*Pittsburgh Penguins: Despite losing RW Marian Hossa and LW Ryan Malone, the Penguins will continue to dominate on offence. By leading Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup final, centres Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have proven to be more than phenomenal scoring talents. Newcomers RW Miroslav Satan and LW Ruslan Fedotenko are expected to fill the gaps on the wing, and C Jordan Staal will see more ice time as he develops into an elite power forward. Rounding out the young talent crop is G Marc-Andre Fleury, whose sensational performance in last year's playoffs reaffirmed his value to the Penguins' budding dynasty.
*New York Rangers: After two consecutive second-round playoff exits, the Rangers shook up their roster over the summer, adding LW Markus Naslund, RW Nikolai Zherdev, and D Wade Redden. With the departure of forwards Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, and troublemaker Sean Avery, the Rangers will rely heavily on centres Chris Drury and Scott Gomez to play better than last season. If New York's offence can meet expectations and G Henrik Lundqvist has another brilliant season in goal, expect the Rangers to get at least as far as the Eastern Conference semifinal.
*Philadelphia Flyers: Last season, the Flyers were the most offensively balanced team in the NHL with seven 20-goal scorers in the line-up. Six of those seven return to Philly this year, alongside explosive LW Simon Gagne, who only played in 25 games last season. Newly appointed captain C Mike Richards had a breakout season last year, and will only get better while playing alongside Gagne. The defensive duo of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn shone in last year's playoffs, and G Martin Biron should lead the Flyers into the playoffs.
*New Jersey Devils: Though usually uninvolved in the free agent market, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello signed RW Brian Rolston and C Bobby Holik this offseason in hopes of upgrading a desperate offence. Though the Devils finished fourth in the East, they were among the league's lowest scoring teams, averaging just 2.42 goals a game. New Jersey's consistent success stems from the play of G Martin Brodeur, who is entering his 16th season as the backbone of the franchise. Still, even with a rejuvenated offence and another exceptional season from Brodeur, the Devils will likely fall to a position in the middle of the pack.
New York Islanders: Experience is the only thing the Islanders will gain this season. After a slew of injuries last year, most notably to G Rick DiPietro, the Islanders saw their playoff hopes quickly washed away. Led this year by 20-year-old RW Kyle Okposo, the Islanders' core of young players has potential, but fans should keep expectations low for now. New acquisition D Mark Streit will strengthen the team's confidence on defence, but will need a lot of support if he wants to put up point totals similar to those he posted last season. The Islanders have stocked up for the long run, but will not sail anywhere this season.
*-denotes playoff team
2008 Woodie Awards
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