Are the Devils Due for a Fall?

New Jersey is still the class team in the Eastern Conference but the Devils will not have an easy time advancing to the Stanley Cup finals for the third season in a row.

Losing goal scorer Alexander Mogilny could hurt the Devil offense, but Coach Larry Robinson has the depth to stay ahead of Philadelphia, Ottawa, Toronto and Washington.

The Flyers did well by keeping John LeClair and adding Jiri Dopita and Jeremy Roenick. The Senators lost Alexei Yashin but maintained their core by re-signing Marian Hossa, Daniel Alfredsson and Martin Havlat. The Maple Leafs added Mogilny and still have Curtis Joseph in net. And the Capitals made the biggest splash of the off-season, trading for Jaromir Jagr, who led the league in scoring the last three seasons.

New York will have two teams to watch in the Rangers and Islanders. If goaltender Mike Richter and risky pickups Eric Lindros and Bryan Berard play to their abilities, the Rangers will be tough. The same goes for the Islanders if new additions Michael Peca, Chris Osgood and Yashin have solid seasons.

The problem for the Devils is that the rest of the conference got better while they basically stood pat in the off-season.

1. New Jersey

Coach: Larry Robinson, third season.

2000-2001 record: 48-19-12-3, 111 points, first in Atlantic Division, first in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Pierre Dagenais and defensemen Sascha Goc and Tommy Albelin.

Outlook: The Devils need more consistency from their top line of Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. When they are playing well, the Devils are a tough team to deal with because of the steadiness of veteran defensemen Scott Stevens and Brian Rafalski and goaltender Martin Brodeur. Another strong point for the Devils--they can count on solid efforts from Bobby Holik, Randy McKay, John Madden and Scott Gomez.

2. Philadelphia

Coach: Bill Barber, second season.

2000-2001 record: 43-25-11-3, 100 points, second in Atlantic, third in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Jan Hlavac, Pavel Brendl, Jiri Dopita and Jeremy Roenick; defensemen Eric Weinrich and Kim Johnsson.

Outlook: The Flyers have the depth to compete with New Jersey. Philadelphia is hoping to get a big season from veteran Czech center Dopita. At 31, he joins a talented group of forwards led by Keith Primeau, Simon Gagne, Mark Recchi and John LeClair. But the big question is, can goaltender Roman Cechmanek improve on last season when he finished second to Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek?

3. Washington

Coach: Ron Wilson, fifth season.

2000-2001 record: 41-27-10-4, 96 points, first in Southeast Division, sixth in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Peter Ferraro and Jaromir Jagr; defenseman Frantisek Kucera.

Outlook: The acquisition of Jagr, the league’s best scorer last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, elevates Washington among the elite teams in the East. In the past, the Capitals relied too heavily on goaltender Olaf Kolzig but shouldn’t have to anymore. Peter Bondra, Trevor Linden and Jeff Halpern should benefit from Jagr’s presence. Sergei Gonchar, Brendan Witt and Calle Johansson are solid on defense.

4. Ottawa

Coach: Jacques Martin, seventh season.

2000-2001 record: 48-21-9-4, 109 points, first in Northeast Division, second in conference.

What’s new: Forwards Bill Muckalt, Jason Spezza, Jeff Ulmer and Chris Herperger; defenseman Zdeno Chara.

Outlook: The post-Alexei Yashin era will feature a lineup geared for playoff success. Radek Bonk is a solid center and Shawn McEachern, Daniel Alfredsson and Marion Hossa are the best wingers for the Senators, who are hoping Spezza can provide scoring depth. Defense again will be a strength for Ottawa, which will count on Patrick Lalime in goal.

5. N.Y. Rangers

Coach: Ron Low, second season.

2000-2001 record: 33-43-5-1, 72 points, fourth in Atlantic, 10th in conference.

Who’s new: Center Eric Lindros; defensemen Igor Ulanov, David Karpa and Bryan Berard.

Outlook: The Rangers will be a much better team if Theo Fleury can regain his form after sitting out most of last season with a substance-abuse problem. But the key for the Rangers will be if Berard has anything left after suffering an eye injury that nearly ended his career, and whether defenseman Brian Leetch and goaltender Mike Richter can step up with all-star seasons again.

6. Pittsburgh

Coach: Craig Ivan Hlinka, second season.

2000-2001 record: 42-28-9-3, 96 points, third in Atlantic, tied for fifth in conference.

Who’s new: Goaltender Rob Tallas, forward Kris Beech and defensemen Mike Wilson and Peter Ratchuk.

Outlook: The loss of Jaromir Jagr means Pittsburgh will become a more defense-minded team. The Penguins will need better balance from Mario Lemieux, Alexei Kovolev, Martin Straka and Robert Lang to help offset a mediocre defensive unit. Goaltender Johan Hedberg has to play well for the Penguins to make a serious playoff run in the Eastern Conference.

7. Toronto

Coach: Pat Quinn, fourth season.

2000-2001 record: 37-29-11-5, 90 points, third in Northeast, seventh in conference.

Who’s new: Goaltender Corey Schwab; forwards Robert Reichel, Mikael Renberg, Travis Green and Alexander Mogilny; defensemen Anders Eriksson and Karel Pilar.

Outlook: The Maple Leafs expect big things from Mogilny and if he has a breakout season, watch out. Toronto’s depth improved with the addition of Reichel, Renberg and Green. Mats Sundin will again be the team’s top scorer. Joseph’s play will key the defense, which is a little weak at the blue line. Toronto hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967.

8. N.Y. Islanders

Coach: Peter Laviolette, first season.

2000-2001 record: 21-51-7-3, 52 points, fifth in Atlantic, 15th in conference.

Who’s new: Goaltenders Garth Snow and Chris Osgood; forwards Shawn Bates, Marko Tuomainen, Michael Peca and Alexei Yashin, and defenseman Ken Sutton. .

Outlook: The Islanders made the most noise during the off-season and will be a much-improved team. The addition of Peca and Yashin makes them better offensively, and Osgood and Snow provide experience in goal. Rookie coach Laviolette is hoping Mariusz Czerkawski has another productive season playing with Yashin.

9. Boston

Coach: Robbie Ftorek, first season.

2000-2001 record: 36-30-8-8, 88 points, fourth in Northeast, ninth in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Martin Lapointe, Scott Pellerin, P.J. Stock and Rob Zamuner; defenseman Sean O’Donnell.

Outlook: Ftorek wants the Bruins to play a faster tempo but the key will be a sound Byron Dafoe in goal. When Dafoe missed 13 games last season because of injury, the Bruins suffered. Joe Thornton is ready to become an all-star, and picking up Lapointe will help. But not having Jason Allison, an unsigned free agent, will hurt Boston’s chances of making the postseason.

10. Buffalo

Coach: Lindy Ruff, fifth season.

2000-2001 record: 46-30-5-1, 98 points, second in Northeast, fourth in conference.

Who’s new: Goaltender Bob Essensa, forwards Slava Kozlov, Taylor Pyatt and Tim Connolly.

Outlook: Without Dominik Hasek in goal, the Sabres look like an average team. Ruff is a good coach but Buffalo needs huge seasons from Miroslav Satan and Chris Gratton just to have a chance to make the playoffs, let alone advance a round or two. The combination of Martin Biron and Mika Noronen should be good enough in goal but the Sabres will have trouble scoring in the rugged Eastern Conference.

11. Carolina

Coach: Paul Maurice, seventh season.

2000-2001 record: 38-32-9-3, 88 points, second in Southeast, eighth in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Chris Dingman and Josh Holden; defenseman Aaron Ward; goaltender Tom Barrasso.

Outlook: The Hurricanes gave the Devils all they could handle in the first round of the playoffs last season, losing in six games. Jeff O’Neill is looking to improve on his 41 goals of last season and veteran center Ron Francis keeps rolling along. But Carolina lacks depth up front and that will hurt over an 82-game season. Arturs Irbe will again play a ton of games in goal, but that doesn’t figure to be enough.

12. Florida

Coach: Duane Sutter, second season.

2000-2001 record: 22-38-13-9, 66 points, third in Southeast, 12th in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Valeri Bure, Bill Lindsay, Jason Wiemer, Ryan Johnson, and Kristian Huselius; defenseman Jeff Norton.

Outlook: Pavel and Valeri Bure will play together and provide a dangerous scoring duo for the Panthers, who hope for more offensive balance from Viktor Kozlov, Olli Jokinen and Johnson. But for Florida to compete for a playoff spot, goaltender Roberto Luongo has to be more consistent. The Panthers are a long way from the team that reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1996.

13. Atlanta

Coach: Curt Fraser, third season.

2000-2001 record: 23-45-12-2, 60 points, fourth in Southeast, 13th in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Bob Corkum, Lubos Bartecko, Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley, Tony Hrkac; defensemen Todd Reirden and Daniel Tjarnqvist.

Outlook: The Thrashers are young but they have a lot of talent. Atlanta will only get better the more Patrik Stefan, Kovalchuk and Heatley play. Veteran Ray Ferraro, the former King, has the fight to help keep the Thrashers competitive but the key will be the play of goalies Damian Rhodes and Milan Hnilicka. The playoffs are likely out of the picture for another year.

14. Montreal

Coach: Michel Therrien, second season.

2000-2001 record: 28-40-8-6, 70 points, fifth in Northeast, 11th in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Yanic Perreault, Andreas Dackell, Joe Juneau and Reid Simpson; defenseman Stephane Quintal.

Outlook: The Canadiens will miss Saku Koivu, who has abdominal cancer. Montreal did well to pick up Perreault and Juneau, but the Canadiens need much more. Montreal is hoping Martin Rucinsky, Brian Savage and Richard Zednik can pick up the slack. Need improvement from goaltenders Jose Theodore and Mathieu.

15. Tampa Bay

Coach: John Tortorella, second season.

2000-2001 record: 24-47-6-5, 59 points, fifth in Southeast, 14th in conference.

Who’s new: Forwards Dave Andreychuk, Tim Taylor, Juha Ylonen and Vaclav Prospal; defensemen Nolan Pratt and Grant Ledyard.

Outlook: The Lightning will be solid in goal with Nikolai Khabibulin and Kevin Weekes, and the offense has potential if the Lightning can sign Vincent Lecavalier to go along with Fredrik Modin. Tampa Bay is building, and the team needs time to develop. But that doesn’t bode well for this season or postseason hopes.