Monthly Evaluation: Western Meddling Middle

Nashville (6-4-1): I was never a big Poile fan but he constantly finds players to replenish his team, even from surprise defection to Russia.

This group of forwards does not inspire me much but they somehow manage to score and buzz around enough to disrupt their opponents. What I appreciate much more is the quality of the young defensemen on this team. Weber has 12pts in 11 games so far and the confidence placed on him (by letting go of Timmonen & Zlidicky) is paying off. Ryan Suter plays a style quite different from his uncle but he is extremely effective.

6th place seems about right for the Predators but the Western Conference is not lacking on playoffs contenders so the battle will be fierce to keep that spot.

Rating: B
Outlook: same


Edmonton (6-4-1): While most pundits placed the Oilers right there in the thick of things, I simply do not see that in that team and predicted a last place finish in the NorthWest division.

The forwards are speedy, I'll give you that but there isn't much real scoring there apart from Hemsky & probably Gagner if he bulks up or gets better linemates to distract the opposition. Listen, when Ethan Moreau is your 2nd highest scoring forward with 3 goals & 7pts in 11 games, don't come tell me this is an awesome group of talent!

More to the point, no team should have 4 defensemen among their top 7 scorers. That defense is extremely mobile and supports the offense wonderfully but I am not sure how far that will take you with the makeup of this team. The nastiness that Pronger brought was never replaced and is sorely missing from this blueline.

The battle for a playoff spot has just started in Northern Alberta!

Rating: C
Outlook: going down


Chicago (6-3-3): Stop the presses! Martin Havlat has not yet missed a game! Not that he has helped the Hawks much as they ended up the first month 8th in the Western Conference.

The team is developing nicely around Kane, Toews & Sharp on offense and Campbell, Keith & Seabrook on defense. There is however much left to be done to transform this team into a contender. The Hawks have the best example right next door with the Wings.

How will this team hold up through the season? Very hard to predict where they will finish.

Rating: C
Outlook: same


Vancouver (6-6-0): Not bad for a team with no offense. What a wasteland this looked at the beginning of the year after the Sedin twins... but somehow some players are stepping up and providing some much needed secondary scoring. Strangely, all that happened once Demitra went down with injury: Wellwood was called up and is playing a very strong position game and gets all those workman goals that nobody used to get before.

Kesler & Burrows are also continuing their progression from late last year, transforming their line from a purely shutdown defensive unit into one of those most annoying line to play against.

The emergence of Bieksa & Edler on the blueline has masked the slow decline of Ohlund and Salo but this group is not as strong as it was previously.

Of course, all that is written above is somehow secondary in Vancouver. While he hasn't been Turco bad, Luongo has not had a great start... but with 2 shutouts in his last 4 games, this might indicate another of those hot streaks on the way and that is all the Canucks would need to jump from 9th to 3rd in the Western Conference.

There are some nice pieces in Vancouver but not enough so all will rest on Luongo's shoulders once again.

Rating: C
Outlook: going up


Saint Louis (5-5-0): The loss of Erik Johnson was a crushing blow, not only for this year but more importantly for long term development.

I am not a fan of rebuilding team filling up their top lines with veterans but maybe this is the best route for the Blues. They have some nice young talent up front but I dont know if they are ready for top line duties and the pressure it brings. Still, seing Kariya, McDonald & Tkachuk all with over 17mins tells me there is lots of ice time those kids could have and are not.

.500 feels like overachievement for the Blues so far and I can't see them do much better than that for the rest of the year.

Rating: C
Outlook: going down