Atlantic Division Review

Always productive, but can they turn things around on their own?



New Jersey Devils (29-15-3) 61 points

We all have said it. No Bobby Holik? Devils are Done. No Scott Stevens? Done. No Scott Neidermayer? Done. No Brian Rafalski or Scott Gomez? Done.


Finally we had it right this year. No Martin Brodeur, no sure fire hall of fame goalie between the pipes for the first time in 15 years? DONE.

Actually, 1st place in the division, 3rd in the East, far from done. The New Jersey Devils have DONE it again by maintaining a high level of play even with devastating losses. Brent Sutter has accomplished what no coach has been able to do since Robby Ftorek unleashed the A-line and Mogilny/Gomez on the league. Brent Sutter has transformed the Devils from the trap minded team of the past to an offensively exciting club. Thanks in part to the resurgence of Patrick Elias, a bounce back year by Brian Gionta and Travis Zajac, and the continuing growth of all star Zach Parise.

Look for the Devils to try and deal John Madden or Jay Pandolfo at the trade deadline for blue line depth. With Sutters new offensive system, both players look lost on a nightly basis.


New York Rangers (28-16-4) 60 points


The start of the year for the Rangers could be looked at as a year of transition. Gone were prolific yet enigmatic superstar Jaromir Jagr along with Straka, Shanahan, and superpest Sean Avery.

Is it really safe to say it's a year of transition? With Redden, Gomez, Drury, Rozsival all signed to long term deals, the current product looks to be the core of the team for years to come. Fans may have come to accept the year of transition is just a mediocre team overachieving for the majority of the season.


The New York Rangers are a playoff team as of right now and will be in the top 8 when it is all said and done. Not being able to sign Mats Sundin may be foreshadowing the problems for the blueshirts. Did they need Mats Sundin? No, but the fact that they couldn't get him is going to create even more problems for a team in transition.


On the bright side Scott Gomez has always been a slow starter and should be able to carry this team offensively along with a motivated Zherdev. Along with King Henrik in net and Marc Staal improving leaps and bounds as a shutdown defensemen the team is far from being in trouble. They just may be running on ice for the remainder of this year...and the foreseeable future.

Philadelphia Flyers (25-12-9) 59 points


Is Barry Melrose jealous or what? The Philadelphia Flyers continue to reep the benefits of a one year rebuilding project with their young guns producing huge numbers. If Tampa Bay could have mastered the art of the one year rebuild project, Mr. Melrose would still have a job.


The Flyers have spent the majority of the season without their supposed #1 center Daniel Briere and lost Darian Hatcher for all of it. They really haven't lost a step without the two.

For most teams, it would take years to find new first line caliber talent while current players battled injuries like Briere and Gagne have done. Call it luck, good scouting, good coaching...The Flyers have those players now with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.

The Flyers, if Briere can ever stop pretending to be Peter Forbserg, will have a deadly one two punch in their lineup. Carter/Richards, Gagne/Briere while sprinkling in Knuble, Lupul, Hartnell should really put the Flyers over the top for the second half of the year. Sure their goaltending is still spotty but at least they'll have firepower.


Pittsburgh Penguins (23-21-4) 50 points


By far the most disappointing team in the league the Penguins have a lot of work to do if they want to recapture the magic from last season. The team was revamped a lot like the Rangers due to off season losses, but everybody expected the Pens to breeze through the Atlantic Division and ultimately the Eastern Conference.

Malkin and Crosby, as usual, are pulling their own weight and than some. Everybody else, not so much. Petr Sykora is just now finding his scoring touch, Miro Satan should have struck gold with Malkin/Crosby as centers but now it looks as if he is at best a 50 point player at these stage of his career. Phillip Boucher was brought in to help anchor the powerplay but he seems to have lost anything resembling an offensive touch. Much like the beginning of last year, the team is off to a slow start, Goaltending is a weakness, and Malkin/Crosby cannot do it on their own.

Good news is Marc-Andre Fleury is starting to get his reflexes back, Ryan Whitney is just getting out of spring training mode, and Sergie Gonchar should be back just in time for the trade deadline. All three could boost the Pens back to elite status in the East.


New York Islanders (13-29-5) 31 points

What can I say? It's bad right now on the island. The Islanders are by far the worst team in the NHL. They can't score, they can't keep the puck out of the net, their 15 year franchise goalie can't stand up, it's a bad situation. And when they do score it isn't the young guys contributed. Their leading scorers are Mark Streit, Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, and Trent Hunter. None are spring chickens, and two of the four are old farts.

As for the second half, the only thing Islander fans can look forward to is the trade deadline. Without question, the team should unload anybody over the age of 31 in hopes of acquiring prospects and draft picks to go along with a lottery pick. Trade Guerin, Weight, Mark Streit, Mike Comrie, Andy Sutton and really rebuild. The team is awful now, may as well be awful with young kids developing in the process. Billy Guerin, Doug Weight, Mike Comrie, Mark Streit are all taking up valuable offensive minutes.

Time to seriously blow things up, stink it up for a few seasons, see what happens.