...I really haven't studied the off-season trades and signings all that much, so I'll admit up front to being out of the loop a bit. I know most of the major ones that Walnut already covered though.
Anyway, I was really disappointed to see the Sabres lose Drury and Briere. But what really makes it sting is that they lost those guys to division rivals. The Flyers were so bad last year that I don't see them contending for a bit no matter who they sign, but the Rangers, for once, finally seemed to get it together late last season, particularly in the playoffs. How long have they been a team that looked pretty good on paper but never did anything? Well, now I think they might be really tough. Don't forget they got Scott Gomez too. ... So between the Rangers and the Penguins, I think Buffalo missed their window, and it'll be those two teams at the top this year.
Ottawa may still be a contender too. I don't think they've done much in the offseason, but I'm not sure they really needed to. Last year, I'll admit that I was impressed. Ottawa never had the grit to make it in the playoffs. Not so last year. We'll see... I'll be interested to see how teams like Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Florida play this season, etc. (all those teams that were kind of middle of the road). Toronto, well, I think they'll miss the playoffs again unless enough other teams do worse, heh.
I still think Anaheim will be the team to beat again out west. Don't know if they'll be hungry enough, and as the defending champs they will have to get used to seeing the other team's best hockey every night. Still no decision from Niedermeyer either, but from the sounds of the supposed quotes coming from him, he sounds done whether he plays or not.
It's hard telling what Nashville will do this season (I'm not sure it will matter if Detroit falls off this season, they'll still probably win the division)... Same with Dallas, a team that relied so much on their goaltending and system I thought. Same with Minnesota too. All those teams will be interesting to watch. And once again, I think the northwest division will be quite interesting and competitive.
My team to watch at the start of the season out west though is definitely Colorado. No one was playing as good as they were at the end of the season last year, and they had so much momentum. You would think adding Ryan Smith would be a good thing, but you never know how it will work out. If it does, and they keep firing, look out. If they do well and get bored, I hope it's sometime mid-season, and they get it back together and go into the playoffs on a roll again (because we all know how it ended for Buffalo last year).
My preseason guess for the Finals is Avs/Ducks vs. Pens/Rangers/Senators. Hard for me to narrow it down more than that without seeing a few games first.
-Tyrion