2009-2010 NHL Predictions

When the puck drops in Boston in less than 24 hours, the Caps 8-month quest for Lord Stanley officially commences. I think I speak for all of us depressed Skins-Nats-O's-Wizards fans when I say, "It's about goddamn time."

Before we preview the Caps specifically, we decided to take a look at the entire NHL and offer our bold - as well as not very bold - predictions for the upcoming season. For the sake of simplicity, we each voted for our top five players on five major awards as well as division and conference winners. And, of course, your Stanley Cup Champion. Here's how it all went down:

Division Winners:

Consensus:

Southeast: Washington
Northeast: Boston
Atlantic: Pittsburgh
Central: Detroit
Northwest: Vancouver
Pacific: San Jose

Breakdown:

Rico Fantastic - Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Calgary, San Jose
Red Rover - Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Vancouver, San Jose
Marion's Crackpipe - Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Vancouver, San Jose
Iafrate's Baldspot - Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Vancouver, San Jose

Analysis:

As one would pretty much expect, Washington, Boston, and San Jose are voted division winners in unanimous fashion. Philadelphia and Calgary steal a vote a piece, with the additions of big names like Pronger, Heatley, and Bouwmeester perhaps giving them the edge over the incumbents. The most interesting race, though, appears to be in the Central Division. Can the young Blackhawks succeed with high expectations or are they in for a major letdown, paving the way for Detroit to win their 321st (or something like that) consecutive division title?

Stanley Cup Champions:

Consensus:

Winner: Washington over Chicago

Breakdown:

Rico Fantastic - San Jose over Washington
Red Rover - Washington over Vancouver
Marion's Crackpipe - Washington over Chicago
Iafrate's Baldspot - Washington over Chicago

Analysis:

Is this finally the year? I sure hope so, but there's a lot that can happen between now and June. So far be it from me to be only one to pick against the Caps, but I just assumed it would be the kiss of death. You hear that, guys? This better not be the kiss of death. Anything short of a Cup and I'm blaming you. Crap.

Maurice "Rocket" Richard (Goal Scoring):

Consensus:

1. Alex Ovechkin, Washington
2. Dany Heatley, San Jose
3. Jarome Iginla, Calgary
4. Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta
5. (Tie) Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh; Zach Parise, New Jersey

Breakdown:

Rico Fantastic - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Crosby, 3. Kovalchuk, 4. Iginla, 5. Eric Staal
Red Rover - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Heatley, 3. Iginla, 4. Phil Kessel, 5. Alex Semin
Marion's Crackpipe - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Parise, 3. Jeff Carter, 4. Kovalchuk, 5. Semin
Iafrate's Baldspot - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Malkin, 3. Heatley, 4. Rick Nash, 5. Iginla

Analysis:

Come on...who else? He's won the trophy two years running and the guy who feeds him the puck, Nicklas Backstrom, is only getting better. Heatley's got a shot (no pun intended) to get to 50 playing next to Joe Thornton, but Ovechkin is the only player with a shot to get to 60. Or 70. Or 80. Should I...should I stop?

Art Ross (Points):

Consensus:

1. Alex Ovechkin, Washington
2. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
3. Joe Thornton, San Jose
4. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
5. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim

Breakdown:

Rico Fantastic - 1. Crosby, 2. Ovechkin, 3. Malkin, 4. Getzlaf, 5. Thornton
Red Rover - 1. Thornton, 2. Ovechkin, 3. Malkin, 4. Vincent Lecavalier, 5. Nicklas Backstrom
Marion's Crackpipe - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Malkin, 3. Crosby, 4. Getzlaf, 5. Semin
Iafrate's Baldspot - 1. Malkin, 2. Ovechkin, 3. Thornton, 4. Pavel Datsyuk, 5. Getzlaf

Analysis:

This vote was a lot closer than the Richard but the result was the same, with Ovechkin barely beating out Malkin for the top billing. The DCLS believes the addition of Mike Knuble on the top line may lead to more "assists" for Ovie (read: rebound goals), catapulting him just ahead of Malkin in this year's race. Crazy? No, logical.

Hart (Most Valuable Player):

Consensus:

1. Alex Ovechkin, Washington
2. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
3. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
4. Mike Richards, Philadelphia
5. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit

Breakdown:

Rico Fantastic - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Crosby, 3. Getzlaf, 4. Malkin, 5. Martin Brodeur
Red Rover - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Richards, 3. Thornton, 4. Datsyuk, 5. Iginla
Marion's Crackpipe - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Malkin, 3. Datsyuk, 4. Getzlaf, 5. Toews
Iafrate's Baldspot - 1. Ovechkin, 2. Malkin, 3. Crosby, 4. Richards, 5. Iginla

Analysis:

As was the case with the Richard voting, we unanimously voted for Ovechkin to win the Hart for the third consecutive year. Are you bored with these selections? Too bad - what else did you expect from a homer blog? Keep an eye on Mike Richards, though. If Philadelphia overachieves, their captain - and one of the more underrated players in all of hockey - might get his long overdue recognition.

Norris (Best Defenseman):

Consensus:

1. Zdeno Chara, Boston
2. Mike Green, Washington
3. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit
4. Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh
5. (Tie) Jay Bouwmeester, Calgary; Shea Weber, Nashville

Breakdown:

Rico Fantastic - 1. Chara, 2. Lidstrom, 3. Chris Pronger, 4. Dan Boyle, 5. Green
Red Rover - 1. Gonchar, 2. Green, 3. Bouwmeester, 4. Lidstrom, 5. Weber
Marion's Crackpipe - 1. Green, 2. Chara, 3. Lidstron, 4. Dion Phaneuf, 5. Duncan Keith
Iafrate's Baldspot - 1. Chara, 2. Green, 3. Weber, 4. Lidstrom, 5. Bouwmeester

Analysis:

Not so surprisingly, this was by far the most difficult award to vote for. It usually is at season's end, too, and will likely continue to be until they split the award into two pieces: The Rod Langway Award for defensive defensemen, and the Bobby Orr award for offensive defensemen. Alas, this is not the case, and Chara will likely take the Norris home for the second consecutive year. Unless people miraculously stop smoking crystal meth and come to the realization that Mike Green is pretty damn good at defense, too.

Vezina (Best Goaltender):

Consensus:

1. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver
2. Steve Mason, Columbus
3. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey
4. Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose
5. Tim Thomas, Boston

Breakdown:

Rico Fantastic - 1. Brodeur, 2. Nabokov, 3. Miikka Kiprusoff, 4. Luongo, 5. Henrik Lundqvist
Red Rover - 1. Luongo, 2. Tomas Vokoun, 3. Jonas Hiller, 4. Brodeur, 5. Nabokov
Marion's Crackpipe - 1. Luongo, 2. Mason, 3. Niklas Backstrom, 4. Thomas, 5. Lundqvist
Iafrate's Baldspot - 1. Mason, 2. Luongo, 3. Thomas, 4. Cam Ward, 5. Semyon Varlamov

Analysis:

It appears time for perhaps the best goaltender on the planet, Roberto Luongo, to get his due. He's never won the Vezina, despite having the credentials year in and year out. We're betting that this is the year he gets it done. Also, note the top three in our consensus: Team Canada has an embarrassment of riches in their crease. I mean seriously...who do you start?

***

So there you have it. Any glaring omissions? You think we're a little too close to Ovechkin's "region"? Did we completely jinx the Caps? Any supplementary thoughts on the upcoming season? Please join us in the comments section...nothing like talking good hockey. Nothing.