Bruins Nation

After a summer of contract disagreements, the Ottawa Senators have traded Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard, and a 1st round draft pick. (TSN link)

Another great move by the Lightning. Tampa got the very young (age 22) Meszaros for middle-aged (age 31, middle-aged when it comes to Hockey) Filip Kuba, AHL defenseman Alexandre Picard, and a first round pick they got from San Jose. Without Meszaros, the Senators are looking at a much more difficult playoff hunt. Also, Tampa will definitely be up there contending with Carolina and Washington for the Southeast division.

I found this on BostonBruins.com:



Two championship teams combined in this picture.

Here is what I predict the standings will look like at the end of the season:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins 2. Boston Bruins 3. Carolina Hurricanes 4. New York Rangers 5. Montreal Canadiens 6. New Jersey Devils 7. Ottawa Senators 8. Washington Capitals 9. Tampa Bay Lightning 10. Philadelphia Flyers 11. Buffalo Sabres 12. Florida Panthers 13. Atlanta Thrashers 14. New York Islanders 15. Toronto Maple Leafs	ATLANTIC: 1. Pittsburgh Penguins 2. New York Rangers 3. New Jersey Devils 4. Philadelphia Flyers 5. New York Islanders NORTHEAST: 1. Boston Bruins 2. Montreal Canadiens 3. Ottawa Senators 4. Buffalo Sabres 5. Toronto Maple Leafs SOUTHEAST: 1. Carolina Hurricanes 2. Washington Capitals 3. Tampa Bay Lightning 4. Florida Panthers 5. Atlanta Thrashers
1. Detroit Red Wings 2. Dallas Stars 3. Calgary Flames 4. San Jose Sharks 5. Chicago Blackhawks 6. Vancouver Canucks 7. Columbus Blue Jackets 8. Phoenix Coyotes 9. Anaheim Ducks 10. Edmonton Oilers 11. Nashville Predators 12. St Louis Blues 13. Minnesota Wild 14. Colorado Avalanche 15. Los Angeles Kings	CENTRAL: 1. Detroit Red Wings 2. Chicago Blackhawks 3. Columbus Blue Jackets 4. Nashville Predators 5. St Louis Blues NORTHWEST: 1. Calgary Flames 2. Vancouver Canucks 3. Edmonton Oilers 4. Minnesota Wild 5. Colorado Avalanche PACIFIC: 1. Dallas Stars 2. San Jose Sharks 3. Phoenix Coyotes 4. Anaheim Ducks 5. Los Angeles Kings

As I looked through the rosters and off-season moves one last time before making these predictions, I realized that the Western Conference is MUCH stronger than the Eastern Conference. I think during the season I am going to track the East vs West record.

Coming from both TSN and Sportsnet now:

Once the Toronto Maple Leafs pay Brian McCabe a 2 million dollar bonus, the Leafs and Panthers have a multi-player trade that will go into effect. Rumor has it that Brian McCabe and another player are going to the Florida Panthers for Mike Van Ryn and another player. Although Jay Bouwmeester is all over the rumor mills, he is not going to be one of the Florida players going to Toronto.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. It looks like Toronto is shipping away the under-performing McCabe for an under-performing Van Ryn. The styles of the two are very different though. McCabe is an aggresive shut down guy whereas Van Ryn is a puck mover. This also clears cap space for Toronto, which could mean they might offer a sweeter deal to Mats Sundin. If Toronto loses both Mats Sundin and Brian McCabe, arguably their two best players, that would mean the Leafs, last year's worst team in the Northeast division, are going to remain miles behind Boston.

I'm sure in two years the NHL will have the first game of the season be on 10/10/10.

Anyway, Absolutely nothing has happened in the NHL. Apparently Mats Sundin is not close to signing. I hope he retires. Just imagine how awful him signing with Montreal would be. If he comes back, I pray it's with Vancouver.

Meanwhile Matt Marquadt and Jamie Arniel are giving back in Northern Quebec.

And I can't leave without saying Go USA!