The Bruins haven’t been back to the finals since, and have to go back nearly two more decades for their last Cup in 1972. Will this be the year to finally end that drought?
On Wednesday, we looked at the Eastern Conference teams the Bruins would have to get through just to get to the Cup finals, but what could await them on the other side of the bracket if Boston did make it out of the East?
Western Conference teams have won three of last four Cups, with Chicago currently holding the prized chalice. And this year the West looks as strong as ever, with the defending champion Blackhawks joined by powerhouse squads in San Jose, Detroit and Vancouver.
The Bruins will have 18 games in the regular season against Western teams, facing each team at least once and Phoenix, Los Angeles and Detroit twice. So what should the Bruins expect from those Western Conference teams this year?
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are now three seasons removed from their Cup run in 2007, and few players from that championship squad remain. The latest key loss was the retirement of defenseman Scott Niedermayer this summer. Anaheim still has firepower up front with Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, but the defense is a far cry from the unit that led the Ducks to a title. Anaheim won’t be a pushover, but the Ducks are now the third-best team in California.
Calgary Flames
The Flames haven’t won a playoff series since reaching the finals in the final year before the lockout, and last year they missed the playoffs altogether. With their big offseason acquisitions being the curious decision to bring back Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay for second tours in Calgary, the Flames don’t look poised to reverse that trend.
Chicago Blackhawks
The reigning Cup champs will look a bit different this year, as they had to gut much of their championship roster in a salary-cap purge. Many key role players are gone, but the core of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith remains, and if new goalie Marty Turco can match Antti Niemi‘s success in the postseason, the Blackhawks could have a bunch of new names being engraved on the Cup this spring.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche were one of the bigger surprises of last season, returning to the playoffs with a 26-point improvement. They won’t surprise anyone this season, but young stars Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Paul Stastny and Chris Stewart should have Colorado back in the playoff mix, and maybe more than that if goalie Craig Anderson can build off the breakthrough season he had last year.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets made the playoffs for the first time in 2009, but dropped back to the bottom of the league last year. They still have one of the top talents in the league in Rick Nash and they’ll get enigmatic forward Nikita Filatov back from Russia this year, but they still face an uphill struggle in the West. Getting goalie Steve Mason to return to his Calder Trophy form of 2008-09 would go a long way toward making another playoff push.
Dallas Stars
The Stars begin a new era with longtime face of the franchise Mike Modano moving on to Detroit and Marty Turco now in Chicago. While those stars have headed North, Dallas’ fortunes have gone South in recent years, as they’ve missed the playoffs the last two seasons. Forwards Brenden Morrow, Brad Richards, Loui Ericksson and James Neal will try to lead the Stars back to the postseason, while Kari Lehtonen takes over in goal.
Detroit Red Wings
They’ve been the most successful team in the NHL for the last 15 seasons, reaching six finals and winning four Cups in that span, but do the aging Red Wings have enough left in the tank for another run? With eight regulars age 35 or older, including 40-year-old defensive stalwart Nicklas Lidstrom and offseason acquisition Mike Modano, the window is closing fast for this Detroit group, but it would be unwise to write off a team with Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Brian Rafalski and Lidstrom too quickly. The Bruins will get a first-hand look at how the Gray Wings are holding up with a home-and-home set in February.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers were the worst team in the league last year by a wide margin, as even Toronto had a dozen more points than Edmonton’s measly 62. But the Oilers, unlike the Leafs, at least benefited from their plummet down the standings, drafting Taylor Hall with the first pick in June. He joins Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson for arguably the most exciting trio of rookies in the league. If Dustin Penner can build off his breakout season and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin can overcome his off-ice issues, the Oilers could surprise, but are likely still a couple years away from making any real noise.
Los Angeles Kings
GM Ray Shero dropped out of the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes when the bidding went into the nine-figure territory, but he already has a solid team in place. Young defenseman Drew Doughty would be wise to leave some room on his mantel for the Norris Trophies he’s likely to win in the coming years, while Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown lead an offense that’s dangerous enough without adding a sniper like Kovalchuk. Throw in a promising young goalie tandem with Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier and the Kings, who ended a six-season playoff drought last year, should go even further this season.
Minnesota Wild
Things aren’t looking so bright in Minnesota, where the Wild haven’t won a playoff series since the lockout and haven’t even made the postseason the last two years. That isn’t likely to chance this year, as second-year coach Todd Richards has an uninspiring group to work with. Mikko Koivu is a legitimate talent up front and Brett Burns and Marek Zidlicky are underrated defensemen, but the cupboard is pretty bare otherwise. Wild fans won’t even get to see 6-foot-7 monster Derek Boogaard beat up people anymore as he signed with the Rangers. At least Cal Clutterbuck is a fun name to say, though probably not as enjoyable for the 300-plus opponents the NHL hits leader will plaster into the boards this year.
Nashville Predators
The Predators keep knocking on the door, but they’ve yet to break through, as they still have not won a playoff series despite qualifying for the postseason in five of the last six years. They have surprising 30-goal man Patric Hornqvist to lead the way up front and Shea Weber is one of the league’s best defensemen who’s unfortunately stuck in obscurity in Nashville. Pekka Rinne isn’t a household name either, but he is a solid goalie capable of keeping the Predators in the running for one of the final playoff spots again this year.
Phoenix Coyotes
The first Western team the Bruins will see this year is Phoenix, which joins Boston in Europe for a two-game set in Prague to kick off the season. The Coyotes shocked the hockey world twice last year, first by staying in Phoenix, then by making the playoffs. Veteran Shane Doan and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov lead this overachieving bunch, which won’t have the element of surprise any more, but did add Ray Whitney and re-signed Lee Stempniak in the offseason.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues made a splash this summer by trading for Montreal playoff hero Jaroslav Halak. Now all they have to do is actually qualify for the postseason again, which they’ve done just once since the lockout. With Halak in goal and a young nucleus that includes defenseman Erik Johnson and forwards T.J Oshie, David Backes, Alex Steen and David Perron, the Blues should be ready to return to the playoffs.
San Jose Sharks
Because it worked out so well the first time he wore the C in Boston, the Sharks named Joe Thornton their new captain on Thursday. There’s surely no one better to lead them on their quest to end their run of playoff disappointments. Thornton’s still an elite player, as are fellow forwards Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley and defenseman Dan Boyle. There’s a solid supporting cast in place and Antti Niemi has been added in goal after winning the Cup with Chicago. On paper, the Sharks look almost unbeatable. But isn’t that always the case?
Vancouver Canucks
While they haven’t made it out of the second round of the playoffs the last two years, or for that matter since reaching the finals in 1994, the Canucks certainly appear poised to make a long run this season. They have reigning Hart Trophy winner Henrik Sedin, along with his twin brother Daniel, 30-goal scorers Alex Burrows and Mikael Samuelsson, a defense that added Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard and Roberto Luongo in goal. The pieces are in place, but can the Canucks bring the Cup back to Canada for the first time since Montreal last won it in 1993?
On Friday, we’ll continue to gear up for the start of the Bruins’ season this weekend by looking at the 25 things that need to happen for the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup this year.
