily the favorites heading into the season, like years past.
After an underwhelming season in 2010-11, the New Jersey Devils are poised for a rebound with a healthy Zach Parise and a more stable defense. Will they top the Pens? Probably not, but they’re primed for some serious improvements in the win column.
Then, on the surface, is a respectable New York Islanders who have hinted the likes of Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Strome are possible mainstays for the upcoming season. John Tavares is locked up, so the future is bright – right?
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Rounding out the Atlantic are the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, two squads who each made significant noise in the offseason on a number of fronts. The Rangers landed the biggest fish of the free agent waters in Brad Richards, while the Flyers moved out virtually half of their roster – or so it seems.
Dating back to the lockout, the Atlantic has been anchored by the Devils, Flyers and Penguins, who typically occupy the top three spots in the division. However, the Rangers could turn heads this year and, quite frankly, every year until Henrik Lundqvist leaves town.
The main reason for optimism, besides the addition of Richards, is the emergence of character players like Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. After undergoing several years of transition and having a mixture of expired veterans and inexperienced rookies, the tides have turned in the Big Apple.
A division championship is a far stretch, but look for them to secure the second or third spot, behind only the Penguins and Flyers, who pose as stronger threats due to their respective organizational depth.
One of the contributing factors towards the Flyers decision to move out the previous regime of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, while replacing them with a younger core, was last season’s emergence of James van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux. Both are elite young forwards who have taken over as co-leaders of the franchise. Neither has maximized their potential yet and will be two breakout players to keep an eye on this season, league-wide.
Keeping with young players, the Devils and Rangers will likely each have a new Swedish defenseman patrolling its blue line this season. In Manhattan, Ranger fans can look forward to seeing Tim Erixon, a former World Junior Hockey Championship defenseman, who was acquired from Calgary earlier this year. On the other side, the Devils hope Adam Larsson, their fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, can become a mainstay in the top four.
Intra-division games will be hotly contested and will result, at least on most nights, in a low-scoring affairs. With a starting cast of Martin Brodeur, Rick DiPietro, Henrik Lundqvist, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ilya Bryzgalov, the battles in net will be an on ongoing storyline to keep a tab on.
Judging by the preseason depth charts, a pair of teams in Pennsylvania looks to lead the division, a scene quite familiar within the Atlantic over recent years.
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