1 Northwest Reversal
One month into the new NHL season and there’s been a complete flip in the NW
Written by Hosea C
Canucks Access
Common knowledge: Every hockey fan checks the standings, day in and day out; it’s a fact (and some would say ‘a way of life’). So it’s not that hard to recognize the difference in the Northwest Division standings.
It’s been basically one month since the 2006-07 season started and currently, the Northwest standings has done a complete 180 flip from the final standings of the previous season. Don’t understand what I mean? Check it out yourself. Minnesota sits a top the NW clique, while Calgary bottom-feeds. Honestly, who would have predicted that?
Here’s a little flashback to the end of last season: the Calgary Flames won the Division Title with 103 points, followed by Colorado with 95 (43 wins), Edmonton with 95 (41 wins), Vancouver with 92 and Minnesota trailed with 84 points. Heading into this season, many experts claimed that Calgary would repeat as division champions and also contend for Lord Stanley. It’s obviously too early to count them out, but have you guys checked the standings lately? Heading into Saturday, Minnesota is second in the Western Conference with 20 points, Vancouver trails with 15, Edmonton with 14 (7 wins), Colorado with 14 (6 wins) and listen to this: Calgary ranks 13th in the conference with 8 points.
Is that crazy or what? But the real questions should be ‘how did this happen?’ How did Minnesota go from 11th to 2nd and Calgary drop from 3rd to 13th?
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the result of the salary cap, where everyone has a shot at winning and competing, and where the word ‘dynasty’ just might not exist anymore.
Let’s begin with the current success of the Wild. General Manager Doug Risebrough FINALLY decided to spend money this off-season by acquiring the likes of Pavol Demitra, Kim Johnsson, Mark Parrish, just to name a few. These offensive-gifted players complement the defensive style of Coach Jacques Lemaire as Minnesota can start winning some one-goal games. Not only have those players contributed offensively, but certain returning Minnesota forwards have stepped up big time, such as the line of Brian Rolston, Todd White and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Don’t forget the stellar play of Manny Fernandez or the highly talented Marian Gaborik, who is currently injured.
Now what happened to the Flames? It looked as if they were an even bigger threat after acquiring Alex Tanguay and Jeff Friesen, but so far, these two players have basically been non-factors in Calgary’s offensive score sheet. Also, Jarome Iginla, who has 13 points so far, can’t do everything by himself, he definitely needs more offensive support. Maybe Calgary’s sudden drop had something to do with Darryl Sutter stepping down as coach and being replaced by Jim Playfair? Or the lack of ‘spectacular’ from goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff? Whatever the reason is, Calgary must start to mount some sort of winning streak, in order to regain their contender status.
With all this going on between the Wild and Flames, Vancouver, Edmonton and Colorado picked up from where they left off last season: bunched up in the middle. Even though the Oilers and Avalanches lost valuable members and the Canucks re-arranged a big chunk of their team, all three are finding different ways to win. Whether it is stellar goaltending, unlikely heroes, or just plain hard work, all three teams are making a case for contender-ship.
It’s definitely a tough NHL division to be involved with, especially since the last two Stanley Cup runner-ups have emerged from the Northwest. However, let me conclude with this: it’s early in the season and there’s a whole lot more hockey to be played, so keep your eyes on the standings because it just might reverse back the other way.
All the more reason to watch the NHL…
