With over a quarter of the NHL season complete, the Florida Panthers, perhaps the league's most disappointing team to date, completed an overhaul of management yesterday in an attempt to resurrect their floundering team. New President Alan Cohen made his presence felt by firing coach Duane Sutter along with general manager Bill Torrey.
Sutter is being replaced by Mike Keenan, who has coached six other teams, including the Boston Bruins last year, and is being called upon to rejuvenate a team that leads the league in losses despite the presence of the game's most electrifying player, Pavel Bure. It remains to be seen whether Keenan's style of coaching predicated on emotion and discipline will mesh well with a Panther team that is filled with a volatile mix of promising rookies and ego-driven veterans.
While the season is still young, several teams have established themselves as the upper echelon of the league through shrewd personnel decisions in the offseason. The most dominant team so far is located in Hockey Town USA, namely the Detroit Red Wings. Boasting a 21-3-1-1 record, the Wings are the oldest team in the league, featuring veterans such as Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Federov, Steve Yzerman, and Chris Cheilos. The Wings are in cruise control in the Central Division because of the presence of their three high-priced free agents: Dominik Hasek, Luc Robitalle, and Brett Hull. While the sniper instincts of Hull and Robitalle have triggered a quick-hitting offensive attack, the Dominator has performed at his usual otherworldly levels, with a save percentage of .906. His success between the pipes has translated into a more confident Red Wings' defense.
Despite a recent slump, the New York Islanders, a team whose most recent notoriety stems more from its owners being thrown in jail than for their on-ice prowess, have prospered this season. Much of this success has resulted from the decision to take on two veterans that were shunned elsewhere for their perceived selfish natures.
Alexei Yashin and Michael Peca have thrown aside their reputations as weak-willed players. Yashin is currently in the top ten in scoring, while Peca has become the leader in the clubhouse that the Islanders desperately needed. Combine these improvements with the surprising play of Detroit cast-off Chris Osgood in net, and the Islanders have become the team that Mike Milbury envisioned when he opened his checkbook this summer.
Across the river, the New York Rangers have also turned heads with their play of late, climbing to the top of the Atlantic Division. Their resurgence has been spearheaded by Eric Lindros, "L'Enfant Terrible," who has gotten off to a fast start with 13 goals and 26 points. With his spats with the Philadelphia Flyers behind him, it appears Lindros is finally healthy and ready to carry a team on his shoulders.
Goalie Mike Richter, seemingly washed-up and left for dead, has reemerged as a bona-fide No. 1 goalie with a solid 2.41 GAA. The specter of injury, a recurrent problem for the Rangers in recent years, has yet to rear its ugly head. It appears that the Rangers have finally matched their huge payroll with on-ice performance.
Finally, a list of the NHL's up-and-coming teams would not be complete without mentioning the Bruins. The B's did not look like a team on the rise this summer, as they only managed to sign Martin Lapointe to an overpriced deal. Things looked even bleaker after franchise center Jason Allison, third in the NHL in scoring a year ago, was traded to the Kings because of the Bruins' traditional refusal to spend big money to keep their players.
However, Needham native and new head coach Robbie Ftorek has kept Boston from succumbing to its mediocre levels of the recent past. Joe Thornton has blossomed into an All-Star caliber center and winger Sergei Samsonov has at last complemented his impressive stick skills with some hard-nosed play.
Goalie Byron Dafoe, after two injury-plagued seasons, has returned to his acclaimed form of 1999. The B's have also demonstrated a penchant for timely goals, as evidenced by their three overtime wins.
Boston will be a solid team this season; the real question is whether Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, a miser by ownership standards, is willing to pay for another veteran winger before the trading deadline. In doing so, he could push this team from a quick first-round exit in the playoffs to a sustained championship run.
