Home Improvement...NHL Edition

After the first day of NHL free agency I actually started doing a post about what all of the teams did on that busy first day. It quickly became apparent to me though that I really didn't care that the Boston Bruins signed Steve Begin or that Buffalo landed Steve Montador. They might be solid role players and guys you need to round out your team, but they are far from impact players. The kind of guys that can put a team over the top simply by having them in the locker room. Enviro and I have debated this topic and each feel that one team has improved their station enough to make them a threat to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their bid to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. Like some things between us, we don't agree as to which team is the most improved. Let's have a look at the evidence:

Chicago Blackhawks: Last Season - 46-24-12, 104 points, 2nd in Central Division, lost in Western Conference Finals to Detroit Red Wings in 5 games.

Many are saying this is Pittsburgh of the Western Conference with their core of good young players and there continued growth. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have the Windy City excited about hockey for the first time in a while. But like many young teams, they were schooled by the veteran Detroit team in the WCF after getting past Calgary and Vancouver in the first two rounds.

This free agency period they tried to address some needs by landing Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky from Detroit and John Madden from New Jersey. This is the fourth team for Hossa in the last three seasons, and his track record hasn't been stellar up to this point. He was a really good player for the Penguins during the '08 Cup run, but fizzled out in '09 which seems to be his MO. He did score 40 goals while being a +27 last year so he'll make them dangerous across a couple of lines at least during the regular season. I think they overpaid for Madden (1 year, $2.75 million) who is coming off a very disappointing year (7 goals, 16 assists, -7 rating in 76 games) and who also just turned 36. He was the premier shut down center for a number of years, but I think he has lost a step. Kopecky has only been in the league four years and has been buried on a deep Detroit team so the change in scenery might do his well.

So while adding Hossa does help them out offensively, I think the best thing Chicago did was sign all their young talent. They signed Dave Bolland, Cam Barker, Kris Versteeg, Ben Eager, Troy Brouwer, Aaron Johnson, and Colin Fraser, none of which are older than 26.

But it wasn't all rosy for the Blackhawks. They lost 25 game winner Nikolai Khabibulin to Edmonton, leading scorer Martin Havlat to Minnesota, and character guy Samuel Pahlsson to Columbus. Havlat had more points than Hossa so that is a big loss and with Khabibulin gone there is no one behind Cristobal Huet in net. Enviro might believe this is the team that improved the most, but I think when you measure what they gained vs. what they lost it is a wash. They might be nipping at the Finals, but they are not Stanley Cup contenders.


Montreal Canadiens: Last Season - 41-30-11, 93 points, 2nd in Northeast Division, lost in Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to Boston Bruins in 4 games.

This was supposed to be the great celebration in Montreal to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the franchise. It turned into a nightmare. The Canadiens barely limped into the playoffs and then were utterly manhandled by the #1 Bruins in the first round. In response to that embarrassment, the Canadiens made it a priority to get bigger and better. And boy did they ever.

On the offensive side they added little known, but highly effective Mike Cammalleri from Calgary. Cammalleri wallowed for years in obscurity in Los Angeles before he landed in Calgary and had a career year with 39 goals, 43 assists, 82 points. He lead Calgary in goals and notched 19 of them on the power play. They landed a consistent 20 goal scorer in Brian Gionta from New Jersey. Few might remember that Gionta put up 48 goals in 2005-2006 so he definitely has what it takes to put the puck in the net. They also added center Scott Gomez in a trade. Gomez has only scored less than 55 points once in his 9 year career. So with three players they added 200 points from last season to their roster.

On the defensive side they got bigger and offensive. They added 6'7" Hal Gill from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gill, while slow, is still a top notch penalty killer because the one thing you can't teach is size. They added 6'4" Paul Mara from the New York Rangers who is also a good penalty killer and will add even more veteran leadership to the group. Finally, Jaroslav Spacek from Buffalo brings his 45 points and power play prowess to the blue line. Spacek lead all Sabers defenseman in points last year while logging a ton of ice time.

The Canadiens did lose leading scorer Alexei Kovalev to division rival Ottawa, supposed "Canadien for Life" and third leading scorer Saku Koivu to Anaheim, and steady defenseman Mike Komisarek to Toronto. Komisarek's departure will hurt, but both Kovalev and Koivu are on the downside of their careers. Cammalleri had a much better year than Kovalev and Gionta had a more productive year than Koivu. While Enviro may think Montreal added too many pieces thus becoming a reflection of the Ranger teams that tried to buy a championship, I think they are the most improved team. Do they have what it takes to knock off the Penguins? That will fall on Carey Price, and if last year was an indication, then no. But if Price somehow matures quickly (he is only 21 remember) then they might be a very difficult team to handle.


So there you have it. Enviro thinks Chicago is the most improved and therefore the most dangerous while I believe Montreal has added enough good players to have a legitimate shot in the East. I've had my say, what do you think? Voice your opinions in the comments and/or the poll to your right.