by Spector

Comment

The Ottawa Senators appeared on a mission early last season to return to the finals after falling in five games to the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, but inconsistent goaltending and poor overall team play in the second half saw the club stumble into the playoffs and suffer a humiliating opening-round sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Senators management did little to improve their roster for this season, with their most notable move being the hiring of Craig Hartsburg as head coach and the signing of veteran blueliner Jason Smith.

Ottawa still possesses a lethal first line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson but not much firepower beyond them. Their defensive depth, for years the Senators strength, is now an area of concern after losing Wade Redden and Andrej Meszaros, and there are questions about the ability of the goaltending tandem of Martin Gerber and Alex Auld to carry this team into the postseason.

The Edmonton Oilers, 2006 Cup finalists, missed the playoffs the last two years, although a strong rally in the second half of last season has Oilers fans hopeful of a return to the playoffs next spring.

Management was busy in the offseason, adding offensive depth in winger Erik Cole and puck-moving defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. The Oilers also possess lots of budding young talent in Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Tom Gilbert and Denis Grebeshkov, who will be expected to mesh well with veterans Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff and Sheldon Souray, the latter two coming off injury-shortened seasons.

If the kids play well and the Oilers can avoid the injury bug, they could be a rising force in the West, but ultimately everything could come down to goaltending, where Mathieu Garon, Dwayne Roloson and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers will battle it out for the two netminding jobs.

The Calgary Flames were finalists in 2004 but since then have failed to advance past the conference quarterfinals.

Lack of offensive depth has been a continuing problem for the Flames, with the Jarome Iginla line getting little offensive support from the rest of the roster. It remains to be seen if the additions of Todd Bertuzzi and Mike Cammalleri can bolster that offensive attack.

Defensively the Flames have been sound, but there were concerns last season over the surprising struggles of goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. He must return to the form that won him the 2006 Vezina trophy as the NHL's top netminder if the Flames are to have a shot at Cup contention in 2008-09.

The Vancouver Canucks were Cup finalists 14 years ago and at this point are considered a marginal playoff team.

Roberto Luongo is one of the best goalies in the league and gives the Canucks a chance to win every game and, when healthy, Vancouver has one of the better blueline corps, but it's the anemic offense that remains a significant problem area.

New general manager Mike Gillis had little success this summer in bolstering his team's offensive depth, with his most notable move being the addition of aging forward Pavol Demitra. Unless the younger forwards can step up, the Sedin twins will again have to carry the offensive load, meaning the Canucks will be trying to win a lot of one-goal games this season.

Earlier this decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs were considered "Canada's Team" but after three consecutive seasons without making the playoffs, management embarked this summer on a major roster overhaul, jettisoning expensive veterans for younger, affordable talent.

This year's Leafs will be younger and bigger but lack experienced talent throughout their lineup. Expect new head coach Ron Wilson to employ a defensive style in hopes of slowing down the opposition to keep the games close and give his club a chance to win.

Leafs fans aren't expecting much from this rebuilding roster and would consider a playoff berth this season a significant achievement. No one considers the Leafs to be Stanley Cup contenders.

After struggling through nearly a decade of mediocrity and rebuilding, the Montreal Canadiens surprised many experts last season by finishing first overall in the Eastern Conference. It was their best season since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993 — the last Canadian team to do so.

With a roster of experienced veterans and rising young talent throughout their roster, the Habs are considered by many to be the Canadian team with the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup this season.

That, however, likely depends on young stars like Carey Price, Thomas Plekanec, Mike Komisarek, Chris Higgins and the Kostitsyn brothers having performances as good or better than last season. If they do, the Canadiens could be in contention for their 25th Stanley Cup championship.