South-east article

Eric_Isles · BRHL2 Co-Commish

RE: South-east article

Philippe27 · Guru

I just think hopes were very very high for Hannan in like 02-03 and he disappointed after that just like Brewer.

I haven't seen either play that much since I follow the Eastern Conference and not the West but I just think we haven't heard about Hannan or Brewer much at all since then.

philly · Guru

LOL.... Ok here's my question: why is everyone taking this so hard???

It's just a league article, its an article based on one guy's opinions...

Here's my opinion: Hannan is one of the best defensive dmen in the NHL. He is not a complete dman, in the fact that he will never get too much PP time and will never put up large amounts of points. AND based on FHL rerates, we should never expect Hannan's OV rating to match the actual rating of his value to his team. ENOUGH SAID.

Regarding the Southeast's Article: Personally I think the division will go to TB quite easily followed by: Florida, Atlanta, Washington (until they find some dmen), Carolina.

Tampa Bay has a stud goalie, talented dmen with upside (beauchimin, volchenkov) and solid dmen who will probably get pretty decent rerates next year (hatcher, d. markov). At forward they are top-heavy with kovalev, modano, and zubrus. But also have a few decent 2nd liners (dumont and conroy)... they had really better hope their young 3rd-4th lines play well or this will be a team that makes the playoffs, but has no real shot at winning it all.

Florida is a team that many seem to think has it made... i am not one of those people. Lundqvist in net is a very strong backbone, but what if he gets injured or regresses? (they are still the rangers after all!!!) On offense tkachuk comes off the books after the year, leclair falls off the planet 2 years ago, justin williams was the worst pick of the draft IMO, and zherdev is the lone stud. On defense they have a. markov, mckee (neither of which will ever be better than average) and are counting on a couple on Pittsburgh dmen (i could be wrong but they looked kinda bad last year).

Atlanta has built quite wisely considering rerates and age... should be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Washington is probably too far off to compete in the next 2 years, and that is when most of their top assets will come off the books (fedorov, lang, visnovsky, oneill)... So it will be interesting to see what they do. As I mentioned before Washington seriously needs some help on the blueline.

Carolina is a very difficult team to judge as they are a combination of veterans and very young guys (nobody between the age of 27-31)... I dont really see them competing for the playoffs this year, so they will have to move some of their veteran assets (roloson, j. smith, mcammond, walz, knuble).... It should be noted that carolina has 3 absolute studs in cam ward, spezza, and hamhuis.

-- Edited by philly at 14:47, 2006-08-07

-- Edited by philly at 14:51, 2006-08-07

Florida Panthers · Senior Member

philly wrote:

Florida is a team that many seem to think has it made... i am not one of those people. Lundqvist in net is a very strong backbone, but what if he gets injured or regresses? (they are still the rangers after all!!!) On offense tkachuk comes off the books after the year, leclair falls off the planet 2 years ago, justin williams was the worst pick of the draft IMO, and zherdev is the lone stud. On defense they have a. markov, mckee (neither of which will ever be better than average) and are counting on a couple on Pittsburgh dmen (i could be wrong but they looked kinda bad last year).

Wow, I'm not sure who out there thinks that Florida "has it made", because as the GM, I sure don't think that. However I certainly think that the Panthers have what it takes to be competitive. Sure, what if Lundqvist gets injured, but that's really a moot point given that it applies to virtually every team out there. Plus, we're very happy with Sanford as a backup for him.

People knock Tkachuk, but the simple matter is that he's still a good effective player, with a lot to add. Overpriced without a doubt, no question there. You can feel free to think what you like about Justin Williams, as you mentioned, it's just your own opinion.

I did have to laugh when I read that Markov will never be better than average, given that he hasn't been "average" for a long time. Star/superstar? nah, average? yeah right. The Panthers will put their defence up against most teams without a second though. Some teams were willing to go the older UFA route to get a little better man, and that's an ok strategy too, but we're not concerned with our defence in this league at all.

-- Edited by Florida Panthers at 19:01, 2006-08-07

nuckfan · Veteran Member

Well said Panthers.