They have Gaborik.... Yea, they still suck. He's too injury prone...
As a "Canadian," or, I should say, as a Westerner, no one here gives a rats ass about Montreal, Toronto, or Ottawa... BC are all for Vancouver Canucks... You ask anyone on the west coast, and we'll tell ya where to shove it if you mention any of the eastern teams. We're actually some of the most die-hard fans you'll meet. You mention the '94 Playoffs, and people here will either cry or punch you in the face... even 15 years later.
The Olympic stretch will definitely test the Canucks' metal... but I also think it won't mean nearly as much as people are assuming it will. It isn't the playoffs, and if they get a really strong start to the season, even if they were to loose a bunch of games (for instance, Canucks had a 9 game home stand loosing streak last year, but still won the division) it won't hurt their chances in the playoffs.
Calgary won't go anywhere, their team has no more depth than it did last year. Chicago has a strong young squad. Coming out of last year's playoffs, the likes of Hossa might give them that veteran edge they'll need. Detroit is always a strong team, haven't missed the playoffs in something like 18 years... but if Osgood goes down, they have Cloutier to fall back on... that might really cause problems. Not that Osgood was ever any good anyway.
Philadelphia is a big, strong team and this year they're looking to be a menacing force from the east. East-side doesn't have many teams to compete with.
Toronto has the new swedish goalie, Gustavasson, who is absolutely incredible... plus with Brian Burke at the helm, they're looking strong.
Edmonton has Pat Quinn... who knows what he's doing. If this year they don't have it, over the nexst coupld they definitely will.
