Colorado at Top, Wings on Rise

Defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado will miss defenseman Ray Bourque and forward Peter Forsberg, but because it has so much depth, it is difficult to imagine Detroit, Dallas or St. Louis knocking the Avalanche out in the West.

With Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic and Rob Blake signing long-term, no-trade contracts worth a potential $136.5 million, the Avalanche locked up a core of players to make another run at the Cup.

Dallas tried to improve by picking up Pierre Turgeon, Jyrki Lumme, Pat Verbeek and Donald Audette, while the Blues upgraded with forward Doug Weight.

But the team the Avalanche should keep a close eye on is the Red Wings. For as long as Chris Osgood was in net for Detroit, the theory was that a true “elite” goalie would get the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals every season. With Osgood gone and Dominik Hasek the team’s new No. 1 goaltender, Detroit is a legitimate contender again after losing in the first round to the Kings in last season’s playoffs.

General Manager Ken Holland made sure the Red Wings’ veteran core would have its best chance at winning another Stanley Cup by acquiring three future hall of famers: Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull and Hasek. They should work well with veterans Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov and Tomas Holmstrom. On defense, Detroit counts on veterans Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and Fredrik Olausson.

It’s now or never for the Red Wings, whose edge in goal gives them the best chance of knocking Colorado from atop the Western Conference.

1. Colorado

Coach: Bob Hartley, fourth season.

2000-2001 record: 52-16-10-4, 118 points, first in Northwest Division, first in conference.

Who’s new: Defensemen Todd Gill, Rick Berry and Alex Riazantsev.

Outlook: What makes the Avalanche so tough is that it can beat you 1-0 or 6-5. With Patrick Roy in the net, Colorado has the best big-game goaltender in the game. In Rob Blake, Adam Foote and Martin Skoula, the Avalanche has one of the best defensive trios in the league. Even without Forsberg, offense will not be a problem because Colorado still has Sakic along with three skilled youngsters in Chris Drury, Ville Niemenen, Alex Tanguay and Milan Hejduk.

2. Detroit

Coach: Scotty Bowman, ninth season.

2000-2001 record: 49-20-9-4, 111 points, first in Central Division, second in conference.

Who’s new: Goaltender Dominik Hasek; forwards Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams; defenseman Fredrik Olausson.

Outlook: Picking up Hull and Robitaille is definitely an upgrade and having Hasek in goal for 60 games is a plus. Bowman is sticking around because he hopes the addition of a couple of veterans will be enough to pump new life into the Red Wings, who were upset by the Kings in the first round last season, 4-2.

3. Dallas

Coach: Ken Hitchcock, seventh season.

2000-2001 record: 48-24-8-2, 106 points, first in Pacific Division, third in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Rob DiMaio, Valeri Kamensky, Pierre Turgeon, Donald Audette and Pat Verbeek, and defenseman Jyrki Lumme.

Outlook: If Turgeon plays up to his capabilities and buys into the Stars’ team-first attitude, Dallas will be a legitimate threat to Colorado. Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk need help and Turgeon is the man. Lumme’s versatility will add more movement on defense.

4. San Jose

Coach: Darryl Sutter, fifth season.

2000-2001 record: 40-27-12-3, 95 points, second in Pacific, fifth in conference.

Who’s new: Forward Adam Graves; defensemen Brandon Smith and Jeff Jillson.

Outlook: If Teemu Selanne is ready to play and the goaltending holds up, the Sharks could break into the top four in the West. Owen Nolan, Vincent Damphousse and Patrick Marleau give San Jose one of the best group of scorers in the league. The Sharks need goalie Evgeni Nabokov to have another solid season.

5. St. Louis

Coach: Joel Quenneville, sixth season.

2000-2001 record: 43-22-12-5, 103 points, second in Central, fourth in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Mike Keane, and Doug Weight; goaltender Fred Brathwaite.

Outlook: The Blues are counting on Weight to replace Pierre Turgeon and will be a tougher team up front with the addition of Keane. St. Louis still does not have an answer in goal and is hoping the recently acquired Brathwaite steps up.

6. Edmonton

Coach: Craig Mactavish, second season.

2000-2001 record: 39-28-12-3, 93 points, second in Northwest, sixth in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Marty Reasoner, Jochen Hecht and Jason Chimera; defenseman Steve Staios.

Outlook: In Anson Carter, Ethan Moreau, Ryan Smyth, Mike Grier and Georges Laraque, General Manager Kevin Lowe believes the Oilers have one of the league’s top corps of talented young forwards. Defensively, Edmonton may have some problems and will likely count too much on goaltender Tommy Salo.

7. Kings

Coach: Andy Murray, third season.

2000-2001 record: 38-28-13-3, 92 points, third in Pacific, seventh in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Ken Belanger and Steve Heinze.

Outlook: The Kings will miss Luc Robitaille’s leadership along with his scoring. But they still have Ziggy Palffy and Jozef Stumpel, along with the steady play of forwards Adam Deadmarsh and Bryan Smolinski. Mattias Norstrom and Aaron Miller head a strong group of defensemen, but to win they need forward Glen Murray and goalie Felix Potvin to be on top of their games.

8. Mighty Ducks

Coach: Bryan Murray, first season.

2000-2001 record: 25-41-11-5, 66 points, fifth in Pacific, 15th in conference.

Who’s new: Forward Timo Parssinen; defensemen Jason York and Keith Carney.

Outlook: Steve Shields is a much better goaltender than people think. If the Mighty Ducks can get a healthy season from Steve Rucchin and more scoring to complement the skills of Paul Kariya and Jeff Friesen, they could squeeze into the playoffs. Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky is for real but the Ducks need more help at the blue line.

9. Vancouver

Coach: Marc Crawford, fourth season.

2000-2001 record: 36-28-11-7, 90 points, third in Northwest, eighth in conference.

Who’s new: Defenseman Bryan Allen.

Outlook: The Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, need to be more consistent for the Canucks, who are counting on Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Andrew Cassels for scoring. Ed Jovanovski and Mattias Ohlund are decent on defense but Dan Cloutier still has to prove himself in goal.

10. Nashville

Coach: Barry Trotz, fourth season.

2000-2001 record: 34-36-9-3, 80 points, third in Central, 10th in conference.

Who’s new: Forward Stu Grimson; defenseman Andy Delmore.

Outlook: The Predators are on the rise but still lack depth. The mixture of young players such as Marian Cisar, Scott Hartnell and David Legwand could work well with veterans Cliff Ronning, Greg Johnson and Patric Kjellberg. Goaltending is a strong point with Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun.

11. Chicago

Coach: Brian Sutter, first season.

2000-2001 record: 29-40-8-5, 71 points, fourth in Central, 12th in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Steve Thomas and Igor Korolev; defensemen Jon Klemm and Phil Housley.

Outlook: New Coach Brian Sutter and the addition of Klemm on defense will help add toughness to the Blackhawks, who have struggled in recent years. Tony Amonte, Alex Zhamnov, Eric Daze and Steve Sullivan make up a solid group of forwards.

12. Phoenix

Coach: Bob Francis, third season.

2000-2001 record: 35-27-17-3, 90 points, fourth in Pacific, ninth in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Sergei Berezin, Daymond Langkow, Todd Warriner and Tyler Bouck; defenseman Danny Markov.

Outlook: The Coyotes will be one of the league’s toughest and most aggressive teams but they will have trouble scoring. Sean Burke and Robert Esche will provide a solid combination in goal.

13. Calgary

Coach: Greg Gilbert, first season.

2000-2001 record: 27-36-15-4, 73 points, fourth in Northwest, 11th in conference.

Who’s new: Goaltender Roman Turek; forwards Rob Niedermayer and Dean McAmmond; defenseman Bob Boughner.

Outlook: The Flames will rely on the leadership of Niedermayer but will need a big season from Jarome Iginla on offense to compete in the West. On defense, Calgary is strong with young players such as Derek Morris, Robyn Regehr and Toni Lydman. But is Mike Vernon or Turek the answer in net?

14. Minnesota

Coach: Jacques Lemaire, second season.

2000-2001 record: 25-39-13-5, 68 points, fifth in Northwest, 14th in conference.

Who’s new: Goaltender Dwayne Roloson; forwards Tony Virta, Andrew Brunette and Sergei Zholtok; defensemen Mike Crowley and Jason Marshall.

Outlook: Lemaire has a plan for the Wild and if the players buy into his system, winning should follow. Marian Gaborik and Brunette have scoring skills but not enough to cover up the Wild’s woes on offense.

15. Columbus

Coach: Dave King, second season.

2000-2001 record: 28-39-9-6, 71 points, fifth in Central, 13th in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Grant Marshall, Sean Pronger, Radim Bicanek, Chris Nielsen and Mike Sillinger; defenseman Rostislav Klesla.

Outlook: The additions of Sillinger, Pronger and Marshall should improve things for the Blue Jackets, but their lack of depth will be a problem. Columbus will be better on the defensive end as long as Ron Tugnutt and Marc Denis are solid in the net.