Friday 2 September 2011

2011 Offseason Recap - Southeast Division

Washington Capitals - 1
Best Possible Finish - 1st in NHL
Projected Points Leader - Alex Ovechkin, 51-46-97
Signings
July 11: C Christian Hanson (TOR), one year, $525,000
July 4: D Danny Richmond (TOR), one year, $525,000
July 2: G Tomas Vokoun (FLA), one year, $1.5 million
July 2: RW Chris Bourque, one year, $525,000
July 1: C Ryan Potulny (OTT), two years, $1.05 million, $525,000 cap hit
July 1: D Roman Hamrlik (MTL), two years, $7 million, $3,500,000 cap hit
July 1: RW Joel Ward (NSH), four years, $12 million, $3,000,000 cap hit
July 1: C Jeff Halpern (MTL), one year, $825,000
June 28: LW Brooks Laich, six years, $27 million, $4,500,000 cap hit
June 15: G Dany Sabourin, one year, $525,000
April 11: RW Mike Knuble, one year, $2 million


Trades
July 8: RW Danick Paquette, 4th round pick from WIN for RW Eric Fehr
July 1: 1st round pick (2012), 2nd round pick (2012 or 2013) from COL for G Semyon Varlamov
June 24: RW Troy Brouwer from CHI for 1st round pick (2011, C Phillip Danault)
June 2: LW Taylor Stefishen from NSH for 7th round pick (2013)


Departures
G Semyon Varlamov - COL
C Jason Arnott - STL
LW Marco Sturm - VAN
RW Matt Bradley - FLA
C Boyd Gordon - PHO
D Scott Hannan - CAL

What to Expect
The Capitals will continue to be one of the top defensive teams in the league and it is unlikely to have as great an impact on the offense this season. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Semin aren't likely to slump two years in a row. Caps GM George McPhee made a lot of good moves, signing the kinds of players that championship teams need. Joel Ward, Troy Brouwer and Jeff Halpern are the type of playoff performers Washington has been lacking the past few seasons. Tomas Vokoun has quietly been one of the best goalies since the lockout and now, at age 35, he gets to play behind a top-tier team for the first time in his career. If Mike Green is over his concussion problems, he should once again be near a point per game. John Carlson and Karl Alzner form one of the top young defensive pairings and Roman Hamrlik will be a stabilizing presence. They will win the division for the fifth consecutive season and finish atop the conference.


Tampa Bay Lighting - 7
Best Possible Finish - 1st in division, 3rd in conference
Projected Points Leader - Steven Stamkos, 54-47-101
Signings
July 7: RW Ryan Shanon (OTT), one year, $625,000
July 6: C Tom Pyatt (MTL), one year, $525,000
July 2: D Matt Gilroy (NYR), one year, $1 million
July 1: G Mathieu Garon (CLB), two years, $2.6 million, $1,300,000 cap hit
June 29: G Dwayne Roloson, one year, $3 million
June 29: RW Adam Hall, one year, $600,000
June 28: D Marc-Andre Bergeron, two years, $2 million, $1,000,000
June 24: D Eric Brewer, four years, $15.4 million, $3,850,000 cap hit


Trades 
June 25: 7th round pick (2011, C Matthew Peca) from PHO for C Marc-Antoine Pouliot
June 25: D Bruno Gervais from NYI for future considerations

Departures
LW Simon Gagne - LA
G Mike Smith - PHO
LW Sean Bergenheim - FLA
D Randy Jones - WIN
D Matt Smaby - ANA
D Mike Lundin - MIN

What to Expect
While the Lightning are still a little top-heavy, Martin St-Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier are going to carry the bulk of the offense, they will get some more support this year. Steve Downie and Ryan Malone were injured for parts of last season while Teddy Purcell surprised many by scoring 51 points. They should all be able to reach the 50-point mark this season. Playoff hero Dwayne Roloson is back with Mathieu Garon set to back him up. Garon routinely plays 35 games a year so he should provide stable goaltending while giving the 41-year-old Roloson plenty of time to rest of for the big games. Thanks to some mid-season trades by GM Steve Yzerman, the Lightning have a veteran defense to support rising star Victor Hedman.


Carolina Hurricanes - 10
Best Possible Finish - 3rd in division, 7th in conference
Projected Points Leader - Eric Staal, 38-41-79
Signings
July 15: LW Chris Durno (TB), one year, $525,000 cap hit
July 5: D Tomas Kaberle (BOS), three years, $12.75 million, $4,250,000 cap hit
July 2: LW Anthony Stewart (WIN), two years, $1.8 million, $900,000 cap hit
July 1: LW Alexei Ponikarovski (LA), one year, $1.5 million cap hit
July 1: C Jiri Tlusty, one year, $525,000 cap hit
July 1: G Brian Boucher (PHI), two years, $1.9 million, $950,000 cap hit
July 1: C Tim Brent (TOR), two years, $1.5 million, $750,000 cap hit
June 30: LW Jussi Jokinen, three years, $9 million, $3,000,000 cap hit
June 29: LW Chad Larose, two years, $3.4 million, $1,700,000 cap hit
June 28: D Joni Pitkanen, three years, $13.5 million, $4,500,000 cap hit
June 28: RW Pat Dwyer, two years, $1.25 million, $625,000 cap hit
June 16: D Jay Harrison, two years, $1.3 million, $650,000 cap hit
Trades
July 5: 4th round pick (2012) from BOS for D Joe Corvo


Departures
RW Erik Cole - MTL
G Justin Pogge - PHO


What to Expect
The Hurricanes were kept largely the same as they were last season as GM Jim Rutherford was able to replace any parts that left. Tomas Kaberle fills the same role left open from the Joe Corvo trade. Alexei Ponikarovsky has to have a better season than he did in Los Angeles, but even if he return to 20-goal form, he won't be able to replace Erik Cole's physical play. The only area that was upgraded was the backup goaltender position where veteran Brian Boucher steps in in front of Justin Peters. He should be able to provide Cam Ward with a little more rest throughout the season. The Hurricanes have the building blocks to make a very dangerous team, but right now they are still in close to make the playoffs.  Then again, they make the playoffs once every three seasons and they have missed the dance in consecutive seasons.


Winnipeg Jets - 12
Best Possible Finish - 4th in division, 9th in conference
Projected Points Leader - Nikolai Antropov, 26-35-61
Signings
July 19: LW Jason Jaffray (ANA), one year, $675,000 cap hit
July 2: RW Rick Rypien (VAN), one year, $700,000 cap hit
July 2: D Randy Jones (TB), one year, $1,150,000 cap hit
July 1: LW Tanner Glass (VAN), one year, $750,000 cap hit
July 1: D Derek Meech (DET), one year, $700,000 cap hit

Trades
July 9 : LW Kenndal McArdle from FLA for C Angelo Esposito
July 8: RW Eric Fehr from WAS for RW Danick Paquette, 4th round pick (2012)
June 25: 4th round pick (2011, D Zachary Yuen) from MTL for 4th round pick (2011, D Josiah Didier), 4th round pick (2011, LW Olivier Archambault)
June 25: 4th round pick (2011, D Zachary Yuen) from SJ for 5th round pick (2011, C Sean Kuraly), 7th round pick (2011, C Colin Blackwell)



Departures
LW Anthony Stewart - CAR
RW Radek Dvorak - DAL
LW Eric Boulton - NJ
D Freddy Meyer - SEL, Modo

What to Expect
There is going to be a lot of excitement this season now that hockey is back in Winnipeg regardless of how the Jets finish. Which is a good thing because they won't finish very high in the standings. No one on offense has shown they can consistently put up points so it's anyone's guess how many goals they will score. Dustin Byfuglien showed he can be a superstar on defense, he just has to be able to keep up that high level of play for all 82 games. The same can be said for goalie Ondrej Pavelec who was looking like a Vezina Trophy through December. At best they could give fans a glimpse of the playoffs like the Leafs did last year, but as long as show promise, the fans will be happy the Jets are back.


Florida Panthers - 13
Best Possible Finish - 4th in division, 10th in conference
Projected Points Leader - Stephen Weiss, 29-33-62
Signings
July 12: D Tyson Strachan (STL), one year, $750,000 cap hit
July 2: RW Matt Bradley (WAS), two years, $1.9 million, $950,000 cap hit
July 1: LW Sean Bergenheim (TB), four years, $11 million, $2,750,000 cap hit
July 1: LW Tomas Fleischmann (COL), four years, $18 million, $4,500,000 cap hit
July 1: C Marcel Goc (NSH), three years, $5.1 million, $1,700,000 cap hit
July 1: D Ed Jovanovski  (PHO), four years, $16.5 million, $4,125,000 cap hit
July 1: RW Scottie Upshall (CLB), four years, $14 million, $3,500,000 cap hit
July 1: G Jose Theodore (MIN), two years, $3 million, $1,500,000 cap hit
June 29: C Tomas Kopecky, four years, $12 million, $3,000,000 cap hit

Trades
July 9: D Keith Seabrook from CAL for D Jordan Henry
July 9: LW Sergei Shirokov from VAN for RW Mike Duco
July 9: C Angelo Esposito from WIN for LW Kenndal McArdle
July 1: RW Kris Versteeg from PHI for 2nd round pick (2012 or 2013), 3rd round pick (2012)
June 27: RW Tomas Kopecky from CHI for 7th round pick (2013)
June 25: 1st round pick (2011, D Rasmus Bengtsson), 3rd round pick (2012) from SJ for 2nd round pick (2011, LW Matthew Nieto)
June 24: D Brian Campbell from CHI for LW Rostislav Olesz

Departures
G Tomas Vokoun - WAS
C Marty Reasoner - NYI
RW Niclas Bergfors - NSH
LW Darcy Hordichuk - EDM
D Alexander Sulzer - VAN

What to Expect
The Panthers spent a lot of money  this sumer, but they didn't improve all that dramatically. Each of the forwards signed has gone through good stretches, but none have shown they can be the go-to player. David Booth played every game after a sever concussion, so he should be able to once again post 30 goals this year. Ed Jovanovski returns where his career started in 1995 and they absorbed Brian Campbell's contract from Chicago gives them a steady group of defensemen playing in front of Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen. Both goalies are going to have to play their best all season for the Panthers to have a chance. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson and center Jonathan Huberdeau are the young guys to watch. New coach Kevin Dineen needs to fix the league's worst power play for Florida to show every improvement.

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