Sizing up the Atlantic Divsion

The teams in the Atlantic Division , the Penguins, Flyers, Devils, Rangers, and Islanders, have been "bustling" to say the least since the beginning of NHL free agency on July 1st. Here's how we figure these teams did, and what to expect from them in the 2008-2009 campaign.

The Penguins came into this offseason on a quest to, at least to an extent, keep last year's Stanley Cup finalist team intact. While it was inevitably impossible to entirely fulfill this goal, Ray Shero went to work, and he did a solid job. The Pens said goodbye to elite forward Marian Hossa, career joke Ryan Malone, backup goalie Ty Conklin, grinders Adam Hall, Gary Roberts, and Jarkko Ruutu, as well as enforcer Georges Laraque. The Guins added to their already potent offensive arsenal boasting big names like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, by bringing in Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Janne Pesonen. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, center Evgeni Malkin, and defender Brooks Orpik signed long term deals. They added some previously lost grit in agitator Matt Cooke and enforcer Eric Godard. Shero's cap managment was the best in the NHL this offseason, and the Pens will succeed in the long run because of it. All in all, look for the Pens to contend for the Cup again next year. Projected finish- 1st.

The Flyers come into the new season looking to improve upon an epic turnaround in 2008, a year in which they rebounded from finishing last in the conference to advance all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Pens disposed of them in five quick games. The Flyers lost captain and defensive stallwart Jason Smith to the Senators, fringe second liner Vinny Prospal to Tampa, and underachiever RJ Umberger to Tampa in a draft day deal, but otherwise remain similar to what they were last season. They bring in grinders Aaron Asham and Glenn Metropolit. Also, the Flyers kept forward Jeff Carter off of the RFA market by resigning him to a three year deal. Carter stays with perhaps the deepest group of forwards in the conference as a whole, with the talented Mike Richards, Joffrey Lupul, and the womanlike Daniel Briere as other solid goal scorers on the team. Projected finish- 2nd.

The Devils entered the offseason coming off of a very disappointing five game loss to the New York Rangers. The primary downfall of last year's Devils squad was an extreme inability to put the puck in the back of the net. That does not look to change this year. The Devils picked up Brian Rolston who can score goals, but that was their only offensive acquistion, and it does not look to be enough. They resigned Jay Pandolfo and Bryce Salvador, but lost forward Sergei Brylin to free agency. In order to score goals, the Devils will have to rely on the one year wonder Brian Gionta, Zach Parise, Rolston, and Travis Zajac. Even with the best goaltender in the world, you cannot win if you cannot score. The Devils will win some games, and likely make the playoffs, but don't look for anything further than another first round exit. Projected finish- 3rd.

The Rangers of last season came into the year with Stanley Cup aspirations that failed miserbaly in the second round when the Penguins trampled them in five games. The Rangers lost defensemen Chris Backman and Fedor Tyutin to Columbus in a trade for Dan Fritsche and Nikolai Zherdev. The Rangers signed defensemen Wade Redden and Mike Roszival who was resigned. They have 11 million dollars tied up in those two overpaid, old, crumby defenders. They have continued their pursuit to buy a championship by brining in Markus Naslund, who will also be grossly overpaid. The Rangers lost three of their best forwards in Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, and Martin Straka. Good job, Glen. Projected finish- 4th.

The Isles finished last year with a dismal record that put them in dead last in the division, and near the bottom of the NHL. They added defenseman Mark Streit from the Canadiens, and they re-signed defenseman Brandon Witt. Other than that though, this team made no significant acqusitions and would look well on their way to another last place year. They lost a few of their top scorers in Satan and Fedotenko to the Pens, and may not score 200 goals this year as a team. The Islanders traded the fifth pick in the draft, passing up a chance at Nikita Filatov, and seem to have neanderthals in their front office. Projected finish- 5th.

And there is your Atlantic Division!