2010 NHL Southeast Division Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds | Sportsbookbuzz.com

2010 NHL Southeast Division Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

Welcome to the best and most complete 2010 NHL Southeast Division Season Preview available online. The teams that make up our 2010 NHL Southeast Season Preview are the are the Atlanta Thrashers, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals.

Around the league the stereotype of the Southeastern division has been that it’s a pushover division with no real contenders. Nobody seems to care that it’s produced two Stanley Cup winners this decade, plus house the most explosive offense in the league. It’s not all great, but it’s certainly not a pushover. .

2010 Atlanta Thrashers Season Preview

The Atlanta Thrashers spent their offseason raiding the Chicago Blackhawks bench, acquiring Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and Brent Sopel via trades. They have great young talent in Evander Kane and Niclas Bergfors. But do you really think you can make the playoffs with Ondrej Pavelec starting 65 games? Until they get a legit goaltender and maybe some depth on defense, Atlanta won’t be making the postseason anytime soon.

Atlanta Thrashers Odds: +2000 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Atlanta Thrashers 2010 Season Preview – Atlanta Thrashers 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Carolina Hurricanes Season Preview

Like the Flyers, the Carolina Hurricanes had a terrible first half of the season, only to explode in the second half. The playoffs were never really a possibility, but they gave enough of a run to create some serious buzz for this season. Cam Ward is an elite goaltender, and he has the Conn Smyth to prove it. Eric Staal is turning into one of the best leaders in the league, and is also a legit scorer. The team lacks a large amount of a big-name talent, instead employing a lot of complimentary parts that can definitely make the playoffs.

Carolina Hurricanes Odds: +2000 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Carolina Hurricanes 2010 Season Preview – Carolina Hurricanes 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Florida Panthers Season Preview

The Florida Panthers are the one team that’s always on the cusp of the playoffs but can never quite make it. Goaltender Tomas Vokoun is one of the best in the league, but the rest of the team is filled with question marks. Their offense is questionable, especially since their most talented winger (David Booth) will forever be battling concussion-problems. Christopher Higgins was brought in during the offseason, but he’s been the definition of underachieving. The drafting of Erik Gudbrandson (3rd overall in 2010) was a step in the right direction, but I don’t think this team is any closer to playoff contention than they were last season..

Florida Panthers Odds: +4000 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Florida Panthers 2010 Season Preview – Florida Panthers 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Tampa Bay Lightning Season Preview

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s biggest offseason acquisition isn’t going to lace on any skates. Steve Yzerman was inked as the GM, and he made a litany of moves that make this team infinitely better. He signed Pavel Kubina for cheap, and made a low-risk trade for Simon Gagne. Already their offense and defense is better than last year. Victor Hedman, the teams 1st pick in 2009, has a year of NHL experience under his belt. Add in Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis and this is a team that’s almost the complete package. It’s just their goaltending that’s struggling. The combination of Mike Smith and Dan Ellis has a chance to fail hard, and I think it will be their eventual downfall for a legit playoff run.

Tampa Bay Lightning Odds: +300 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Tampa Bay Lightning 2010 Season Preview – Tampa Bay Lightning 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Washington Capitals Season Preview

The offensive exploits of the Washington Capitals are well documented. Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom…and the rest. They’ll always be in contention as long as at least those three wear the same sweater. The bigger problems lie in defense and goaltending. Last season’s early playoff exit showcased those flaws. The team doesn’t own a shutdown defenseman; as good as Mike Green is offensively, sometimes he’s much worse in his own end. Semyon Varlamov has the talent to be a top-end goaltender, but their just seems to be something missing; if this is the year he finds it the Caps will be that much more dangerous. Still, they should win this division pretty handily.