Southeast Division Predictions

Atlanta Thrashers

The Good: Just five points shy of a playoff spot last season.
The Bad: They may have more fans in their arena than the Atlanta Braves did.
Look for: Dustin Byfuglien to realize he's not a very good offenseman (or defenseman. Whatever he's listed as)

 

Carolina Hurricanes

The Good: 18-year-old Jeff Skinner scored 50 goals with the Kitchener Rangers last season (Mike Richards career high with Kitchener? 36 goals).
The Bad: Rod Brind'Amour is no longer in Raleigh to spread l'amour.
Look for: Rex Ryan to keep his Flyers jersey on this time

Florida Panthers 

The Good: David Booth is still alive.
The Bad: They're the second best NHL team in Florida. Why Florida has two NHL teams is unanswerable.
Look for: Great giveaways! Free beer for underage kids and every fan in the stands gets a game-used jersey from that night's game

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Good: They got rid of two defenders in Andrej Meszaros and Matt Walker and got proven-scorer Simon Gagne.
The Bad: They're the best team in Florida...in FLORIDA.
Look for: A great offense with Gagne, Lecavalier, St. Louis, Stamkos and dare I say it Steve Downie, but very little skill defensively.

Washington Capitals

The Good: They get to play in the Southeast division.
The Bad: Still not built to win in the playoffs.
Look for: Alex Ovechkin's Russian profanity in "24/7 Penguins/Capitals"





Prediction:
#1 Washington Capitals
#2 Tampa Bay Lightning
#3 Atlanta Thrashers
#4 Carolina Hurricanes
#5 Florida Panthers