Flames #1? Holy mackarel.
Mikka Kiprusoff = Jean Sebastien Gigeure until he proves otherwise. Same can be said for Khabibulin; he's always been good, but a stellar playoff run with more offensive support than Kipper had.
Jarome Iginla is the real deal, but will he show up again this season or take a powder every other year as he has in the past (relative to his ability).
The Flames entered the last playoff race as a low seed. Yes, they had a great playoff run, in large part due to Kipper. See point above and use it for comparison of Anaheim in previous season following their (unsuccessful) cup run.
Sharks #2? Uuuuuuuh, not convinced here. They seem old to me. Some decent additions but if it goes to faster play I think that age is going to factor in.
Wings, I like the wings. I think Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lang are going to make it pretty interesting. Goaltending seems to remain an issue though.
As for being a lame Canadian, well, perhaps it's true, perhaps not. The problem is my prognostication would depend on whether the league enforces its rules or not. If it does, then I like a lot of the younger teams. If it does, I see old peckers like Roenick and Tkachunk retiring by Christmas. I like that notion.
I'll presume the rules will be marginally enforced.
Eastern (lame name, go back please) Conference
1. Ottawa Senators
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (goaltending has become a question mark)
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. Boston Bruins
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Atlanta Thrashers (if Kovy signs
, without, they drop)
8. Carolina as a surprise - yep, still 5000 fans per night
Western (blech) Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings
2. Nashville Predators
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Colorado Avalanche
6. Dallas Stars
7. Edmonton Oilers
8. Calgary Flames - who will make the playoffs and lose in the first round
And you can figure out the division champs from their relative placements above, I'm going with overall rankings in the conference.
