The top story lines
Potential big events during the NHL’s 2009-10 season:
1. The Phoenix Coyotes/Hamilton Blackberries mess plays out. After Wayne Gretzky’s resignation as coach, this has become more of a soap opera than “The Young and the Restless.”
2. The top three picks — John Tavares (Islanders), Victor Hedman (Lightning) and Matt Duchene (Avalanche) — all figure to stick with their teams, in part because of box-office concerns. Will it prove to be good for their development, or would they have been better off sticking in junior hockey for another season?
3. Marian Hossa joins the Blackhawks with a front-loaded, 12-year, $62.8 million deal. If he doesn’t go into cruise control, he’ll make the Hawks even more formidable.
4. Alex Ovechkin’s theatrical flair helps make him the league’s most marketable player. Will the league continue to step away from the “finish your checks,” “one game at a time,” “give it 110 percent” culture and rhetoric without getting as “me, me, me” as the NBA?
5. The Sharks stick with both Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton . . . for now. San Jose could go 27-2-2 out of the gate, but all the questions will be about whether it will produce in the postseason.
6. Philadelphia signed goalie Ray Emery off the scrap heap. If he does well, it will make the GMs who needed a goalie, but wouldn’t touch him, look foolish.
7. Pat Quinn and associate coach Tom Renney step behind the bench at Ed- monton, working under Steve Tambellini, Quinn’s former assistant GM at Vancouver. Will the graybeard approach work?
8. Montreal’s late-season slide and eventful offseason — including an ownership change, the hiring of coach Jacques Martin, the departure of Alex Kovalev and acquisition of Scott Gomez — all adds up to an intriguing season, again, for the Canadiens.
9. Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was awful in the playoff series against the Blackhawks, so much of Calgary’s success comes down to whether the workhorse’s odometer just clicked past the warranty threshold.
10. And just think: At midseason, the Penguins were in danger of missing the playoffs and looked awful in a loss at Denver. Now we’re asking if they’re a dynasty about to happen. They might be.
The top games
If you have 1.6 million frequent flier miles, NHL reporter Terry Frei suggests 10 NHL games that should be on your itinerary:
1. Sharks vs. Avalanche, Oct. 1, at Denver: Joe Sakic’s number retirement ceremony. Then hurry to DIA and don’t forget your passport.
2. Blues vs. Red Wings, Oct. 2, at Stockholm: Nick Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg get the cheers as the Red Wings stars appear in front of their countrymen. (The teams play again the next night, but . . .)
3. Blackhawks vs. Panthers, Oct. 3, at Helsinki, Finland: This is the second half of the back-to-back set here as well, and somebody probably has told Chicago’s Patrick Kane not to demand small change back in euros from Helsinki cab drivers.
4. Red Wings vs. Maple Leafs, Nov. 7, at Toronto: This is the Hall of Fame game, and you could hang around for the induction of Steve Yzerman, Bobby Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille and Lou Lamoriello.
5. Islanders vs. Rangers, Dec. 16, at New York: Isles’ John Tavares makes his first playing visit to Madison Square Garden.
6. Flyers vs. Bruins, Jan. 1, at Boston: This is the outdoor Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Perhaps Carlton Fisk will come out in the warm-up and attempt to coax a shot to carom the right way off the goalpost.
7. Oilers vs. Flames, Jan. 30, at Calgary: Sample the Battle of Alberta on Hockey Day in Canada. It can’t get much better than that, eh?
8. Penguins vs. Capitals, Feb. 7, at Washington: The defending champs make the first of two visits to the nation’s capital, and Alex Ovechkin greets his pals Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
9. Canucks vs. Panthers, Feb. 11, at Sunrise, Fla.: Need an excuse to go to South Florida in the middle of February? The Canucks will be on the road as General Motors Place is getting prepared for the Olympics.
10. Red Wings vs. Blackhawks, April 11, at Chicago: The Central Division rivals might be skating through the motions on the final days of the regular season with playoff seedings certain, but if not . . .
The teams
NHL reporter Terry Frei analyzes the squads and predicts the final standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
The only way they can slide is if it becomes clear that they are just too top-heavy in the salary cap age.
2. Washington Capitals
Root for another Alex Ovechkin versus Malkin/Crosby matchup in the conference finals.
3. Boston Bruins
If Tim Thomas (pictured below) remains the poster boy for reclamation projects, the Bruins are bona fide Cup threats.
4. Philadelphia Flyers
Chris Pronger probably took Russian lessons to pick up a few trash-talking terms for matchups with the Pens and Sens.
5. Carolina Hurricanes
‘Canes and Eric Staal are in good position to build on the momentum they had after their playoff comeback against the Devils.
6. New Jersey Devils
Here’s hoping Jacques Lemaire doesn’t take all the fun out of watching Zach Parise.
7. New York Rangers
Marian Gaborik escapes the Wild, but his injury history makes him a huge risk.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs
Brian Burke continues the reconstruction job, adding goalie Jonas Gustavsson, defensemen Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchamin.
9. Montreal Canadiens
Vail resident George Gillett Jr. sold the team and building, but his wisdom in hiring Bob Gainey will be one of his legacies.
10. Buffalo Sabres
It would be quite a trick to finish 10th three years in a row, but the Sabres might pull it off.
11. Ottawa Senators
Getting Jonathan Cheechoo for malcontent Dany Heatley might be part of addition by subtraction.
12. Florida Panthers
After Jay Bouwmeester’s departure, coach Peter DeBoer again faces a difficult task.
13. Tampa Bay Lightning
Vinny Lecavalier is still here and hasn’t been the subject of a new trade rumor for several hours!
14. New York Islanders
John Tavares joined in the lobbying effort for a new arena about 17 seconds after the Islanders drafted him.
15. Atlanta Thrashers
Poor Ilya Kovachuk, who continues to be electric in relative obscurity.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Chicago Blackhawks
Coach Joel Quenneville and the young stars move to top of the conference.
2. Detroit Red Wings
A handful of significant departures and the addition of toxic Todd Bertuzzi won’t rule out another No. 1 finish, but . . .
3. San Jose Sharks
Dany Heatley brings his still-immature act west in the wake of the Sharks’ latest playoff flameout.
4. Calgary Flames
New coach Brent Sutter comes back to Alberta to work for his brother, the GM.
5. Vancouver Canucks
Like the Flames, they will benefit from what is becoming a bottom-heavy division, reminiscent of the Central a few years ago.
6. Anaheim Ducks
Those were the real Ducks down the stretch and in the playoffs, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere will get the No. 1 job back.
7. St. Louis Blues
Amazing job in an injury siege last season as Brad Boyes, so renowned for being underrated, was no longer underrated.
8. Dallas Stars
New GM Joe Nieuwendyk and new coach Marc Crawford will look great this season because last season was an aberration.
9. Columbus Blue Jackets
Rick Nash’s long-term extension means he won’t be approaching unrestricted free agency this season.
10. Los Angeles Kings
The young talent, featuring Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson, is coming together.
11. Nashville Predators
A great young defensive core with Dan Hamhuis, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, but scoring will be the problem.
12. Edmonton Oilers
Nikolai Khabibulin adds to the quality goaltending in the division — if he plays as if he’s in a contract year.
13. Minnesota Wild
With all the other options for hockey interest in Minnesota, one more nonplayoff season will put the Wild’s sellout streak at risk.
14. Colorado Avalanche
Another tough year, but the issue is whether in March “rebuilding” looks to be a credible word or a lame excuse.
15. Phoenix Coyotes
The ownership/bankruptcy soap opera is distracting and draining on everyone involved.
