NHL 2004-2005 Preview

These predictions could easily turn into the predictions for the 2005 NHL season if there is hockey at all. There should be hockey next year because the other major sports were able to avoid strikes in deals that were made that did curtail player salaries. There will not be a salary cap because that would require a lockout of longer than a year. Instead a luxury tax would be introduced where the ten richest teams would give money to the rest of the league. This might also include some sort of salary cap on average salaries such as $2 million or some number that has not been reached yet. The teams will have to be more transparent and reveal how much money they are making off the team directly and how it effects other businesses the owners own.

Now back to hockey. The Detroit Red Wings made major changes last year and this year it will pay off. A stable goaltending situation, a healty Derian Hatcher, and emerging young stars make the Wings the heavy favourite to win the Cup.

But Tampa Bay will defend their title vigoursly because they still have the same young nucleus. The only major loss was Jassen Cullimore who leaves a hole for the Lightning who lose their only true defensive defenseman.

The teams that will make the biggest strides from last year will be Montreal, Pittsburgh, and Anaheim. Montreal is loaded with young offensive talent, a solid defense core and an all-star netminder. A healthy Lemieux, Mark Recchi, and Marc-Andre Fleury for a full season should help Pittsburgh make the playoffs. Anaheim missed the playoffs last year due to a Stanley Cup hangover but stronger seasons from Fedorov, Gigure, and a healty Ozonlish will make a big impact.

The teams that are in free fall are Buffalo, NY Islanders, and Nashville. The Buffalo Sabres have not had a number one goalie since Hasek left. They still have the same 3 goalies battling for the no.1 spot that none of them can hang on too. Plus they lost Curtis Brown, one of their top grinders, and are expected to lose Alexi Zhitnik. The NY Islanders are in turmoil because they have a star-studded defense that can not shut down opponents, DiPetro is over-rated, and Yashin is too eratic. The Nashville Predators are a hard working team with little stars and like the Minnesota Wild they will fail to make the playoffs.

The Edmonton Oilers are in a interesting situation. They need a no.1 centerman and have money with Oates retirement and Salo's departure. Do they go after Demitra and hope they get money from the NHL in a profit-sharing agreement or wait till the season starts when there is some sort of salary cap and player's salaries are lowered.

Note: Surprisingly Mark Recchi and Brett Hull are the only big-time free agent that was signed as NHL team's are going after supporting players not the superstars.

Top 100 NHL players

100. Mike Peca, NY Islanders- One of the best checking forwards is having difficulty performing well with the pressure of being a highly priced player.

99. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington- If the capitals can get him over here this year he should be a shoo-in for the Calder.

98. Chris Chelios, Detroit- The ageless wonder can still be a solid no.2 defenseman.

97. Joni Pitkanen, Philadelphia- Amazingly won a spot on the Flyers defense and made such an impact that Bobby Clarke re-organized the entire defence to be speedier.

96. Jean-Sebestain Giguere, Anaheim- Rebounded in the second half and should lead the Ducks back into the playoffs.

95. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh- In the few games he played last year he looked like Luongo when he stole a few wins despite his team being outshot be massive amounts.

94. Steve Yzerman, Detroit- If he comes back he could help out as a second-line winger and the dominate presence in the locker room.

93. Eric Staal, Carolina- With the departure of Ron Francis he should get a ton of ice time this year,

92. Craig Rivet, Montreal- Gritty defenseman can also help out on Montreal's power play.

91. Shean Donovan, Calgary- Not discounting Iginla and Kiprusoff's help Donovan suprised everybody by having a breakout season and giving the Flames another line besides Iginla's that could score.

90. Ray Whitney, Detroit- When your surrounded by Detroit's talent and an owner with deep pockets its easy to have a great season.

89. Kimmo Timmonen, Nashville- One of the few expansion picks left on Nashville is part of the new wave of finnish defenseman who are speeding up the backend.

88. Jeff Friesen, New Jersey- Makes it because of his amazing post-season performance two years ago.

87. Ladislav Nagy, Phoenix- Big forward is now a first-line threat.

86. Bryan Berard, Chicago- Winner of the Masterton trophy for regaining form as no.1 defenseman despite eye injury.

85. Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver- Would be rated alot higher but the past two seasons he has been suspended for at least 10 games and is facing crinimal charges.

84. Jose Theodore, Montreal- Regained hart form and Hell's Angels contraversy did not effect him.

83. Andrei Markov, Montreal- Russian has two solid seasons behind him and is Montreal's key power-play quarterback.

82. Scott Gomez, New Jersey- Now the devils no.1 centre despite small stature.

81. Ziggy Palffy, Los Angeles- Injuries plagued him last year but he is one the games most exciting players to watch.

80. Janne Ninimaa, NY Islanders- Solid D-men has to battle hard to get ice-time with workhorse Aucoin on team.

79. Ryan Smyth, Edmonton- Hard worker showed he can adapt when forced to be the team's no.1 centre.

78. Jaromir Jagr, NY Rangers- The game's former star player needs to get focus back.

77. Sandis Ozolinsh, Anaheim- Offensive starlet also is a good checker.

76. Martin Havlat, Ottawa- Emerging star on star studded Ottawa Senators.

75. Dwayne Roloson, Minnesota- Former Hasek backup has unseated Manny Fernandez in Minnesota.

74. Patrick Lalime, St. Louis- Premier goaltender of the Ottawa senators was abandoned by team after one bad game.

73. Filip Kuba, Minnesota- Won the right to represent Minnesota at the all-star game in Minnepolis.

72. Shane Doan, Phoenix- How about Slats move to draft Steve Kelly ahead of Doan.

71. Sergei Samsonov, Boston- Former superstar prospect is having a tough time keeping healty and getting attention when Thornton is on his team.

70. Pavol Demitra, St. Louis- Didn't complain when he was underpaid was cutt loose by the same team when they refused to pick up his option.

69. Mark Recchi, Pittsburgh- Coming back to Pittsburgh to finnish his career with Mario.

68. Kim Johnsson, Philadelphia- 9th round pick is now one of the best Flyer's defenseman.

67. Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver- Has a tough role to provide offense and play defense in a offensively minded team.

66. Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay- Winner of the Stanley Cup proving is one of the game's best puck stoppers.

65. John Madden, New Jersey- Grinder is now playing a more offensive role.

64. Darryl Sydor, Tampa Bay- One second Stanley Cup and was able to add even more offence from Lightning's backend.

63. Jere Lehtinen, Dallas- Checker who was part of the Star's second half surge.

62. Alexei Kovalev, Montreal- One of game's best scorer disappeared in New York.

61. Brad Stuart, San Jose- Not holding out this year helped Sharks make the quarter finals.

60. Brett Hull, Phoenix- Despite ago is still a lethal scorer.

59. Petr Sykora, Anaheim- Is making a big impact in the little time he has spent in Anaheim

58. Adam Foote, Colorado- Is increasing his goal scoring totals despite age.

57. Curtis Joseph, Detroit- Showed desire when he accepted minor league job and won back no.1 goaltending spot.

56. Glen Murray, Boston- Two time 40 goal scorer is one of the best unrestricted free agents.

55. Mike Rathje, San Jose- Longest serving Shark is starting to help out offensively.

54. Brendan Shanahan, Detroit- Power forward has now turned into a more finesse player.

53. Doug Weight, St. Louis- With Demitra's departure he is now the Blues top star.

52. Sheldon Souray, Montreal- Missed all of 2002-03 season and rebounded by having his best season ever.

51. Alex Tanguay, Colorado- gells well with Hejduk and Sakic.

50. Keith Tkachuk, St. Louis- Power forward who can hit and score but hasn't got near the Cup yet.

49. Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh- Can injuries and ago stop Le Magnificant.

48. Brian Leetch, Toronto- Now that he is removed from the Rangers is he a star player or responsible for their failures.

47. Ed Belfour, Toronto- Stars castoff is arguably one the best goalies in the league.

46. Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose- Regained form and led Sharks to finals.

45. Vladimir Malakov, Philalphia- Offensive star is a good hitter and could duplicate Schneider's success when he was cast away by the Rangers.

44. Paul Kariya, Colorado- He must have a better year.

43. Robert Lang, Detroit- Constantly criticized as an over-achiver had a great year in Washington and Detroit last year.

42. Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay- Won Cup and developed into one of the best defenseman in the league.

41. Saku Koivu, Montreal- If Kovalev stays he could have a breakout year.

40. Andrew Raycroft, Boston- Calder winner unseated Potvin and Steve Shields to become no.1 goaltender.

39. Wade Reddon, Ottawa- Former second overall pick along with Chara are the Senators workhorses on the blueline.

38. Patrick Marleau, San Jose- The pick after Thornton in 1997 has emerged as the Sharks key offensive player.

37. Mattieu Schneider, Detroit- Stole valuable powerplay time from Lidstrom.

36. Milan Hejduk, Colorado- He won the Rocket Richard trophy and is one of the best Avs forwards.

35. Martin Gelinas, Calgary- He was part of runs in Edmonton, Vancouver, Carolina, and Calgary. Had 3 series winner goals and a disputed Stanley Cup final goal.

34. Ed Jovanovski, Vancouver- Former first overall pick has lived up to expectations.

33. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit- Key stickhandler had a breakout year last year.

32. Kris Draper, Detroit- Grinder scored 20 goals for the first time last year.

31. Sergei Fedorov, Anaheim- Is now playing without the shadow of Yzerman.

30. Rob Blake, Colorado- Hard shots, hard checker is the Avs key presence on the blueline.

29. Marty Turco, Dallas- Great regular season goalie has to pull it together in the playoffs.

28. Zdeno Chara, Ottawa- The NHL's giant. At 6"9" he changed Ottawa's image because they are not timid anymore.

27. Daniel Alfreddson Ottawa- He battled injuries early in his career and now is one of strongest Captains in the league.

26. Patrick Elias, New Jersey- Beat the odds and became a high goal scorer for a team built by the trap.

25. Sergei Gonchar, Boston- Rated as the league's most lethal offensive defenseman.

24. Marian Hossa, Ottawa- Had a strong season last year but wasn't able to do much damage on Belfour.

23. Mike Modano, Dallas- Last year was his worst season ever.

22. Sergei Zubov, Dallas- Pioneer of the new NHL defenseman. Fast, able to jump in offensively, and European.

21. Rick Nash, Columbus- First Overall Draft pick tied for league lead in goals. What sophmore jinx!

20. Roberto Luongo, Florida- Will gain valuable experience @ Worlds. When the panthers get better will he be able to win or is just a good workhorse who can stop a ton of shots.

19. Vincent Lecavailer, Tampa Bay- Got his game back and was instrumental in the Lightning's first Cup win.

18. Bryan McCabe, Toronto- Agressive hitter with a strong offensive upside had his best season ever last year.

17. Mats Sundin, Torono- The heart and soul of the Leafs.

16. Keith Primeau, Philadelphia- Was a force to be reckoned with in last year's playoffs.

15. Derian Hatcher, Detroit- Game's most feared defenseman.

14. Joe Thornton, Boston- Can he get better and challenge Forsberg as the game's best centerman.

13. Chris Pronger, St.Louis- Critics said injuries finished him but he picked up his game with MacInnis and Jackman out due to injuries.

12. Joe Sakic, Colorado- Part of the league's best 1-2 tandem in Forsberg and Sakic.

11. Mikka Kiprusoff, Calgary- Proved Flames got good value in surrendering a second round pick for him

10. Al MacInnis, St.Louis- League's hardest shooter is questionable to come back playing.

9. Brad Richards, Tampa Bay- Pride of PEI won the Conn Smythe for periphery of game winning goals.

8. Scott Niedermeyer, New Jersey- Is ready to replace Scott Stevens after winning his first ever Norris trophy.

7. Illya Kovalchuk, Atlanta- With Heatley's troubles he picked up his game and also became a good example of how a star player should behave.

6. Peter Forsberg, Colorado- Why couldn't he get Kariya and Selanne going?

5. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit- Lost valuable ice time to deep Wings defense.

4. Markus Naslund, Vancouver- Is probably the league's most lethal goal scorer.

3. Martin St.Louis, Tampa Bay- The league's most talented undersized player.

2. Jarome Iginla, Calgary- The league's best power forward.

1. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey- League's best goaltender is a few years away from shattering most goaltender's all-time records.

Related Rants:

NHL 2006-2007 Preview

NHL 2005-2006 Preview

Lightning Inferno Burns the Flames

canadianwild.ca Interactive: Your Chance To Rant

Updated: May 1, 2007
Created: June 6, 2005

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