Are the Eastern Conference Finalists Ready for 2010?
All of the top free agents have been signed, and the draft has passed us by. Many teams have locked up their restricted free agents and signed their possible unrestricted free agents. The bulk of the National Hockey League (NHL) off-season has come to an end. Last year's Eastern Conference finalists, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens, have both made several moves, but are they ready for next season?
The Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have done a great job keeping together the core of their team after such a successful playoff run.
Forwards
Up front, the Flyers look better then any other franchise with perhaps the best top-six forward group in the National Hockey League. Besides the trade of Simon Gagne and the acquisition of Nikolai Zherdev, the Flyers forwards are the same as last year's Stanley Cup finalists.
Defence
The Flyers have seen minor movement on the back end, after brining in Matt Walker and Andrej Meszaros from Tampa Bay, they look stronger then they did last season. General Manager Paul Holmgren has managed to hang onto the core of his defence. He has Chris Pronger locked-up for seven more years, and Kimmo Timonen signed for another three.
Goaltending
Like so many of last year’s conference finalists, the question for Philadelphia lies in the goaltending position. Holmgren elected to bring back playoff hero Michael Leighton, and at the moment it appears as though he is going with the tandem of Leighton and Brian Boucher.
Flyers Chances
In the post-season last year, the Flyers goaltending duo of Leighton and Boucher preformed incredibly well, posting ridiculous numbers and helping to take the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals. Nevertheless, there are questions as to whether or not the tandem will be able to do over a full season. Like the San Jose Sharks, the Flyers are strong all around except in net, and the amazing line-up that Holmgren has put together may be wasted without a proper back-stop.
The Montreal Canadiens
Montreal made an improbable run to the conference finals last season, leaving Eastern Conference giants in their wake, only to be shutdown by a highly skilled and tough Flyers team. GM Pierre Gauthier elected to keep much of his team in tact heading into next season.
Forwards
The forward crop remains basically unchanged, except for the addition of youngsters Lars Eller and Dustin Boyd. The Habs will count on their first line of Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri, and Scott Gomez to provide most of the scoring punch again next season.
Defence
The defence looks exactly the same as the group that played so well in the 2010 playoffs. However, this is likely to be the last season for this defensive core, as P.K. Subban and Jaroslav Spacek are the only defenders signed through to next season. The addition of Subban year round will give a giant boost to an offensive unit mostly filled with stay-at-home defenders.
Goaltending
The biggest change for the Canadiens came in the goaltending position. Facing a dilemma between Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price, Gauthier decided to stick with Price. The youngster has been off and on over the past two seasons, while Halak has posted incredible numbers and should be given most of the praise for Montreal’s improbable run.
Canadiens Chances
You would be hard-pressed to find a hockey fan outside of Montreal that believes the Canadiens will be able to repeat last season. The bottom line is this team was lucky to make the playoffs, and with a line-up that looks worse without Halak, that once again is the verdict. Gauthier did not have a lot he could do, with so many bulky contracts upfront, he was very limited in the moves he could make this summer. However, the one he did make has baffled hockey fans. Trading Halak could go down as pure genius, but it will depend entirely on whether or not Price can get it together and start stopping some pucks on a consistent basis.
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