In the spirit of the holiday season here’s a look at what
might be on the Christmas wish lists of the NHL’s Eastern
Conference teams.
Atlanta Thrashers: Re-signing Ilya Kovalchuk. He’s
eligible for unrestricted free agency and contract talks have been
ongoing for weeks but thus far no sign a new deal is imminent.
He’s their franchise player around whom they hope to build
for the future. For a club struggling at the gate, re-signing him
is a must.
Boston Bruins: A scoring forward. Who knew trading away Phil
Kessel would have such an adverse effect upon the Bruins offense
this season? After ranking second overall in offensive production
last season the Bruins this season are 26th overall in
goals-per-game and 22nd overall in power-play goals. Little wonder
there’s speculation GM Peter Chiarelli could go shopping for
a goal-scorer soon.
Buffalo Sabres: Improved production from Thomas Vanek. Yes,
he was tied for the team lead in goals heading into this week and
is nursing an abdominal injury but he’s been well off the
40-goal pace of last season. The Sabres have played well overall as
a team this season and look like a playoff contender but Vanek
needs to pick up his production.
Carolina Hurricanes: A strong rebuilding effort. Forget about
making the playoffs as the Hurricanes have dug a hole too deep to
climb out of this season. Management intends on dumping salaries
and rebuilding around star forward Eric Staal and goalie Cam Ward
with younger, faster, affordable players. A good start to that
process this season could bode well for the future.
Florida Panthers: David Booth recovers from post-concussion
symptoms. Sidelined by a concussion in late-October, Booth has been
slowly recovering and the club hopes to get him back soon. A
31-goal scorer last season, Booth could provide a significant boost
in their quest to make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
Montreal Canadiens: More scoring. The Habs currently rank
second worst in both goals-per-game and shots on goal.
They’re getting back a couple of key players from injury in
Andrei Markov and Brian Gionta and Andrei Kostitsyn has shown signs
of improvement but if they hope to make the playoffs this season
they must pick up the pace offensively.
New Jersey Devils: Good health for Martin Brodeur. He’s
poised to break the NHL shutout record but more importantly the
38-year-old bounced back from a slow start to once again rank among
the league’s top netminders. If he can remain healthy –
and perhaps be spelled more frequently down the stretch – the
Devils could potentially be Stanley Cup contenders.
New York Islanders: Patience. They’ve surprised a lot
of observers with their better-than-expected performance this
season and the temptation might be there to sacrifice some of their
future perhaps for a quick fix to make the playoffs. They must
however resist that temptation and continue to focus on rebuilding
for the long haul.
New York Rangers: Scoring depth. The Rangers have been in
free fall in the standings in recent weeks, due in large part to
their lack of offensive punch. After superstar Marian Gaborik and
linemate Vaclav Prospal, no other Rangers forward has 20 or more
points, and if Gaborik should get hurt they’ll be in big
trouble. With limited cap space to bolster their ranks more
Blueshirts need to step up.
Ottawa Senators: A healthy Pascal LeClaire. The Senators
looked to LeClaire when they acquired him last season from Columbus
to provide the strong goaltending they’ve lacked over the
past three seasons but the oft-injured netminder was sidelined once
again. The Senators have been able to adjust without him but their
playoff hopes would improve if he can return healthy and regain his
form.
Philadelphia Flyers: A better team effort. For a team loaded
with the talent of the Flyers the fact they’re near the
bottom of the league standings is inexcusable. A coaching change
didn’t help things and a shake-up via trade is probably not
coming. Until the Flyers players stop playing like individuals and
more like a team they risk missing the playoffs.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Crosby and Malkin stay healthy. The
defending champion Penguins have had few problems this season but
there was a concern in November when Malkin was sidelined for
several games and Crosby’s production declined. While the
Penguins are overall a better team than they were a year ago
they’ll need their two superstars to avoid injury if they
hope to repeat as champions.
Tampa Bay Lightning: A better second half for Vincent
Lecavalier and Alex Tanguay. Lecavalier has 31 points in 35 games
but has only eight goals while Tanguay has only 19 points and been
very streaky so far, resulting in a recent benching. The Bolts'
playoff hopes could depend on better production from these two in
the second half.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Better goaltending. Since mid-November
the Leafs have climbed out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference
to within striking distance of a playoff berth, but the
inconsistent goaltending of Vesa Toskala and Jonas Gustavsson
remains an issue. Those two need a better effort in the second half
if the Leafs hope to become a postseason contender.
Washington Capitals: An improved defensive game. The Capitals
are the league’s top offensive team but there are concerns
over their defensive play, particularly on the penalty kill where
they rank among the league’s worst clubs. It’s a touchy
subject for head coach Bruce Boudreau but deep down he knows if his
club hopes to march to the Cup they must do a better job
defensively.
