With the All-Star break ending tomorrow, I figured it would be a great time to hand out grades to each team heading in to the stretch run of the regular season. The grade is factoring in the entire season. The rankings for the divisions are in GRADE order, not point total.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
NEW JERSEY DEVILS {29-15-3 - 61 Points}
A+ ~ The fact that the Devils lead the Atlantic Division at the All-Star break despite being without Martin Brodeur is reason alone to give them a top grade. Zach Parise's 28 goals and 27 assists (55 points) give the Devils their first legitimate scorer in a long time.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS {25-12-9 - 59 Points}
A ~ Other than an early season slump, the Flyers have been playing solid hockey all season despite being without top center Daniel Briere. Their only question as they enter the stretch run is will their goaltending ruin them in the playoffs...again
NEW YORK RANGERS {28-16-4 - 60 Points}
B ~ The Rangers have had a very good season, but they've had too many blunders and poor performances in games to grade them any higher. Consistency will be the difference between a deep playoff run or another 2nd round exit
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS {23-21-4 - 50 Points}
C+ ~ Pittsburgh has slumped too much this season for the amount of talent on their roster. They need to add toughness at the trade deadline if they want to make another Stanley Cup run. This all being said, the Penguins can turn it on at the drop of a dime and win this division.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS {13-29-5 - 31 Points}
D- ~ As bad as this team has been, when you look at the roster, you understand why. Losing Rick DiPietro has killed this team, but backup goalie Joey MacDonald has been a pleasant surprise.
NORTHEAST DIVISION
BOSTON BRUINS {34-8-5 - 73 Points}
A+ ~ The Bruins were expected to be a playoff team heading in to the season, but no one expected them to be this good. The B's have perfect chemistry right now and are getting contributions from all over the roster. If they can add one more scoring forward, it could be Stanley Cup season in Beantown for the first time since 1990.
MONTREAL CANADIENS {27-13-6 - 60 Points}
A- ~ The only fault with this team is their power play right now. Coincidentally, when Alexei Kovalev was playing well on the PP last season, they had one of the best in the league. Kovalev has been slumping on the PP, and the performance has gone down. If the Vinny Lecavalier trade rumors become true, the Canadiens would vault past the Bruins as the favorite in the East.
BUFFALO SABRES {24-18-5 - 53 Points}
B ~ The Sabres got off to a strong start but fell off. They have rebounded and righted the ship to the pre-season expectations of the team. While they don't have the tools to make a deep run, they certainly wouldn't be an easy out for whoever drew them in the 1st round. This team will go as far as RW Thomas Vanek and G Ryan Miller will carry them.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS {17-22-8 - 42 Points}
C- ~ The Maple Leafs organization knows this season is a write-off and they knew that coming in, but they have certainly played tough night in and night out. I am really curious to see what GM Brian Burke does in his first trade season in Toronto.
OTTAWA SENATORS {16-21-7 - 39 Points}
F ~ I don't care what the problem is, this team has way too much talent to be playing this badly. They have the roster to steal a playoff spot and potentially pull off an upset, but they aren't getting in the win column enough for them to even be significant.
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
WASHINGTON CAPITALS {30-15-3 - 63 Points}
A- ~ The Capitals are playing at a high level right now and have the talent to keep it up. Not to sound like a broken record in this blog, but unless Jose Theodore gets on a hot streak at the right time, this team needs to make a move for a playoff-caliber #1 goalie.
FLORIDA PANTHERS {21-17-8 - 50 Points}
B ~ Despite some really bad rough patches in the season, the Panthers are only 2 points out of a playoff spot. This team doesn't have the ability to make a deep run, but you have to wonder what just a playoff birth would do to the fanbase in Sunrise, FL. The main question GM Jacques Martin has to face is if keeping D Jay Bouwmeester for the chance of making the playoffs (and they would definitely lose him when he becomes a free agent in the off-season) is worth it instead of getting a lot of value back for him at the trade deadline.
CAROLINA HURRICANES {23-20-5 - 51 Points}
B- ~ Just like the Rangers, consistency has killed this team throughout the season. The Hurricanes should be chasing down the Capitals for the top spot in the division, not battling Florida for 2nd place.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING {16-21-10 - 42 Points}
D ~ The Lightning organization has been a textbook example of a team in turmoil this season. They fired Barry Melrose early in the season, their top players aren't performing. The only bright spot has been G Mike Smith, who has proven his merit as a starter. They traded Brad Richards at the trade deadline last season, will they part with Vinny Lecavalier at this deadline?
ATLANTA THRASHERS {17-26-5 - 39 Points}
D ~ A lack of consistency between the pipes has killed the Thrashers this season. They are clearly rebuilding for the next few seasons, so Thrasher fans can count on saying good bye to winger Ilya Kovalchuk, D Mathieu Schneider, and possibly D Niclas Havelid. Will there be a fan-base left after this season?
CENTRAL DIVISION
DETROIT RED WINGS {31-9-6 - 68 Points}
A ~ The Red Wings have lived up to the high expectations put on them this season. San Jose has played the best hockey so far this season, but when the Red Wings are on their game, they are like a hockey machine. They are still the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in my book as long as the Chris Osgood/Ty Conklin duo holds up in the crease.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS {25-12-8 - 58 Points}
A- ~ It's really nice to see hockey matter in Chicago again. You never want to say that someone dying was a good thing, but lets call a spade a spade. Former Blackhawks Owner William Wurtz's passing last year was the BEST thing that ever happened to this franchise. The Blackhawks are playing exciting hockey, they are the top drawing team in the NHL, and they have a young core that can be good for many season to come.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS {22-20-5 - 49 Points}
B- ~ Will this be the season the Blue Jackets finally make the playoffs? Head Coach Ken Hitchcock has the personnel he wants and the team believing in his defense-first mentality. While it has been an up and down season for the Blue Jackets, they are in a good position as they head in to February.
ST. LOUIS BLUES {19-23-4 - 42 Points}
D+ ~ St. Louis will be lottery bound this season. While they were on a roll early in the season, losing Manny Legace was the beginning of the end of the season for this team. It may not look like it right now, but the Blues are building towards something.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS {20-23-3 - 43 Points}
D+ ~ The Predators have been big underachievers this season. They went from pushing Detroit to 6 games in the first round of the playoffs last season to having a worse point total than all but one team in the West (St. Louis). I wouldn't be surprised to see this team surge a bit in the 2nd half, but the West is too tough for a legitimate playoff run.
NORTHWEST DIVISION
CALGARY FLAMES {28-14-4 - 60 Points}
A- ~ Head coach Mike Keenan has his boys rolling on the Red Mile. What makes the Flames a more dangerous team in the West is that their style of play matches up very well against the top dogs in Detroit and San Jose. Anytime that Miika Kiprusoff is your goalie, you've got the ability to make a deep run in the playoffs.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS {22-19-7 - 51 Points}
B+ ~ Their record is deceiving because they have been without all-world goalie Roberto Luongo for a decent chunk of the season. While he has returned, he is not back to playing at the level he normally does. Once Roberto is playing Luongo-like again, the rest of the team will fall in to place. The jury is still out on the Mats Sundin signing.
EDMONTON OILERS {24-19-3 - 51 Points}
B ~ The definition of an up and down team. The length of time it took them to settle their goalie situation hurt this team in the standings a bit, but Edmonton now has all of it's ducks in a row to make a playoff run.
MINNESOTA WILD {23-20-3 - 49 Points}
B- ~What looked like such a promising season at the beginning has turned in to a mediocre season. Being without sniper Marian Gaborik has really hurt this team, but he probably would have been traded by now if he had been healthy anyways. Because Minnesota plays such good defense and has one of the more underrated goalies in the league in Nicklas Backstrom, they can make a run back to the top of the division at any time.
COLORADO AVALANCHE {23-23-1 - 47 Points}
C ~ Losing Captain Joe Sakic hurt this team in a big way. They have the talent to be a playoff team, but they need Peter Budaj to play more like the Budaj of late than the Budaj that started the season. If they could make a trade for a goalie, they could become a tough match-up for many teams in the West.
PACIFIC DIVISION
SAN JOSE SHARKS {34-6-5 - 73 Points}
A+ ~ They were the best team in the NHL for the first 3 months of the season, and only Boston and Detroit is even close to them. The nice surprise of the season for the Sharks was finding out that they'll be okay with Brian Boucher between the pipes if Evgeni Nabokov should go down with an injury again. Rookie Head Coach Todd McLellan will win the Jack Adams Award, you can book it now.
PHOENIX COYOTES {24-19-5 - 53 Points}
B+ ~ Easily the surprise of the West this season. It's taken some time, but head coach Wayne Gretzky has something brewing out in the desert. Phoenix won't make too much noise this year, but the Coyotes are on the right track for the first time since early in their Phoenix days.
ANAHEIM DUCKS {23-21-5 - 51 Points}
B ~ This team has been very streaky. They started off badly, rebounded with some of the best hockey any team has played this season, plateaued, and then hit a slump right before the All-Star break. I think the break came at the perfect time for the Ducks. They are another team I wouldn't want to play in the playoffs because they are capable of beating any team on any night.
LOS ANGELES KINGS {19-20-7 - 45 Points}
C+ ~ The Kings have exceeded expectations this season. Granted, they were very low expectations, but the Kings haven't been the easy win they've been in past seasons. Like the Blackhawks, they have a young core and are positioning themselves to be a perennial Western Conference playoff team in a couple of seasons.
DALLAS STARS {20-18-7 - 47 Points}
C ~ While the Stars have been playing much better hockey since the departure of Sean Avery, the first 6 weeks of the season were absolutely brutal in Dallas. They have turned things around and they have the depth to make things interesting in the West down the stretch.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
NEW JERSEY DEVILS {29-15-3 - 61 Points}
A+ ~ The fact that the Devils lead the Atlantic Division at the All-Star break despite being without Martin Brodeur is reason alone to give them a top grade. Zach Parise's 28 goals and 27 assists (55 points) give the Devils their first legitimate scorer in a long time.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS {25-12-9 - 59 Points}
A ~ Other than an early season slump, the Flyers have been playing solid hockey all season despite being without top center Daniel Briere. Their only question as they enter the stretch run is will their goaltending ruin them in the playoffs...again
NEW YORK RANGERS {28-16-4 - 60 Points}
B ~ The Rangers have had a very good season, but they've had too many blunders and poor performances in games to grade them any higher. Consistency will be the difference between a deep playoff run or another 2nd round exit
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS {23-21-4 - 50 Points}
C+ ~ Pittsburgh has slumped too much this season for the amount of talent on their roster. They need to add toughness at the trade deadline if they want to make another Stanley Cup run. This all being said, the Penguins can turn it on at the drop of a dime and win this division.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS {13-29-5 - 31 Points}
D- ~ As bad as this team has been, when you look at the roster, you understand why. Losing Rick DiPietro has killed this team, but backup goalie Joey MacDonald has been a pleasant surprise.
NORTHEAST DIVISION
BOSTON BRUINS {34-8-5 - 73 Points}
A+ ~ The Bruins were expected to be a playoff team heading in to the season, but no one expected them to be this good. The B's have perfect chemistry right now and are getting contributions from all over the roster. If they can add one more scoring forward, it could be Stanley Cup season in Beantown for the first time since 1990.
MONTREAL CANADIENS {27-13-6 - 60 Points}
A- ~ The only fault with this team is their power play right now. Coincidentally, when Alexei Kovalev was playing well on the PP last season, they had one of the best in the league. Kovalev has been slumping on the PP, and the performance has gone down. If the Vinny Lecavalier trade rumors become true, the Canadiens would vault past the Bruins as the favorite in the East.
BUFFALO SABRES {24-18-5 - 53 Points}
B ~ The Sabres got off to a strong start but fell off. They have rebounded and righted the ship to the pre-season expectations of the team. While they don't have the tools to make a deep run, they certainly wouldn't be an easy out for whoever drew them in the 1st round. This team will go as far as RW Thomas Vanek and G Ryan Miller will carry them.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS {17-22-8 - 42 Points}
C- ~ The Maple Leafs organization knows this season is a write-off and they knew that coming in, but they have certainly played tough night in and night out. I am really curious to see what GM Brian Burke does in his first trade season in Toronto.
OTTAWA SENATORS {16-21-7 - 39 Points}
F ~ I don't care what the problem is, this team has way too much talent to be playing this badly. They have the roster to steal a playoff spot and potentially pull off an upset, but they aren't getting in the win column enough for them to even be significant.
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
WASHINGTON CAPITALS {30-15-3 - 63 Points}
A- ~ The Capitals are playing at a high level right now and have the talent to keep it up. Not to sound like a broken record in this blog, but unless Jose Theodore gets on a hot streak at the right time, this team needs to make a move for a playoff-caliber #1 goalie.
FLORIDA PANTHERS {21-17-8 - 50 Points}
B ~ Despite some really bad rough patches in the season, the Panthers are only 2 points out of a playoff spot. This team doesn't have the ability to make a deep run, but you have to wonder what just a playoff birth would do to the fanbase in Sunrise, FL. The main question GM Jacques Martin has to face is if keeping D Jay Bouwmeester for the chance of making the playoffs (and they would definitely lose him when he becomes a free agent in the off-season) is worth it instead of getting a lot of value back for him at the trade deadline.
CAROLINA HURRICANES {23-20-5 - 51 Points}
B- ~ Just like the Rangers, consistency has killed this team throughout the season. The Hurricanes should be chasing down the Capitals for the top spot in the division, not battling Florida for 2nd place.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING {16-21-10 - 42 Points}
D ~ The Lightning organization has been a textbook example of a team in turmoil this season. They fired Barry Melrose early in the season, their top players aren't performing. The only bright spot has been G Mike Smith, who has proven his merit as a starter. They traded Brad Richards at the trade deadline last season, will they part with Vinny Lecavalier at this deadline?
ATLANTA THRASHERS {17-26-5 - 39 Points}
D ~ A lack of consistency between the pipes has killed the Thrashers this season. They are clearly rebuilding for the next few seasons, so Thrasher fans can count on saying good bye to winger Ilya Kovalchuk, D Mathieu Schneider, and possibly D Niclas Havelid. Will there be a fan-base left after this season?
CENTRAL DIVISION
DETROIT RED WINGS {31-9-6 - 68 Points}
A ~ The Red Wings have lived up to the high expectations put on them this season. San Jose has played the best hockey so far this season, but when the Red Wings are on their game, they are like a hockey machine. They are still the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in my book as long as the Chris Osgood/Ty Conklin duo holds up in the crease.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS {25-12-8 - 58 Points}
A- ~ It's really nice to see hockey matter in Chicago again. You never want to say that someone dying was a good thing, but lets call a spade a spade. Former Blackhawks Owner William Wurtz's passing last year was the BEST thing that ever happened to this franchise. The Blackhawks are playing exciting hockey, they are the top drawing team in the NHL, and they have a young core that can be good for many season to come.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS {22-20-5 - 49 Points}
B- ~ Will this be the season the Blue Jackets finally make the playoffs? Head Coach Ken Hitchcock has the personnel he wants and the team believing in his defense-first mentality. While it has been an up and down season for the Blue Jackets, they are in a good position as they head in to February.
ST. LOUIS BLUES {19-23-4 - 42 Points}
D+ ~ St. Louis will be lottery bound this season. While they were on a roll early in the season, losing Manny Legace was the beginning of the end of the season for this team. It may not look like it right now, but the Blues are building towards something.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS {20-23-3 - 43 Points}
D+ ~ The Predators have been big underachievers this season. They went from pushing Detroit to 6 games in the first round of the playoffs last season to having a worse point total than all but one team in the West (St. Louis). I wouldn't be surprised to see this team surge a bit in the 2nd half, but the West is too tough for a legitimate playoff run.
NORTHWEST DIVISION
CALGARY FLAMES {28-14-4 - 60 Points}
A- ~ Head coach Mike Keenan has his boys rolling on the Red Mile. What makes the Flames a more dangerous team in the West is that their style of play matches up very well against the top dogs in Detroit and San Jose. Anytime that Miika Kiprusoff is your goalie, you've got the ability to make a deep run in the playoffs.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS {22-19-7 - 51 Points}
B+ ~ Their record is deceiving because they have been without all-world goalie Roberto Luongo for a decent chunk of the season. While he has returned, he is not back to playing at the level he normally does. Once Roberto is playing Luongo-like again, the rest of the team will fall in to place. The jury is still out on the Mats Sundin signing.
EDMONTON OILERS {24-19-3 - 51 Points}
B ~ The definition of an up and down team. The length of time it took them to settle their goalie situation hurt this team in the standings a bit, but Edmonton now has all of it's ducks in a row to make a playoff run.
MINNESOTA WILD {23-20-3 - 49 Points}
B- ~What looked like such a promising season at the beginning has turned in to a mediocre season. Being without sniper Marian Gaborik has really hurt this team, but he probably would have been traded by now if he had been healthy anyways. Because Minnesota plays such good defense and has one of the more underrated goalies in the league in Nicklas Backstrom, they can make a run back to the top of the division at any time.
COLORADO AVALANCHE {23-23-1 - 47 Points}
C ~ Losing Captain Joe Sakic hurt this team in a big way. They have the talent to be a playoff team, but they need Peter Budaj to play more like the Budaj of late than the Budaj that started the season. If they could make a trade for a goalie, they could become a tough match-up for many teams in the West.
PACIFIC DIVISION
SAN JOSE SHARKS {34-6-5 - 73 Points}
A+ ~ They were the best team in the NHL for the first 3 months of the season, and only Boston and Detroit is even close to them. The nice surprise of the season for the Sharks was finding out that they'll be okay with Brian Boucher between the pipes if Evgeni Nabokov should go down with an injury again. Rookie Head Coach Todd McLellan will win the Jack Adams Award, you can book it now.
PHOENIX COYOTES {24-19-5 - 53 Points}
B+ ~ Easily the surprise of the West this season. It's taken some time, but head coach Wayne Gretzky has something brewing out in the desert. Phoenix won't make too much noise this year, but the Coyotes are on the right track for the first time since early in their Phoenix days.
ANAHEIM DUCKS {23-21-5 - 51 Points}
B ~ This team has been very streaky. They started off badly, rebounded with some of the best hockey any team has played this season, plateaued, and then hit a slump right before the All-Star break. I think the break came at the perfect time for the Ducks. They are another team I wouldn't want to play in the playoffs because they are capable of beating any team on any night.
LOS ANGELES KINGS {19-20-7 - 45 Points}
C+ ~ The Kings have exceeded expectations this season. Granted, they were very low expectations, but the Kings haven't been the easy win they've been in past seasons. Like the Blackhawks, they have a young core and are positioning themselves to be a perennial Western Conference playoff team in a couple of seasons.
DALLAS STARS {20-18-7 - 47 Points}
C ~ While the Stars have been playing much better hockey since the departure of Sean Avery, the first 6 weeks of the season were absolutely brutal in Dallas. They have turned things around and they have the depth to make things interesting in the West down the stretch.
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