adams NHL 2009/2010 season prediction

last year i was off by an average of 3 spots per team. its too hard to pick, but here are my picks for this season

NHL predictions 2009-09-29

West:

1. San Jose (addition of Heatley is great, they will be fired up after losing last year, they haven’t lost a step, get to beat up on phoenix and Dallas again)

2. Calgary (addition of Bouwmeester on D, Jokinen getting full training camp will help Flames take next step. With extra depth the flames can make a midseason trade to pick up a winger, or hope Dawes and Sjostrom will keep getting better, along with the plethora of young guys around. With Sutter as coach, and one of the best defensive cores, the team will get back to playing defence and allow Kipper a little more rest)

3. Detroit (as with every year, they are getting older. Losing Hudler and a few others doesn’t help them as well as a few teams closing the gap a little in the division)

4. Vancouver (these guys are good, but Schnieder isn’t an adequate replacement for Salo, need guys like Kessler to step up with some goals again. Not much of a change, just that Calgary got better in the offseason, Vancouver didn’t)

5. Columbus (young kids getting better, need another strong year in the net)

6. St. Louis (same thing as Columbus, many young guys getter better)

7. Chicago (loss of Khabibulin may hurt them, as well a few injuries to start. Hossa contract may become a distraction)

8. Edmonton (with new coaches and some more experience for young players, they might make the push into the playoffs this year, Khabibulin will be an experiment, as he statistically plays better in contract years)

9. LA (so close again for LA, they usually run into injury problems, but lots of good young players and good goaltending will allow them to make push, it will come down to last week of season as usual)

10 Anaheim (losing both Pronger and Beachemin are big losses in my opinion. They finished 8^th last year, and even though they did well in the playoffs, you have to do well in the regular season too)

11. Minnesota (Havlat replaces Gaborik, same goaltending, new coach, new philosophy. Its hard to say where this team will go, but the old defensive system may have hid some of the weak areas, that or it slowed growth)

12. Nashville (not much new here, too many better teams in the division, but they will be close as usual

13. Dallas (changing the coach wasn’t the best idea, will be interesting to see how this team does)

14. Pheonix (signing Robert Lang is a good move, a few other trades in the offseason, unfortunately the bankruptcy issue will continue to be a distraction, as well as lack of fan support. If NHL takes control, team will continue to be near cap floor)

15. Colorado (this team still has some issues to work through, namely goaltending, still in rebuilding mode)

East

1. Washington (young players continue to get better and Varlamov has great season while the offence continues to wreak havoc in the east and the division)

2. Boston (losing Kessel hurts Boston, thats the only thing they really lost though, a few guys coming off of career years, Tim Thomas continues to shine)

3. Pittsburg (this team is good. Last year they almost fell out but went on to win the cup, and didn’t lose much. Fleury continues to solidify himself as a top-5 goaltender)

4. Philidelphia (addition of Pronger would take this team into a division title, along with players like Richards and Carter, but inconsistent goaltending will again hold them back)

5. Carolina (this team is great, and has great fan support. Cam Ward needs to continue to be a great goalie, it will be tight to get 5^th)

6. Montreal (a few good moves in the offseason picking up Gionta, Gomez and Cammallari. Goaltending needs to be better and I think will have a rebound)

7. New Jersey (the Devils somehow play well every year, lost a few guys and the coach, but have the master of trap hockey and Broduer trying to maintain his level going into the playoffs)

8. New York Rangers ( a good goalie and pick up of Kaberle will help the D, same as last year)

9. Ottawa (so close for the Sens, after seasons of missing the playoffs the media will be all over them about change, despite the fact this would be a better finish then last year. LeClaire will play well in net)

10. Toronto (not much to say here, they will be close but there isn’t enough there yet)

11. Tampa bay (Stamkos getting better, goaltending still a question here)

12. Florida (losing Bouwmeester hurts, young guys getting better, but not enough)

13. Buffalo (the Sabres haven’t done much, I see them taking another step back)

14. New York Islanders (picking up Tavares is good, and young players like Campoli are getting better, goaltending an issue still and maybe distractions because of the ownership situation

15. Atlanta (Antropov, Afiniganov, Kovalchuk, not enough. This team continues to disappoint, get passed by the Islanders. Still unresolved ownership situation, anyone want a hockey team?)

playoffs:

as usual I pick Calgary, and i think they will play Washington in the cup final

Fall CFL update

well how about a review of what i predicted at the begginning of the season
it seems things change week to week in football, but here is a look as we head into another week of CFL action, each team having played 11 games to this point
1. Calgary (13-5)- defending champs didn't lose much, now know what it takes. they need to play as a team and continue to get consistent performance from guys like Lewis in the tough west division.
well releasing LB Armour early in the season hurt more then i thought it would. they picked up Johnson and have been better against the run in the past few weeks. Stamps had a tough start, and losing Rambo hurt. after losing Thelwell, the Stamps were hurting for recievers and made a good trade with Winnipeg to get a few recievers (Franklin and Bryant).
to finish 13-5, the Stamps would have to win out the rest of the way, which actually isn't asking much. do i expect it? no, they need more consistency but Copeland and Lewis have been very good. 12-6
2. Edmonton (12-6)- Ricky Ray is always dangerous, now he has a good mix of run game and recievers, we'll see how the defence does. and how long it takes for Lumsden to get hurt... Edmonton is always in it, and BC will be right there with them all season long.
it sure didn't take long for Lumsden to get hurt, less then a game. Edmonton took a step back with back-back labour day losses, but now can take 2 from Saskatchewan.
will they get 12-6? no, i would take one win off that total. 11-7
3. BC (9-9)- this is tough, they lost Cam Wake, so shouldn't be as good, but still have solid depth at quarterback and Wally seems to find guys to step in.
loss of Cam Wake along with a few other players did hurt them, the qb situation certainly has changed. Jackson is out for a few weeks, and Pierce is one hit away from the end of his career from concussions. they signed former Lion Casey Printers to the practice roster, this may be important later in the season.
i can still see 9-9 for BC, but i think 8-10 is more likely
4. Saskatchewan (8-10) - this is a quarterbacks league, and Saskatchewan's QB needs some proving. Durant will need to find some chemistry with Fantusz, who is a great reciever. Im not sold on this team, but they do some some parts, tough battle with BC and Edmonton, but they will crossover and visit Hamilton
well Durant has shown that he is the Riders starter, and has the skillset to play many years, along with some good recievers (Dressler, Fantusz) and Cates great running. if they can find a way to beat Edmonton, then they have a good chance at winning the division, it will come down to a few meetings with Calgary. hot and cold
will they hit 8-10? they will get a better record then that, im thinking 10-8

East Division -Montreal has been no suprise, starting hot and actually winning in the west this year. will be interesting to see if they get upset in the playoffs

1. Montreal (12-6)- many players back and the coach will still have the memory of losing the cup at home fresh in their minds. The question mark here is does Calvillo keep going? he showed last year he is back, in a remarkable comeback. They get to beat up Toronto and Winnipeg again too
Montreal definitly remembers last seasons dissapointing finish. they have rolled along, but are beatable. they will finish better then 12-6, at 13-5
2. Hamilton (8-10)- of the bottom three in the East, Hamilton has the best chance of getting that home playoff game. Quinton Porter is the answer, ok well he looks like he could be. they need to keep developing him, Glenn is there to take some pressure off as well, but this team has some good continuity from last year and last season appeared to be getting better. they will keep up the trend and win some games by a few instead of losing them. Its been too long since Hamilton had a good season or hosted a playoff game.
well, i am happy to be right about hamilton right now, they have been doing enough to win close games. Porter and Glenn have shared the load, and Porter needs to continue and get better, he has the pieces with his running ability and good arm. picking up Bruce from Toronto and Stala in the offseason has helped, along with RB Cobb taking over a few games
8-10? they will do better, at 6-5 right now, i can see a 11-7 finish
3. Toronto (5-13)- close with Winnipeg, they still have a solid defence, it will be interesting to see how the new coach adapts to the Canadian game. Kerry Joseph needs to get back to his old form
well Bart Andrus has somewhat adapted to the Canadian game, but this team is inconsistent. hard to tell if this is a team on the way up. Pickett at QB may be a good qb in the future, but we will need some time. if they had beaten BC last week, i would've said they would make the playoffs, but they will will have a tough time catching up with either hamilton or bc
5-13? they will finish with a better record, 6-12 (not much better!)
4. Winnipeg (5-13)- with so many new players and a new coach, who is playing for this team now? it will take some time to fit the parts together and get some wins. head to head matchups with Toronto may decide who gets the first draft pick in 2010....
nothing to see here, kind of a trainwreck. Kelly has not done well coaching this team and may be fired soon, at least that seems to be what bomber fans want. good trade with Calgary and a qb trade with Montreal, this team is rebuilding. at least Fred Reid is a brightspot for the offence
5-13? sounds about right to me, well at least they get the first draft pick i guess, key game for the bombers this weekend, playing the Argos.


I picked the stamps and allouettes, i think hamilton might win the east in the upset.
there will be a crossover, and i think it will be bc, not saskatchewan

in hockey, theo Fleury has been released by the flames, my nhl predictions coming soon