Wild Nation’s Ridiculously Early Season Predictions: The Atlantic Division

August is almost upon us, which can only mean one thing – its training camp time.

The time in the NHL where there’s hope running through every team’s fan base, except for Toronto’s of course. But, with that hope in mind, it’s time for our ridiculously early season prognostications that will likely be proven to be dead wrong by the second week of the season or just the Ridiculously Early Season Predictions, for short.

We’re going to start with the Eastern Conference this season, namely the Atlantic Division so, let’s get started.

New Jersey Devils – The NHLPA filed their grievance on Thursday regarding Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract and one would assume that, despite their desire to resolve this quickly both sides are digging in for a fight.

Even without Kovalchuk in the fray, however, the Devils remain a much improved team over last season’s with the additions of Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder on defense and Jason Arnott up front. It could, in fact, be argued that the Devils could be a better all around team without Kovalchuk, as they would have to unload a contract in order to come into the season under the salary cap.

Looking at this team, however, Volchenkov and Tallinder should be upgrades over the departed Johnny Oduya and Paul Martin, while Arnott should give the team a solid second-line center that can pitch in on offense.

While these three players alone might not get the Devils back to the promised land, in the Stanley Cup finals, they will certainly go a long way towards making New Jersey more competitive both in the regular season and the post season.

New York Islanders – The Islanders may find themselves in the enviable situation of having to spend money in order to reach the cap floor this season – something that many teams might relish at this point in the off season.

The problem for the Isles, however, is how do they do that?

With the big fish out of the free agency pond, the Isles may have to resort to multiple signings, which could cut down on the amount of playing time that some of their youngsters would get.

It’s hard to imagine that forwards Doug Weight and Matt Moulson won’t be back with New York this season, so that will take care of some of it, but likely won’t resolve the entire issue, but this is good news for a team that only has seven roster players under contract for next season and 13 restricted free agents coming up.

Another year’s experience for their big time youngsters will be good for the Isles, and they’re headed in the right direction – they’re just not there quite yet.

New York Rangers – As has been the case the last few seasons, the Rangers are an enigma wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a puzzle.

They have Marian Gaborik who, after countless disappointing seasons in Minnesota, came out and showed that he could shoulder the load and be a superstar in the NHL, but past him they don’t have many players that chipped in offensively.

Then, this off season they made what many consider to be the shrewdest move, signing Martin Biron as a capable back up for a goalie who has never really had a capable back up, but they then went out and signed enforcer Derek Boogaard to a ridiculous four-year, $1.65 million per contract.

So, as it stands now, the Rangers aren’t really much better than they were at the end of last season. Alexander Frolov’s agent has stated that his client is close to a deal with the blueshirts and, if that’s the case, the team could be looking better going into this season.

But, as it stands right now, they’re in the same spot that they were last season, which means that they will likely be on the outside looking in once more.

Philadelphia Flyers – After spending most of the off season pretending like the salary cap didn’t apply to them, they’re now back under the cap by a whole $327k.

After replacing Simon Gagne with Nikolai Zherdev, which was likely a salary shedding move, it is apparent that the Flyers are anticipated increased production from James Van Riemsdyk, Claude Giroux and Ville Leino next season, along with what Zherdev brings, to make up for the loss of Gagne’s production.

But the story here isn’t in the team’s offense, but in a defensive unit that could easily be the best in the NHL.

After their defense got embarrassed by Chicago through much of the finals, the Flyers responded by going out and trading for Andrei Meszaros and Matt Walker and signing free agent Sean O’Donnell.

That gives them five defensemen that could legitimately be considered top-five defensemen and two more that are legitimate shut down d-men, plus Oscars Bartulis who appears to now be on the outside looking in.

All of this points to the fact that we could very well be looking at a situation much like the Penguins and Blackhawks faced, of having to lose before you can win.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Let’s be perfectly honest here. You can never count the Pens out of anything.

While they still have one glaring need to address (a scoring winger), the Pens have upgraded their defensive unit which should be a big help for Marc-Andre Fleury.

Zybnek Michalek and Paul Martin give the Pens two more defensemen that can play in any situation and takes the pressure off of Kris Letang and Alex Gologoski on the powerplay and should help in the wake of losing Sergei Gonchar to free agency.

The best news for the Pens, also, is that they have the cap room to address their need for a winger before free agency is out. With the market value for free agent forwards taking a dive, especially with the signing of Nikolai Zherdev, the Pens can more than afford to improve their forward corps.

That, in and of itself, is encouraging news for Pens fans and they should expect to see the playoffs in Pittsburgh once again.

Predictions

Well, now that we’re done with the previews, let’s take a look at how I think the Atlantic Division is going to line up come playoff time this coming season:

1) Philadelphia Flyers
2) New Jersey Devils
3) Pittsburgh Penguins
4) New York Rangers
5) New York Islanders

Through most of the season last season, all five teams were in playoff contention and it should be much of the same this season, though I think that the Rangers and Islanders will fall of towards the end of the season once again and be on the outside looking in. The Flyers, Devils and Penguins, however, should all be back in the dance once again.

Up Next: The Northeast Division

Wild Scratch Koivu’s 7-Year Itch; Sign Center to Blockbuster Extension

The last remaining drama of the Minnesota Wild’s off season is over.

The Wild have signed their franchise player, captain Mikko Koivu to a seven-year contract worth $6.75 million per season, plus a bunch of signing bonuses that add up to be about the GNP of a third-world country and a full no-trade clause.

I’ll be completely honest with my assessment here—I love this deal with the exception of the term.

As many of you know, I’m not a huge long-term contract type of guy. I would have preferred to see the Wild sign Koivu for four or five years as opposed to the seven that he got.

That being said, you won’t hear me complain one bit.

Here’s the deal. The Wild were going to have to pay to keep Koivu around.

Yes, he wanted to be here. Yes, he was convinced that the Wild are headed in the right direction. But the Wild still were going to have to pay.

But the thing is that this deal isn’t actually as outlandish as many are portraying it as.

Yes, Koivu has a larger cap hit than Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Backstrom, Jonathan Toews and Henrik Sedin. Yes, his stats may not necessarily define him as a “superstar” type player but, then again, neither have Toews’.

In fact, Koivu has put up better numbers than Toews over the last few seasons with less talent surrounding him—something that likely was at the forefront of these discussions when comparables were involved.

What Koivu brings to the squad, however, is so much more than just numbers-based value.

The fact of the matter is that the Wild would be lost without their captain. Koivu is the cornerstone of their team at even strength, on the penalty kill and on the powerplay.

The Wild’s offense not only runs through Koivu, but their forecheck and backcheck does as well.

As Fletcher said on his conference call, “To define Mikko by his statistics is to miss the point of what he’s all about.”

That is one-hundred percent true.

Of course, there are certain expectations that the Wild and their fans will likely have from Koivu that have to do with numbers.

He’s been the team’s best player over the last two years and has made huge steps in his development each year—something that will be expected to continue.

But, it’s not all sunshine and roses for the Wild after this signing.

The team is now faced with the stark reality that, with Koivu’s new contract in tow, Minnesota has just under $9 million in cap space heading into the 2011-12 season and just 17 players under contract.

Looking at their expiring contracts for next season, there are likely only two players that they’re going to want to look at retaining, both of whom are restricted free agents, but either way Chuck Fletcher will have to work some of his magic to improve the Wild—something that he’s quite familiar with from last season.

When it comes down to it, the Wild did what needed to be done to keep Koivu.

His camp wanted seven years, they gave him seven years. His camp wanted $7 million per year, they gave him $6.75 million per year. What’s more is that they got this contract done before the season started, not allowing the distraction of contract talks to loom over what will likely already be a difficult season for the team.

Keeping that in mind, it’s easy to see why the negotiations between the two sides were as amicable as they were all the way through.

Just like his brother, Mikko Koivu is a captain through and through and, apart from being one heck of a hockey player, is one-hundred percent pure class.

Some Off Season Wild Notes

Well, let’s face it. It’s the off season.

We’re on day ten of Kovie Watch 2010, with no signs of anything happening anytime soon and free agency news has slowed to a trickle. So what’s a hockey fan to do?

Make news out of nothing? We’re not in that business here.

So, let’s just take a look at some of the goings on around the Wild.

Modano Interested in Wild?

Well, it’s amazing how much difference a few weeks makes.

First, the Dallas Stars decided that they don’t want to let Mike Modano “Brett Farve” them until the season starts. Then, the rampant speculation starts in Minnesota.

Let’s be honest with ourselves here. For whatever reason, Wild fans have some sort of sick obsession with Minnesota hockey players.

For whatever reason, anytime anyone with ties to Minnesota is available, fans start frothing at the mouth and when Modano became available the sharks began circling.

Immediately, however, all of the speculation was squashed.

It wasn’t the right fit. The Wild were in the running for a number-two center and Modano, at this stage in his career, isn’t that.

But, what do you know. The Wild suddenly want some insurance in case James Sheppard doesn’t step up his game or in case Casey Wellman isn’t ready to play in the NHL.

But, is this the right way for the Wild to go?

If Modano is willing to take a lesser roll with the team, then yes it is.

Modano still has a little bit of tread left on the tires, but he isn’t a top-six forward at this stage in his career—at least, he wasn’t with the Stars.

What signing Modano would do is give the Wild some insurance up the middle.

So, say Matt Cullen doesn’t fit with G-Lat and Havlat. Or Sheppard doesn’t step up to the challenge of making the team. Or they feel that Wellman would be best served to be in the AHL. Well, then they’ve got Modano, who is one heck of a contingency plan.

Cap Situation

As of right now, the Wild find themselves in an interesting situation in net.

They have about $3.5 million in cap space with Josh Harding left to sign in order to fill out their roster.

So, that means that they’ll likely have about $1 to $1.5 million left over once that happens.

So what does this mean? Are we done?

Like Russo, I tend to think not. I can’t imagine that the Wild wouldn’t be looking for another defenseman.

It sounds like Fletcher might be thinking the same thing, as there are rumblings that the Wild have had talks with Willie Mitchell.

The problem with that is that Mitchell will likely command more than the Wild have left, so someone will have to go.

But who?

Right now, the obvious candidate is James Sheppard, but there are others that wouldn’t surprise me, especially at forward.

The most likely forward other than Sheppard, however, is Antti Miettinen. Mittens has performed admirably on the team’s first line, but he just doesn’t seem to fit anywhere on the team. In each situation, there seems to be a player who could potentially do the job better than he.

Combine that with his size, or lack thereof, and you can see that he could very well be shopped around this season.

What Does Endras Signing Mean?

Well, in the short run, nothing.

Dennis Endras will go ply his trade overseas again and likely will then come to the team next season.

What the signing of Endras does do, however, is create competition among the Wild’s goaltenders.

Next season, it’s going to be Matthew Hackett and Anton Khudobin in Houston, with Darcy Keumper likely heading back to Red Deer.

The season after, however? The Wild are going to have a four-way battle to see who will be taking over in the back up role for either Josh Harding or Niklas Backstrom.

Now, I say Harding or Backstrom, because I don’t know that Fletcher and Richards have ruled out the possibility of moving Nik if it comes to that.

Harding is younger and has shown some significant signs of improvement over the last couple seasons.

Backstrom, though he has gotten a bit of a bad rap for his performance last season, is still Backstrom. He’s nowhere near as bad as he looked at times last season and, in my opinion, is still a top-ten goalie in this league.

So, the signing of Endras is both a depth move as well as one to spark something in the goaltenders and make them work for their jobs—both of which are good things to be sure.

For more of Blake’s work, you can follow him at the Bleacher Report and Hockey Primetime, as well as on his Twitter feed.

Updated: Wild Signs Cullen, Nystrom

I’ll have more to come later, but I just wanted to toss this up really quick that the Wild have signed center Matt Cullen to a three-year deal, worth an average of $3.5 million per-year and with a modified no-trade clause and forward Eric Nystrom to a three-year deal, worth an average of $1.4 million per-year.

Update:

Day one of the official off season is in the books and, boy, was it a doozy for the Wild.

Two players, two needs filled and the general manager already saying that the team might be done? Man, that’s got to be a good day at the office.

Before I get into the players the Wild signed, let’s look at that last statement—the Wild might be done with free agency.

First of all, the all-seeing, all-knowing Mike Russo said that Fletcher was comfortable with the six defensemen that the team has.

That means that he’s also comfortable with either Nate Prosser or Marco Scandella being the team’s number seven d-men.

So, let’s look at this.

Fletcher is comfortable with their number six defenseman being an injury-prone rookie and the other option being either a rookie defenseman with three NHL games under his belt or another with none?

I don’t buy it—at least not for someone who is as in depth about his planning as Fletcher.

Here’s the deal. Stoner definitely deserves a shot to show what he’s got, especially with his impressive cup of coffee with the team last season.

But Prosser and Scandella? You can’t tell me that they’d be better served playing 25-35 games in the NHL than playing a full schedule in the AHL.

So what does that add up to?

Maybe a restricted free agent allowed to go to free agency, maybe a veteran defenseman. Who knows. But the fact is that it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the Wild aren’t done.

But, enough with my ramblings about the status of their free agency period—on to the signings at hand.

First and foremost, there’s Matt Cullen.

This was the player that the Wild wanted heading into free agency and they certainly got him.

He’s fast, he’s gritty, he’s skilled—in other words, he’s everything that the team wanted from Andrew Ebbett, only with more offensive upside.

The 33-year old center from Virginia, Minnesota has scored 15-plus goals five times in his career and has scored 40-plus points seven times, including the last five seasons.

He plays a solid two-way game, he can play the point on the power play and he’s played in 63-plus playoff games and won the Stanley Cup, which is something that no one else on the Wild’s roster can claim.

What’s even better is that he can win face offs.

Following Cullen was gritty forward, Eric Nystrom.

Nystrom is young (27) and he’s a character player that can hit. Fletcher has stressed that he wants the team to get younger, faster and stronger and Nystrom did just that.

I’m a little concerned with the amount of money that the Wild spent on Nystrom, but as Russo said Nystrom is in the prime of his career, which is why Fletcher was likely willing to commit the term and money that he did with Nystrom.

Nystrom comes to the Wild having scored a career high 11 goals and 18 points last season for Calgary.

Now I don’t mean to be cynical about the signing, but I’m really not crazy about it.

The good news is that both Fletcher and Nystrom feel like he hasn’t quite tapped into his offensive potential, of which he obviously has some (he scored 32 points in 38 games for the Michigan Wolverines in his last season of college hockey).

So where do he signings of Cullen and Nystrom leave the Wild?

Well, the Wild have about $3.5 million in cap room left, without the eventual re-signing of Josh Harding.

In other words, they very well could be done.

So, with those signings, this is what the Wild’s depth chart could look like:

Andrew Brunette/Mikko Koivu/Pierre-Marc Bouchard (if healthy)
Guillaume Latendresse/Matt Cullen/Martin Havlat
Chuck Kobasew/Kyle Brodziak/Antti Miettinen
Eric Nystrom/James Sheppard/Cal Clutterbuck

Extras: Casey Wellman, Cody Almond, Colton Gillies

Greg Zanon/Marek Zidlicky
Brent Burns/Nick Schultz
Cam Barker/Clayton Stoner

Extras: Nate Prosser, Marco Scandella

Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding

When you look at it, this is a team that is looking more and more like they could be competitive this season.

HockeyPrimetime Live: Free Agency Frenzy

It’s almost here!  Christmas in July for hockey fans.

Join myself, Justin Bourne, Denis Gorman and all the other usual suspects for a live blog today, starting at 10 a.m. Central time.