A Hurricane Is Coming Through

Last season, only seven points separated the top six teams in the Eastern Conference and Carolina, which wouldn’t have made the playoffs in the West, ended up in the Stanley Cup finals.

Parity? Maybe. A soft conference? Definitely.

In any case, the East is up for grabs again with Philadelphia, Ottawa, the New York Rangers and the Hurricanes leading the way.

The Flyers, who have not won a Stanley Cup in 27 years, are loaded with talent and have a proven coach in Ken Hitchcock, who takes over after nearly seven seasons behind the Dallas Stars’ bench. Philadelphia General Manager Bobby Clarke can only hope that Hitchcock is ready to add to a resume that already includes five division titles, two Western Conference titles and one Stanley Cup title.

Ottawa also should be much improved with a strong group of young but experienced players in Marian Hossa, Martin Havlat and Wade Redden. The Senators, however, have a history of falling short in the playoffs under Coach Jacques Martin, who will be on the hot seat.

Another team not to be counted out is the Rangers, who hired a new coach in Bryan Trottier, who will work with acquisitions Bobby Holik and Darius Kasparaitis along with returning veterans Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter.

And then there’s Carolina, which is led by Coach Paul Maurice, who in his eighth season holds the longest current tenure among NHL coaches. The Hurricanes’ run to the finals last season makes them the team to beat, especially because they re-signed captain Ron Francis and defenseman Brett Hedican to play with up-and-coming youngsters Josef Vasicek, Jaroslav Svoboda and Erik Cole.

Capsules in predicted order of finish:

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1. CAROLINA

Coach: Paul Maurice, eighth season.

2001-02 record: 35-26-16-5, 91 points, first in Southeast Division, third in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Jeff O’Neill, who recorded his third consecutive 60-point season in 2001-02 with 64 points (31 goals, 33 assists).

Outlook: Ron Francis is beginning his 22nd NHL season and he’s still one of the best set-up players in the game. Vasicek and Svoboda gained a great deal of experience in last season’s playoffs and should only be better this season. Throw in skilled forwards such as Rod Brind’Amour, Erik Cole and O’Neill along with a strong defense and goaltending tandem of Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes, and it’s easy to see why the Hurricanes are considered favorites.

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2. PHILADELPHIA

Coach: Ken Hitchcock, first season.

2001-02 record: 42-27-10-3, 97 points, first in Atlantic Division, second in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Simon Gagne, who led the Flyers in goals with 33, including seven game-winners.

Outlook: Hitchcock’s defense-first style should work well with the Flyers, who have underachieved in the playoffs the last few seasons. It’s put up or shut up time for high-scoring forward Jeremy Roenick, who along with Gagne, Mark Recchi, Keith Primeau and John LeClair should carry the team’s scoring load. The big question about the Flyers will be goalie Roman Cechmanek, who is expected to take over now that Brian Boucher has been traded.

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3. OTTAWA

Coach: Jacques Martin, eighth season.

2001-02 record: 39-27-9-7, 94 points, third in Northeast Division, seventh in conference.

Player to watch: Goaltender Patrick Lalime, who appeared in a career-high 61 games last season and was outstanding in the playoffs with a 1.39 goals-against average.

Outlook: The obstruction crackdown should benefit the Senators, who have all the pieces in place to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup. Up front, veteran Daniel Alfredsson should get plenty of scoring help from Marian Hossa, Radek Bonk and Martin Havlat. But the key to the Senators will be their defense, which is headed by Wade Redden, who has a habit of being on the ice whenever Ottawa scores.

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4. N.Y. RANGERS

Coach: Bryan Trottier, first season.

2001-02 record: 36-38-4-4, 80 points, fourth in Atlantic Division, 11th in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Eric Lindros, who led the Rangers in scoring last season with 73 points and in plus-minus with plus-19.

Outlook: The main reason the Rangers failed to make the playoffs last season was their weak special teams. Trottier, who coached Colorado’s power play the last couple of seasons, should help along with high-scoring winger Pavel Bure, who will sit out the first few weeks of the season because of a knee injury. If Mike Richter can hold up in goal and Brian Leetch can regain his consistency, the Rangers will be in the hunt.

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5. MONTREAL

Coach: Michel Therrien, third season.

2001-02 record: 36-31-12-3, 87 points, fourth in Northeast Division, eighth in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Saku Koivu, who sat out 79 games before making an inspirational return from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last season.

Outlook: Goaltender Jose Theodore, who won the Hart and Vezina Trophies last season, is great but he can’t do it all. Having Koivu for an entire season combined with feisty Donald Audette and the additions of Mariusz Czerkawski and veteran forward Randy McKay should provide a stronger scoring punch for the Canadiens, who were led in scoring last season by Yanic Perreault.

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6. WASHINGTON

Coach: Bruce Cassidy, first season.

2001-02 record: 36-33-11-2, 85 points, second in Southeast Division, ninth in conference.

Player to watch: Defenseman Calle Johansson, who needs 39 games to tie Kelly Miller for most games played in franchise history.

Outlook: Any team that can roll out scorers Jaromir Jagr and Peter Bondra will always be a threat. Last season, the Capitals failed to make the playoffs and it cost Coach Ron Wilson his job. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who had 26 goals last season, is one of the most underrated players in the league. But Washington needs goaltender Olaf Kolzig to step up and newcomer Robert Lang to stay healthy in order to be a legitimate threat for the Stanley Cup.

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7. TORONTO

Coach: Pat Quinn, fifth season.

2001-02 record: 43-25-10-4, 100 points, second in Northeast Division, fourth in conference.

Player to watch: Defenseman Bryan McCabe, who had a career-best 17 goals and 43 points last season.

Outlook: The departure of goaltender Curtis Joseph, who signed as a free agent with Detroit, will hurt and the Maple Leafs are taking a big chance by counting on veteran Ed Belfour to take over. Winger Gary Roberts gained respect around the league with his performance in last season’s playoffs and center Darcy Tucker is coming off a strong 24-goal season. But the main man for the Maple Leafs is captain Mats Sundin, who finished with 41 goals and 80 points last season.

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8. NEW JERSEY

Coach: Pat Burns, first season.

2001-02 record: 41-28-9-4, 95 points, third in Atlantic Division, sixth in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Jeff Friesen, who is looking to regain his scoring touch after being a bust with the Mighty Ducks.

Outlook: Burns is the only man in NHL history to win three Jack Adams Awards as the league’s top coach and he will have his work cut out for him with the Devils. New Jersey will be strong defensively with Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Colin White, Brian Rafalski and Oleg Tverdovsky, but the offense will be a question mark. Forwards Patrik Elias, Jay Pandolfo, John Madden and Friesen need to produce in order for New Jersey to have a chance.

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9. BOSTON

Coach: Robbie Ftorek, second season.

2001-02 record: 43-24-6-9, 101 points, first in Northeast Division, first in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Brian Rolston, who led the NHL with nine short-handed goals last season.

Outlook: Big things are expected from winger Sergei Samsonov, who will have to take over some of the scoring load with the departure of free agent Bill Guerin. Glen Murray stepped up with a career season last year and Joe Thornton is emerging as one of the league’s top centers, but unless the Bruins make a late turnaround and re-sign goaltender Byron Dafoe, this may be a long season with former Duck Steve Shields in the net.

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10. N.Y. ISLANDERS

Coach: Peter Laviolette, second season.

2001-02 record: 42-28-8-4, 96 points, second in Atlantic Division, fifth in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Alexei Yashin, who led the Islanders with 32 goals and 75 points last season.

Outlook: Last season, Laviolette led the Islanders to a 44-point improvement over 2000-01 but that did not prevent them from being bounced from the playoffs in the first round. The loss of captain Michael Peca until at least January and the failure to add any offense during the off-season will make things tough for the Islanders, who will need a monster season from goaltender Chris Osgood to make the playoffs again.

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11. PITTSBURGH

Coach: Rick Kehoe, second season.

2001-02 record: 28-41-8-5, 69 points, fifth in Atlantic Division, 12th in conference.

Player to watch: Goaltender Johan Hedberg, who appeared in 66 games in his first full NHL season and finished with six shutouts.

Outlook: If Mario Lemieux can stay healthy and play in a majority of games, the Penguins will be in the thick of things. But if Lemieux pulls another disappearing act, the Penguins can mail this season in. Forwards Alexei Kovalev, Aleksey Morozov and Jan Hrdina can get things done on offense, but Pittsburgh has too many holes to be considered a playoff team. It also doesn’t help to have forward Martin Straka out indefinitely because of an off-season back injury.

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12. TAMPA BAY

Coach: John Tortorella, third season.

2001-02 record: 27-40-11-4, 69 points, third in Southeast Division, 13th in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Vincent Lecavalier, who should be a better player now that he has been replaced as captain by Dave Andreychuk.

Outlook: It’s time for the Lightning to make a jump to a .500 team, especially with Nikolai Khabibulin in goal. Tampa Bay will continue to be young up front with Ruslan Fedotenko (23) and Alexander Svitov (19) joining 22-year olds Brad Richards and Lecavalier. But Tampa Bay probably will depend too much on Khabibulin because of a suspect group of defensemen, led by Pavel Kubina, who led rookies in ice time last season.

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13. FLORIDA

Coach: Mike Keenan, second season.

2001-02 record: 22-44-10-6, 60 points, fourth in Southeast Division, 14th in conference.

Player to watch: Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, who led the Panthers with 52 points after being picked up from Carolina midseason.

Outlook: Winger Kristian Huselius is a solid young player and Niklas Hagman and Stephen Weiss are not bad but the Panthers simply do not have enough punch on offense now that Valeri Bure does not have his brother, Pavel, to play with anymore. Florida’s strength will be on defense with additions of Dmitry Yushkevich, Sven Butenschon and highly touted rookie Jay Bouwmeester and with Roberto Luongo, who had a 2.74 goals-against average last season, in the net.

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14. ATLANTA

Coach: Curt Fraser, fourth season.

2001-02 record: 19-47-11-5, 54 points, fifth in Southeast Division, 15th in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Shawn McEachern, who was picked up in an off-season trade from Ottawa to help provide veteran leadership.

Outlook: With forwards Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk leading the way, the Thrashers will be a dangerous team. Heatley (26 goals and 41 assists) and Kovalchuk (29 goals and 22 assists) were the NHL’s top scoring rookies last season. Atlanta made good moves in picking up forwards Vyacheslav Kozlov and McEachern during the summer. The Thrashers also did well in strengthening their defense by adding Richard Smehlik and Uwe Krupp.

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15. BUFFALO

Coach: Lindy Ruff, sixth season.

2001-02 record: 35-35-11-1, 82 points, fifth in Northeast Division, 10th in conference.

Player to watch: Forward Stu Barnes, who finished second on the Sabres in scoring last season with 48 points in 68 games.

Outlook: Ownership troubles and possible relocation of the franchise will be a major distraction all season for the Sabres, who are being operated by the league. Miroslav Satan is a good player but Buffalo will need Ruff to work more miracles to get back into the playoffs. Ruff will have to get the most out of players such as Tim Connolly and Jochen Hecht and get his defense to hold up in order for that to happen.