Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Scotty Nostradamus '09-10

Just like last season, I am going to shake the magic sno-globe and see where everything lands. It is kind of ridiculous - let's face it meteorologists have science on their side and they stink at predicting the future. But we all like to play prognosticator so I will step into the role again. Granted, many of my predictions last season were wrong, but what the hell?

Standings
Eastern Conference
1. * Washington - Ovie, Backstrom, healthy Semin, healthy Green, Mike Knuble ... even Poti can't pull them down.
2. * Boston - Even without Kessel they can score and Timmy T and Mount Zdeno make sure other teams don't.
3. * Philadelphia - Pronger's elbows help make up for Emery's woes.
4. Pittsburgh - No Scuderi hurts more than expected but Cindy, Gina and the Flower are still around.
5. Carolina - Staal bounces back and hits 100, while the Wizard Whitney continues his mightily unappreciated wizardry.
6. New Jersey - Mmmmmmaaaaaarrrrrtttttyyyyy. Mmmmmmaaaaaarrrrrtttttyyyyy.
7. Buffalo - Population of Pominville surges back to norm while Miller makes his case for Olympic starter.
8. Toronto - Strong defense gives the Monster some confidence and Kessel comes out strong ... in December.
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9. NY Rangers - Tortorella's tough talk can only go so far with a flawed superstar and a overburdened goaltender.
10. Montreal - MexiCan't can't make up for Steve Penney Carey Price and Cammalleri is no Kovalev.
11. Tampa Bay - Healthy Mike Smith with an improved defense helps Vinny04 find his game again.
12. Atlanta - Offense will have more punch but no XLB and weak goaltending spells doom.
13. Florida - Loss of Bouwmeester and Anderson hurts. A lot.
14. Ottawa - No Heatley, injury-prone goaltending and Jarkko Ruutu aren't a recipe for success.
15. NY Islanders - Too many kids, too terrible a defense but I have a bad feeling that they will be damned good in the near future. And that's one helluva bad feeling.
* = Division Leader

Western Conference
1. * Detroit - They're the Red Wings, 'nuff said.
2. * San Jose - Regular season stars yet again.
3. * Calgary - Top three D can't be beat as Sutters star in home province.
4. Dallas - Healthy captain Morrow doesn't let Turco slide, proves that the Avery distraction was indeed the reason they sucked.
5. Vancouver - Improved defense helps Lou chase Stanley silver along with Olympic gold.
6. Chicago - Twenty-Cent leads charge in last season before cap woes kill dream.
7. Anaheim - No Pronger, no problem as Hiller is no Swiss cheese.
8. St. Louis - Prepare to get Oshied as JD's brats come up big again.
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9. Columbus - Even Hitch can't stop Mason from pulling a Price.
10. Los Angeles - The kids are alright. Not good, not bad, alright.
11. Nashville - No Radulov, no goals. No Zanon, no blocked shots.
12. Phoenix - Off ice turmoil too much, even for Captain Canada Shane Doan.
13. Minnesota - Lemaire was there for a reason. Can't attack without any offense.
14. Edmonton - Two coaches not better than one, especially if twitchy Bulin Wall crumbles.
15. Colorado - Everything will be downhill after the Sakic ceremony.
* = Division Leader

I won't do individual awards but here are 10 other shots in the dark:

*The NHL will have more than three 100 point scorers. And Zach Parise will be one of them.
*Bobby Ryan will score 45 goals.
*Jeff Carter will not.
*The Olympics will cost the Detroit Red Wings the Stanley Cup.
*Mats Sundin will return to the NHL, and will play for the Rangers.
*Mmmmaaarrrtttyyy Brodeur will get injured again.
*Los Angeles will trade for a goaltender at the deadline, thinking they can run for the playoffs.
*Jacques Martin won't last the season in Montreal.
*Versus and Direct TV won't come to terms, screwing hockey fans yet again.
*I will finally make it to Philly for a game and will escape without a criminal record.

Now for some personal certainties: Aside from crossing Philly off my arena list, I am also going to get out to a few Olympic games in Vancouver - have tix to two Russia games, one Sweden, one Finland and trying to get one for a USA game as well. While I am out west I will catch my first junior game (Seattle vs. Vancouver) and may even get a NCAA DI game in this season to; I may not hit the Winter Classic this time around - no one worth rooting for - but will try to get to Fenway for BU/BC the next week. Fingers crossed.

Here on the blog I have no big plans for new types of content: no podcasts, radio or video shows. If you can think of something you want - aside from me to stop hating on Brashear - feel free to chime in. I hope to have a new masthead hopefully by the end of the weekend though. Peepin' Foes for the Pens and for the Sens will both be up by Friday afternoon.

7 comments:

Dan LD said...

I think the caps still don't have the depth to make it past the conference finals. Green is going to start strong again but he doesn't have the stuff to go the distance. Knuble was a good pickup for them, though.

David said...

Scotty, in your predictions for a ninth-place Rangers finish, how many games are you assuming for Gabby?

Brother P said...

come on Scotty! The blueshirts aren't even making the playoffs? I totally disagree with that. The team might not be top 4 but they are certainly top 8.

Pete said...

THN has the Rangers at 13th. I almost cried when I realized that they may be right.

per djoos said...

gimme: leafs will lead the NHL in penalty minutes.
surprise: ducks will finish in top 2 in west
out of nowhere: sergei shirokov will be rookie of the year

Scotty Hockey said...

I stand by my Sundin, even with his retirement.

My Gabby guess is 35 games. Before I set a over/under of 15 but I have to give trainer Jim Ramsay some credit and bump that up ... if he plays 60, then we challenge for that 8th spot. If he doesn't, then perhaps even worse than 9th.

Per Joos (great name) - Ducks could certainly do that well if they get the goaltending situation worked out - platooning only works so long (Richter/Beezer). Shirokov has been sick but will face some tough competition ...

Anonymous said...

Rangers go 82-0, then sweep the first 3 rounds of the playoffs and then lose the cup in 4 to the Coyotes