Zdeno Chara

2014-15 Season Preview: The Atlantic Division

Jared NHL League-Wide Analysis Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Image from Sarah Connors via Wikimedia Commons

Finishing last season with an average of 87.6 points per team, the Atlantic/Flortheast Division was the worst in the NHL. I see that gap widening, not narrowing, in 2014-15.

The battle at the top of the division will, in my eyes, come down to two teams: the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins have placed either first or second in their division (the Atlantic or the former Northeast) in each of the past four seasons. The 2nd place Lightning finished a full 16 points behind the Bruins in 2013-14, but a strong off-season combined with a full season of Steven Stamkos and rookie Jonathan Drouin potentially making an impact has them near even money with the Bruins.

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Does Shea Weber Deserve the Norris Trophy?

Andrew Exploring Context Tags: , , 3 Comments

Allow me to preface this article with the following: Shea Weber is one of the best defensemen in the world and a guy the Nashville Predators should hold on to long-term. Trading him is not the answer for a variety of reasons, and if this club evolves into a contender during the Peter Laviolette era, Weber will certainly be a huge reason for that success.

Now that we got that out of the way, I want to take a detailed look at Weber’s performance this year to see if he truly deserves the Norris Trophy. You may have noticed Nashville has been campaigning hard for its captain, who has been snubbed for this award on several occasions.

Naturally, many fans and fellow writers have echoed the Preds’ sentiments, but a lot of folks—even some outside of Boston and Chicago—refuse to jump on this bandwagon.

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