The NHLplayoffs are in full swing, but the online sportsbook experts are already looking towards next season to see which teams will rise and which ones will fall. For this season, the story everyone is talking about is the St. Louis Blues. The Blues went from 11th place in the Western Conference last year to second place this year. Now the online sports book enthusiasts are trying to see which team will be the St. Louis Blues next season and rise to the top of the league.
Winnipeg Jets
The problem the Winnipeg Jets are having is that it is run by the same management team that could not get the Atlanta Thrashers over the playoff hump. The Jets did the same thing this year that the Thrashers had done for years prior. The team started out strong, contended for a playoff spot, and then faded down the stretch. The Jets have a great goalie in Ondrej Pavelec, but the team plays poor defense in front of him. The price per head sports experts see a lot of potential in the Winnipeg Jets, but the Jets are going to need to shore up its defense if it wants to win games.
Buffalo Sabres
The fans in Buffalodo not see a winning team being built, but a review of the Sabres’ roster shows some positive changes being made. The Sabres need to get tougher and faster if it wants to compete for the Stanley Cup. Players like Marcus Foligno fit that bill. Cody Hodgson looked almost timid when he came over from the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline, but he started to show potential towards the end of the season. The Sabres have promised results to its fans and now it needs to deliver. The only question is whether or not it is the right choice to keep going back to the team of general manager Darcy Regier and head coach Lindy Ruff.
Edmonton Oilers
The entire league keeps waiting for the Oilers to turn the corner, but the team continues to struggle.Edmontonis starting to see the benefits of drafting young talent like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but where the Oilers continue to fall short is in goal. Last season,Edmontonthought that veteran Nikolai Khabibulin was the answer. That turned out to be the wrong guess. The Oilers need to stop guessing in goal and find a real talent that can push the team to success. The Oilers seem to work on name recognition rather than talent. A few changes in the scouting department and a good goalie should get the Oilers on the right path.
Anaheim Ducks
NHL fans inAnaheim had a rough season. Their star goalie Jonas Hiller was out for a good part of the beginning of the season. When Hiller finally made it to the ice, he was inconsistent. The Ducks had some problems scoring goals, but it was mostly issues on defense that preventedAnaheim from making any progress this year. No team needed the season to end more thanAnaheim. New head coach Bruce Boudreau tried everything to get the team moving and nothing seemed to work. There will be player changes inAnaheim this offseason, but there is not a lot that really needs to be done. The Ducks can be a playoff team next year if the team just applies itself and utilizes the talent it has.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.