it's true, it is hard to decide, much more than it was last season.
I think it's between Calgary and Carolina.
I chose Calgary though, because I think they might have a bit of an edge when it comes to their team overall.
- The Flames have added to their offence this year to try and fix the problem they, had last season: Scoring. Adding in Alex Tanguay to the mix will give opposing teams another weapon to watch in the offencive zone besides Iggy. It'll be a huge load off of Iginla's back, because I think Tangauy is very known to be a dangerous player on the ice - he's a great playmaker and a game breaker. Then the addition of Jeff Friesen might give Calgary another player to spread their offence on to, depending on whether or not he can find his game again. Then there's also Tony Amonte. If he can find just some of his offencive touch form the past, and Chuck Kobasew and Matthew Lombardi can make good on the promise that they've been showing the last few season, Calgary could have 3 scoring lines to watch.
There are a lot of "ifs" in their offencive side of the game, but defencively they just may have the best blueline in the league. I know they lost Leopold (for Tanguay) but signing Zyuzin gives them a player that's just as good to replace him. As for their goaltending, it's all about the Vezina Trophy winning Kipper.
- Carolina still has most of their team in tact from last year, and their offence is still probably the best all around in the league (for now). Their defence on the other hand might be on the decline. They're very experienced and all, but they've lost a big piece to their blueline in Aaron Ward. He played very well last year (maybe a little over his head, who knows) and was a huge part of why they won the Stanley Cup. If they can find a replacement for him (or one of their younger d-men step up big time) they could go deep again.
Carolina isn't a team to doubt. They never seem to let a game slip away, no matter how far down they are. They have the players to go deep again if Wesley and Hedican can continue to play the way they do when the going gets tough, and Frank Kaberle is pretty good. Brind'Amour is a great leader, and Staal, Cole, and Williams are great young players. They lost Cullen, but added in Walker to replace him. Not bad.
Of course I have to add in Cam Ward here: He was one of the reasons why they got to the Cup in the first place. He played well, now it's tiem to see if he really is the next great goalie in the league.
Anaheim and Nashville could also be great next year. Buffalo too, depending on how many of their good young FA's they can keep.